Speakers

Neeli Bendapudi has served as the nineteenth president of Penn State since May 9, 2022. With a nearly thirty-year career in academia, President Bendapudi is committed to student success, fostering inclusive excellence, and creating opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to thrive.

Raised in India, Bendapudi moved to the United States to pursue her doctoral studies at the University of Kansas and to launch her career as an academic leader and educator.

Prior to coming to Penn State, where she leads the University's twenty-four-campus network and top-ranked online World Campus, Bendapudi was president of the University of Louisville from 2018 to 2021. During this time, she oversaw a series of transformative efforts spanning academics; finance; the health enterprise; philanthropy; athletics; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and more. Under her leadership, the university recruited its largest and most diverse freshman class, reached record enrollment levels, improved four-year graduation rates, increased annual sponsored research, improved the university's financial stability, and stabilized the health system.

Among her professional achievements, Bendapudi has served as provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Kansas from 2016 to 2018, dean of the School of Business at the University of Kansas from 2011 to 2016, and as founding director of the Initiative for Managing Services at the Ohio State University (OSU) from 2005 to 2011. As an educator, she has taught marketing at the University of Louisville, University of Kansas, Texas A&M University, and OSU.

In addition to her higher education leadership experience, Bendapudi previously served as executive vice president and chief customer officer for Huntington National Bank and has consulted for some of the world's largest companies and organizations, including AIG, Proctor & Gamble, and the U.S. Army.

With a background in the study of consumer behavior in service contexts, her research focuses on customers' willingness to maintain long-term relationships with firms and with the brands and employees that represent them. Her work has been published in the Journal of Academic Medicine, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Service Research.

Bendapudi has been recognized for contributions in her field and has been honored at the national and university levels, including with the Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Marketing Teacher Award. In 2014, she was inducted into the University of Kansas' Womens Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals for significant contributions and achievements, overall impact, and outstanding character.

In addition, Diverse Issues in Higher Education referenced Bendapudi as one of twenty-five women "who have made a difference in the academy" (2021), Enterprising Women recognized her among a select group of women who "are making a difference in business and in the community" (2021), and Louisville Business First highlighted Bendapudi among twenty-five local leaders named to the publication's annual list of "Most Admired CEOs" for strong leadership exhibited during a year of unprecedented challenges (2020).

Along with her professional endeavors, Bendapudi is a former Leadership Foundation Fellow, a member of the International Women's Forum, and serves on the board of the American Council on Education and Internet 2.0.

Bendapudi earned her bachelor's degree in English and MBA from Andhra University in India and her doctorate in marketing from the University of Kansas.

Brian Olsavsky has been Senior Vice President and CFO of Amazon since 2015. In this role, he oversees the company's overall financial activities, including tax, treasury, finance operations, investor relations, internal audit, and global real estate. Previously, he served as Vice President and CFO for Amazon's Global Consumer Business where he had oversight and responsibility for the finance team supporting Amazon.com, merchant services, fulfillment operations, and subsidiaries. From 2007 to 2010, Brian was Vice President, Finance for Amazon's North America retail business and acquisitions, and from 2002 to 2007 Brian led the finance departments for Amazon's Worldwide Operations.

Under Brian's tenure as CFO, Amazon has grown from just over $100 billion in annual revenue in 2015 to $ $716.9 billion in annual revenue in 2025. During that time, Amazon launched retail marketplaces in 12 countries and acquired Whole Foods Market, MGM Studios, Ring, Zoox, One Medical, Pillpack, and Souq.com, while also expanding Advertising services (over $56 billion in annual revenue in 2024) and building global delivery operations (Amazon Logistics).

Prior to joining Amazon, Brian spent 15 years in a variety of financial, operational, and business management roles, including at Fisher Scientific, BF Goodrich, and Union Carbide.

Board and Education

Brian received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA in Finance from Carnegie Mellon University. As a champion for education and lifelong learning, he has remained an active alumnus, guest speaker, and donor to both schools. At Carnegie Mellon, he is an Alumni Service Award recipient, member of the University's Board of Trustees and the Business Board of Advisors at the Tepper School of Business. Brian received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State in 2021, the Alumni Fellow Award from Penn State in 2023, and is an advisor to both the Penn State University President as well as the Dean of the College of Engineering.

Brian and his wife Susan reside in Washington and have three daughters (Katherine, Alexandra, and Gracie).

Erika Swift, MBA, MHA, serves as a Professor of Practice with a joint appointment at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Harrisburg. She is also the director of the Center for Medical Innovation at Penn State College of Medicine, where she leads efforts to foster a thriving innovation ecosystem. The Center provides essential education and resources to drive medical innovation, ultimately generating both economic and social impact.

With over 25 years of experience in economic development, technology commercialization, and new business development across various industries-including medical devices, consumer goods, and dental equipment-Erika joined Penn State College of Medicine in 2015 to spearhead technology development initiatives. She was pivotal in establishing the Center for Medical Innovation, officially launched in February 2017, aligning with the College of Medicine's broader mission of cultivating a culture of innovation.

Beyond her role at Penn State, Erika served as President of BioStrategy Partners, Inc., a nonprofit consortium dedicated to advancing academic research into the marketplace, from 2018 to 2024. She continues to contribute as an officer and board member.

Erika holds a Bachelor of Science in business with a concentration in international business from Bloomsburg University, an MBA from York College of Pennsylvania, and an MHA from Penn State University.

Jen Gilburg joined the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development in September 2023 as Deputy Secretary of Technology and Entrepreneurship. She has decades long experience in technology and advanced manufacturing in the private sector. She has been on the forefront of such high growth technologies as data security and artificial intelligence, and has worked in advanced technologies for automotive, medical and robotics industries.

As Deputy Secretary of Technology and Entrepreneurship, she focuses on implementing the Shapiro Administration's and DCED's vision of attracting, fostering, and investing in people and companies focused on technology and innovation across multiple sectors, and throughout the state.

Elizabeth (Liz) Hodgson is the Vice Chair of the firm's Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Group and represents companies and their founders and investors in every stage of a company's lifecycle from formation to exit. Liz works closely with clients to help them start, grow, invest in, purchase and sell businesses and advises on day to day matters to help align their business objectives with their legal needs. Her experience includes: choice of entity; corporate governance; corporate finance; private equity and venture capital transactions; securities offerings; commercial contract preparation and review; intellectual property protection, licensing, and commercialization; mergers and acquisitions; restrictions on foreign investment and acquisition of U.S. companies and the review process conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS); and day-to-day general corporate matters.

Liz has vast experience working with companies and closely held businesses in the life sciences, biotechnology, technology, health care, software and information technology sectors, and is particularly passionate about working with female founders, investors, executives and entrepreneurs. She combines her legal skills and own entrepreneurial spirit to identify with and deliver for her clients.

Liz received a B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish from The Pennsylvania State University. She received a J.D. from The Pennsylvania State University, The Dickinson School of Law. While in law school, she was a member of The Woolsack Society and was Editor-in-Chief of the Penn State Law Review.

Jack is a founder and Managing Director of Pantek Partners, Pantek is a boutique investment banking firm focused on the hard science sectors with deep networks in the North American, European and Asian technology centers. Strong expertise in advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, batteries, alternative energy platforms, computer vision systems and biotechnology. Our mission is to provide our clients with unique insight and access to strategic investment, M&A and business development channels globally coupled with seasoned execution capabilities. Founded in 2007, Pantek has advised over a 300+ clients with regards to their global capital raising, strategic business development and M&A initiatives.

Dustin Greenwood is a senior operations executive with extensive experience spanning the full nuclear lifecycle-from design, construction, and operations through deactivation, decommissioning, and final environmental remediation. His background includes leadership roles across complex nuclear and industrial programs, providing him with a comprehensive understanding of the technical, regulatory, and operational demands associated with each phase of the lifecycle. He is recognized for delivering results in highly regulated environments where safety, quality, and performance are mission-critical.
Throughout his career, Mr. Greenwood has demonstrated deep capability in executing large-scale programs involving nuclear materials management, waste handling, facility operations, and end-state transition. His experience integrates key lifecycle functions including infrastructure development, system operations, long-term stewardship. He brings a disciplined approach to project execution, and risk management, to deliver on cost and schedule.
In his current role, Mr. Greenwood is responsible for building and leading a North American organization positioned to execute and deliver nuclear fuel and power production. He focuses on establishing operational capabilities, developing high-performing teams, and creating scalable systems to support long-term program delivery. His leadership approach emphasizes collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement, ensuring that organizations he builds are structured to meet evolving mission requirements while maintaining operational excellence.

Ms. Singer Keating is chief executive officer at Reclamere, Inc. She has a broadly diversified background with over 23 years of experience specializing in computer forensics, data destruction, security incident response, information technology risk management, and systems auditing. 

Ms. Keating serves as Chairperson on the Board of Directors of the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership, Board Secretary for Family Services of Blair County, and is a member of the Altoona Rotary Club. She is a former adjunct faculty member of the Pennsylvania Bar Institue, and Past President of both i-SIGMA and NAID. Currently she serves on the Certification Committee. Ms. Keating earned a degree in Electrial Engineering Technology from The Pennsylvania State University. 

For fun, Angie enjoys all things IT, trail riding, and walking her dogs. She is proud mother of the US Amy Captian Sam Keating, who is with the 82nd Airbone in North Carolina. She and husband John live in Hollidaysburg and were married last October.