Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Joseph Byrum is an accomplished executive leader, innovator, and cross-domain strategist with a proven track record of success across multiple industries. With a
diverse background spanning biotech, finance, and data science, he has earned over 50 patents that have collectively generated more than US $1 billion in revenue. Dr. Byrum's groundbreaking contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the INFORMS Franz Edelman Prize and the ANA Genius Award. His vision of the "intelligent enterprise" blends his scientific expertise with business acumen to help Fortune 500 companies transform their operations through his signature approach: "Unlearn, Transform, Reinvent."

Dr. Byrum earned a PhD in genetics from Iowa State University, USA, and an MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, USA. He can be reached at www.josephbyrum.com.

Reza Rooholamini serves as chief science and AI officer at CCC Intelligent Solutions, where he brings deep expertise in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and emerging technologies.

Doug Simons is a former investment banker who worked at Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and UBS as an advisor to U.S. banks and other financial institutions. Most recently, he served as a senior markets and policy fellow at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he advised the director and his team on issues related to the banking industry. In this role, he also represented the CFPB on FSOC's Systemic Risk Committee.

Lee joined the EBN team in 2022, and covers areas including caregiving, employee health and wellness, healthcare innovation, and company culture. She created EBN's popular Benefits in Action and Manager Diaries series, interviewing top leaders from Walmart, AT&T, Aflac, DoorDash, and EY. Her reporting on EBN's podcast, Perk Up!, earned the team a regional silver award from the AZBEE Award of Excellence in 2025. She has also interviewed several winners of EBN's Excellence in Benefits Awards, including top CEOs and CHROs from Hyatt and Hendry Marine Industries. 

Her favorite parts of the job are connecting with people who are passionate about providing great benefits and a positive work environment, and writing about strategies and tools that help them do this. Previously, she taught high school and middle school, and worked as a freelance writer in healthcare and advertising. She has a BA in English from George Mason University.

Giles Pearson, FCA, is the co-founder of Accountests Ltd, whose aim is to help avoid bad hires in accounting firms by using pre-employment skills and personality tests specifically designed for accountants.  Prior to starting Accountests, he was a tax and private client partner of PwC in New Zealand for 18 years.

John Palmer, a partner in Orrick's San Francisco office, focuses his practice on financing for cities, counties, community college districts and school districts.

Traci Parks has been a copy editor at American Banker since 2023. She's worked at Scholastic National Partnerships and many fashion magazines, including V Magazine where she was also a contributing writer. As a playwright, her work has been produced in New York, Seattle and Los Angeles.

Joshua Bonney is a senior associate in Orrick's Washington, D.C., office.

Will Wood is the Director of Health and Life for INSTANDA, a cloud-native intelligent policy administration platform that enables property and casualty, as well as life and health carriers and MGAs to build, manage and distribute products with exceptional agility.