Babu is an enthusiastic serial entrepreneur with extensive public company experience and a strong engineering background. He co-founded JIFFY.ai in 2018, which received Series-A funding in 2020 and Series-B investment in 2022.
Earlier, as a Co-founder and Group President of Envestnet (NYSE: ENV), he dedicated 20 years to building the company, taking on various leadership roles in products, engineering, and business functions. Prior to Envestnet, he was the co-founding CTO of Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP).
Babu contributes to public service as a member of the Digital IT Committee set up by the state of Kerala, India, which provides IT direction to the state government. He is also an active angel investor and mentor, supporting several start-up companies in Silicon Valley and India.
Samantha teaches financial advisors how to design and implement digital marketing strategies to produce exponential growth through content marketing, AI strategy, social media and email campaigns, SEO, and video. Her cutting-edge thought leadership is recognized throughout the financial services industry and has led to her being awarded an Investment News 40 Under 40, ThinkAdvisor Luminary’s Award and WealthManagement.com “Top Ten to Watch”.
Samantha also serves on the advisory board of the industry estate planning tech tool Wealth.com and was one of the founding members of the SaaS company Twenty Over Ten, which was successfully sold to FMG in 2020. In addition to being a trusted, go-to resource for advisors looking to grow through digital marketing strategies, Sam is also known as a voracious reader, avid runner and hiker, and master juggler of 3 kids under 9.
Gary Russell is the co-founder of Helium Advisors and Helium Equity Partners with partner Howard Morin. He previously served as Director of Wealth Management at Conover Capital Management. He brings over 24 years of Wealth Management, Financial Planning, and Retirement Plan Consulting experience to our valued clients and trusted partners every day. As a recognized industry leader and frequent guest speaker on a variety of financial topics, he brings a unique approach to delivering solutions for clients. A native of Bainbridge Island, Gary now calls the Olympic Peninsula home.
As a wealth manager, Patrick works closely with a wide range of high-net-worth clients, specializing in servicing those in the medical field. He implements tailored wealth management solutions, leveraging his experience in financial planning and consulting to assist clients with investment counseling, retirement planning, estate planning, wealth enhancement, asset protection, tax planning, and other significant financial decisions. He is also responsible for developing and implementing Modera’s client experience framework, ensuring a high-touch, referable experience for all clients.
Pat has over 15 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Modera in February 2015, he was part of both the audit and tax teams at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He began his career at a small advisory firm in Pennsylvania and was inspired to become a financial planner when helping his newly widowed grandmother take charge of her finances. He found the experience to be deeply rewarding—and life-changing.
Pat received a B.S. in finance from St. Joseph’s University and an MBA in accounting from La Salle University. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, a certified public accountant, and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Pat is also active on the Board of Blue Sky Surgical, a nonprofit dedicated to organizing surgical missions.
Trisha Qualy is at the forefront of redefining how financial advisors grow, lead, and scale their businesses. At Affiliated Advisors, she drives advisor innovation and business transformation. Trisha brings strategy, structure, and creativity together to help advisors build more intentional, future-ready firms. Her work spans technology integration, marketing strategy, and organizational design, and she plays a pivotal role in identifying values-aligned professionals to join the firm’s growing national network.
In her current role, Trisha has led initiatives that have reshaped the advisor experience and fueled substantial growth across the enterprise. She created Synthesis, a next-generation advisor program designed to accelerate advisor development and unlock new levels of performance. Over the past five years, she has helped scale the firm from under $2 billion to nearly $8 billion in assets. She has also reinvigorated the advisor community through dynamic virtual think tanks, hands-on advisor and team training, and standout in-person gatherings—including a two-day annual retreat that consistently earns rave reviews from across the network. A strong believer in the power of people, Trisha partners with advisors to build high-performing teams, optimize staff roles, and scale with intention.
With nearly a decade of experience in the financial services industry, Trisha previously held a leadership role at a hybrid RIA and broker-dealer-affiliated OSJ, specializing in operations and compliance while managing advisor transitions and onboarding. Trisha grew up in Minnesota, where her entrepreneurial journey began in elementary school with neighborhood ventures such as a photography studio, popcorn sales, and a flower arrangement service. During college, she expanded her leadership and social impact experience by working with a student-led nonprofit focused on solar energy projects in Nicaragua and managing a 29-person student housing cooperative, honing her skills in sustainability, community building, and organizational management. These early experiences sparked her passion for creating meaningful value and set the tone for the innovative work she does today.
Tina Powell is a visionary marketing executive, fintech strategist, TEDx speaker, and community builder who has spent her career helping financial services firms stay ahead of the curve. As Partner and Chief of Community at Intention.ly, she leads strategic growth initiatives for fintechs, asset managers, and RIAs—amplifying brand stories and creating measurable impact through intentional, data-informed marketing.
Prior to founding C-Suite Social Media, a digital agency acquired in 2021, Tina was a Partner at Beacon Wealth Management for nine years, where she helped guide the firm through its acquisition by Mercer Advisors. She has also taught digital marketing and strategy as an Adjunct Instructor at NYU and regularly speaks at major industry events including WealthManagement.com EDGE, MarketCounsel Summit, and others. She served as a WealthManagement.com Industry Awards judge for five consecutive years.
Tina is the creator and host of In The Suite, a popular podcast celebrating the leadership journeys of women in wealth management. Her thought leadership has been featured in InvestmentNews, FA Magazine, and WealthManagement.com. A passionate advocate and Stage 4 lung cancer thriver, Tina brings authenticity, courage, and resilience to every stage and conversation.
She holds a Master’s degree from NYU in Graphic Communications Management and Technology—where she was honored with the prestigious NYU Prism Alumni Achievement Award—and a BS in Business Management, magna cum laude, from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She recently earned the Google AI Essentials Certification, reinforcing her leadership at the intersection of marketing, technology, and financial services innovation.
Jason Pereira MBA CFA CFP (Can & US) RFP TEP FP Canada Fellow is a well-known and accomplished financial planner and industry advocate. He is also recognized as one of the leading financial advisor industry thought leaders and speakers on various financial advisor technology-related topics, including digital transformation and practice management, digital engagement, and artificial intelligence. He serves as an advisor to several Advisor Technology startups, consults on issues surrounding digital transformation, and is the host of the Fintech Impact Podcast, where he has interviewed over 400 fintech founders, executives, and thought leaders in the space.
John O’Connell has more than 30 years of leadership experience in both emerging businesses and mature, established organizations. He started his career designing and developing financial applications at Merrill Lynch and KPMG Peat Marwick. He was a member of the team for an IPO, sale of a firm, and packaging 2 other firms for sale. He held North American leadership positions at Oracle for over 8 years. He was the president of a FinTech firm and held C-level customer facing roles at two global, publicly traded companies.
John is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer for The Oasis Group. A firm specializing in helping wealth management and technology firms to solve their most complex challenges. The Oasis Group helps firms with technology selection and implementation, sales processes and strategy, and processes to attract, sell, propose, onboard, and service new clients.
John is the author of Rise of The Activist Investor, a handbook for investors who would like their money to reflect their values by exercising their rights as owners of publicly traded firms. He invented the Activist Investor Arc to describe how retail investors progress through different phases of activist investing.
John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science & Mathematics from the College of Staten Island and an MBA in Finance from Rider University.
Erica Molina joined Cambridge in 2024 and has more than 20 years of experience in financial services. In her role, she leads the Product Management Team and oversees all aspects of the firm’s product lifecycle, ensuring solutions align with the continuously evolving needs of advisors and associates. Prior to joining Cambridge, she worked in advisory and leadership roles at USAA, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard. Molina graduated from Arizona State University with an MBA and Bachelor of Arts in Communication. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP), Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC), Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU), Registered Corporate Coach™ (RCC™), and holds the Series 7, 9, 10, 24, and 66 licenses.