2024 Conference St. Louis Bios (2024)

It’s time! Time to leave the house, leave the office, rejoin your peers, and take advantage of relevant and timely information at this year’s NACM Connect Credit Conference ReConnect Liveat theSheraton Westport Plaza Tower Hotel, 910Westport Plaza Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146.The NACM/Chicago Midwest Board of Directors, NACM Great Lakes Education and Scholarship Committees along with Association staff look forward to seeing you there on September 11 and 12.

For more information please contact Lillian Novak at lillian.novak@nacmconnect.org.

Sheraton Westport Plaza Tower Hotel |910 Westport Plaza Drive

St. Louis, MO63146

Charlie Ruiz is a former professional baseball player whose promising careerwith the Colorado Rockies was unexpectedly cut short by a devastating injury. He

discovered that true success and fulfillment come not just from achievements on thefield, but from choosing Presence Over Preference in every aspect of life.

Playing your own game in both the short and long term while staying connected towhat matters most. Now, as a performance coach, relationship expert and speaker,Charlie brings practical insights through an approachable. engaging and authenticstyle of storytelling.Charlie’s coaching and speaking journey starts and continues in the spirit of high-performance. As a former professional athlete, now mental performance coach and communication consultant he’s been integrated in all facets of leadership development and mental performance.

He’s facilitated upwards of 600 + management training for companies across the start-up and fortune 100 (MLB, Google, Coinbase, SAP, Apple, and Starbucks). Working in professional sports, high- tech and non-profit, he’s coached founders, professional coaches, and C-suite executives in both group and 1:1 settings.

Join us for an insightful session designed to empower you with the knowledge and tools to secure your financial future. Whether you’re just starting out in your career or planning for retirement, this session will cover essential strategies and practical steps to help you achieve your financial goals.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to invest in yourself and pave the way for a more secure and prosperous tomorrow. Join us and start shaping your financial future today!Greg has been in the investment industry for more than 25 years. Greg initially worked as a consultant to financial advisors all over the country, helping them with portfolio management, client acquisition, seminars, and growing their businesses.

In April 2015, Greg became a partner at Cadagin-Prosser Financial Group, Inc. After consulting for more than 15 years, Greg wanted to take a more direct role in managing the financial affairs for family, friends, and new clients.

Greg is constantly looking out for his clients’ best interests. He works to build open and honest relationships with clients and then develop financial strategies that meet their current needs and have the flexibility to change with their lives.

A native of Belleville and a graduate of SIU-E, Greg resides in Edwardsville with his wife, Jennifer, and their two daughters, Lainey and Charlotte. He enjoys being active and spending time with his family.

Andrew leverages his background in corporate finance and management to approach restructuring problems, both in and out of court, from a practical, results-oriented perspective. With a focus on building consensus among multiple parties that have competing priorities, Andrew is equally at home both in and out of the courtroom and has a track record of turning financial distress into positive business outcomes. Clients value his counsel in complex Chapter 11 cases, where he represents debtors, creditors’ committees, purchasers, and investors.

Andrew writes and speaks frequently about bankruptcy matters and financial issues. Before becoming a lawyer, he worked in senior financial management at a midsized, privately held company.

Brewer has held various roles in A/R, Credit, Cash Applications, and A/P for over 25 years across multiple industries including agriculture, industrial lubrications, pharmaceutical, performance films, automotive fasteners, crop and environmental sciences. She holds a Bachelors degree in Organizational Development and Leadership from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and a Masters in Leadership and Human Resource Development from Louisiana State University in addition to her CCRA designation from NACM. Her current position is the NA Regional Credit and A/R Manager and the Global Process Owner of our Cash Applications and Policies and Procedures.

For more than forty years, Ms. Borges has concentrated her practice on commercial litigation and creditors’ rights in bankruptcy matters, representing corporate clients and creditors’ committees throughout the United States in Chapter 11 proceedings, out-of-court settlements, commercial transactions and preference litigation. She is a member and Past President of the Commercial Law League of America and has been an Attorney Member of its National Board of Governors, a Chair of the Bankruptcy Section and Creditors’ Rights Section. She is the President of the Commercial Law League Fund for Public Education. She is a member of several bar associations, including the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. Ms. Borges serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Commercial Collectors, of which her firm is an associate member. She is an internationally recognized lecturer and author on various legal topics including Bankruptcy Issues such as 503(b)(9) claims and preferences, the Uniform Commercial Code, ECOA, FCRA, antitrust law, and current legal issues such as Credit Card Surcharge issues, social media, Cybersecurity and Ethics for the Trade Credit Grantor and current proposed legislation that may impact trade credit grantors. Ms. Borges has authored, edited and continues to contribute to numerous publications including Thomson West’s Enforcing Judgments and Collecting Debts in New York (as its Editor-in-Chief and Lead Author), NAB’s book Out of the Red and into the Black, the BCCA’s Credit & Collection Handbook, The Financial Manager, the CLLA’s Commercial Law World Magazine. She is listed in Who’s Who in America.

JJ Clark is a 20+ year veteran of the agricultural industry. Over the years she worked her way through various positions to gain an overall knowledge of the industry where she was promoted to Credit Manager. In the fall of 2020, she made a career change and is now the Loan Portfolio Manager at The Equity where she oversees 600 plus loans.

Barbara Droney has been in credit for a number of years, having earned her CCE in 2008. Her credit experience spans several industries including communications equipment, professional food equipment manufacturing, remote control devices, corrosion control, and fire protection products.

Thomas Fawkes is with the law firm of Tucker Ellis LLP in its Chicago office. Tom focuses his practice on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and financial restructuring matters, representing official committees, unsecured and secured creditors, debtors, financial institutions, post-confirmation trustees and asset purchasers in Chapter 11 and 7 bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings, and liquidation proceedings throughout the United States. Tom also assists his clients in structuring commercial transactions with a view towards mitigating risk of future bankruptcy and insolvency losses. Among other honors, Tom has been recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial, and by Chambers and Partners as one of the leading bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys in Illinois.

In her current role as Senior Manager, Credit and Financial Analysis with Olin Corporation, Flaugher is responsible for managing credit, collections, cash application and accounts receivable along with pricing, financial analysis and reporting.

She has been an active member of NACM since 2004 and has served on the board of several NACM National Credit Groups including: Home Centers Group, Consumer Products and Arms/Ammunition. In addition, she has served on NACM’s Gateway Board of Directors and Education Committee. In these roles, she worked with fellow board members to maximize the value of group membership and meetings for members.

Ms. Flaugher holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and an MBA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is also a graduate of NACM’s Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management and received her CCE designation in 2006.

Aaron is an outside sales representative for Frost Supply with 20+ years in the electrical distribution market. Aaron has worked with electrical contractors on large jobs in St. Louis, including Ball Park Village and the St. Louis SC City Park soccer stadium. Aaron has a passion for working closely with project managers to be a solution provider for their daily needs.

Mike is the Director of Credit for MiTek (a Berkshire Hathaway company). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He earned his CCE after attending the NACM-Graduate School of Credit & Financial Management at Dartmouth College.

Mike served on the NACM-St. Louis Advisory Board for several years, including as Chairperson in 2014. He served on the NACM-Connect Board of Directors since 2016, as Chairperson in 2021-22, and on the NACM National Board of Directors since 2022. He has also served on the NACM-National Home Centers & Building Materials Credit Group Board of Directors from 2015 – 2019, including as Chairperson in 2018, and various NACM-St. Louis and NACM-Connect committees over the years as well. Mike was awarded the NACM-St. Louis Member of the Year in 2014, the NACM-Connect Robert M. Healy Credit Executive of the Year in 2021, and the NACM-National CCE Designation of Excellence Award in 2023.

Brian Jackiw is a partner with the law firm of Tucker Ellis LLP. Brian is experienced in bankruptcy and commercial litigation, practicing in courts throughout the country. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in avoidance actions, complex bankruptcy claim disputes, breach of fiduciary duty actions and bankruptcy fraud litigation. Beyond litigation in the bankruptcy courts, Brian has experience in general collection and commercial law litigation. Brian has also spent significant time advocating on behalf of general unsecured creditors through his representation of official committees of unsecured creditors. Before becoming an attorney, Brian served as an Officer in the U.S. Army.

Dallas Kleiboeker grew up on a small farm in Southwest Missouri before heading to the University of Missouri. While on campus, he studied Agribusiness Management, and worked as a Defensive Student Assistant for the football team as well as a Covid Screener at the VA hospital. After graduating, he started his career with MFA Incorporated as an Input Finance Loan Specialist. This position introduced him to the credit world. In 2023 he accepted the position of Retail Credit and Membership Manager, and it was this position that allowed him to get involved in NACM. Dallas obtained his CBA certification at Credit Congress in June 2024. He also serves as an NACM Connect Emerging Leader, and he is a member of the NACM National Emerging Leaders Thought Discussion Group.

For the majority of my 30 year career with Purina Mills and Land O’Lakes, I have held various roles in Customer Financial Services. Within Customer Financial Services, my roles have involved managing a centralized and decentralized credit department where my team handles all functions of the credit department from approving new customers, collecting past due balances and working closely with our business partners, sales and marketing. In addition to managing credit, I also manage our cash application team and our invoicing and document delivery process. Prior to joining Customer Financial Services, I sent 10 years of my career in sales and business development where I prepared and presented financial and business analyses and assisted customers in developing business strategies. I attended the NACM Graduate School of Credit and Financial management where I obtained my CCE designation. For the last 8 years, I have been an instructor for NACM Connect in St. Louis. Received the Credit Excellence Award in 2017.

Zeb Miller has been a member of NACM Connect since 2016 and served on various boards and committees with NACM Connect Gateway Region. A recent graduate of the NACM Connect Emerging Leaders program, Miller was elected to the Board of Directors of NACM/Chicago-Midwest for a three-year term beginning in April, 2024. He also serves on the Gateway Education Committee as well as the Scholarship Committee.

Miller is currently the Credit Manager at Tricor Braun Inc. and has over 17 years’ experience in the commercial collections and credit industry.

Jason Mott lives near Clark, Missouri where he and his wife Becky, along with their grown sons and their families, own and operate a small Polled Hereford and Waygu cattle operation. After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1996 with a degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition, he worked for the Farm Credit System in West Central Missouri for over nine years before moving to Central Missouri in 2007. Mott worked in commercial banking in the Columbia, Missouri area until 2014 when he joined MFA Incorporated as Retail Credit Manager. Mott earned his CCE Professional Designation through NACM in 2016 and has been in the role of Corporate Credit Manager for MFA since 2017. He serves on the NACM National Board and has been selected to be National Chair-Elect for 2025. Additionally, he serves on the NACM Heartland Affiliate Board, the Missouri Agricultural Leadership of Tomorrow (ALOT) Board and the Finance Committee for the Mizzou Alumni Association. Mott’s hobbies include spending time with his granddaughters on the farm, watching Mizzou football & basketball, the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs. He also enjoys hunting and fishing with his family and friends.

Michael Papandrea provides counsel to debtors, creditors’ committees, individual creditors, liquidating trustees, and other interested parties with respect to corporate bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters, including bankruptcy-related litigation. Mike enjoys keeping clients and relevant industry professionals in the loop regarding bankruptcy, insolvency, and creditors’ rights issues, regularly writing articles for and speaking to professionals in the credit and risk management space. Mike also takes pride in his commitment to the community and provides pro bono representation to individuals and nonprofit organizations regarding bankruptcy and foreclosure-related matters. Prior to joining the firm, Mike held multiple clerkships in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court; he clerked for the Hon. Jerrold N. Poslusny, Jr. (District of New Jersey), the Hon. Ashely M. Chan (Eastern District of Pennsylvania), and the Hon. Gloria M. Burns (Chief Judge, District of New Jersey). Mike applies the valuable insights learned from working closely and directly with these members of the judiciary to his everyday practice.

Mr. Peavy is a senior level manager with over 25 years of global business and consulting experience focused on improving cash flow through the implementation of technology and process improvements across the finance organization. His proven expertise extends across multiple industries in re-engineering the finance organization by outsourcing non-value added activities, reducing re-work, and improving the timing and quality of information senior management uses in their decision-making process. His success in achieving tangible benefits is the result of partnering the finance organization with upstream departments.

Prior to his time at Emagia, Peavy has worked at companies including Capgemi, Ernst & Young, Hitachi Consulting, and DXC Technology.

Semple is the Director of Credit at The Equity, an agricultural cooperative, where he began in 1990. Prior to his current position he served as a loan officer at the Farm Credit Services of Mid America and Farmer’s State Bank. Dale is also active in several agricultural industry credit group including the National Agricultural Chemical Group. He received a BS in Agriculture Economics from the University of Illinois in 1981.

Semple served as a Director on the NACM/Chicago-Midwest Board of Directors from 2021 – 2024 as well as several NACM Connect committees.

Sudduth began working at American Metals Supply in March of 2008 as an inside sales representative. Four years later, she started helping the credit department process new credit applications. From there her responsibilities within the credit department grew, and she knew credit is where she wanted to have her career. Sudduth is now the Midwest Credit Manager overseeing seven of ten branches in the Midwest. She has been an active member of NACM Connect Gateway serving on the Board of Directors and Education Committee for the region.

Erica is a graduate of University of Missouri, Columbia with a BS/BA in Finance. She started with Ferguson in 2005 as a trainee in Ashville, North Carolina and over the course of 17 years held positions of Controller, Credit Manager, District Credit Manager, and currently is a Regional Credit Manager-Analytics & Insights. Erica also is heavily involved in NACM by previously serving as Chair of NACM Connect and is on the NACM National Board. She also has completed her CBA, CBF, CCE and is a graduate of NACM’s Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management. In 2019, Erica was bestowed with the NACM CCE Designation of Excellence Award for her contribution to the credit industry. In 2020, Erica was bestowed with NACM Connect Credit Executive of the year award. Erica is known for her ability to develop her team and her competitive spirit. She has recently enjoyed getting more involved in the data and automation side of the Credit Department, using her skills to build new tools that use data to drive automation in the Credit Department. In her spare time, Erica enjoys long walks with her Dog, sushi, and watching her favorite sports teams play.

Marla Zurlo, CBF, is a Senior Account Representative with NCS Credit, the leader in providing credit professionals through the U.S. and Canada with proactive solutions to secure receivables, minimize credit risk, and improve profitability. Marla consults with credit professionals and has spoken to groups nationwide about Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), the nuances of Construction Credit, and the benefits of selling through secured transactions. With 22 years of experience, her presentations cover not only the legal protections of the mechanic’s lien and UCC filing processes, but also practical solutions of how and when to use these tools.