Dr. James Crowell is the Founder and CEO of Crow Industries, leading the company in producing intelligent robotic systems for enhanced military and industrial operations, on Earth and beyond. Globally focused, CI works closely with U.S. and Allied forces and commercial customers, across Europe, the Indo-Pacific, and the Middle East. Previously, Dr. Crowell spent over a decade at NASA and in academia developing and deploying robotic systems for scientific exploration in extreme environments on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. He is an expert in extreme environment robotics, natural resources, and space settlement.

Born and raised in Mexico City, David Farca started his first business in the retail industry, selling accessories and gifts during his high school years. He later sold the business as a three store chain while still in college. David graduated from UI (Universidad Iberoamericana) with a degree in Biomedical Engineering, which created the opportunity for his second venture in the medical field, manufacturing antiseptics, plaster of paris and distributing surgical lasers. David’s real interest remained in medical imaging and after the sale of the manufacturing side of the business, he restructured the distribution side to accommodate medical imaging equipment.

With his experience in the field and a degree in Medical Imaging Infrastructure from MIT, David’s opinion in designing and specifying digital imaging departments became very well respected throughout Mexico becoming a business column writer for “Diagnostic Imaging America Latina” a Miller Freeman Publication and a Board Member of the Mexican Society and the Mexican Federation of Radiology (SMRI and FMRI). Trying to balance his college technical background with his self-taught business experience, David pursued an MBA degree from ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México).

His medical imaging venture added manufacturing facilities for x-ray film while transitioning hospitals from analogical to digital imaging equipment. After the sale of the business, David and his wife Mavi, moved to Scottsdale with the purpose of turning their passion for cross border business, into their third business endeavor. Their efforts created a holding group of international companies in several industries including defense, manufacturing, real estate and healthcare. David now heads International Business Group, which assists companies expand internationally.

Not all of David’s achievements have been in the business world. In the sports world, he attained a third degree black belt in Karate and the highest degree in oriental weapons. David also is a former member of the Mexican Alpine Olympic Ski Team and a former Member of the Mexican Olympic Committee and the International Federation of Ski (FIS). David is also a firm believer in giving back to the communities where he has lived and done business in. Some of his accomplishments are:

• Served as president of the YEO (Young Entrepreneur’s Organization) Arizona Chapter
• Past Member of the Phoenix Thunderbirds serving as Cabinet member for the 2009, 2011 and 2016 Phoenix Open Tournaments and as Council member for the organization in 2009 and 2011
• Founding Member and past Chapter Chair of YPO (Young Presidents Organization) Scottsdale Chapter
• Past Board Member of the Latin American Art Alliance a support organization to the Phoenix Art Museum
• Past Board Member of the Real Estate Committee of the Arizona Mexico Commission
• Past Board Member of the Arizona Super Bowl XLIX Host Committee
• Past Board Member of the Barrow Neurological Foundation
• Advisor to The Global Chamber
• Trustee of The Nature Conservancy, AZ and Mexico Chapters
• Member of Governor Doug Ducey’s Financial and Transition Committees
• Past Board Member of Arizona 2016 College Championship Organizing Committee
• Past President of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, appointed by Governor Doug Ducey
• Advisor to the United States Global Leadership Coalition
• Member of the Advisory Board of The Consular Corps of Arizona
• Founding Member of the Arizona Zanjeros, a business advisory board to the Governor of Arizona
• Advisor for Job Aire Group, an Aerospace Industry Company
• Board Member for The Gold Standard Foundation.

David enjoys life in the Arizona desert, while maintaining close personal relationships in Latin America, SE Asia and Europe. He enjoys traveling, cycling, golfing, and fine arts.

Austin Kennedy is Executive Director of Arizona Business Roundtable.

James McCain is the director of government affairs at Hensley Beverage Company in Phoenix, Ariz. After 18 years in the U.S. military (USMC and US Army) and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, he also serves in the Arizona National Guard as an intelligence officer, and is involved with the Business RoundTable, AZ Chamber, AFMA, and BACIC. He is on the board of Arizona Tourism and Lodging and works heavily with multiple veteran charities across the U.S. McCain received his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a master’s degree from Trinity College Dublin and from Arizona State University.

David A. Merkel is the managing director of Summit International Advisors, LLC. His expertise includes United States foreign policy, the geopolitics of energy, the Belt and Road Initiative, Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

David A. Merkel has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Director for South and Central Asian Affairs at the National Security Council in the White House, Director for European and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council and Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department. He also served as international counsellor to the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), senior professional staff on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and senior foreign and defense policy adviser to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations.

Ben Stewart is Senior Advisor, Strategic Engagement at Arizona Public Service (APS). In his role, Ben focuses on government and community relations for APS’s long-term strategic infrastructure projects.

Prior to APS, Ben served as State Director for the Office of U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Ben engaged with elected officials, community leaders, and various stakeholders throughout Arizona.

Before working for the Senator, Ben held other state and federal positions including serving as Director of Government and Community Affairs for the Arizona Office of Tourism.

Ben is personally involved in local government, serving on his neighborhood’s planning commission and was appointed by the governor in 2019 to serve on the state’s Tourism Advisory Council. Ben is a 5th generation Arizonan and lives in Phoenix with his wife Anna, son Asher, and two dogs Jagger and Pepper.

Carlos Velasco’s passion is to help organizations succeed by providing business owners, corporate executives, and nonprofit organizations with the necessary tools to develop long-lasting relationships within multicultural communities. With over 17 years of experience, Carlos has worked with major brands to create multi- faceted strategies that provide growth, sustainability, and return on investment.

From his early professional beginnings in working with organizations such as the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Local First Arizona, Carlos played an instrumental role in the development of small business and workforce capacity-building programs that led to over 50 million dollars of economic impact in the State of Arizona. Through his current role as Founder/CEO of Novle, he maintains his focus on creating economic vitality by bridging gaps to execute and help communicate the cross-cultural benefit of his client’ s vision, mission, products, and services.

Through the Novle organization, Carlos has served over 100 renowned organizations such as the National Bank of Arizona, City of Phoenix, Mass Mutual, ASU Entrepreneurship & Innovation, NOVA Home Loans, Local First Arizona, the American Cancer Society, and others.

Carlos has been recognized for his extraordinary contributions to the State of Arizona by the House of Representatives and is a proud recipient of several awards, including the 40 under 40 Hispanic Leaders Award, the Chicanos Por La Causa Volunteer of the Year Award, the Business Journal Diversity Champion Award, and the Hispanic Leadership Institute Alumni Excellence Award. To reward his passion for the local economy, Carlos was a participant of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies Fellowship. He was one of 17 fellows chosen, who were each recognized as the top pioneers of the Local Economy Movement.

Carlos is above all, a dedicated family man, with a wife of fifteen years, three children and two dogs. Carlos moved to the US when he was just 12 years old from Ecuador. He is a big fan of all local sports teams and has been an Arizona local for the past 17 years.

Sandra Watson is an economic development professional with over 30 years of leadership experience in business attraction and expansion, innovation, entrepreneurship, economic policy and workforce development. She and her teams have worked with more than 1,310 companies that have committed to creating more than 298,000 quality jobs and investing more than $169 billion in new capital in the state.

Currently, Ms. Watson serves as the President & CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), a public-private partnership that leads statewide economic development. The unique structure of the ACA brings together leaders from private industry, academia and all three branches of state government. In addition to leading the ACA and serving on its Board of Directors, Ms. Watson serves on Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ leadership team as her Senior Economic Policy Advisor.