C12 Annual Chair Summit 2026

Michael Thompson is the co-founder & CEO of TruRecruiting, a faith-driven, global recruiting firm with 20+ years of experience sourcing talent for domestic and global markets. His vision for TruRecruiting grew out of a desire to redeem the recruiting business and train the next generation of redemptive recruiters. TruRecruiting’s collective of impact-driven brands includes Turas Recruiting (faith/mission-aligned talent), Amplio Recruiting (refugees), and Rahmah Recruiting (survivors/those at risk of trafficking). In 2025, TruRecruiting plans to launch a new brand focused on placing orphans and widows. The business has grown from one employee to 100+ employees across five cities, three continents, and $10M in revenue. Michael and his wife, Sarah, live with their four boys in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Brandon Christensen is the president of Adilstone Group, a global talent acquisition and service provider who is reimagining recruitment to create ideal employment matches. Bringing his 25 years of expertise in leadership, recruiting, and international business, Brandon leads Adilstone in partnering with businesses to help them scale and place employees in the Middle East and around the world. Under Brandon’s leadership, Adilstone celebrated its best year yet in 2021, amid the pandemic, and is poised for even more growth. Brandon lives in Newnan, Georgia, and loves spending time with his wife and two daughters, watching and playing sports, and traveling the world.

Kris DenBesten currently serves as CEO of Vermeer Southeast, a construction equipment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Under his leadership the company has experienced growth in annual sales from $6 million to over $150 million. Kris has authored three books on leadership, facing crisis, and living by faith. He is a down-to-earth, from-the-heart communicator who effectively connects with all audiences. Kris shares his message of hope and Christ’s empowerment as he encourages others to join in the marketplace ministry movement.

Erin Hunt Ferguson serves as the CEO & president of Pizza Wholesale of Lexington and the Hunt Advantage Group, overseeing the Hunt Brothers Pizza brand in half the brand territory. With an MBA from the Jack C. Massey School of Business and degrees from the University of Kentucky, Erin has held various leadership positions within the multi-generational family business, serving over 4,000 customer partners and employing over 250 team members across 21 states. Her transformational leadership style and faith-driven approach to business emphasize humble excellence and servant leadership. Outside work, Erin enjoys family life with her husband, Tom, and actively supports causes such as orphan care, medical research, and educational advancement.

Dean Harrington is the founder and “chief repenting officer” of Shamrock Home Loans, a regional residential mortgage lending company located in Providence, Rhode Island. As the former president of Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association, The Banker & Tradesman recognized Dean as one of New England’s most influential mortgage executives. With his emphasis on culture, vision, and strategic alignment, Shamrock consistently ranks as a top mortgage employer. They ranked second as “Best Mortgage Company to Work For” by the National Mortgage News and as one of “The Best & Brightest Companies” for eight consecutive years by Mortgage Professionals Magazine.

Matt Cuff is the founder and owner of Just Q’in BBQ, a restaurant and catering company located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Launched as a food truck in 2009, Just Q’in moved to a permanent location in 2011. A recent feature on The Cooking Channel show Food Paradise described Matt’s barbeque as one of the country’s “tastiest, most mouth-watering, and decadent meals.” Just Q’in was founded with the motto “Faith, Love, and BBQ” and is known for hiring, developing, and training individuals with barriers to employment. Matt also serves as chairman of the board for the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation.

James Kwon is the founder & CEO of Figmints Digital Creative Marketing, an award-winning holding agency with several brands to address specific market needs for starting, scaling, and thriving in business. Committed to community outreach, the company’s Hack4Love Initiative revamps marketing for nonprofits in just 48 hours. James received the “40 Under 40 Award” from the Providence Business News, serves on the Fostering Hope New England board, and speaks at venues like The Hubspot INBOUND Conference, MassChallenge, Vanture Cafe, and MIT. Offstage, James relishes family time with his wife and three kids, church community, and golf buddies.

Ally Davidson, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Camp Gladiator, has a passion for fitness and creating a one-of-a-kind, life-changing product and experience for both CG Campers and Trainers. Ally is a lifelong athlete with an honors degree in Exercise Physiology and Sports Science from Texas State University. After becoming Grand Champion on the American Gladiators TV show in 2008, she used the unique opportunity as a platform to launch Camp Gladiator. Ally has since grown the CG Trainer team from one Trainer to over 850 certified partner Trainers and impacted more than 300,000 lives to date. In 2016, she was awarded EY Entrepreneur of the Year and has won fittest CEO in 2017 and 2018 by Austin Fit Magazine.

In 2017, with a $1,000 investment earned from a yard sale, Brittany Zeller launched Tiny Feet Early Intervention to provide in-home educational therapy for children with disabilities in Greenville, South Carolina. Trained as a special education teacher and with a limited background in business, Brittany quickly scaled the business at a rate of 150% year-over-year to $1.9M in revenue for 2021, 35 employees, and plans for a 2023 expansion into two new markets. Her passions include organizational health, a flourishing workplace culture, and serving her clients with Christ-like care.

Martin Myers serves as CEO and Co-founder of Trelus (trelus.io). Martin’s path to founding Trelus was shaped by his experience at a FinTech startup backed by KKR, successfully sold in 2005, and his role as an executive advisor to leading private equity firms, including the Blackstone Group. This background gave him insight and deep understanding of the unique challenges and pain points owners face on the journey to their exit.

Chris has a diverse background of ministry and corporate experience, including senior executive roles at Arthur Andersen & Co., Contel Corporation, GTE, and Southern Electric International. Most recently, he served as senior pastor at the 1,500-member Oak Hill Baptist Church in Griffin, Georgia, and prior to that as executive pastor at First Redeemer Church in Cumming, Georgia, where he was instrumental in leading the church’s growth from 90 people at its inception in 1996 to over 4,200 members. Chris holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Masters of Accountancy from the University of Georgia, a Masters of Arts in Theology from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Emmanuel Theological Seminary in Kota, India. He is also pursuing a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University.

Stephen Phelan is a beloved son of God, husband to Bradford, dad of 4, crazy about his family in Alabama and former church family in San Diego, pastor of a mortgage company, and joyfully astonished by the grace of God and power of the Spirit.

Chris Patton is an Executive Board Member and the Director of Stewardship at His Way At Work (HWAW), a nonprofit committed to transforming workplaces with God’s love. Chris previously served as HWAW’s Global CEO, and during his tenure, the organization has grown to more than 300 companies on three continents, impacting close to 500,000 employees and family members. Chris has 30 years of experience equipping businesses with eternal impact principles. He is passionate about sharing his expertise around healthy, God-centered cultures. Chris and his wife, Kim, have three grown children and live in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Alongside her husband Joe, Leslie Ryan is the 23-year co-owner of Reliable Electric, a large electrical contracting company and third-generation family-owned business in Centerville, Ohio. After retiring from a two-decade career at the Fortune 50 firm Procter & Gamble, most recently as Vice President of Human Resources, she stepped into a more active role at Reliable. Her efforts to cultivate organizational culture, advance ministry, and develop employees resulted in Reliable being named “Family Owned Business of the Year,” “Fastest 50,” and one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Dayton Business Journal. Leslie was also named one of Dayton’s Most Powerful Women in Business in 2022.

As Co-founder and CEO at SailPoint, Mark brings to bear over 30 years of experience in the enterprise technology market. Under Mark’s direction for the last 12 years, SailPoint has grown from a venture-backed startup into a publicly traded leader (NYSE:SAIL) in the identity management software market. Mark directs and drives the overall vision and strategy for SailPoint, which is underpinned by his commitment and passion for building top-performing teams, creating a collaborative and innovative work environment, and focusing continuously on the needs of customers. Collaboration is a concept that Mark promotes through the company: SailPoint teams with forward-thinking customers to understand their needs, with partners to ensure customer success, and ultimately within SailPoint to develop innovative, market-leading solutions. Mark is passionate about maintaining the spirit of teamwork even as SailPoint has grown into a global firm with hundreds of employees serving enterprises all over the world.

Dr. Peter Camiolo, DC, is founder and CEO of ChiroCEO, a company established to help physicians become the CEO of their business, transforming the traditional practice into a business that is scalable, sustainable, and flourishing. Prior to ChiroCEO, Dr. Pete founded and worked for more than a decade as a chiropractor in private practice. In his practice and through his journey he developed the systems and procedures needed for his business to scale and flourish which, in turn, allowed him the personal freedom and time to invest in himself, his family, and his personal goals. Dr. Pete is passionate about helping doctors elevate and soar to new levels of freedom and fulfillment in business and life through the application of the methods and tools he teaches. His goal is to help doctors to live in alignment as they work from rest, prosper in business, and enjoy their lives.