2025 Executive Leadership Conference

Meet our Speakers

Alain Harfouche, Senior Managing Director, Guggenheim Securities
Alain is a Senior Managing Director in the Industrial Investment Banking Group of Guggenheim Securities. He has over a decade of experience advising Chemicals and Materials companies on growth and value creation strategies. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Alain served as Managing Director and Head of Chemicals at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Throughout his tenure at Guggenheim and KeyBanc, Alain was involved in over 50 M&A assignments and 60 DCM and ECM transactions for companies in the Chemicals and Materials sector. He has strong domain expertise spanning commodities, intermediates, and specialties, with notable experience in engineered materials, additives, fine chemicals (Electronics, Personal Care, Lifesciences). Prior to his investment banking career, Alain worked in transaction advisory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte. Alain graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Finance and Accounting from CSU and holds several designations including a CPA license (inactive).

Megan Gluth, Leadership & Motivational Speaker
Meg Gluth is the owner and CEO of Catalynt Solutions, Inc., one of the largest certified women-owned chemical distributors in North America. She is the First Female Chair of the Board of the Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD), driving industry innovation and leadership. Under her guidance, Catalynt was named to the 2023 Middle Market Fast 50 list by Puget Sound Business Journal, where she was also honored as a Fast 50 Leader. Meg is a winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023, recognizing her impact on business growth and innovation.

Jayshree Seth, Corporate Scientist and Chief Science Advocate, 3M
Jayshree Seth is a Corporate Scientist at 3M and currently holds 80 patents for a variety of innovations. She joined 3M in 1993 after an MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University, New York. Jayshree was appointed 3M’s first ever Chief Science Advocate in 2018 and is using her scientific knowledge, technical expertise and professional experience to advance science and the importance of STEM-based innovation and a robust talent pipeline to drive it. Jayshree is also a member of Carlton Society, the 3M science and innovation “Hall of Fame.” In 2020, she was awarded Society of Women Engineers (SWE) highest Achievement Award and in 2025, she was named to the prestigious Thinkers50 Radar spotlighting thinkers whose ideas are most likely to shape the future. Jayshree is a TEDx speaker and was also featured in a docuseries titled Not the Science Type. She is the author of The Heart of Science trilogy published by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and all sales proceeds go to a scholarship for women in STEM. She is a sought-after speaker on a multitude of topics such as innovation, leadership, careers and STEM advocacy and has featured in local, national and international media.  

Lisa Yu, Founder & President, American Gold Standard
Lisa Yu is the founder and president of American Gold Standard, an AI-forward next generation business growth consulting firm. She also serves as Managing Partner and Practice Lead for Growth Acceleration and M&A at Pepper Foster Consulting. With over 20 years of experience as a C-suite advisor, Lisa has collaborated with numerous clients to tackle critical growth challenges. Previously, Lisa held leadership roles at TCS’ Manufacturing M&A Practice and Accenture Strategy Practice. She is renowned for championing next-generation technologies to propel business growth and developing innovative strategic approaches to amplify business growth. Her expertise is showcased in various publications, including "AI for M&A - Hype or Substance?" Lisa holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and is a graduate of Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management's "Leading with Analytics Powered Strategy" executive program.

Kevin Swift, Managing Director, Swift Economic LLC
Dr. Swift is managing director of Swift Economics, a consultancy specializing in the interaction of the economy and specialty & fine chemical markets. He also is an economic advisor at ICIS where he is responsible for quarterly thought pieces addressing key market dynamics and is demand advisor for long-term supply demand balances. He joined ICIS after retiring as chief economist at the American Chemistry Council. Prior to joining ACC, Dr. Swift headed market research and forecasting at two consultancies.. He started his career at Dow Chemical. Dr. Swift is a Fellow and former president of the National Association for Business Economics and a member of the Harvard Discussion Group of Industrial Economists and National Business Economics Issues Council. He is a member of The Wall Street Journal Forecasters’ Survey panel and other forecast survey panels. Author of A History of American Business Cycles.

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