Jennifer Barnes
CEO/Founder
OPTIMA OFFICE
Jennifer Barnes is the CEO of Optima Office, an outsourced accounting and human resources firm with over 70 employees. Optima also provides fractional CFOs and COOs to companies in every single industry. Since the firm’s inception in 2018, Optima has received numerous awards, including “Best Place to Work,” and had revenues of $4.7 million in their second full year in business. The company now offers strategic advisory services, helping clients identify revenue potential, increase cash flow and profitability, prioritize cost-effective improvements, and operational efficiency.
Julia Lynn Birkel
Partner
HILL FARRER
Julie Lynn Birkel focuses on trust and estate litigation and trials. She has served and continues to serve on several committees for the L.A. County Bar, LACBA Homeless Service Initiative, Advisory Committee to Public Guardian and LPS Conservatorships. Birkel is serving on the Membership Development and Diversity and Inclusion Committees of the LACBA Trusts & Estates section. She has also served as a volunteer settlement officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court, Probate Department: of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Jean Freeman
Principal/CEO
ZAMBEZI
As principal and CEO of LA-based Zambezi, Jean Freeman leads the largest woman-owned full-service advertising agency in the U.S. While this has been an extremely challenging time for the advertising industry, it has been one of significant growth and evolution for Zambezi. Billings increased by 40%, including huge growth in the media department, with billings expected to exceed $75 million in 2021. The agency also brought on six new clients, including Google Fiber, Traeger Grills and AT&T, and had no client losses.
Nicole McMackin
Chief Executive Officer
IRVINE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Nicole McMackin is the CEO of Irvine Technology Corporation, a national technology solutions and staffing firm based in Orange County. She is a partner in ITC, leading the company for the past 15 years. She is attributed to making Irvine Technology Corporation one of the most successful firms, not only in Orange County but in the United States. When McMackin took over ITC, the company had 15 employees locally and now boasts over 200. Nicole oversees all internal operations, brand development, strategic planning and implementation.
Mardi Norman
President/CEO
DYNAMIC SYSTEMS, INC.
Under Mardi Norman’s leadership, Dynamic Systems, Inc., a technology provider and systems integrator for mission critical IT solutions to the public sector, has grown to be a stable corporation with $200 million in annual revenue and a culture based on teamwork and exceeding customer’s needs. She also founded LOFT Academy,a non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing customization not standardization, as the path to learning success. In addition, Norman has served on two partner advisory boards of Fortune 500 companies.
Ingrid Otero-Smart
President/CEO
CASANOVA/MCCANN
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Ingrid Otero-Smart has over 30 years of advertising experience in the U.S. Hispanic market and Puerto Rico. She joined Casanova Pendrill in August of 2008 as president/CEO. The agency re-branded as Casanova/McCann in 2016 and she acquired the majority stake from Interpublic Group in 2020, making Casanova a minorityowned agency once again. At Casanova, Otero-Smart leads the agency operations, managing offices in Costa Mesa, New York, Detroit, and field teams in Dallas and Chicago.
Courtney Poulos
Broker/Owner/CEO
ACME REAL ESTATE
Courtney Poulos is the visionary behind ACME Real Estate. She is a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council and a panelist at Inman Connect, Awesome Females in Real Estate, and the California Association of Realtors WomanUP! Initiative. She has appeared on television — both as the host of FYI’s “My City’s Just Not That Into Me” and in season 12 of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.” She also wrote “Break Up! With Your Rental: The Professional Woman’s Guide to Building Wealth Through Real Estate.”
Ryan Stern
Co-Founder/CEO
COLLECTIVELY
Ryan Stern is the CEO and head of brand partnerships at Collectively, a leading global influencer marketing agency that was Influencer Marketing Awards’ Best Large Agency for 2020. Under Stern’s leadership as CEO, Collectively has experienced significant growth and earned the position of “agency of record for influencer marketing” among multi-billion dollar brands. In July 2020, Collectively joined You & Mr. Jones, the world’s leading Brandtech group, to grow its global footprint and expand its tech-enabled innovation.
