Entrepreneurs’ Organization Nashville Announces New Board of Directors

Join us in welcoming our 2013/14 board of directors. The 2013/14 board term runs May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014.

The new board of directors of the Nashville Entrepreneurs’ Organization includes:

The Nashville Entrepreneurs’ Organization is a growing, vibrant group of successful business owners who are all doing what they can to contribute to the regional economy. All of our board members work extremely hard to accommodate the growing needs of this diverse group. We want to thank the board for volunteering their time to make this chapter one of the best within EO.

Chris Kincade – EO Nashville Member Profile

Chris KincadeMy company is…

Bonus Building Care

Alma mater…

Vanderbilt University

Spouse, kids, pet…

Cat (Faulkner Sassafras Billingsworth III)

The town I was born in…

Tupelo, MS

Non-profits I support…

LIFE Program, Martha O’Bryan, Boy Scouts, YWCA, Conexion Americas, Morningstar Sanctuary

Favorite place to vacation…

London, UK

New in my playlist…

Frank Sinatra and Jay Z/Kayne West

What I’m reading…

Delivering Happiness (Zappos story), Blueprint to a Billion, Seven Days in the Art World

Favorite restaurant…

Gramercy Tavern (NYC), Amaya (London), Shalimar (Nashville)

Favorite honky-tonk…

Does Margaritaville in Key West count?

Best business advice you have ever received…

“Cash is King.” Managing cash flow will slow you the opportunity to correct other mistakes you might make along the way to building a company.

If I wasn’t an entrepreneur I’d be…

Retired or unemployed.

Wish I had more time for…

Exploring other parts of the world.

I would do just about anything for…

The opportunity for my wife to meet the artist Jasper Johns.

The best thing about EO…

Is the people you meet and the experiences it creates. EO provides access to people and events that would otherwise be nearly impossible to replicate.

EO Nashville Grows 32%

Adds 21 new members since start of 2011

Following a record-breaking fall recruitment, the Nashville EO chapter again broke recruitment molds, adding 21 members since the beginning of 2011, and securing its place as one of the fastest growing EO chapters in the world.

EO Nashville has grown 32% over the last 12 months. The growth is due to more than just adding new members—96% of existing members recently renewed their memberships as well.

The 21 new members of EO Nashville are:

Michael Berman is founder and CEO of Network Contract Solutions, a leading provider of contract management solutions. He has worked as general counsel for Goldleaf Financial Solutions, Inc., Tecniflex, Inc. and Imagic Corporation. He holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Tennessee.

Robert Collins III founded Wealth Management Group of Tennessee in 2001, after nine years in the insurance and investment industry. His practice focuses on investment strategy, wealth preservation, retirement distribution and legacy planning for the next generation. He attended the University of Mississippi and Belmont University.

Sherry Stewart Deutschmann founded LetterLogic, Inc. in 2002 from in the basement of her home. The fast-growing manufacturing and business services provider, prints and mails statements, letters and invoices for other business, primarily in the healthcare sector. Deutschmann also speaks for national women’s organizations, publicizing the benefits of employee-centric cultures.

Michael Hodges has been president and CEO of Advance Financial since 1998. He has grown the company from three locations to 26 with over 200 employees, making it the leading provider of alternative financial services in Middle Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee.

Aimee Johns is well known in the music industry, not for her music, but for her unique style and unmatched client service. Her award-winning designer boutiques, Flavour and Flavour Men, cater to the music industry as well as professional athletes and everyone in between. Johns previously worked at RCA Records and Arista.

Bill Kimberlin is a proven entrepreneur, founder and investor of numerous businesses. By the age of 27, both Forbes and US News & World Report had recognized him as a leading entrepreneur. Kimberlin currently serves as founder and CEO of Medicare.com. He was the founding president of the Nashville chapter of EO, at the time called Young Entrepreneurs Organization.

Chris Kincade is chief executive officer of The Kincade Group, Inc., a master franchisor in commercial cleaning. He’s led and company for 12 years, managing more than 300 franchises for Bonus Building Care in Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham and South Florida. He attended Vanderbilt University.

Nancy Leach founded Facility Planners, Inc. in 1995, under the concept of coordinating the fields of architecture, interior design, construction and project management with furniture specification, procurement and installation. Leach got her bachelor’s from O’More College and her master’s from Belmont University.

Alan Looney is founder and president of Castle Homes. He serves as the Custom Builders Council president for the Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee. He is also a member of Builder 20, U.S. Green Building Council, Christian Leadership Concept and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce.

Bert Lyles has spent his career in commercial and residential real estate. Currently the CEO of Showhomes Franchise Corporation, the country’s largest provider of staging services to high-end houses for sale. He has also served for more than 10 years as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University’s Graduate School of Business.

Susan Marlow is founder and CEO of Smart Data Strategies, Inc. She is familiar with all facets of the parcel conversion industry, having completed GIS and parcel conversion projects for cities and counties across the United States. She is active in multiple professional organizations, including the Institute for GIS Studies and the Transportation Research Board.

Jackson Miller is an innovative technologist turned entrepreneur. He currently owns Plato’s Closet franchises and is CEO of Bizen, a web-based dashboarding tool that provides insight into the workings of franchises. He has also made significant contributions to many of Nashville’s most noteworthy startups, including Emma, Magazines.com, centresource and BorderJump.

Taylor Milliken is president and CEO of Elite Landscape Company, Inc., a turnkey provider for residential and commercial landscape services. He previously worked for The Tess Company, and attended Volunteer State Community College for engineering.

Miranda Whitcomb Pontes owns Burger Up in the 12South neighborhood. She’s passionate about using organic, locally sourced meat and produce in her establishments. She is currently fostering plans for a second Burger Up location in Cool Springs.

Gene Robertson has owned U.S. Lawns of Nashville, a commercial landscape management franchise, for 12 years. In addition to two Nashville locations, he has locations in Clarksville and Murfreesboro. Robertson graduated from Middle Tennessee State University.

JJ Rosen is the CEO and founder of Atiba Software LLC. He founded Atiba in 1992 to provide IT, programming, Web development, database design, and project management services to clients of all types and sizes including the District Attorneys Office and the State of Tennessee Department of Human Services. He graduated from Vanderbilt University.

Kevin Ross is an entrepreneur with a passion for bootstrapping and building profitable, sustainable companies that make a difference. He founded the mobile software company, Metova, Inc. in 2006. Three offices later, Metova now ranks among the best in the world in mobile application development. He graduated from Iowa State University.

Suzanne Sevier Rowland always had a passion for sewing clothes, but didn’t consider making a career out of the hobby until her late 20s, when she moved to New York City, enrolled in The Fashion Institute of Technology and took a job at the city’s top fabric store, Mood Fabrics. Rowland’s skirts-only line took off in 2004, and sales of Sevier Skirts have doubled every year thereafter.

Alex Tolbert is a team member at Bernard Health, a health insurance advisor. Founded in 2006, Bernard Health now employs 12 employees with offices in Nashville, Indianapolis and Louisville. Tolbert attended the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University.

George Uribe is president of Guestbooker.com. His television experience includes stints at Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN. He serves on the board of governors for The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Mid-South Chapter. He holds degrees from George Washington University and North Carolina State University.

Hart Weatherford is the founder of Farmington Financial Group LLC. He has personally originated and closed over $500 million in mortgage loans in his career. Weatherford has consistently been a “Diamond” and “Platinum” awards of excellence winner by the Mortgage Bankers Association. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee.