Aaron DeBenedetto wears many hats. Besides being a Lutheran pastor (yes, you read that right), he is also a tech junkie who grew up writing DOS code and has

jumped in head-first into the AI Era. He started Mustard Growth as a way to bless

others so that they, in turn, could be a blessing to their families, teams, and

clients. Business doesn't have to be cutthroat; it can be a journey of changing

lives. He is passionate about lead generation and AI sales process automation to

help your business take off. He also hosts a bi-weekly Zoom session on Fridays at

Noon EDT about AI trends, tips, and tools called the Business Leaders AI Network,

or BRAIN for short. Learn more and register at mustardgrowth.io/brain. Aaron is

also married, has two great teenagers (yes, that's possible), two dogs, and one big

fat Garfield cat named Franklin.

Geoff Weber is a combat veteran, entrepreneur, and the founder of Heirloom—a

Charleston-based tech company helping Americans preserve and protect their

most meaningful memories. Geoff joined the U.S. intelligence community directly

after the 9/11 attacks and spent over 20 years serving the nation. He deployed to

every major hotspot, served overseas as a U.S. attaché in Russia with his family,

and concluded his career working for the Director of National Intelligence, where

he had the epiphany that would become Heirloom.

Joe Gallagher Jr., also known as Chef Giuseppe, is the founder of Apastioli

Specialty Foods and the author of From Bars to Jars: A Saucy Redemption Story.

After hitting rock bottom and finding faith, Joe turned his life around—starting with

a single jar of homemade sauce and a walk into a Charleston Piggly Wiggly. What

he discovered wasn’t just personal redemption, but a hidden demand across the

South: people were craving real, authentic Italian food with integrity.

NeoHERO’s™ founder is Lindsay Spurgeon, a Board-Certified Neonatal

Nurse Practitioner, Board-Certified Neonatal-Pediatric Transport provider, a

Trauma Certified Registered Nurse with Board Certification of Emergency Nursing,

and a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.

Lorenz Esposito is the founder and CEO of SearchX, a Charleston-based SEO

agency known for helping businesses scale through ethical SEO, smart content

strategies, and AI-driven tools. A former collegiate and professional soccer player,

Lorenz brings the same competitive mindset and discipline from sports into digital

marketing.

After playing at the College of Charleston and professionally in Sweden, Lorenz

transitioned into SEO, working at agencies in Charleston and New York before

launching SearchX. His agency supports clients across diverse industries, offering

transparent communication, strong technical SEO, and content that drives

measurable growth.