Tom Ciardiello’s strategic sourcing experience includes consulting and senior level global procurement positions with QBE Insurance, Spencer Stuart, Donnelley Financial Solutions, CNA Financial Insurance, Options Clearing Corporation, Chicago Mercantile Exchange along with finance and operations leadership roles with companies including AT&T, GE Capital, Discover Card Services and Arthur Andersen. Tom’s experiences include procurement, auditing, budgeting, financial analysis & process improvement.  Tom is a CPA & CPM, holds a Bachelors Degree from Northern Illinois University & an MBA from DePaul University.

Beena George serves as the first Chief Innovation Officer of the University of St. Thomas. In this role, Beena advances the University's initiatives for innovation across its programs and services to deliver a superior experience for the University's students. As a member of the University's senior leadership team, she directs the University's initiatives for program incubation, entrepreneurship, and partnership development to contribute to the realization of the University's mission.

Beena has been at the University since 2003 and served as the Dean of the Cameron School of Business at the University from 2013 to 2019. Beena's interest in business innovation shaped her leadership at the business school and led to innovative program offerings and stronger engagement with Houston's business and innovation ecosystem.

As a member of the business school's Marketing & Management department Beena teaches courses on business strategy and sourcing management. Her course on Sourcing Management was awarded the Innovations in Information Systems Education award by the Association of Information Systems, the premier academic association in the information systems discipline; the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals also recognizes the course as a bridge program for training for certification as a Certified Outsourcing Professional. In recognition of her work in developing programs in clinical translation management, she has been appointed as an Associate Affiliate Member of the Houston Methodist Research Institute.

With her primary research focus on the outsourcing of business services, Beena has published articles on the practice and teaching of outsourcing management and provides consulting services to the outsourcing community. Beena is also working on a stream of research focusing on 'business model innovation' and has published case studies and papers in this area. In the area of scholarship of teaching and learning, Beena's research has been in the areas of online learning and assurance of learning.

Beena remains connected with the world of business practice. She is actively involved with two of the leading industry associations for sourcing: The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals and Sourcing Industry Group. She is also a member of the Texas Medical Center (TMC) Innovation Institute Advisor Network and the Community Advisory Council of the Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Education (MITIE). Beena serves on the board of directors of IIMAmericas, the advisory board of Watermark Digital Measures, and the advisory board of DC School of Management in India. Beena is an alumnus of the Leadership Forum of the Center for Houston's Future. She is a member of the Executive Women's Partnership of the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Council for Foreign Relations.

For her leadership in higher education, Beena was recognized by Houston Woman magazine in 2014 as one of Houston's most influential women and by Houston Business Journal in 2019 as an outstanding woman leader in education in Houston. Beena holds an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Kerala, India. Beena completed her graduate studies in business administration at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India, and her doctoral studies in business administration at the University of Houston, Texas

Dawn Tiura, CEO and President of SIG, SIG University and Future of Sourcing digital publication, has more than 26 years of leadership experience, with the past 22 years focused on the sourcing and outsourcing industry. In 2007, Dawn joined SIG as CEO, but has been active in SIG as a speaker and trusted advisor since 1999, bringing the latest developments in sourcing and outsourcing to SIG members. Prior to joining SIG, Dawn held leadership positions as CEO of Denali Group and before that as a partner in a CPA firm. Dawn is actively involved on a number of boards promoting civic, health and children's issues in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Dawn is a licensed CPA and has a BA from the University of Michigan and an MS in taxation from Golden Gate University. Dawn brings to SIG a culture of brainstorming and internal innovation.