Agenda
4:00 PM – Beat the Traffic Social
4:30 PM - Professional Development Session Speaker
5:30 PM - Social Hour
6:30 PM - Dinner & Presentation
Professional Development Session| The Evolving Role of Finance Leaders – Navigating with Technology and Foresight
A look at the top priorities for finance leaders — among them, security and privacy of data, AI in finance, and financial and strategic planning and analysis in a time of economic and price volatility— points the way toward evolving roles and the tools to navigate change for leaders whose responsibilities continue to expand in challenging ways.
Join Robert Half and Protiviti as they address the growing list of priorities faced by both leaders and professionals. In this session, we explore the results of Protiviti’s 2025 Global Finance Trends Survey and offer practical takeaways for finance leaders to address these challenges and how to identify technology and talent skills gaps for achieving short- and long-term business objectives.
Learning objectives:
• Identify the top priorities for CFOs and finance leaders in the next 12 months, including data privacy, FP&A and strategic planning
• Discuss ways finance organizations are utilizing Generative AI
• Explain how finance teams are navigating a dynamic, volatile economic and pricing environment
• Identify key employment trends and in-demand roles to stay competitive in attracting and retaining talent
Tim Hird
Executive Vice President
Robert Half
Tim Hird is executive vice president of enterprise optimization for Robert Half and Protiviti. In his role, Hird enhances combined Robert Half-Protiviti offerings to help businesses create functions and processes, address performance issues, and drive improvement in finance and accounting. Hird most recently served as executive director of the management resources practice, beginning in 2012. He joined Robert Half in 2000, working in the management resources practice and helped launch the division’s London office. He assumed leadership roles to expand the business throughout the UK, European and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2007, he relocated to Singapore and directed operations for multiple Robert Half business units in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. He is now based out of the company’s headquarters in California.
Hird is a noted speaker, author and commentator on issues impacting finance and accounting professionals, such as evolving labor models, career and workplace management, employment trends, regulatory reform, and employee mobility.
Chris Wright
Protiviti
Managing Director
Chris Wright, from Protiviti’s New York office, is the firm-wide Managing Director of our Business Performance Improvement solution, which includes our Public Company Transformation and Financial Reporting Remediation and Compliance groups, as well as our ESG Steering Committee. He has over thirty years of experience serving clients as an external auditor, including 6 years as a partner at two global accounting firms (Arthur Andersen and KPMG), and as an internal auditor and financial reporting risk consultant.
Keynote Address| The American Presidency
"The American Presidency" from history to the latest on president's power, influence, and action over foreign relation, immigration, trading, and beyond along related enforcement, legality, FEI invites back Mr. Chase Untermeyer, professor, historian, Navy officer, and former ambassador to share with us this very timely topic as 2026 curtains up for the 2nd term of the current administration.
Mr. Chase Untermeyer has held positions at all four levels of government – local, state, national, and international — over a period of more than 50 years, with work in journalism, academia, and business as well.
A 1968 graduate of Harvard College, he served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He was a Texas state representative; an assistant secretary of the Navy under President Reagan; director of Presidential Personnel and director of the Voice of America under the first President Bush; and U.S. ambassador to Qatar under the second President Bush.
He is currently professor of practice at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, ambassador-in-residence in the history department of Texas Tech University, and a lecturer in the Glasscock School of Continuing Education at Rice University.
Ambassador Untermeyer is the author of three volumes of diary-based memoirs of the Reagan-Bush era and the book How Important People Act.
Chase Untermeyer
We would like to thank our Platinum Sponsor for sponsoring the Professional Development Session:
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Prospective Member Form
Prospective Members must be submitted via the form link. All forms must be submitted for approval by the membership committee by 5:00 pm on the Wednesday before the meeting. Once approved, FEI will register prospects and inform the member or sponsor contact that the prospect has been approved to attend. This is applicable to anyone bringing a prospective member.
CPE Credit is offered for the PD Session and the Dinner Presentation. One (1) hour of CPE is offered for each program. There is not pre-requisite preparation or experience required.
If you have not already done so, please register by 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 13, 2026.
Please note that no shows will be invoiced $50.
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