Semi-Annual Meeting 2024: Speakers

Howie Fenton

CEO, Howie Fenton Consulting
General Session #1: From a Production Consultant Perspective: How to Enhance Your Performance

Howie Fenton has served as a leading consultant to the graphic arts industry for over 36 years, advising commercial and in-plant printers, book publishers, large format printers, and franchise signage companies. An accomplished author, Fenton has penned five books along with countless articles and blogs, establishing himself as an authority in the field. His reputation as a dynamic speaker and expert consultant is well-earned.

Fenton's expertise lies in benchmarking operational and financial performance and analyzing industry best practices employed by market leaders. With a remarkable history of serving over 500 companies, Fenton's track record boasts a consistent ability to enhance any workflow or production strategy he encounters.

His wealth of experience has led to national speaking tours, including prestigious events such as Apple Power Tools for Publishing, Agfa Across America, Banta Technovation, PIA Orientation to the Graphic Arts, and Xerox Innovate. With two decades of experience at organizations like GATF, PIA, NAPL, and InfoTrends, Fenton has honed his skills to a fine edge, which led to the inception of his own enterprise, Howie Fenton Consulting.

Gene Marks

CEO, The Marks Group / Forbes Technology Columnist
General Session #2: AI: Game-Changing Technologies That Will Impact Manufacturing and Distribution

A former daily columnist for both the New York Times and Washington Post, Gene now writes weekly on small business, public policy and technology for The Guardian, The Washington Times, The Hill, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Forbes (where he writes the popular On CRM column), Entrepreneur and Accounting Today. Gene’s columns reach hundreds of thousands of readers each week and he has an online following of more than 600,000 on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Gene has written six books on business management, specifically geared towards small and medium sized companies. His most recent is The Manufacturer’s Book of Lists. Gene regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business, MSNBC and CNBC. He’s also a frequent guest on Sirius/XM’s Wharton Business Channel and The John Batchelor Show, which is syndicated nationally on the ABC Radio Network.

Through his keynotes, workshops, seminars and executive retreats, Gene helps business owners, executives and managers understand the political, economic, and technological trends that will affect their companies so they can make profitable decisions.

Gene owns and operates The Marks Group PC, a highly successful ten-person firm that provides technology and consulting services to small and medium sized businesses. The Marks Group PC, launched in 1994, has grown to help more than 600 companies and thousands of individuals throughout the country.

Prior to starting the Marks Group PC Gene, a Certified Public Accountant, spent nine years in the entrepreneurial services arm of the international consulting firm KPMG in Philadelphia where he was a Senior Manager.

Michael Voight

swissQprint
Industry Best Practice: Color Matching

Michael has been with swissQprint since 2018 encompassing multiple technical roles within the company. He is currently an Application Specialist focusing on client training and demonstrations, new material qualification, application research and development. He also oversees the Irvine, California Demo Center.  Michael has 18 years’ experience within the print industry specializing in digital print technology, screen printing, color management, RIP software, and graphic design. Customers are drawn to his passion for print and showcasing all the application possibilities printers and designers can realize with swissQprint printers.

Neil Bolding

MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions
Industry Best Practice: Today’s Process Challenges / Tomorrow’s Opportunities

Neil Bolding has been involved in the printing industries for over 40 years. His work has supported customers' functional printing as well as high pressure forming and injection molding processes in the development of the products required for printed, formed or flexible electronics applications.

Neil is an active member in numerous trade organizations. He is currently the chair of IPC’s D-60 printed electronics, and in 2007, he was elected to Printing United’s Academy of Screen and Digital Printing Technology, where he serves as Vice Chair (2023-24) and Chair (2025-26). He is also a member of the Ink & Chemical Advisory Board.

Rich Cray

Senior Vice President, Lockton
General Session #3: Medical Benefits Case Study

Rich Cray is a Senior Vice President with Lockton out of Kansas City. While Lockton is the largest privately held global insurance broker, Rich has carved out a niche within the company. For the better part of a decade, he has been one of the nation's leading consultants helping companies transition from fully insured health plans to self-insured health plans utilizing group captives. Rich and his significantly better half, Ashley, have 5 children under 10 years old. In his free time, he enjoys coaching his kids in sports and spending time with his family. 

Karen Moser

Chief Talent Officer, Welty
General Session #4: People, Process, Profit

Karen is a seasoned human resource professional with more than 30 years of experience in both service and manufacturing environments with a true passion for finding ways to maximize employee potential. In her role, Karen is responsible for the entire human resource function including, training and development, hiring, recruiting, culture building and management coaching.