Summit Forum 2026

Ben Faw is an entrepreneur, investor, and U.S. Army veteran whose career spans technology, commerce, and company building. A 2007 graduate of the United States Military Academy, he served as an infantry platoon leader in northern Iraq and completed Ranger and Airborne training before moving into business. His private-sector experience includes roles with LinkedIn, Tesla, and UBS, followed by co-founding BestReviews, where he served as chief operating officer. Ben later co-founded AdVon Commerce, a commerce-technology company, and is now identified by the most recent public board biography as a former AdVon CEO and continuing board member. He is also a partner at Dynamism Capital, where his operating focus includes sales, business development, and recruiting. Ben earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and remains involved with HBS alumni and fundraising leadership. He brings Summit members a practitioner’s perspective on entrepreneurship, scaling teams, consumer technology, and the transition from military leadership to business.

Vik Bakshi is an energy-infrastructure executive, investor, and U.S. Army veteran focused on the transition to cleaner, more reliable power. His supplied LinkedIn profile currently lists him as Vice President, Strategic Operations at Quanta Services, following leadership of Quanta Canada Renewables, an engineering, procurement, and construction business serving utility-scale wind, solar, and energy-storage projects. Earlier in his career, Vik worked in heavy manufacturing at Nucor, advised energy clients at McKinsey & Company, and led Seneca Trails Capital, a private investment effort focused on acquiring a lower-middle-market industrial-services business. A 2008 West Point graduate, he served as an infantry officer with the 25th Infantry Division and deployed to Iraq during Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. His military qualifications and awards include Ranger, Airborne, and Air Assault credentials and the Bronze Star Medal. Vik earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and has also served as an Atlantic Council Veterans Advanced Energy Fellow and a nonprofit board leader supporting veterans.

Samir T. Patel is an investor, entrepreneur, educator, and Army Reserve officer whose work connects military leadership with real estate finance. He is the founder and managing leader of Trophy Point Capital, a private real estate lending business, and owns multiple hotel and real estate assets. West Point’s current faculty directory identifies him as an instructor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership and reports that his investment fund manages about $100 million in assets. A 2008 graduate of the United States Military Academy, Samir served as an armor and cavalry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan and continues to serve through the U.S. Army Reserve. He has also taught real estate entrepreneurship at Georgia State University. Samir holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and Arabic from West Point, a master’s degree in real estate from Georgia State, and an MBA from Emory University. A 2021 Tillman Scholar, he has focused portions of his civic and professional work on expanding access to capital for small businesses and the military community.

Austin Hill is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and U.S. Army veteran who works with early-stage founders on fundraising, growth, and company building. He is co-founder and managing director of Seed Round Capital, a Houston-based firm that invests in and advises startups. Austin’s operating background includes launching businesses in distribution, contracting, real estate, and consumer packaged goods, giving him direct experience across both traditional industries and venture-backed entrepreneurship. Before entering business, he served as an Army officer and deployed to Iraq; he later worked in outside technical sales for a Fortune 50 company. Austin graduated with honors from the United States Military Academy with an engineering degree in 2008 and earned an MBA with honors from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He has been recognized through Rice University’s Veterans Business Battle and has supported Houston’s entrepreneurial community through investing and accelerator involvement. His perspective combines military leadership, hands-on operating experience, and practical guidance for founders navigating early-stage capital and scale.

Chuck Nadd is an Army aviator, entrepreneur, educator, and West Point graduate whose career combines operational leadership, service, and technology. West Point currently lists him as an instructor in its Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership and as an Army reservist assigned to the Academy. A Harvard Business School announcement identifies Chuck as a USMA Class of 2011 graduate and co-founder of FlashCash, a financial-technology venture developed to reduce the cost and delay associated with check deposits. His military career has included service as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and medevac commander in Afghanistan. In 2017, he organized and led a multi-state formation flight of Army aircraft to build awareness of military aviation and support recruiting; the Army Reserve later documented his promotion to lieutenant colonel. Chuck holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. His experience spans command, aviation, entrepreneurship, leadership education, and civic engagement.

Clayton Nicholas is a health-technology and analytics executive whose career centers on translating data, behavioral science, and digital tools into practical solutions. CredibleMind and AHIP currently identify him as CredibleMind’s Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for sales and growth strategy. He is also the founder and chairman of Vibronyx, where the company says he leads vision, strategy, growth, and operations. Earlier, Clayton co-founded and led Midas+, a healthcare software business focused on performance management and clinical analytics; a published Midas+ profile states that he helped grow the company before its acquisition by Xerox and later served as Senior Vice President at Xerox Healthcare Provider Solutions. A former U.S. Army captain, he began his military career as an enlisted medical specialist and later served as a Signal Corps officer, including deployments to Bosnia and Kosovo. Clayton holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering management from West Point, a master’s degree in information systems, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Lieutenant Colonel Cole Livieratos is a U.S. Army psychological operations officer, strategist, scholar, and educator. The Center for Strategic and International Studies currently lists him as a 2026–2027 U.S. Army military fellow in its Project on Strategy and Statecraft. The Irregular Warfare Initiative identifies him as its managing editor and records operational service in Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Europe, including command assignments in the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), the 82nd Airborne Division, and the Special Operations Joint Task Force–Afghanistan. He graduated from West Point in 2008 and later earned a doctorate in international relations and comparative politics from Georgetown University. He has also served on the West Point faculty, teaching courses in international relations, comparative politics, and counterinsurgency. Cole’s published and academic work examines psychological operations, information warfare, influence, and the human dimensions of conflict. His career brings together field command, rigorous scholarship, professional military education, and public-facing analysis of how narratives and information shape strategic competition.

Nick Cosmas is a co-founder and the Chief Financial Officer of Trophy Point Capital, an Atlanta-based private real estate lender. He helps lead the firm’s day-to-day management and oversees real estate, consumer, and commercial loan portfolios, including capital sourcing, origination, and servicing. His work centers on translating business strategy, risk management, and operational design into scalable systems. A public case study also identifies him as a co-founder and operating executive who helped Trophy Point streamline its lending processes and expand its capacity across multiple states. Nick is a West Point graduate and later earned a master’s degree in political geography from the University of Hawaii and a master’s degree in engineering management from Missouri University of Science and Technology. Public professional materials also describe continued service as a U.S. Army Reserve officer. His career brings together military leadership, international and strategic perspective, and hands-on experience building and managing a growing private-credit platform.

Troy Peterson is a Strategic Delivery Lead at OpenAI, where he works at the intersection of technology, program execution, and organizational scale. His supplied LinkedIn profile identifies him as an Army Special Operations veteran and describes earlier OpenAI work in product policy, with a focus on using data to improve user experiences and product innovation. Before entering the technology sector, Troy served for nine years as an Army infantry and special operations officer. In 2011, while assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Europe, he was named U.S. Army Europe’s top junior officer after a multi-day competition testing leadership, judgment, endurance, and core military skills. Public interviews describe subsequent roles at Facebook and Stripe before he joined OpenAI in 2023. OpenAI also credits a Troy Peterson in external red-teaming work for the o1 model; because that credit lacks a profile link, it should be treated as supportive rather than conclusive attribution. Troy’s career reflects sustained leadership in demanding operational and technology environments.

Dan Berschinski is a manager in PwC’s Business and Supply Chain Operations practice, focused on strategic sourcing, procurement, and operational value creation. Before joining PwC in September 2026, he held strategy and procurement leadership roles at Procure Analytics and IBM and founded Two-Six Industries. Dan graduated from West Point in 2007 and served as an Army infantry platoon leader. During a 2009 deployment to Afghanistan, he was severely wounded by an improvised explosive device and later medically retired from the Army after an extended rehabilitation. He went on to earn an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, serve as a peer advocate for wounded service members, and hold leadership roles with the Amputee Coalition. Across military service, entrepreneurship, consulting, and disability advocacy, Dan has built a career around leading through complexity and improving systems for people and organizations. His current work applies that experience to enterprise supply-chain and procurement challenges.