Fuse 2017 Judge Profile: Tina Powell

In the months leading up to Fuse 2017, we’re profiling the event’s panel of judges. This week’s profile is Tina Powell, founder of C-Suite Social Media.

 

Tina Powell, founder of C-Suite Social Media, has spent the last 11 years in the financial services industry. Returning to her roots as digital marketer, Tina now consults with financial advisory firms helping them build strong brands and find their voice via social media.

Tina’s Background

Tina became immersed in the financial world after her father’s death left her navigating years of healthcare costs and insurance. In 2006, she made a leap of faith and entered the industry as a consultant to Beacon Wealth Management, where she’s now a partner.

She began by helping them launch a series of educational seminars for physicians and surgeons at the local college, and her alma mater, Fairleigh Dickinson University.

She found success taking on several side projects for the firm, and was given an offer to join four years later. Tina was made a partner at Beacon just nine months after joining the firm.

Outside of running strategic initiatives for Beacon today, Tina teaches integrated marketing and executive leadership at New York University where she earned a Master’s Degree in Graphic Communications Management & Technology. “It’s an honor to teach,” Tina said. “As an instructor, you end up learning more than you teach.”

Tina also created “Twitternomics,” a social media primer for financial advisors, and gave the first talk about the subject at TD Ameritrade Institutional’s National Conference in 2013.

C-Suite Social Media launched on May 5, 2017, five years after Tina first purchased the website’s name. A social media fanatic, she loves connecting with people and forming relationships.

“I love the randomness,” Tina said. “You never know who you’re going to meet, who they know, and what their own personal story is.”

 

A Look Back at Fuse 2016

Last year’s Fuse was Tina’s first as a judge and she wasn’t sure what to expect. She had some experience with Orion (her firm completed their migration to Orion just prior to Fuse), and she was anxious to meet new people and learn. She was especially eager because of the experimental nature of the conference.

“Orion was taking a bold leap, and it was exciting to be a part of that. And to be the first female judge, I was honored.”

“I love bold, audacious leaps. I love when our industry says ‘what can we do to be different? What can we do better in the future? And how can we do it?’” Tina said. “Fuse was the first time I had even seen the word “hackathon” and finance being ‘fused’ together!”

The work of the development teams at last year’s tech made a lasting impression on Tina. She came away with not only an appreciation for the brilliant ideas, but also the effort that goes into testing and trying out those ideas.

“This stuff doesn’t just automatically happen. People are building these platforms. People are building these innovations. There are brilliant ideas all over the place, but at Fuse those ideas were actually executed.”

Finally, she loved the air of “coop-etition.” At Fuse, competitors eat together, drink together, and just hang out. “It’s like reality TV!” she joked. But she loved seeing the mutual respect and a bit of healthy competition.

 

Looking Ahead to September

This year is Tina’s second time at Fuse, and she’s looking to be surprised (got that, developers?). Once again, she’s looking forward to the pitches.

“I love it when something comes totally out of left field, and then we go ‘wow, we never anticipated that.’ I love that moment of intrigue.”

Given the rise of smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa, and voice assistants like Apple’s Siri, Tina hopes to see more tech with voice control like that presented by “Best Work Saving Development” award winner Orchestrate LLC. She even mentioned the possibilities of virtual reality.

“That’s the fun part, you don’t ever know what to expect,” she said. “So that’s what I’m most expecting – is the unexpected.”

More participants and more companies means better competition, and more tech. As for Tina, she’s just excited to be a student again and soak it all in.

 

Fuse 2017 is the premier conference for financial services technology developers and programmers. For more information about this year’s event, visit fuse2017.com or keep up with us on Twitter using the #FuseUtah hashtag.

 

0254-OAS-7/10/2017
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About Joe Leyboldt
Joe Leyboldt serves as the Director of Orion's Technology Support. Joe is a native of Arizona and loves running, coffee, Nebraska football, and skinny jeans.