Guhan Venkatu – Keynote Speaker

Vice President
Regional Executive for Austin & Central Texas
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

In his role, Venkatu is responsible for fostering relationships with stakeholders throughout central Texas and for gathering grassroots information to support the monetary policymaking process. His responsibilities also include expanding engagement with public officials and the technology sector.

Prior to joining the Dallas Fed, Venkatu served as senior principal and senior policy advisor in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, where he advised and informed the Bank’s president and its board of directors. His research has focused on inflation, mortgage markets, and factors related to regional economic growth. He joined the Cleveland Fed in 1998 as a research analyst, and in his tenure with the Bank, held positions of increasing responsibility including economist, vice president, and group vice president.

Sam Susser

Chairman & CEO
Susser Bank

Susser completed a BBA in Finance in 1985 from the University of Texas and started his finance career at Salomon Brothers in NY from 1985-1987 in the corporate finance division and in the mergers and acquisitions group, before returning to Texas in 1988 to assist with the family business.

From 1988 to 2014, Mr. Susser led the growth of Susser Holdings Corporation from a five-store operation to a $6.7 billion enterprise that was a member of the Fortune 500 and employed 12,000 team members. The Company went public in 2006 and was traded on the NYSE as “SUSS” and its wholesale fuel division, Susser Petroleum Partners went public in 2012 and was traded as “SUSP”. After producing 26 consecutive years of same-store merchandise growth, the business was sold to ETP on August 29, 2014, and Mr. Susser continued to serve as Chairman of the Board of SUSP (now renamed Sunoco LP “SUN”) until May 2015.

He is currently Chairman and CEO of Susser Bank, Chairman and CEO of the Corpus Christi Athletic Club, Chair of the Advisory Board of Advisory Research Partners Fund, Senior Advisor to Citation Capital, Vice Chair of the MD Anderson Board of Visitors, a member of the UT Dell Med Strategic Advisory Board and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Southwestern Medical Foundation. He also serves as Chairman of the Governor’s University Research Initiative, board member of the Dallas Citizens Council, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Board, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Board and the Edwin L. Cox School of Business Executive Board.