default archive page

Brian Kearney

Posted on November 18, 2025 by -

Co-Chair

Brian Kearney

Brian Kearney is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Kearney & Company, P.C. (Kearney), the largest Certified Public Accounting (CPA) and consulting firm exclusively focused on the Government. Founded in 1985, Kearney provides auditing, accounting, and consulting services to agencies and offices across the country. As CEO, Brian is responsible for guiding Kearney toward its mission to help make Government work better.

Previously, Brian served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Kearney, where he highlighted the importance of the firm’s ethical business practices and commitment to quality service. Every year, he renews the firm’s focus on making Kearney a “Best Place to Work” for its employees. As a result, Kearney has established itself as a major player in Federal accounting. Most recent awards include Accounting Today’s Top 100 CPA Firms, Inside Public Accounting’s Top 50 Firms, CollegeGrad.com’s Top Entry-Level Employer and Top Intern Employer, and Military Times EDGE Magazine’s Top 50 “Best for Vets” Employer, in addition to several regional “Best Place to Work” awards.

For over 10 years, Brian has chaired and serves as an Executive Committee Member of Heart’s Delight, which has raised more than $25 million for the American Heart Association. In addition to his active involvement in Heart’s Delight, Brian established and spearheads an annual charity golf tournament to benefit the Warrior Canine Connection (WCC), which helps recovering service members reconnect with life after combat. To date, the tournament has raised nearly $500,000 for WCC. He also served on the Leadership Council of the Washington Commanders Charitable Foundation (WCCF), where his primary focus was fundraising to help make a positive and measurable impact on the lives of children in the community.

Brian received his bachelor’s degree from George Mason University and his MBA from George Washington University. He currently leverages his experience and knowledge of business via involvement in various Boards of Directors. As a member of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, he believes that the business community must lead the way in improving Virginia’s long-term business climate and helps set the policy agenda for the Chamber. Brian is also on the Professional Services Council’s (PSC) Board of Directors, where he bolsters PSC’s commitment to building a fair and competitive Federal contracting marketplace. The Board is responsible for policy oversight and for setting the association’s direction.

Brian is an ardent supporter of academic opportunity. Under his leadership, Kearney has established student scholarship funds at George Mason University, King’s College, Howard University, the University of the District of Columbia, and the Virginia Society of CPAs. He is a founding member of the George Mason GovCon Initiative Board of Advisors and a member of the George Mason Dean’s Council. Brian also serves as an active member on the Board of Trustees for DeSales University.

As a top executive in his industry, Brian is dedicated to growing and fostering his skillset, knowledgebase, and connections for Kearney now and in the future. Driven by a passion for hard work, educational opportunity, and philanthropy, he emphasizes the importance of effective leadership and taking care of people in his work and personal life every day.

On top of his leadership role at Kearney and his myriad charity responsibilities, Brian capitalized on his passion for wine and founded Addax Wines in Napa, CA in 2009. Since then, he has continued to build his wine portfolio, expanding to additional wineries. Brian currently resides in Oakton, VA with his wife, Angie, and four amazing children.

Geoff Freeman

Posted on August 27, 2024 by -

Co-Chair

Geoff Freeman

As president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, Geoff Freeman is the leading advocate for the $1.3 trillion U.S. travel and hospitality industry.

In this role, Freeman is charged with ensuring the industry’s full recovery from COVID-19, positioning the industry to seize emerging opportunities in a post-pandemic market environment and further establishing travel as a vital economic force in the United States. 

Freeman is a seasoned association CEO with a proven track record of building successful organizations that unite member interests, grow member value, increase revenue and unlock growth opportunities. Prior to joining U.S. Travel, Freeman was president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, the trade association for America’s $2.1 trillion food, beverage and consumer products industry. During his tenure, Freeman launched a strategic campaign to transform the association into a powerful, modern advocacy organization aimed at driving growth and delivering sound regulatory and legislative outcomes that benefit industry leaders and consumers. During his tenure, Freeman grew membership by 35 percent and boosted total revenue by nearly 50 percent. 

Freeman joined the Consumer Brands Association after serving for five years as president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA). In that role, Freeman led a successful effort to reform and modernize the AGA, build public support for the gaming industry and open new pathways for industry growth. Under his leadership, the AGA spearheaded a multi-year, research-driven campaign to demonstrate gaming’s broad support across the political spectrum and promote the industry’s role in spurring economic growth, job creation and tax revenues in communities across more than 40 states where gaming is legal. That campaign created the tailwinds needed to advance AGA’s signature initiative achieved under Freeman – the legalization of sports betting in the United States. While leading AGA, Freeman drove a 200 percent increase in membership and doubled association revenue. 

Freeman previously served as COO of the U.S. Travel Association from 2011 to 2013, helping to conceive and lead a campaign that resulted in the passage of the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act, which was hailed as “the industry’s biggest legislative victory in a decade.” In the aftermath of 9/11, Freeman created a blue-ribbon panel headed by former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to analyze how to improve travel security without compromising travel efficiency. This effort led directly to the creation of TSA PreCheck. Both the Travel Promotion Act and TSA PreCheck demonstrate Freeman’s ability to identify industry opportunities, craft a winning policy response and drive campaigns that succeed in gaining broad support among diverse stakeholders. 

Freeman’s previous experience includes roles at APCO Worldwide, America’s Health Insurance Plans and Freddie Mac. 

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Freeman lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife and three children. 

Jamie Ritchie

Posted on December 18, 2023 by -

Auctioneer

Jamie Ritchie

Jamie Ritchie is a visionary leader and one of the most respected figures in the global wine and spirits industry. With a career spanning over three decades, he has consistently defined excellence and innovation in the industry.

Jamie was at Sotheby’s for 32 years, where he rose to become the Worldwide Chairman of Wines & Spirits. Under his leadership, Sotheby’s became the leading global auction house for fine wines and spirits, achieving record-breaking sales of $150 million in 2022. Jamie’s visionary approach drove international growth, expanding Sotheby’s wine auctions to New York, Hong Kong and France, and establishing the Spirits category in 2019. He also launched Sotheby’s Wine retail businesses in New York and Hong Kong and introduced the Sotheby’s Own Label Collection. He developed the Single Owner Sale format with auctions from the world’s greatest wine collectors such as Bill Koch and Don Stott, followed by direct from winery sales from the most important Bordeaux châteaux such as Haut Brion, Lafite, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Cheval Blanc. He also forged groundbreaking partnerships merging commercial and charity auctions with prestigious organizations like the Hospices de Beaune, Worshipful Company of Distillers and the Napa Valley Vintners.

Most recently, he brought his unparalleled expertise and innovative spirit to BlockBar, serving as their COO, where he continued to push boundaries in the digital marketplace for fine wines and spirits.

As one of the world’s most respected wine auctioneers, Jamie presided over sales of the most important collections over the last 30 years and held records for selling the most valuable wine and spirits ever sold, with a bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945 for $558,000 and The Macallan Fine & Rare 60-Year-Old 1926 for $1.9 million.

His expertise and insights are regularly featured in prestigious publications including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, and Wine Spectator.

Neal Martin

Posted on December 15, 2023 by -

Master Class Host

Neal Martin

Neal Martin’s career in wine began in 1996 as a wine buyer for Japan Airlines where he specialized in Bordeaux and Burgundy. In 2006 Neal was asked by the most influential wine critic in the world, Robert Parker, to join his team at The Wine Advocate where he was the first non-American to hold a position. In December 2012 Neal self-published a 600-page book, Pomerol, that became the standard text for the region, winning the inaugural André Simon John Avery Award and the Louis Roederer Chairman’s Award in 2013. He took over coverage of Bordeaux when Parker retired in 2014. In 2018 Neal accepted a position at Vinous where he covers Bordeaux and Burgundy to the present day. His reviews and scores are quoted by merchants around the world and over 25 years he has amassed considerable first-hand knowledge of mature vintages. In April 2023 he published “The Complete Bordeaux Vintage Guide 1870-2020” that Eric Asimov described as “what every Bordeaux lover has been waiting for” in the New York Times.  His book will be updated at the end of 2025.