president | Made To Flourish

Tom earned a Masters of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Trinity International University. He is the author of Five Smooth Stones: Discovering the Path To Wholeness of Soul, Ekklesia: Rediscovering God’s Design for the Church, and Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work.

Tom is the president of Made To Flourish, a pastors’ network for the common good. He also serves on the boards of The Gospel Coalition and Trinity International University. Tom has two grown children and has been married to his wife Liz for over thirty years.

Tom has two grown children and has been married to his wife Liz for over thirty years.

LINKS 

• Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work

• Made to Flourish

• The Gospel Coalition

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

CEO | OCEAN Accelerator

Scott Weiss is Chairman and CEO of OCEAN Accelerator, which operates both a hi-tech startup accelerator (OCEAN) as well as a training program for lifestyle entrepreneurs (Unpolished). Scott serves on four company advisory boards and mentors many of the region’s most seasoned entrepreneurs.

Prior to OCEAN, he served 22 years in C-Suite roles at brands including Evenflo, Clorox and P&G.

LINKS

• Ocean Accelerator

• Scott Weiss Entrepreneurial Profile

• Scott Weiss speaks at Startup Grind Cincinnati

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

co-founder of various companies

Sheldon is passionate about creating communities that apply entrepreneurial principles to all aspects of business and civic life. He has played an important role in Chattanooga’s meteoric rise as an internationally recognized entrepreneurial community. He’s had the opportunity to write for the Wall Street Journal as a “Startup Guru” and his work has been featured in media outlets including New York Times, Washington Post, CBS News, PBS News Hour, CNBC, Forbes, FastCompany, TechCrunch, Inc, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports.

Sheldon co-founded several companies across multiple industries, including Very, Chattanooga Football Club, Blank Slate Ventures, ReadyCart, CO.LAB, and GIGTANK. He currently serves on the boards of Chattanooga Football Club, CO.LAB, Tennessee Aquarium, and Chattanooga Visitors Bureau.

If you hang around Sheldon long enough, you’ll likely hear him rattle off one of his entrepreneurial and motivational mantras: “If at first you don’t fail, you’re not trying hard enough” and/or “Why not Chattanooga?”

He and his wife, Kelly, have three kids: Naomi (9), Micah (6), and Jude (3). They are members at Northshore Fellowship in Chattanooga. He loves coaching soccer and exploring the mountains around Chattanooga with his family on foot and bike and sometimes even underground.

LINKS 

• LinkedIn

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

co-founder | GiANT Worldwide

Steve Cockram is dedicated to empowering the leader in everyone. He is an international speaker, author, and consultant to top-level executives and leaders around the world. He is a subject matter expert on personality and wiring, organizational leadership, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal communication. Steve is the co-founder of GiANT Worldwide, a global leadership consultancy. He is also co-author of the books 5 Gears and 5 Voices.

 Steve’s passion for leaders, team communication, change management and work/life balance is clearly echoed through his books, speaking and executive consulting. He is coach to a number of CEOs and is a sought-after speaker both in the US and in his native UK. He inspires audiences to create better organizations through his heart-level stories, use of humour and expertise in human interactions.

Cockram leadership and management models have widespread appeal in large part due to the multiplication effect – rather than just the leader being transformed, they provide a framework for spreading this transformation throughout organization through ‘intentional apprenticeship’.

Steve has been married to Helen for 24 years, during which time they have lived in 12 different houses on two continents. They are now living back in the UK in Gerrards Cross, London with their three girls. This has helped him with his moderate addiction to Liverpool soccer (or football, in his case).

LINKS 

• https://stevecockram.com/about-steve/

• https://giantworldwide.com/intro-5-voices-leadership/

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

organizational strategist

Steve is an organizational strategist, pragmatic theologian and social capitalist. At any given time, he is advising 5-6 executives or business owners, along with 3-4 young energetic social entrepreneurs. He sits on a half dozen boards, holds degrees in multiple subjects, writes often and speaks occasionally. He lives in Northwest Arkansas with his wife Karen, has three adult children and if he doesn’t return your call quickly there is a good chance he snuck off to the river…again.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

President | Hobby Lobby

Steve Green became President of Hobby Lobby in 2004 and has helped his family grow the business to more than 850 stores in 46 states with over 37,500 employees. He is a national speaker on both business and philanthropy interests, always focusing on how his faith intersects with his life endeavors.

Green is also chairman of the board for Museum of the Bible. In his role as chairman, Green has assembled a team of academics, designers, technology professionals and other experts to create the 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible, dedicated to a scholarly and engaging presentation of the Bible’s impact, history, and narrative. The Museum opened November 2017 in Washington D.C., three blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

Green has authored three books: Faith in America (2011), The Bible in America (2013) and This Dangerous Book (2017). His books can be found in Hobby Lobby stores across the nation, and online.

Green and his wife, Jackie, have been married for more than 30 years and reside in Oklahoma City, where Hobby Lobby is headquartered. Their family includes a son, five daughters, a daughter-in-law, three sons-in-law and four grandchildren. They are actively involved in their local church, as well as with many national and international Christian ministries and charities.

LINKS 

• Museum of the Bible

• An Inside Look at the Museum of the Bible

• Hobby Lobby

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR