Speaker Series Current Schedule

Shameek Konar
March 10, 2023
9:30-11:00 a.m.
Student Union 270
Shameek Konar serves as Pilot Company’s chief executive officer. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot Company employs 30,000 team members and is the largest operator of travel centers and one of the leading suppliers of fuel in North America. Through Shameek’s leadership, Pilot Company is embarking on a journey to develop holistic solutions in support of the transportation industry’s energy transition, including low- and zero-carbon fueling alternatives and electrification. Shameek previously served as Pilot Company’s chief strategy officer, leading the company’s energy division, including business and asset development, supply, distribution and sales. His leadership was instrumental in growing Pilot Company’s energy business, developing the platform and executing several acquisitions since his tenure at Pilot Company began in 2017. Prior to joining Pilot Company, Shameek served as chief investment officer at Castleton Commodities International and Mercuria Energy Trading in Houston. He oversaw mergers, acquisitions and operations of physical assets across the firm’s commodities merchant platform globally. He also was managing director and global co-head of commodities principal investments at Goldman Sachs, where he focused on growing the company’s physical natural gas and crude oil businesses. Shameek served in several senior roles at Constellation Energy, including senior vice president of corporate strategy and development. Shameek earned a Ph.D. in economics and finance from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and mathematics from St. Stephen’s College in India.

Chris Hadorn
April 14, 2023
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Hodges Library Auditorium
Chris Hadorn is a former Big Four global practice leader who guides C-suite executives and boards of directors across multiple industries to create business and operating model strategies that reflect evolving transformative initiatives around the world. He is respected for working collaboratively with business leaders and stakeholders to identify and solve for the most pressing industry payment challenges and identify opportunities to improve customer experience, drive revenues, lower costs and mitigate risk across the entire enterprise value chain. He possesses a forward-thinking, global perspective of rapidly changing customer behaviors and industry trajectories influenced by regulatory, geopolitical and market forces. He aims to be a consistently clear communicator who respects all viewpoints, fosters continual learning at all levels and recruits and builds diverse teams that translate knowledge into implementable goals. Chris’ areas of focus include business and operating model strategy, M&A execution and integration, legislative and regulatory compliance, payments risk management and governance, IT architecture strategy and process automation. Chris has a B.S. in finance from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and presently serves as a board member for the Atlanta UTK Alumni Chapter. He has also served on the Federal Reserve Bank’s Faster Payments Task Force and on the World Economic Forum’s Advisory Committee for Digital Payments for Trade and Commerce.

Sosseh Prom
April 28, 2023
9:30-11:00 a.m.
Student Union 362 A/B
Based in Washington, D.C., Sosseh Prom is state policy manager for African Communities Together (ACT). In this role, she advocates at the state, local and federal levels for policies that benefit immigrant communities and ensure they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve in their new home. Previously a family law attorney representing low-income Washington residents, Sosseh has dedicated her life to assisting vulnerable communities by providing them with the resources they need to thrive. Prior to joining ACT, Sosseh served as policy counsel for a local non-profit, advocating for change to make Washington courts and government agencies racially equitable and just. She is an active member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and holds a J.D. from the Catholic University, Columbus School of Law.