2023 Speaker Bios
Robert J. Darling
Lt. Col USMC (Retired)
In October 2007, Lieutenant Colonel Darling retired from the United States Marine Corps with just over twenty years of active duty service. He flew attack helicopters in Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the first Gulf War and in Somalia, Africa, in support of Operation Restore Hope. In June 1998, he was selected to fly as a presidential pilot with Marine Helicopter Squadron One and in October 2000, he was handpicked to work for the White House Military Office, Airlift Operations Department. It was in that capacity that Lt. Col. Darling supported the President, Vice President and National Security Advisor in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) on September 11, 2001.
In May 2002, he attended the Naval Postgraduate School where he earned his MBA in Financial Management and subsequently served as a Program Manager for the Chief of Naval Operations supporting the Department of the Navy Flying Hour Program. As a public speaker on crisis leadership and decision making, Bob has addressed numerous academic, government, and military organizations to include Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and as a guest lecturer on the subject of Crisis Leadership and Counter-terrorism at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Bob is the author of “24 Hours Inside the President’s Bunker, 9/11/01: The White House and the President and CEO of Turning Point Crisis Management-USA, a crisis leadership, decision making, and training company located in Stafford, Virginia.
Anthony "Tony" Bake
General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer, LGE Community Credit Union
Tony is a versatile and collaborative in-house lawyer with over fourteen years of experience in highly regulated industries. He is results-driven, sensible, and most of all, trusted. Tony enjoys cross-collaborating with different departments and strongly believes that this collaboration breeds the best creative solutions and strategies that end up supporting the business, mitigating risk, and increasing the bottom line. Bake has broad legal experience in multiple industries, but the majority of his experience involves advising leadership on both legal and business matters, strategic planning, department management, negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts and other documents, human resources and employment law, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, government affairs, and litigation management. Tony loves what he does and always enjoys a new challenge. He is a member of the Utah State Bar and Washington State Bar
Education
JD from the Seattle University School of Law.
MBA from the Gore School of Business at Westminster College.
Marty Heller
Partner, Fisher Phillips
An experienced litigator and wage and hour guru, Marty Heller is a partner in the firm's Atlanta office and is a core member of the firm’s Wage and Hour Practice Group. Marty brings together a combination of litigation abilities and detailed compliance knowledge to try to solve your wage and hour problems before they hit the media and your company’s bottom-line.
Given his background, a significant portion of Marty’s practice focuses on wage and hour law, including minimum wage, overtime, timekeeping, and exemptions under federal law. As a member of the Compensation Audit and Counseling Services team, Marty advises clients nationwide on preventive issues, representing employers in government investigations, and conducting compliance audits with respect to wage practices.
Marty also maintains a heavy litigation practice, defending complex employment matters and class or collective actions. He also is a frequent speaker on these issues, including seminars, webinars and industry events.
Marty also devotes much of his practice to providing effective and efficient general counseling to his and the firm’s clients, with a focus on resolving difficult issues to avoid litigation. When litigation cannot be avoided, Marty defends clients in discrimination and harassment claims as well.
Marty has been listed in Georgia Super Lawyers – Rising Stars since 2015, and is a graduate of Leadership Cobb (part of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce).
Marty is a resident of Cobb County where he resides with his wife, two children, and three dogs.
Blair Cash
Partner, Moseley Marcinak
Blair focuses his practice on commercial vehicle and motor carrier liability. His litigation work ranges from accident litigation to complex multi-defendant wrongful death cases. Blair represents clients in all phases of litigation in all Georgia state and federal courts.
Blair is an active member in the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), Georgia Motor Trucking Association (GMTA), Georgia Defense Lawyers Association (GDLA), and the Defense Research Institute (DRI). He is a member of the DRI’s Trucking Law Committee. He has been published in the DRI Trucking Law Committee’s Newsletter, “In Transit.” He has also given numerous CLE presentations through the CEU Institute and the National Business Institute (NBI) on topics such as Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Law, Ethics in Claims Handling, and Bad Faith Claims. He regularly gives presentations and continuing education seminars to industry clients in the areas of commercial and common carrier liability, automobile liability, dram shop liability, and ethics in claims handling.
Blair has been named to the list of Rising Stars® in Georgia from 2018 to 2023, which appears annually in Atlanta Magazine and honors the top lawyers in Georgia under the age of 40 or who have been practicing for less than 10 years. The Rising Stars list is limited to only 2.5 percent of the attorneys in Georgia and is compiled through a process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. Blair was recognized in the General Personal Injury Defense category.
Education
University of Georgia School of Law (J.D. 2011)
University of Georgia (B.A., Political Science, Speech Communication, 2007)
Mike Lutzenkirchen
Mike LutzenkirchenExecutive Director, Lutzie 43 Foundation
Mike Lutzenkirchen is the father of the late Philip Lutzenkirchen, former Auburn University student-athlete from 2009-2012. Since Philip’s passing in 2014, Mike has served as the executive director of the Lutzie 43 Foundation and has made it his mission in life to carry out Philip’s legacy. Prior to starting the Lutzie 43 Foundation, Mike’s career in sales, sales management and marketing included positions with Macmillan Publishing, IBM and SpeedTracs. He was born and raised in Wheaton, Illinois, a Chicago area suburb and now resides in Marietta, Georgia with his wife of 32 years, Mary. Together they have three daughters, Amy, Ann and Abby.
Kevin Otto
Kevin OttoChairman, Electrified Vehicle Efficiency Task Force
Kevin Otto is the Chairman of the Electrified Vehicle Efficiency Task Force in the TMC S.11 Study Group and is participating in a number of the other task forces under both S.18 and S.11 Study Groups.
Kevin is the Electrification Technical Lead for the North American Council for Freight Efficiency where he provides consulting services and has authored a number of Confidence Reports and Guidance Reports. These reports include the use of solar panels on trucks and trailers, Idle reduction, electrified terminal tractors, hydrogen trucks and others. Before joining NACFE, Kevin spent 38-years at Cummins where he held a number of key positions in Technical Service, Engineering, Quality and Program Leadership in several of the Business Units. Kevin has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Kevin has been involved in the Technology & Maintenance Council for over 30 years and was awarded the Silver Spark Plug in 1999.
Robert "Rocky" C. Rogers
Partner, Moseley Marcinak
Rocky represents an array of clients involved in the commercial motor vehicle industry, including motor carriers, 3PLS, transportation intermediaries, and insurers. He provides regional and nationwide guidance on insurance coverage, cargo/freight claims, commercial litigation matters, collections/contract disputes, and FMCSA and state regulatory compliance and permitting. Highlighting his proactive approach to client services, he serves as an advisor to many of his clients, providing guidance on potential legal issues before they arise. In this capacity, he has experience serving as outside in-house counsel for a national last-mile freight broker and an interstate motor carrier. Regardless of the nature of the legal issue at hand, Rocky always focuses on the client's goals first, then crafts his approach to meet those needs.
While in law school, he was on the editorial board of the South Carolina Law Review and earned Order of the Coif and Order of the Wig and Robe honors.
Education
University of South Carolina School of Law (J.D., cum laude)
Mercer University (B.A., cum laude)
Alex Sciuto
Senior Product Manager, Maven
Alex Sciuto is a senior product manager who leads the development, innovation, and design of AI and ML-enabled enterprise operations software for the trucking and logistics industries. At Maven, Alex has managed a suite of technology products and large-scale R&D development projects for the past several years, spearheading the design and evolution of Maven’s AI-powered route planning and dispatch system, the Maven mobile P&D driver application, and the Maven ELD/telematics system. In doing so, he has also partnered with truckload, LTL, distribution, delivery, and private fleets of all sizes and types, such as PITT OHIO, to gather key insights and create best-in-class solutions that solve a variety of complex problems using AI/ML algorithms, cloud computing, telematics hardware, and other technologies. Prior to Maven, Alex was a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University specializing in human-computer interaction. Alex has also developed vehicle telematics for another planet…in what was perhaps the most cosmic project in his career, he designed exploratory, route-planning interfaces for Mars Rover operators at NASA. Previously, Alex worked as a digital designer in New York City, and he also holds a BA from Carleton College and a Master of Design from Carnegie Mellon University.
Roger Tutterow, Ph.D.
Henssler Financial Endowed Chair, Director of the Econometric Center and Professor of Economics, Kennesaw State University
Roger Tutterow is Professor of Economics at Kennesaw State University. He also serves as Director of the Econometric Center, an applied research center housed in KSU’s Coles College of Business.
His analysis of the economic, business and political environments have been featured in a variety of media including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Arizona Republic, Florida Times-Union, Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Wichita Eagle and on CNN, CNBC, NBC, Bloomberg Television, NPR’s “Marketplace” and “All Things Considered,” CNN-Radio as well as by regional electronic and print media.
In addition to his work in academia, Dr. Tutterow has served as a consultant on financial economics and statistical modeling for corporate clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to closely held businesses. He also serves as Chief Economic Advisor for the Henssler Financial Group, an Atlanta-based investment advisory firm and as a strategic advisor to Georgia Oak Partners, a Georgia-focused private equity firm. He has provided expert testimony on economic, financial and statistical matters in state and federal court, before the Georgia General Assembly and before the Georgia Public Service Commission. Dr. Tutterow has given several hundred speeches to professional groups in over 30 states and Canada on topics in the economic, business and political arenas.
For the last four years, he has been selected by Georgia Trend magazine as a “notable Georgian." In 2003, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Dr. Tutterow to serve on the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, a capacity that he continues to serve in for current Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. In 2010, he was named to the Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians which conducted a comprehensive review of Georgia’s Tax Code. In addition, Dr. Tutterow has served on the Georgia Child Support Commission, on the Board of Trustees of Berry College, the Board of Directors of Vinings Bank, the Southern Region Board of Directors for the American Red Cross Blood Services and the Board of Directors for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Atlanta.
A Georgia native, Dr. Tutterow holds a B.S. in Decision Science from Berry College and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University. Prior to rejoining Kennesaw State University, Dr. Tutterow held faculty and administrative appointments at West Virginia University, Georgia State University and Mercer University. He has also served as a visiting professor at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and at the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies in Seoul, South Korea.