Fall 2026 CFO Leadership Conference
Fall 2026
Keynote
Ms. Kgil has served as our Chief Financial Officer since December 2024. Prior to joining Figure, Ms. Kgil served as the Head of Finance at Flow.life, a real estate technology company, which is a position she held from July 2023 to November 2024. From November 2018 to November 2022, Ms. Kgil was also the Chief Financial Officer of Blockchain.com, a digital asset financial technology company. Concurrently, from November 2018 to June 2023, Ms. Kgil served as the Chief Financial Officer of Blockchain Venture Fund, a digital asset investment fund. Ms. Kgil’s career began at PricewaterhouseCoopers, followed by leadership roles at a variety of financial services firms, including Fortress Investment Group and OneMain Financial. Ms. Kgil holds a bachelor’s degree in Mineral and Petroleum Engineering from Seoul National University.
Keynote
Deidra (Dee) Merriwether is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of W.W. Grainger, Inc. She oversees the company’s financial activities, including controllership, treasury, financial analysis, investor relations, internal audit, tax and financial operations. She is also responsible for Grainger’s corporate strategy, analytics, real estate and the U.K. business. (Cromwell).
Keynote
Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Mike Sarraille is a 3x best-selling author and 4x Global Top 30 leadership speaker, ranked #3 in the world in 2026 and recognized as one of the top military speakers of 2026. He is known for his work in leadership, organizational culture, the warrior mindset, and building high-performing teams. Mike served 20 years in Special Operations, including assignments with the Joint Special Operations Command, and led combat missions during the Battles of Ramadi and Sadr City.
After military service, Mike founded Talent War Group, a leadership development and executive search firm acquired in 2024. He now serves as Chief Talent Officer at Overwatch Mission Critical, a leader in labor for the data center industry. He is the author of The Talent War, The Everyday Warrior, and Scarlett’s Big Shot, part of the Left of Bang series for young leaders. Mike also leads Everyday Warrior Nation, a leadership platform formerly featured on Sports Illustrated and Men’s Journal, where he hosts a podcast and column focused on leadership and performance. He is also the host of The Unsung of Arlington (Season 1 and 2) on FOX Nation, a series honoring fallen American heroes through powerful storytelling.
Mike is the founder of Legacy Expeditions, leading record-setting missions that honor fallen heroes. In January 2023, his team set four world records by skydiving onto all seven continents in under seven days. He also served as executive producer for the documentaries Drop Zone Everest and Triple 7, released in theaters nationwide. Mike continues to serve as an ambassador for veteran-focused nonprofits, advancing leadership through service and example.
Most importantly, he is a proud husband and father to 3 future leaders.
Keynote
Valen Tong is drawn to challenges that demand focus, speed, or scale. She thrives on identifying what’s working, uncovering what’s getting in the way, and unlocking what comes next.
Valen brings more than 20 years of experience helping public and private companies grow, turn around, and adapt to the pressures of scale and change. She has worked across CPG, B2B SaaS, retail, manufacturing, media, and edtech in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Valen’s cross-industry and global experience gives her the range to navigate diverse business models, markets, and stages of maturity.
She has served as CFO, Chief Business Officer, and General Manager. Valen has owned P&Ls and led cross-functional teams spanning strategy, partnerships, go-to-market, and product. She uses finance as a strategic lever—to test assumptions, drive alignment, and translate strategy into measurable results. Valen focuses on what scales: sustainable growth, operational efficiency, and long-term impact.
She cares about technology not for the hype, but for what it enables. Valen thinks deliberately about where the future is heading and how to build for it today. She has recently focused on applying AI not just to streamline work, but to unlock growth—accelerating innovation, strengthening teams, and rethinking how organizations invest time, talent, and capital.
Valen is the author of Finance Rewired: A Field Guide for Finance Leaders in the Age of AI, which offers practical frameworks and real-world case studies for teams navigating this transformation. She believes the future isn’t AI or humans—it’s both. Valen sees competitive advantage going to companies that can scale good judgment and build systems that support both speed and clarity.
She knows that what lasts isn’t just the numbers, but the people who grew, the systems that endured, and the problems that became simpler. Valen is driven by a mission to build what lasts and leave every business—and hopefully the world—a little better than she found it.
Keynote
Dorothy Walter is the Global CFO at Accel, a venture capital firm with over $40 billion in assets under management. She joined Accel in 2025 to further scale and institutionalize the firm’s global operations and support continued growth. She previously served as Partner and CFO at Alpine Investors where she significantly expanded the firm’s team and capabilities, including launching a portfolio advisory group and founding the firm’s capital markets team. Earlier in her career, Dorothy worked at Apple and as a fund-of-funds investor, experiences that shaped her approach to financial management and managing long-term investor relationships.
Originally from Beijing, China, Dorothy graduated from Vassar College and earned her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Outside of work, she has a deep passion for art and the outdoors. She serves on the Board of the Point Reyes National Seashore Association and believes in promoting healthy access to nature for all.
Senior Vice President, Health & Welfare Benefits Consulting, Marsh McLennan Agency
Visionary Session
Thursday | 10:00 am
For over 25 years, Marybeth Gray has been dedicated to helping employers nationwide lower healthcare costs and enhance quality. Throughout her career, she has effectively reduced insurance costs and employer liability, thanks to her extensive knowledge of the insurance marketplace. Currently, she holds the position of Senior Vice President of Health and Welfare Benefits at Marsh McLennan Agency, where she oversees comprehensive account management for her clients. With expertise in analyzing healthcare utilization data and cost trends, particularly in pharmacy for large, selfinsured clients, Marybeth is a prominent thought leader at Marsh McLennan Agency, speaking at more than ten national conferences each year.
One of the key advantages she offers her clients is a unique insight into future cost drivers. She assists employers in grasping the potential financial impacts of pharmacogenomics, newly introduced specialty medications, and gene therapies. Her objective is to enhance the health of the population while reducing healthcare costs for both members and employers.
Fall 2026 CFO Leadership Conference