Guest Speakers

Dr. Indudeep Chhachhi is a Professor of Finance for over 27 years and has taught numerous courses—both at the undergraduate as well as graduate levels—in the area of Corporate Finance, Investments, and Risk Management. He is passionate about financial literacy and financial well-being and has given numerous presentations on these topics. While many of the presentations have been targeted towards WKU community (Spring Retirement Savings Week, student groups, etc.), others have been delivered to outside groups such as FPA of Kentuckiana and Convergence Decision Summit in Denver and Anaheim. Dr. Chhachhi has published 14 articles in academic journals including The Financial Review, Journal of Financial Education, and Financial Management. He has served as the Director of TVA’s Investment Challenge Program—whereby students manage a hands-on, real-world portfolio as part of a 25-school competition—since 1999.

Dr. Chhachhi has maintained an ongoing consulting relationship for well over a decade with ARGI Financial Group—a firm that has been on the Financial Times Top 300 Registered Investment Advisors three years in a row. In that consulting role he focuses on risk mitigation strategies of investment portfolios and investment selections for 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored plans. He is also responsible for developing advanced options-based strategies—especially for high net-worth individuals. In other consulting roles, he has worked on comprehensive feasibility studies for Bowling Green firms as part of their USDA loan applications.

Dr. Chhachhi is passionate about K-12 education and has served in numerous roles with the Bowling Green school system’s Parent Teacher Organization and Site Based Decision Making Council. He has appeared on local media outlets, such as WKYU-FM Radio, WBKO TV, and WKYU TV. Dr. Chhachhi has been regularly called on by WKU’s President to serve on Ad Hoc committees and Task Forces and is currently chairing University’s Budget Council. He is also a member of Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s Public Pension Task Force that is advising the Governor and State Legislature on possible fixes for the severely underfunded state pension system.

David Lau is widely recognized as an innovator and disruptor in the financial services industry. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DPL Financial Partners, a privately held financial services firm that specializes in the development and distribution of lowcost, commission-free insurance and annuity products, as well as technology-driven product discovery tools and education, for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and individual investors. Since going to market in 2018, DPL has worked with 20 leading insurance carriers to bring a range of value-driven, no-load products to its turnkey insurance management platform for advisors, and built an advisor base of more than 10,000 advisors from more than 3,500 RIA firms. Mr. Lau is a sought-after speaker, commentator, and adviser to financial journalists, insurance carriers, RIA firms, fintech providers and others in the financial services and fintech industries. His work has received coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Barron's, CNBC, Wealth Management, and other financial media where he provides insights on industry products, players, trends, and best practices. Prior to founding DPL, Mr. Lau was Chief Operating Officer of Jefferson National, a leading innovator of tax-advantaged investing strategies for RIAs and fee-based advisors, where he led sales, marketing, technology, operations, and service.

During his tenure, Mr. Lau architected the industry’s first flat-fee variable annuity product, Monument Advisor, and grew it into the leading no-load variable annuity in the market. Prior to joining Jefferson National, Mr. Lau was principal and co-founder of The Oysterhouse Group, LLC, a management consulting firm focused on retail delivery of financial services products, where he developed “go-to-market” strategies for key initiatives. His firm’s list of internationally recognized clients included Shinsei Bank, Merrill Lynch and Ace Insurance Group. Earlier, Mr. Lau served as Chief Marketing Officer of E*Trade Bank, and its predecessor TeleBank, the first pure-play internet bank. As the chief marketing strategist, he was responsible for creating and implementing break-through national direct marketing and branding campaigns that defined the online banking category. During Mr. Lau’s six-year tenure deposits at the bank grew from $200M to over $8B, and, at the time of its sale to E*Trade, TeleBank was the largest internet bank worldwide and five times larger than all US competitors combined. Mr. Lau’s early career included various positions at the Jamestown Foundation and the American Trucking Associations. In his leisure time, David enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf and cooking. Additionally, David is a diehard Boston Red Sox fan and an avid Duke basketball fan

Jeffrey Levine, CPA/PFS, CFP®, AIF, CWS®, MSA is the Lead Financial Planning Nerd for Kitces.com, and is also the President of Fully Vested Advice, Inc., which provides financial education and consulting services to industry professionals. Jeffrey is also the Chief Planning Officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners and works closely with their team to create a seamless client experience that makes it easy to plan and instill confidence as they work towards their most important goals. He serves as a technical resource for advisors and the firm’s primary thought leader regarding evidence-based planning concepts and strategies. Buckingham allows him to train and educate hundreds of advisors and support them in their pursuit of helping clients fulfill their financial dreams. He is a nationallyrecognized and award-winning thought leader within the financial planning community.

Kyla Scanlon is a writer, videocreator, podcaster, and chair of the Federal Reserve. She has written for the NY Times (the vibecession!), New York Magazine, and Bloomberg Opinion. She has spoken at universities, including MIT and UC Berkeley, as well several conferences and has appeared on many different podcasts! She is focused on analyzing the economy with a human-focused lens, as well as providing information for people to understand the world around them.

Ron A. Rhoades, JD, CFP® serves as Director of the Personal Financial Planning Program at Western Kentucky University, where he teaches courses in Personal Finance, Applied Investments, Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, and Financial Plan Development (capstone). A long-time advocate for the fiduciary standard, he is a frequent visitor to the halls of Capitol Hill and government agencies. In March 2021 he merged his firm with ARGI Investment Services, LLC, where he now serves as a financial advisor and content producer. A 1985 graduate of the University of Florida College of Law, he is a frequent writer for various industry publications. He enjoys reading, writing and traveling, and he is a fan of the Hilltoppers, Gators, and Rays, as well as the UNC Tarheels basketball team.

Seema Sheth is senior vice president and regional executive of the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Ms. Sheth became head of the Louisville Branch in December 2021. The Branch serves southern Indiana and western Kentucky.

Ms. Sheth joined the Bank from PNC Private Bank in Louisville, where she served as vice president and relationship strategist. In this role, she specialized in financial planning and stewardship of high net-worth clients. Previously, Ms. Sheth built a book of business at Northwestern Mutual, where she was integral in diversity and inclusion efforts. Passionate about financial capability, Ms. Sheth founded the Adulting Academy in 2017, which teaches the basics of finance to young adults.

Among her honors, Ms. Sheth has been recognized as a MOSAIC Award recipient by the Jewish Career and Family Services Foundation for her work in the nonprofit sector. She was also recognized by the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana as its "Tough Cookie" recipient in 2018 for her work in the Louisville community, particularly as it relates to uplifting and supporting girls. She has been recognized by Louisville Business First as one of the 20 people to know in finance and has been featured in TOPS Louisville, Style Blueprint and Today's Woman magazines as a leader in business. Ms. Sheth serves on the board of Metro United Way, where she was vice chair for the 2019 campaign, raising over $26 million for the seven-county region. She is the vice president and governance chair of Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she is credited with spearheading efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion at the board level.

Ms. Sheth earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Irvine and an undergraduate degree in theater from the College of William and Mary. She and her husband are the parents of two daughters.