CFO University Speakers 2025- Part 3

JaeSon Kim

JaeSon Kim is the Senior Vice President, Mid-Market Sales at HighRadius. He is an accomplished and highly analytical executive professional with 20 + years of experience in implementing various financial software, including software in receivables, payables, tax, and treasury in both North America and APAC regions. He graduated from Brown University and Stanford University and started his career as a financial applications developer at Oracle.  

Phil Willingham- District President, Robert Half

Phil Willingham is a Houston-based district president for Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized talent solutions firm. He oversees operations in Houston, Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa for the company’s practice areas specializing in finance, accounting, administrative support and senior-level consulting.

With more than 25 years of tenure at Robert Half, Phil is dedicated to ensuring companies are connected with the most highly skilled professionals who can help them effectively grow their business. His focus is on providing quality customer service to internal employees, candidates and clients, as well as being an industry leader and mentor. Additionally, Phil is member of the Houston Business Journal’s Leadership Trust and regularly provides valuable insight on the latest hiring and workplace trends.

Aaron Ragusa- Practice Director, Robert Half

Aaron Ragusa is the Practice Director for Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized talent solutions firm. In his role, Aaron leads the Management Resources practice, the premier provider of senior-level finance, accounting, and business systems professionals to clients on a project and interim basis.  Before his current role, Aaron held several leadership positions within Robert Half’s consulting subsidiary, Protiviti, where he focused on business performance improvement initiatives, public company readiness and transformation, and internal controls design and implementation for clients across various industries. Aaron holds degrees in accounting and management from Louisiana State University and maintains his certification as a Certified Internal Auditor.

Casey Engeling

Casey Engeling is the Houston-based Director of the accounting and finance permanent placement services for Robert Half, the world’s first and largest talent solutions firm.  She joined Robert Half in 2014 as a Recruiting Manager and has held various leadership roles since that time.  Casey has a background in public accounting as an auditor where she provided audit and attestation services for various industries including financial institutions, manufacturing, services, and non-profits. She speaks regularly on hiring trends and workplace topics with local organizations including IIA (2022 conference speaker), IMA (2021 webinar speaker), FEI (professional development speaker). 

Marlem Pullin

Marlem Pullin serves as the Executive Managing Director at WG Consulting, where she leads a team of professionals providing strategic counsel and customized solutions to clients. She is also currently serving as Interim CFO for a client, providing hands-on leadership and financial oversight.

With over 25 years of experience as a results-focused financial executive, she has successfully led teams through change, integration, and process improvements while driving efficiency across organizations. Marlem has worked with public and private entities across diverse industries, including private equity, energy trading, nuclear energy, midstream and downstream energy, construction, and building services. Her expertise spans financial governance, regulatory compliance, management consulting, and operational leadership.

Throughout her career, Marlem has held key executive leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies, overseeing financial operations, reporting, and risk management. As Nuclear Financial Manager for Georgia Power Company, she led a team managing financial governance for the Vogtle 3&4 Nuclear Project, ensuring compliance and accurate reporting to stakeholders. She has also held leadership positions in corporate finance, accounting, and strategic planning, supporting large-scale projects and business transformations.

Marlem holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Russell Sage College and is a graduate of the Emory Executive Management Program and the Harvard Accelerate Executive Program. 
Her contributions have earned her prestigious awards, including the Georgia’s Latina Excellence Award, the YWCA Salute to Women of Achievement Award, the Multicultural Leadership Award from the Georgia Diversity Council, and the HABLA Award – Corporate Executive of the Year. She was also recognized as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Houston by Women We Admire in February 2025. Marlem is passionate about mentoring and creating opportunities for others, actively investing her time in initiatives that promote leadership, education, and community growth.

H. Stephen Grace Jr., Ph.D.

Dr. Stephen Grace is President and Founder of H.S. Grace & Company, Inc., a litigation support, expert testimony and business consulting firm serving corporate officers and directors and their counsel as well as other organizations and individuals. The firm has offices in Houston and New York and has provided services both nationally and internationally. Dr. Grace’s more than 40 years of senior management/board, Big Five national director, and university faculty member experience underlie his expert witness work on corporate governance, business practices, damages and related issues arising in business disputes. His prior business career included senior responsibilities in organizations involved in real estate, oil & gas, national sports team franchises, auto and equipment leasing, and other areas. Since founding H.S. Grace, he has assisted in litigation involving complex commercial disputes in real estate, energy, banking, financial and insurance and in numerous organization forms including partnerships and non-profit entities. He has also assisted clients in shareowner derivative suits and regulatory enforcement actions. H.S. Grace & Company’s resources include thirty-plus advisors and expert engagement staff members from a wide range of industries and professional disciplines. He received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Lamar in 1964, his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Houston in 1970.  He has authored and co-authored over 70 articles in peer reviewed business and legal professional journals.

Laura Fulton 

Laura Fulton is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the American Bureau of Shipping. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Targa Resources Corp (NYSE: TRGP), where she is the Audit Committee Chair, Lead Independent Director, and a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Previously, Laura was the CFO of Hi-Crush Inc. (NYSE: HCR), a leading provider of proppant and logistics services to the North American energy industry. She also held the role of Executive Vice President and CFO at AEI, an operator of energy infrastructure assets in emerging markets. Earlier in her career, Laura led Internal Audit at Lyondell Chemical Company and began her professional journey in audit with Deloitte.

Laura was ranked #10 on the Wall Street Journal's 2025 Top 250 Board Directors and was recognized by the Houston Business Journal as a 2025 CFO of the Year honoree and a Women Who Mean Business award winner. In 2019, Oil & Gas Investor magazine named her one of the “25 Most Influential Women in Energy.” Institutional Investor included her in the 2018 All-America Executive Team for Oil Services & Equipment as the Best CFO, nominated by both the buy side and sell side. Additionally, Laura was a finalist for the Houston Business Journal’s 2018 CFO of the Year award and won their CFO of the Year honors in 2013 for both the Small Public Company and Community Impact categories.

Laura graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University with a B.B.A. in Accounting. She was named an Outstanding Alumni of the Mays Business School in 2020 and was inducted into the Accounting Department Hall of Honor in 2019. She actively contributes to her alma mater by serving on the Mays Dean's Advisory Board and the Accounting Department Advisory Board. Laura is also involved with the Houston Chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI) and the FEI Houston Scholarship Foundation, serving on both boards.

Frances Powell Hawes

Frances Powell Hawes currently serves as an Independent Director for both Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) and Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE). In these roles, she chairs the Audit Committee and contributes as a member of the nominating and governance committees for each company. Her expertise in board governance is further demonstrated by her previous service as an Independent Director at Energen Corporation, where she played an important role during a significant activist campaign that ultimately led to the company's sale. Additionally, she was an Independent Director for PGT Innovations, supporting the company through the deployment of its poison pill strategy and its eventual sale at a notably higher value. She has also served as an independent board member for the private company Express Energy Services, which was successfully sold.

Ms. Powell Hawes has extensive experience in financial leadership, having held the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for NCI Building Systems and other public and private companies. Notably, as CFO for Grant Prideco, she led the successful 100% stock spin-off of Grant Prideco from Weatherford International. Her time at Weatherford International as Vice-President of Accounting provided her with the critical experience and skills that paved the way for her subsequent promotion to CFO at Grant Prideco.

Ms. Powell Hawes currently serves on the Memorial Assistance Ministries Board and served on various community and professional non-profit boards such as President of FEI-Houston Chapter

Evelyn Angelle

Evelyn Angelle is an independent director for public and private company boards and a dedicated philanthropist to several education-related charities. Her executive experience includes fifteen years in Ernst & Young’s Houston audit practice and a lengthy career in the energy industry as a chief financial officer, chief accounting officer, senior vice president of supply chain and vice president of investor relations, primarily at a Fortune 100 company. She is married with two grown sons and two grandchildren. She is an avid horsewoman