Thomas Golisano--entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader--is the founder and chairman of the Board of Paychex, Inc., headquartered in Rochester, New York, with more than 15,500 employees and 100 office locations nationwide. Before starting Paychex, the prevailing wisdom was that it was a waste of time selling payroll services to companies with fewer than 50 employees. Golisano, however, saw an opportunity; he did the math and proved that smaller companies needed payroll processing services just as much as larger companies, while still offering an excellent return on investment. He grew Paychex one partner and franchisee at a time, over many years, and today the company has a market value of $28 billion. Still active in business and philanthropy, he currently mentors the entrepreneurs who run the businesses in which he has invested, and he also oversees his family’s charitable foundation. To date he has donated over $250 million to a wide range of charitable causes, including educational institutions, children’s hospitals, and especially organizations working with people suffering from developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Mike Wicks is an award-winning author, collaborator, and senior writer at Kevin Anderson & Associates. He has managed several multimillion-dollar government programs, rebranded towns and regions, written economic development and tourism strategies, and created sponsorship programs for major not-for-profits. Wicks is also a well-regarded trainer, facilitator, and speaker whose clients have included national banks and multinational insurance corporations. Wicks has written and collaborated on over twenty books, e-books, and training manuals. Fire from the Sky: A Diary Over Japan won a silver medal for best military memoir of 2005, awarded by the Military Writers Society of America. He’s a foodie, so when he’s not writing he can be found in his kitchen preparing a gourmet meal.