Speakers & Panelists

Kristine Gross

VP, Growth & Marketing

As Vice President of Growth and Marketing at T-CETRA, LLC, Kristine plays a vital role in T-CETRA’s expansion into new verticals such as healthcare, education, charity, government and transportation to strategically drive sales and develop stronger ties to the business community. Kristine also manages the T-CETRA Marketing Team and is focused on elevating the T-CETRA brand in addition to ensuring the VIDAPAY dealer network and carrier partners successfully grow their business. Her Marketing team won the 2022 dotCOMM Digital Platinum level team achievement award for digital marketing excellence in the “VIDAPAY ME! $100K Giveaway”. The Q4 holiday program drove outstanding dealer engagement, resulting in a 12% overall sales lift when the prepaid wireless market was down -29%. She also created and runs the T-CETRA Foundation, which supports underbanked populations with charitable grants to improve financial literacy and/or utilize technology to drive economic growth in underserved areas. 

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Michael Hutchcraft

President, Glacier Consulting

Known as an R2V3 expert, Michael leads the Glacier Team in serving our clients with all their certification needs.  Michael routinely collaborates with SERI on technical issues that have proved to push Glacier Consulting to the top level in the R2V3 EHS Consulting.

 

Prior to coming to Glacier, Michael spent 7 years at Clover Technologies Group as their corporate EHS Director leading the company in R2 compliance throughout North America.

Tony Baker

Co-owner of CellFix Inc and CEO and Founder of GSM Warehouse

Tony is an Industry veteran with 11 of his own Cell Phone Repair store locations under the CellFix Franchise Brand. 

 In 2013 Tony founded GSM Warehouse to meet the device needs of thousands of wireless locations & repair shops worldwide.  

Tony has had his finger on the pulse of the Cell Phone Repair industry for more than 15 years.  He has a passion for the wholesale industry because he knows that having Devices for Resale is a much needed service to the repair industry that is not being met.

When Tony is on a break from growing his multiple companies he loves to spend time with his family and is an avid sports car enthusiast.

Ahmed Abusharbain

CEO at Unlimited Prepay Distribution/ CEO at UPPLUCK

Ahmed is a professional Motivational Speaker who speaks on a variety of topics for audiences. It is his lifelong passion to make a positive impact in the lives of others, by sharing his experiences and expertise.

His strategic approach combined with an unorthodox perspective, Ahmed helps people break through barriers and challenges, overcome doubts and take large strides towards achieving their goals.

Sofia Waleed

COO of CellSmart

Sofia is a working mom with 3 kids, currently residing in Houston Texas with hands-down experience in Management and Marketing. In 2013, Sofia joined CellSmart POS as a Tech support but owned the company likes her own and after all the constant hard work of 10 years, she is the COO of the company now.

 

Before joining CellSmart POS, she was a lecturer with ten years of experience teaching business studies to undergraduate and graduate students. Besides being a fantastic COO of the company, she is an amazing cook who loves to make Desi wholesome food for her family and spend time with them in her free time.

Jeremy Kwaterski

Founder of CPR Cell Phone Repair

Jeremy Kwaterski is undeniably one of the “Cell Phone Repair Industries” founding fathers.  With over 25 years of experience in the Cell Phone Repair industry, Jeremy founded CPR Cell Phone Repair in 2004 and was the CEO until he sold the company in 2013.   

Jeremy is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the Repair Industry. Jeremy is a visionary with a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies. 

In 2019 Jeremy founded  the first Association/Buying Group for Repair Shops called Repairs First Association.  With over 600 locations Repairs First Association is slated to become the biggest consortium of repair shops in the world.

Jeremy Kwaterski  is the founder & Executive Director  of The Gadget Repair Expo.  

Jeremy is an avid car enthusiast and event promoter who owns a Hot Air Balloon company that manages Balloon Festivals across the USA.

Nicole Russell

Founder & CEO of CellBotics, CTO of Repairs First

Nicole Russell is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for breathing life into big ideas and training the next generation of self-starters. As the founder of CellBotics, a leading educating center dedicated to training students in IT and STEM-related topics such as; cell phone repair and Entrepreneurship. She is also CTO of Repairs First Association. Nicole has helped thousands gain critical skills in forging their own paths to financial independence. 

Few things bring her more satisfaction than working with students in person or over the phone and mentoring them on how to become successful technicians and professionals.

Aakshay Kripalani

CEO of Injured Gadgets

Aakshay Kripalani currently resides in Norcross, Ga., with his amazing wife Lavi, two beautiful daughters, and canine kid.
He has served as CEO of Injured Gadgets since 2008. Prior to his involvement with the company, he also owned an online marketing firm as well as numerous social media outlets. In addition, he has extensive experience in web development, advertising, logistics management and finance.
Shay entered the wireless repair industry by selling parts online from his garage through eBay and craigslist. With almost a decade in the repair industry, he has real-life business experience and knowledge of the repair world and is always an open book when it comes to sharing ideas and his expertise. 
As a team, Injured Gadgets consistently strives to be the most credible and constant source of knowledge and parts for the mobile repair world. For fun he enjoys flipping real estate, reading wikipedia articles, and playing with his little girls.