2025 Dealmakers of the Year Honorees
Presented By: HUB International
John M. Anderson
former partner/CEO
Resource Communications Group
John Anderson and his partners bought RCG in 2018 and sold to Bluewave Technology Group in 2023 for an undisclosed amount. They took a stagnant services firm and created a new and innovative product category that led to product/market fit, quadrupled revenue and then sold to Bluewave.
Matt DiMaria
CEO
Stelao
In August 2018 Matt partnered with Alpine Investors to acquire Virtual Hold Technology, based in Akron, Ohio. Four years later Matt and his team had transformed the business, more than doubling revenue, relocating to Nashville and completing a sale to SaaS leader Medallia. Matt now leads Stelao, backed by GTCR.
Richard Flores
Co-Founder & COO
Healthpoint Ventures
Richard Flores is a dynamic healthcare executive with a proven track record of assisting and leading large-scale transactions and driving strategic growth and revenue cycle improvements in the hospital sector. As SVP at LifePoint Health, Richard helped spearhead the acquisition and integration of 48 hospitals, expanding the organization’s portfolio from 17 to 65 hospitals and driving annual revenues from $700M to $5.5B. His leadership in executing these high-value acquisitions positioned LifePoint as a dominant player in the healthcare industry. Richard specializes in strategic operational and financial transformation. He has assisted health systems with large-scale initiatives to both centralize/standardize revenue cycle operations and lead RCM outsourcing partnerships resulting in significantly reducing costs.
Max Goldberg
Benjamin Goldberg
Co-Founders, Co-Owners
Strategic Hospitality
Strategic Hospitality is a Nashville-based hospitality company owned by brothers Benjamin and Max Goldberg. Founded in 2006, the company has created a diverse portfolio of concepts that have shaped the city’s dining culture. Benjamin and Max, who were raised in Nashville, are deeply committed to supporting the local community and upholding the kindness for which thecity is known. In August 2023, Chef Josh Habiger joined as a partner, bringing his expertise and further enriching the company’s vision.
Strategic Hospitality’s portfolio includes The Patterson House, The Catbird Seat, The Band Box and The Country Club at First Horizon Park, Bastion, Henrietta Red, Locust, Taqueria Zepeda at GEODIS Park, Kisser and, most recently, multiple venues at Nashville International Airport: Kitty Hawk Eat + Drink, Voodoo Doughnut, The Titans Press Box, and The Music City Shop. The company also proudly operates Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, owned by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, which opened in November 2023.The Goldberg brothers have been nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurateur award in 2015, 2016, 2018–2020, and 2025, a testament to their entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and commitment to exceptional hospitality. In 2025, this recognition also extends to partner Chef Josh Habiger, reinforcing Strategic Hospitality’s dedication to excellence in the industry.
Erick Goss
CEO/Co-Founder
Minno
Erick Goss, CEO and Co-Founder of Minno, leads a global Christian media company renowned for its Minno Kids streaming app and YouTube channel. Under his guidance, Minno has become the premier source for Christian children's content, producing award-winning series like "Laugh & Grow Bible" and "Young David." Previously, Goss founded JellyTelly and helped launch "Buck Denver Asks...What's in the Bible?" His diverse background includes roles as a senior manager at Amazon, CMO at Magazines.com, U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, and Pentagon spokesperson. Goss holds degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy, University of Michigan, and Troy University. Minno raised $14.74 million of venture funding from Cubit Capital and other undisclosed investors on September 10, 2024.
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Joey Hemphill
Co-Founder
Trent Hemphill
President & CEO
Hemphill Brothers Coach Company
Joey and Trent Hemphill are co-founders of Hemphill Brothers Leasing Company, LLC . The Company specialized in leasing, building and selling luxury buses to entertainers, sports teams, and political campaigns, with a roster that included such artists as: Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, and George Strait just to name a few, Hemphill Brothers was the largest coach company in the industry.
In November 2023, Hemphill Brothers Coach Company was sold to Dreamliner. By that time the fleet had grown to 125 buses and 250 employees. Joey and Trent are now pursuing other interests and reside in the Nashville area. The acquisition helps Dreamliner Luxury Coaches to become the industry's largest and most sought-after resource for high-end tour coaches.
Reggie Polk
President & CEO
Polk & Associates Construction, Inc.
Polk & Associates Construction, Inc, an entity member of the Tennessee Builders Alliance (TBA), is proud to partner with the Titans organization to construct the new Tennessee Titans stadium, a transformative development that will redefine the fan experience and contribute to Nashville’s dynamic growth. The new stadium is expected to be a transformative addition to Nashville, enhancing the city's ability to host major events and contributing to the local economy. The project will return valuable acres of riverfront land to the city, enabling the development of a new neighborhood featuring mixed-income housing, green spaces, retail, and other community-focused amenities.
Groundbreaking has already commenced for the $1.55 billion, 60,000-seat enclosed, domed structure, with a planned opening in 2027. The venue will feature 170 luxury suites, an artificial turf playing surface and numerous amenities including: an outside bar, a porch-style upper concourse with views of downtown Nashville, two large video boards, and a fan lounge.
Rich Thomson
Founder & CEO
Dreamliner
In late 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with music touring at a standstill, Founder Rich Thomson had an opportunity to purchase 12 touring buses. With no certainty when touring would commence again, Thomson took a bet on the live music industry - these 12 coaches were the beginning of Dreamliner Luxury Coaches.
In less than a year, as Thomson hoped, large-scale concerts returned and in August 2021 Dreamliner embarked on its first post-COVID tour with The Jonas Brothers, led by Tour Director David Licursi.
With consumer interest in live experiences at an all time high, Dreamliner sought to expand its capabilities and reach, leading to the acquisition of Diamond Coach Leasing in June of 2022. The purchase more than doubled Dreamliner’s fleet, established new headquarters in Nashville, TN, and expanded the company’s ability to serve the country music industry. Shortly thereafter, with dozens of coaches touring throughout the United States simultaneously, Dreamliner opened a secondary facility in Fontana, CA, allowing in-house servicing to its coaches on the West Coast.
In late 2023, concluding its third year of operations, Dreamliner purchased Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, an acquisition that nearly tripled the number of coaches in the company’s fleet. With nearly 200 coaches and the ability to service more than 50 percent of the larger arena stadium tours in the U.S., Dreamliner became the largest provider of entertainer coaches in the world. Clients now included the hottest names in entertainment, including The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Tool, Drake, SZA, and Olivia Rodrigo. Dreamliner’s services extended to providing best-in-class executive coaches for group meetings and executive trips for Fortune 500 companies including NASCAR, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the Professional Golfers’ Association of America.
Less than a year after purchasing Hemphill Brothers, Dreamliner Luxury Coaches announced its largest addition to date with the acquisition of Denver-based transportation logistics company Shomotion and Nashville-based truck and trailer company Show Pro. Through these acquisitions, Dreamliner expanded its services outside of live music to motion picture productions, mobile marketing campaigns, theatrical productions, festivals, and more. Dreamliner gained both Shomotion’s five-acre Denver facility and Show Pro’s Nashville three-acre facility, over 60 trucks, and 200 trailers. These acquisitions placed Dreamliner in every major US music tour between new trucks and coaches, adding tremendous value to Dreamliner’s client base in both production and stage set up. Additional clientele now includes Taylor Swift, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Coldplay, Elton John, Kenny Chesney, and more.
Dreamliner is leading the way in event transportation logistics with increased reach that now extends beyond the touring industry
2025 Nashville Social Impact Investing
Zeena Johar
Co-Founder
Imagine Pediatrics
Zeena Johar was one of the Co-Founders at Imagine Pediatrics. Zeena joined Rubicon Founders in 2021 and led thesis development of their pediatric venture (Imagine Pediatrics). Imagine Pediatrics is a home-based medical group focused on the needs of sickest-of-sick kids. Before joining Rubicon Founders, Zeena led operations at Advantia Health. Previously, Zeena spent eight years building her chronic disease management company in India for the underserved; her work was showcased as a Brookings Case Study. Zeena is a trained bio-chemist and received her PhD from ETH, Zurich. Zeena has been additionally recognized as Ashoka Fellow, Aspen Fellow, Yale World Fellow for outstanding contribution towards technology enabled healthcare. Zeena was also awarded NASSCOM Social Innovation Honor; India Healthcare Award; and Asia’s 100 Pioneers award.