Community Highlights: Meet Christine D. Gagnon of TEDxCatawba LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine D. Gagnon

Hi Christine D., thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Christine serves as Chief Financial Officer, Roha Group Inc, a New York–based private equity firm. She is also Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CDG Holdings Group, the holding company of TEDxCatawba, Odin Frigg, Ivar, and Leif Ventures. As a seasoned executive, she most recently held the positions of IT Finance Transformation Leader and Head of Finance, GenAI at Honeywell International Inc., based in its global headquarters. Prior to joining Honeywell, Christine held the positions of Chief Financial Officer, African Asset Finance Company, contemporaneously serving on the Audit Committee of Raxio Group, portfolio companies of Roha Group Inc, and on the board of several portfolio company subsidiaries. She is a Certified Public Accountant with in-depth experience across financial services, private equity, and technology sectors operating across functions including accounting, finance, treasury, credit, legal, risk and operations. She serves as adjunct faculty in the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University and previously held faculty roles at the University of California, Irvine (in its undergraduate and Executive MBA programs), and at California State University, Fullerton. In 2021, she was named in Monitor’s Top 50 Women in Equipment Finance. Christine was also named in Acquisition International’s (AI’s) Global CFO Excellence Awards as Most Innovative Venture Capital & Investment CFO (2024), and in AI’s Influential Businesswoman Awards as Most Influential Emerging Market Asset Finance Company CFO (2023).

Over her 20+ year international career, having resided in Europe and Africa in addition to her home country, Christine has served in both public and private sectors holding positions as EMEIA Chief Operating Officer, EMEIA Chief Financial Officer and Global Head of Go-to-Market, Financial Crime and Chief Operating Officer, Financial Services Africa at Ernst & Young LLP; First Vice President, Offices of the Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman at OneWest Bank; and Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Christine serves as strategic advisor to the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law; she is a member of MIT’s Work of the Future Working Group (Generative AI) as well as Women Defining AI (WDAI), Senior Women in Private Equity (SWIPE) Network, and Worldwide Women’s Association (WWA). She is active in the veteran community volunteering for Hire Heroes USA and serves on the Board and Audit Committee of The Partnership to End Homelessness as well as the Board of Humans for Healthcare. Christine is also an active member of the TED community, serving as speaker coach for TEDx Columbia Business School (TEDxColumbiaUniversity) and Founder/Licensee of TEDxCatawba; she previously served as the speaker coach for TEDxLondonBusinessSchool.

Christine graduated magna cum laude with distinction from the University of Connecticut, earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, a Master of Science in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration. She also attended Harvard Business School as well as Stanford University, focusing on corporate strategy and innovation and most recently completed a Master of Legal Studies at the Washington University School of Law. Christine is currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration; her research focuses on assessing the ROI on investments in artificial intelligence.

Her interests include Pilates; she is instructor-trained in the Stott method. She also enjoys travel, especially spending summers in the UK; sailing; nonfiction particularly related to human behavior, economics and health sciences; the arts; and time with friends and family as well as gastronomy, mixology and wine. With a particular passion for champagne and sparkling wines, Christine serves as an ambassador for WTSO, an e-commerce wine distributor, a strong partnership that has spanned nearly two decades.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It can be slightly fear-inducing to go from a traditional corporate environment to more of a portfolio career approach; however, taking this leap was one of the best decisions of my life.

We’ve been impressed with TEDxCatawba LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
TEDxCatawba, named after the Catawba River (and is meant to bring the region together – both North & South Carolina and beyond), is an independently organized TEDx event dedicated to bringing world-class speakers and transformative ideas to our local community. By curating a diverse lineup of thought leaders, innovators, and storytellers, we aim to spark dialogue, foster learning, and inspire positive change. Our event is designed to bridge global conversations with local impact, creating an engaging platform where new perspectives can thrive.

Our goal is:
• To provide a high-quality TEDx experience that fosters intellectual curiosity and community engagement.
• To bring diverse perspectives to our audience, featuring speakers from various industries, disciplines, and backgrounds.
• To inspire action by sharing innovative ideas that can create meaningful change in our community and beyond.
• To create networking and collaboration opportunities among attendees, speakers, and local organizations.

Description of Intended Participants/Audience
Estimated Audience Size: ~400 attendees
Audience Composition:
Our audience will be a diverse mix of professionals, students, entrepreneurs, academics, and the community in general.

TEDxCatawba will take place at Drendel Auditorium in Hickory, North Carolina on June 14, 2025. We believe Hickory is centrally located and the venue has the capacity to accommodate our anticipated audience size. The venue is accessible to the public and offers the necessary infrastructure to support a high-quality TEDx experience. We will have a preparty on June 13, 2025 at Boutique Auberge in Newton, North Carolina.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
www.ted.com
www.bloomberg.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tedxcatawba.com
• Other: https://linktr.ee/christinedgagnon