2025 Industrials & Materials Conference

Matt Akers is an executive director and senior Equity analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, covering Aerospace & Defense and Government Services. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Matt spent nine years covering Aerospace & Defense as part of highly ranked research teams at Barclays and UBS. Before that, Matt spent seven years as an engineer in the defense industry, supporting products such as F-35, F-22, Enhanced Night Vision Goggle and Common Missile Warning System. Matt holds an MBA from NYU, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer and a BEng in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. He is a CFA charterholder.

Gabe Hajde is an executive director and senior Equity analyst covering the Paper & Packaging sector. Prior to assuming lead coverage in June 2018, Gabe spent seven years as an associate analyst on the team. In 2024, Gabe placed #3 in Extel’s (formerly Institutional Investor) All-America Research polls. The Paper & Packaging franchise was previously recognized as a runner-up in the 2021 and 2023 All-America Research polls. In 2020, Gabe’s team achieved the #3 ranking for earnings estimate accuracy within the Containers & Packaging sector by Thomson Reuters StarMine^®. Gabe earned an MS degree in accounting with a concentration in finance from Case Western Reserve University and is a CPA.

Jason Haas is an executive director and senior Equity analyst covering Business and Information Services at Wells Fargo. Jason joined Wells Fargo in 2024 after eight years covering Retail Hardlines at Bank of America. Prior to that, he worked as a CPA at Ernst & Young serving the financial services industry. Jason is a CFA charterholder and graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management.

Colin M. Langan is an executive director and senior Equity analyst at Wells Fargo Securities covering the Autos & Auto Parts sector. He was most recently at UBS, where he spent 10 years as the senior analyst in Autos (14 years overall). Colin has been well-ranked in broker votes and in the II All-America Research survey, where he ranked runner-up in 2017-2019 & 2023. He brings a focus on proactive, analytical research and has been a thought leader on the auto technological evolution. Colin’s research has driven top readership scores and his events have attracted strong lineups of industry leaders. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame.

Joe O’Dea is a managing director and senior Equity analyst at Wells Fargo Securities covering the Electrical Equipment and Multi-Industry sector. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Joe spent 10 years at Vertical Research Partners as a partner and lead analyst of the Machinery sector. As a Machinery analyst, he was named to Institutional Investor’s Rising Stars team three times. Joe earned his BA in Economics from Holy Cross and his MBA from Cornell University.

Sam Reid is an executive director and senior equity analyst at Wells Fargo Securities covering the U.S. Homebuilders & Building Products sectors. Sam’s sell-side career spans 14+ years, with prior experience covering the Home Improvement retail, Consumer Staples and Metals & Mining sectors. Sam has actively worked on several leading sell-side teams that have placed in Institutional Investor’s All-America Research polls, including the Wells Fargo Retail Hardlines Team (RU in 2022-23), the Wells Fargo Consumer Staples team (RU in 2018-19) and the Barclays Retail Hardlines Team (#3 in 2012 & RU in 2013-14). He received his BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania (Summa Cum Laude).

Michael J. Sison is a managing director and senior Equity analyst at Wells Fargo Securities covering the Chemicals sector. He was recognized as a runner-up for Chemicals in Extel’s (formerly Institutional Investor) 2021-2024 All-America Research polls. Before joining the firm in 2019, Mike spent 21+ years at KeyBank where he covered the chemicals sector and was ranked runner-up in II’s 2012 America’s Top Corporate Access Providers survey. In 2005-2007, he was ranked in The Wall Street Journal’s "Best on the Street" analysts survey and the Starmine/Forbes.com Top Stock Pickers survey. Mike received an MBA in finance and accounting from Tulane University and a BA in economics from Denison University.

Richard Garchitorena is a vice president in the Equity Research department at Wells Fargo Securities covering the Chemicals/Ag sector. The Chemicals team has been II ranked in 2020-21 by Institutional Investor. Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Richard was at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), on the active fundamental investment team focused on the global materials sector. Prior to TRS, Richard spent eight years at Credit Suisse, most recently as the senior analyst covering the Metals and Mining sector. Richard earned a BA in finance and MIS from Simon Fraser University in Canada and has an MBA from the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Christian Wetherbee is a managing director and senior Equity analyst covering Transportation and Shipping. Chris and his team have ranked top-three in four of the past five years in the Airfreight and Surface Transportation category in the Institutional Investor All-America Equity Research poll. He has also ranked in the Shipping sector for the past two years. Chris spent the past 14 years at Citi where he built a leading franchise in the Rails, Trucking, Logistics, and Marine Shipping sectors. Chris earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Fordham University.