Road To LionCage March 18th
Where: Penn State Brandywine LaunchBox
Address: 25 Yearsley Mill Rd, Media, PA 19063
When: 5pm - 9:30pm
Attendance is open to everyone but registration is required.
Join us on the first stop of the Road To LionCage 2026 at the Brandywine LaunchBox!
We will be celebrating women founders during this open compeition and we have a great lineup of some truly incredible women founders. Marcia O'Connor (CEO of The O'Connor Group) will be kicking things off with our Keynote address befor joining Panthini Patel (GuLi) and Bonnie Ravina (360 Marketing) for a insightful panel discussions before we get to our competition.
Marcia O'Connor
FOUNDER & CEO | The O'Connor Group
Marcia Zaruba O’Connor is the Founder and CEO of The O’Connor Group, a premier firm specializing in outsourced Human Resources and Recruitment-as-a-Service for small and mid-sized companies across the Professional Services, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Information Technology, and Manufacturing sectors. Since founding the firm in 2007, she has grown it into a nationwide network of more than 55 professionals and most recently launched, 57th Street Partners, the firm’s executive search division. Under her leadership, The O’Connor Group has earned numerous honors, including Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Businesses, Philadelphia Business Journal’s Best Places to Work, Soaring 76, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Top Workplaces, Philadelphia Titan 100, and Entrepreneurs Forum Philly 100, and is proudly certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise. Marcia is deeply engaged in the community as a Trustee of Widener University, a member of the Widener University Accounting Advisory Board, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia Board, the M&T Bank Advisory Board, and as a Board Member of Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP). She is also President of the Philadelphia 100 Forum and champions women entrepreneurs as the founder of Shadow Her, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit equipping female business owners with essential skills for success.
Panthini Patel
FOUNDER & CEO | GiLi Dolutions
Panthini Patel is a growth and business development executive with over 20 years of experience building and scaling B2B go-to-market motions across healthcare, energy, banking, and education. She is the Founder & CEO of GiLi Solutions, which partners with startups, mid-sized companies, and international firms to design and execute growth and business development strategy—working to secure customers and build repeatable revenue engines.
Prior to GiLi Solutions, Panthini held senior global leadership roles at Emerson, owning large commercial portfolios and leading cross-functional teams across the U.S., Europe, and India. Her career includes responsibility for $65M–$120M businesses and trusted executive relationships with enterprise customers including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Dow Chemical, Bechtel, and Wood.
She holds an Executive MBA from Rice University and a B.S. in Marketing from DePaul University.
Bonnie Ravina
FOUNDER | FULL CIRCLE: 360 Marketing
Bonnie Ravina is the founder of Full Circle: 360 Marketing, guiding startups and scaleups on positioning, messaging, and go‑to‑market strategy. Her international enterprise tech experience includes being a founding member of SAP America, advising dozens of global startups, and serving as an operating partner at Ring Capital in Paris. Now active in Philly’s tech community, she mentors founders, advises Naftiko and Meyestro, and leads workshops on clear, compelling storytelling and avoiding common pitfalls. She is also launching the Enterprise Lab – powered by the Philly Tech and AI Alliance, an initiative focused on deeper connection between local business innovators and enterprise tech startups.