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Houston 2023

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 7:15 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. CDT

Event Overview

Experience the entrepreneurial energy of thought leaders all in one room.

The Vistage Executive Summit has been crafted to inspire your leadership, equip you with latest findings in research, future-proof your business with economic insights, and most importantly, build connection with the powerful leaders in your community.

  • ITR Economics brings the economic landscape into view and helps leaders navigate the uncertainties ahead.
  • Vistage Research shares findings from the CEO Confidence Index to help leaders make better decisions quicker.
  • Leadership keynote will wrap up the day on an inspiring and thoughtful note. More details coming soon.
  • Thought leaders present breakout sessions on top-of-mind topics with fresh perspectives.

As a Vistage member, enjoy world-class leadership content and the opportunity to meet new faces in your community. Your insight and impact will make the day even more valuable!


The Member Excellence Awards program will celebrate incredible member stories in your community. Winners and finalists will be showcased at the Executive Summit. Learn more and nominate a member today!


Get ready for the day by downloading the My Vistage app and logging in. Expect to access speaker materials and more resources through the app on the day of the event.

Available for Vistage members only.

Event Speakers


Connor Lokar

Speaker and Senior Forecaster, ITR Economics

A Changing Landscape

Interest rates, inflation, labor, military conflicts, and a presidential election are on the minds of most leaders as they make plans for the rest of 2024 and prepare for 2025. Join us as we look at the trends for 2024, including a weakening economy, lower inflation, and a shift in consumer spending. We will take a look at key markets, both domestic and global. The presentation will give you valuable insights in time to develop tactics and strategies to beat the cycle and prepare for the business cycle rise ahead. Knowing what to watch for and the probable timing of the reversal to rise will give you confidence as you enact plans that enable you to get the most out of 2024 and 2025 while simultaneously getting ahead of your competitors.


Steve Baker

Vice President, The Great Game of Business

The Great Game of Business: Rapid Financial Results and Lasting Cultural Change

Good To Great author Jim Collins says, "The whole concept of The Great Game of Business is beautiful –consistency, alignment, and transparency, infused with core values and brought to life with powerful mechanisms. It is inspired and inspiring."

The Great Game of Business is the unique and time-tested approach to business that gets everyone focused on the company’s success. Employee goals. accountabilities and their personal stake in the outcome are tied directly to the success of the business. It teaches all employees the ‘Critical Numbers’ of the company and how they can make a difference – both individually and as part of a team. In this engaging overview presentation, participants will:

  • Learn the origins and fundamentals of open-book management and The Great Game of Business.
  • Take away knowledge of how to begin introducing it to their organization.
  • Learn about a proven process to help create a real and lasting ownership culture.


Anne Petrik

Vice President of Research, Vistage Worldwide, Inc.

Decision Factors 2023: Unleashing Workforce Productivity

CEOs are facing a dynamic set of rapidly evolving factors that will influence their decisions as the post pandemic reality comes into focus. Once an emerging trend, remote work and the demands of an empowered workforce are challenging CEOs to attract and retain high performers. Throughout the day, as emcee, Anne will weave perspectives on how to adapt the workplace to unleash workforce productivity with the latest data and insights from Vistage Research.

Agenda

Hyatt Regency Houston West

7:15 a.m.
Registration opens

7:45 a.m.
Breakfast Sessions

  • Is Your Company Investment Grade? 12 Key Factors to Attract an Outsized Valuation
  • Transforming Your Business Through Intelligent Process Automation
  • Turn on the Financial Headlights: Maximize Your Profitability & Success
  • PTSD, Mental Health & Recent Events Affecting the Workforce
  • Sale or No Sale: Planning & Protecting You & Your Business—in Several Key Ways

9 a.m.
General Session | Connor Lokar, A Changing Landscape

10:35 a.m.
Marketplace | Break

11:20 a.m.
General Session | Vistage Research

*agenda subject to change


11:35 a.m.
General Session | Connection Activity

12:30 p.m.
Lunch Sessions

  • CEO's Candid Guide to Right People, Right Job, Right Fit To Scale the Business
  • Your Results-Guaranteed B2B Marketing Plan
  • It’s Your Biggest Investment—of Time, Emotion, and Money: If You Sell Your Company, Sell it Well
  • The Art of Cultivating a Culture by Design
  • Opportunity Zones & Real Estate Private Equity – Key Concepts

1:40 p.m.
General Session | Steve Baker, The Great Game of Business: Rapid Financial Results and Lasting Cultural Change

3:15 p.m.
Reception

Celebrate your community's Vistage Member Excellence Award winners and finalists and connect with fellow peers.


Breakout sessions

7:45 - 8:45 a.m.

Breakfast Session | Is Your Company Investment Grade? 12 Key Factors to Attract an Outsized Valuation

Presenter: Zane Tarence, Managing Director and Partner, Founders Advisors, Vistage Speaker

Given today’s dynamic M&A climate, business owners need a candid market perspective on what drives enterprise value. Join us to learn:



  • What it takes to attract an outsized valuation from institutional grade buyers

  • A 20 minute market based approach to assess your company’s “investability”

  • Top 5 deal breakers and seller missteps

  • How to better align operational focus with value creation


Topic: Financials: Mergers & Acquisitions

7:45 - 8:45 am

Breakfast Session | Transforming Your Business Through Intelligent Process Automation

Presenter: Mark Shivers, Founder & CEO, Ignite IPA; Manny Velazquez, Head of Strategy and Architecture, Ignite IPA

Are you worried about hiring/retaining staff? Are you nervous about inflation or a potential recession/depression? Are you looking to grow your business but are concerned about the increased costs? Leveraging automation can help companies of all sizes support their corporate strategy and achieve high ROI by reducing expenses, avoiding costs, accelerating revenue, and creating more efficient business processes. In this session you will learn about intelligent process automation technologies, and how other companies have leveraged them to achieve higher margins. Opt-in-participants will receive a complimentary opportunity identification assessment focused on creating a quantifiable pipeline of value-based automation opportunities.


Topic: Business Operations: Technology

7:45 - 8:45 am

Breakfast Session | Turn on the Financial Headlights: Maximize Your Profitability & Success

Presenter: Scott Crawford, Partner, Preferred CFO

The future can't be predicted, but with proper tools and strategies, businesses can “Turn on the Headlights,” increasing their opportunity for prosperity while reducing risk of failure. In this session, Scott Crawford of Preferred CFO presents tools and strategies that help stakeholders elevate their company's fiscal health, confidence, and strategy by:



  • Understanding the importance and intricacies of a forward-facing financial strategy—and how to execute it

  • Evaluating a financial teams' capabilities and ability to provide actionable information

  • Tracking the right metrics to better inform the future

  • Harnessing the power of forecasting to more confidently achieve goals through data-backed decision making


Topic: Financials: Financial Management

7:45 - 8:45 am

Breakfast Session | Sale or No Sale: Planning & Protecting You & Your Business—in Several Key Ways

Presenter: Steven Taber, Accredited Estate Planner, Navon Wealth Advisors

While your focus is primarily on planning for your business & its growth, too often planning to protect you & your business might get ignored. Learn the key things the experts recommend that you need to do to protect yourself, your business & your other assets. Whether you plan to sell your business or not, personal estate planning must still be implemented to protect you, your family & your business. Most owners don’t even know that their assets are exposed. Join this session to learn:



  • Best practices to protect what is most important to you

  • Plans to retain & reward your best people

  • Best practices to protect your business and you


Topic: Personal Development: Asset & Estate Planning

7:45 - 8:45 a.m.

Breakout Session | PTSD, Mental Health & Recent Events Affecting the Workforce

Presenter: Jeanette Robert, EDE Marketplace Care Partners

Join the conversation about PTSD, mental health, and the recent events that could be affecting your workplace. Discuss how to be prepared and aware of the mental health of yourself and those within your company to foster resilience over resignation. Leave the conversation with network connections and some practical tools to make a proactive presence of mental health care in your business.


Topic: Talent Management: Retention & Engagement

12:30-1:30 pm

Lunch Session | CEO's Candid Guide to Right People, Right Job, Right Fit To Scale the Business

Presenter: Advisors from Culture Index

Join the Culture Index team to reveal the true fit of your executive team and leaders- who is in the right seat and who is not? Do you have the right team in place to scale your business? Not getting the top and bottom line growth by not hiring and obtaining the right team? In this session, you will be prepped to utilize data to make more objective human decisions in securing the right talent in order to drive sustainable growth. Walk away with new insights, tips, and practices to implement into your business and better align your people.


Topic: Communication & Alignment

12:30-1:30 pm

Lunch Session | Your Results-Guaranteed B2B Marketing Plan

Presenter: Jee Vahn Knight, Vice President of Growth, RedRover Sales and Marketing Strategy

In this workshop, learn the proven process for developing a measurable B2B marketing plan with predictable returns, driving sustainable growth for your business. By the end of this session, you will be able to:



  • Discuss the six building blocks of a results-guaranteed marketing plan

  • Identify the existing gaps in your current strategy development process

  • Use the GO RISE framework to vet your own plans


Topic: Customer Engagement: Sales & Marketing

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Lunch session | It’s Your Biggest Investment—of Time, Emotion, and Money: If You Sell Your Company, Sell it Well

Presenter: Andy Jessen, Global Head of M&A, William Blair

Looking for ways to prepare for what to do—and what to avoid—before starting a sell-side process? Join an investment banking veteran for an interactive discussion on best practices proven to achieve world-class outcomes. Informed by 2,400+ transactions that William Blair has advised on over the past decade, this session highlights key learnings and practical insights for CEOs. Takeaways include:



  • What makes a company valuable and attractive to investors

  • Understanding a transaction process, investor types, and keys to success

  • Common missteps to avoid


Topic: Financials: Mergers & Acquisitions

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Lunch session | The Art of Cultivating a Culture by Design

Presenter: Julia Lyons-Ryle, Performance Specialist, Insperity

The goal of understanding culture gives insight into the current and future needs at each organizational level. The understanding empowers and informs leaders to create environments that promote engagement and growth. Simply put, culture is the way forward, but leaders must know its relevance and importance and how to leverage it on the path toward success. A key takeaway of this breakout will be equipping you with insights to cultivate culture by design.  


Topic: Talent Management: Retention & Engagement

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Lunch session | Opportunity Zones & Real Estate Private Equity – Key Concepts

Presenter: Chris Loeffler, CEO and Co Founder, Caliber Companies

Since the opportunity zone program was established in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers have had the ability to take advantage of a significant new tax incentive that concurrently benefits low-income communities. The program provides investors with the chance to reinvest capital gains into designated opportunity zones in order to defer or eliminate taxes.


Topic: Financials: Capital / Cash Management


Sponsors





Location

Hyatt Regency Houston West
13210 Katy Fwy
Houston, TX