Anthony Capuano is President and CEO of Marriott International, Inc. In his role, Mr. Capuano presides over the world’s largest hospitality company and some of the most iconic brands in travel. The company now has over 9,600 properties across 143 countries and territories and over 30 brands. It also has the travel industry’s largest customer loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, which has nearly 248 million members.
Before his appointment as CEO in February 2021, Mr. Capuano was Group President, Global Development, Design and Operations Services, where he led the strategic unit growth of all of Marriott’s brands while overseeing the global design team as well as Marriott’s global operating standards and protocols for thousands of properties around the world. Mr. Capuano was also responsible for oversight of the EDITION Hotels, a unique concept in the luxury lifestyle hotel space conceived by hotelier Ian Schrager and Marriott International.
Mr. Capuano joined Marriott in 1995 and was instrumental in its steady growth over the years, which included the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in 2016. Mr. Capuano began his Marriott career as part of the Market Planning and Feasibility team, where he helped the company assess the overall economic viability of new and existing hotels, balancing the company’s interests with the needs of hotel owners and developers, investors, lenders, and operators.
That role prepared him to lead Marriott’s development efforts in the Western United States and Canada for its full-service hotel brands. Later, his responsibilities expanded to include North America, the Caribbean and Latin America. In 2009, Mr. Capuano assumed global development responsibility. He began overseeing global design in 2014 and global operations in January 2020.
Mr. Capuano earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Hotel Administration. He is an active member of the Cornell Hotel Society, The Cornell School of Hotel Administration Dean’s Advisory Board, as well as the Business Roundtable and the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s IREFAC Council. Additionally, Mr. Capuano serves on the Board of Directors for McDonald’s Corporation, The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., and Save Venice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the artistic heritage of Venice, Italy. He resides in Potomac, Maryland, with his wife.
David S. Marriott is Chairman of the Board of Marriott International, Inc., the world’s largest hospitality company with over 30 brands and 9,700 properties across 143 countries and territories as of September 30, 2025. He was elected to the Marriott International Board of Directors in March of 2021 and assumed the position of Chairman of the Board in May of 2022. David Marriott is only the third Chairman of the Board in the company’s 98-year history, preceded by his father, J.W. Marriott, Jr. (Bill), and grandfather J.W. Marriott.
David joined Marriott International in 1999 and has held a number of operational roles during his 26-year career with the company. As President, U.S. Full Service Managed by Marriott, he was responsible for oversight of more than 330 hotels operating under 14 brands in 34 states and French Polynesia. In this capacity, he oversaw Hotel Operations, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Market Strategy, Information Resources and Development & Feasibility. Previously, David served as Chief Operations Officer – The Americas Eastern Region from 2010 to 2018, where he was responsible for hotel operations in 23 states. During this time, he also oversaw the U.S. integration efforts of Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Prior positions at the company include Market Vice President, where he was responsible for hotel operations in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and Senior Vice President of Global Sales, where he helped lead a comprehensive transformation of Marriott’s U.S. sales organization.
David is a graduate of the University of Utah. He sits on National Geographic Society’s board of trustees and has also served as a member of the board of trustees of The J. Willard & Alice S. Marriott Foundation since 2015. David was previously Chair of the Governing Board of St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., and Chair of the Board of Benefactors for the Guide Dog Foundation. A mountain bike and running enthusiast, David travels extensively to meet with customers and Marriott associates at properties around the world. He resides in Maryland with his wife and four children.
Former Director, U.S. Naval Academy’s Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership
Colonel Athens is the former Director of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership and the Academy’s first Distinguished
Military Professor of Leadership.
He is a retired Marine, having served in significant command and staff positions in all four Marine Aircraft Wings, as a Space Operations Officer with the U.S. Space Command, and as an instructor at the Marine Corps’ equivalent to the Navy’s Top Gun. Additionally, he was a White House Fellow and the Special Assistant to the NASA
Administrator following the Space Shuttle Challenger accident.
He graduated, with distinction, from the Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies.
Colonel Athens currently speaks around the country, addressing leaders in the military, law enforcement, business, health care, public education, and collegiate athletics.
He and his wife Misti have 10 children and 25 grandchildren.
Author, The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups
Since his days as a professional jazz trumpet player, Dr. Colin M. Fisher has been fascinated by group dynamics. As Associate Professor of Organizations and Innovation at University College London’s School of Management, Colin’s research has uncovered the hidden processes of helping groups and teams in situations requiring creativity, improvisation, and complex decision-making.
He has written about group dynamics for both popular science and management audiences, and his work has been profiled in prominent media outlets such as BBC, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, NPR, and The Times.
Originally from Redmond, Washington, he received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and now lives in North London with his wife and two children. His book The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups is out now.
Founder, CultureWise
David Friedman is an award-winning CEO, entrepreneur, author, and renowned public speaker. In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career. In 2021, he published the second edition of his book, Culture by Design, the definitive “how-to” manual for building a high-performance culture — even in the new remote work environment.
His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America to implement his culture operating system, CultureWise®.
President, North American Strategies and Managing Director, STS Capital Partners; Co-Author, The Extraordinary Exit: How to Sell Your Business for Maximum Value, Protect Your Legacy, and Walk Away with No Regrets
Andy Harris is a proven M&A leader, CEO, active board member, and passionate advisor with 30 years of leadership experience who thrives to deliver results through M&A. As a professional who has been on both the buy and sell side of the strategic M&A process, he applies his business acumen as President, North America Strategies and Managing Director of STS Capital.
Within his career as CEO and as M&A advisor, Andy has deep experience in hundreds transactions, which range from strategic acquisitions of privately-held companies and corporate carve-outs to selling to strategic buyers. His deal experience ranges from $20M to $1B, with total deal experience in the billions. He has helped many business owners achieve between 40% to 100% premiums over market value for their business by helping them find the right strategic buyer.
Author, Work Life Well-Lived
Kelly Mackin is a workplace well-being innovator, human behavior researcher, speaker, and the best-selling author of the award-winning book “Work Life Well-Lived.” She is the CEO of Motives Met, a platform that empowers people to create their best work life and workplace with forward-thinking insights and tools like the Human Needs Assessment™.
Kelly’s journey from ill-being to well-being ignited her dedication for helping people cultivate health and happiness in their lives. Through her no-B.S. approach to well-being and groundbreaking original research that challenges the status quo, she helps create thriving cultures where people can be well and perform well at work.
Founder and CEO, Health Compass Consulting
Donovan Pyle is the founder of Health Compass Consulting and author of the bestselling book, Fixing Healthcare. His strategies are sought by C-suite leaders and international government entities alike. Recently named the “2025 Benefits Advisor of the Year” by the Validation Institute, Donovan was also a finalist for the “Most Influential Industry Personality” award alongside Mark Cuban. He recently served as the lead Subject Matter Expert for Bloomberg Law’s analysis of the rising wave of class-action lawsuits targeting major employers, establishing him as one of the nation’s leading voices on fiduciary risk.
Performance Execution Expert; Contributor to The 4 Disciplines of Execution
SCOTT THELE is currently the national practice leader for FranklinCovey’s business outcomes, primarily applying the 4 Disciplines of Execution in his leadership. Scott focuses his time as a keynote speaker, business consultant, and a content thought leader, helping organizations execute their most critical strategies.
Chief Executive Officer, IgniteTech
IgniteTech CEO Eric Vaughan is an accomplished technology executive, a worldwide sought-after AI speaker, and an AI thought leader. Eric spearheads IgniteTech’s AI-first approach, transforming its products, services, and workforce utilizing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence. He drives an AI-centric culture, pushing teams to continuously upskill and explore the latest AI technologies, and actively contributes to the advancement of the industry through regular articles in leading business and technology publications.
Host, Corporate Competitor Podcast; 12-time New York Times Bestselling Author; Former Associate Editor, Sports Illustrated
As a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, business leadership coach, a twelve-time New York Times Best-selling author, host of the top-rated Corporate Competitor Podcast, National Geographic’s “Storyteller in Residence,” and longtime Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated, Don Yaeger has fashioned a career as one of America’s most provocative thought leaders. As a speaker, he has worked with audiences as diverse as Fortune 500 companies and cancer survivor groups, where he shares his personal story.
Founder & CEO, Sperity Health
Born & raised in Mobile, Alabama, Dr. Grant Zarzour is a fellowship-trained Total Joint Surgeon and president of the largest orthopaedic practice in Alabama. He performs over 600 joint replacements each year while focusing on treating each patient like family & that’s proven by his five-star rating across 624 reviews! Grant sits on Lantern’s Medical Advisory Board and founded a longevity company in 2024, Sperity Health with the mission to add 10 healthy years of life through data & science while lowering one’s risk of dementia, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Grant, his wife & 4 kids are often found at the beach in South Alabama water-skiing or doing anything they can to be on the water.
Fun Fact: Grant has traveled to six continents learning about the practice of medicine around the world.
Chief Executive Officer, IgniteTech
IgniteTech CEO Eric Vaughan is an accomplished technology executive, a worldwide sought-after AI speaker, and an AI thought leader. Eric spearheads IgniteTech’s AI-first approach, transforming its products, services, and workforce utilizing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence. He drives an AI-centric culture, pushing teams to continuously upskill and explore the latest AI technologies, and actively contributes to the advancement of the industry through regular articles in leading business and technology publications.
Host, Corporate Competitor Podcast; 12-time New York Times Bestselling Author; Former Associate Editor, Sports Illustrated
As a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, business leadership coach, a twelve-time New York Times Best-selling author, host of the top-rated Corporate Competitor Podcast, National Geographic’s “Storyteller in Residence,” and longtime Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated, Don Yaeger has fashioned a career as one of America’s most provocative thought leaders. As a speaker, he has worked with audiences as diverse as Fortune 500 companies and cancer survivor groups, where he shares his personal story.
Vice President, Global Finance & Accounting Division, Personiv, a division of eClerx
Steve Casey is the Vice President of Personiv, a global Business Process Outsourcing company headquartered in Austin, TX, with operations in The Philippines and India, and part of eClerx, an 18,000-person corporation across 18 countries. He leads Finance and Accounting solutions for a large variety of companies across many industries, as well as helping them implement digital media, engineering, and other solutions as well.
Steve graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer with the 101st Airborne Division in the Gulf War, where he was decorated for leading several of the unit’s first missions.
After the Army, Steve led teams in medical device manufacturing operations and new product development for Stryker Corporation. He then joined a military Veteran talent corporate recruiting firm and grew it to become the #1 firm in its industry, and one of the top-ranked U.S. Recruitment Process Outsourcing firms, as well as the overall #1 ranked technical talent firm in the U.S., with 90,000 placements across 8,000 companies. While there, he also founded an Inc. 500 company supporting the global semiconductor industry, and led the support for the White House Joining Forces program for which his firm was selected to lead a special task force on Veteran transition into Corporate America.
Steve has been a speaker on talent, leadership, the RPO and staffing industries, and Veteran hiring at industry symposiums, company events, and podcasts.
Steve was a founding board member of a non-profit organization helping wounded Veterans and their families through therapy and recovery. He is a lifetime member of the U.S. Army Ranger Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
In his spare time, Steve enjoys spending time with his wife and their two sons, scuba diving, and supporting high school students and families as the President of one of the largest Texas high school’s rugby club.
Vice President, Talent-centered Transformation, Eightfold AI
Jason Cerrato is the Vice President of Talent-centered Transformation for Eightfold, focused on the capabilities of our comprehensive Talent Intelligence Platform and the future of work. Prior to Eightfold, he was with Gartner as a Senior Research Director, focusing on HR technology and transformation.
With extensive experience in talent acquisition, Jason spent more than a decade with United Technologies Corporation (now RTX), where he was the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, serving as the workstream owner for recruiting and onboarding for an enterprise-wide global HR transformation initiative. Jason has a master’s degree in human resource development and received the Global Fellow in Talent Management certification from the Talent Management Institute and the Wharton School of Business.
Jason has been recognized by HR Executive as a Top 100 HR Tech influencer and also co-hosts The New Talent Code podcast, which provides insights and open discussion with industry leaders on all things talent and HR tech.
Senior Strategist & Performance Consultant, Transcend
Along with leading strategy solutions, Zant is a performance consultant and executive coach for Transcend, a business performance consulting firm delivering strategy, execution, and performance consultancy services in the Private Equity markets.
With over three decades of combined military and business leadership, Zant is a seasoned strategist and consultant who excels in high-pressure environments. His background spans global transformations, turn-arounds, Chapter 11 recoveries, and leadership in high-growth PE-backed companies and across various sectors. He has held roles in strategy, sales, performance consulting, executive coaching, and strategic human resources leadership within portfolio and public companies.
Zant is certified in several leadership and coaching specialties and assessments. He graduated with honors from the U.S. Air Force’s Senior Non-Commissioned Leadership Academy as well as Park University with a BS in Human Resources Management.
Managing Director, Y Scouts
Jessica Combs brings over a decade of expertise in executive search, talent acquisition, and leadership strategy, with a focus on the industrial sector, including manufacturing and distribution. As Managing Director at Y Scouts, Jessica helps organizations uncover purpose-driven leaders aligned with their unique DNA, fostering high-performing, values-based cultures—transforming how people and companies connect to work that matters.
Previously, Jessica served as Vice President of Talent at Tide Rock, a private equity firm scaling B2B middle-market industrial companies. There, she led key recruitment efforts for CEOs and senior leadership teams, driving top-line and bottom-line growth across the portfolio. At McDermott + Bull, an executive search firm, Jessica spearheaded business development and executive searches from VP to C-Level, achieving a 60-day average time-to-fill and setting a firm record with 24 placements in a year. She also partnered with the COO to streamline recruitment processes and led internal training and mentorship initiatives.
With a Juris Doctorate and SPHR certification, Jessica combines compliance and strategy expertise with a passion for building transformative leadership. A former All-American basketball player turned attorney and recruitment leader, Jessica brings resilience and a results-oriented mindset to every engagement.
CEO and Founder, Transcend
Craig Wiley is the CEO of Transcend, a performance consulting firm that delivers integration, strategy, execution, and executive team performance services.
Craig has over 20 years of leading CEOs and companies through strategic transformation. Transcend currently has 20+ billion under current strategic advisory, a company NPS of 90+, and delivered billions in value creation for loyal clients and companies.
Additionally, Craig has won several best-of-the-best awards from the Young President’s Organization for his executive work at the International, Chapter, and Forum levels. His passion for competition, executive performance, and business are cornerstones of Transcend’s services, products, and company culture.
CEO and Principal, TGN Consulting
Kari Granger is an authentic leader and combat veteran known for her ability to seamlessly transition her expertise from the battlefield to the boardroom.
As the Founder and CEO of TGN Consulting, she has spent over two decades guiding companies—including Fortune 100 firms, healthcare systems, and governmental organizations—through pivotal transformations. Kari is renowned for her ability to mobilize workforces by reducing friction and gaining traction in order to execute in new strategic directions, while aligning leadership behaviors with enterprise priorities to ensure sustained value creation. Her hallmark is uncovering and addressing underlying conditions that impede progress, enabling executives and boards to drive breakthrough results.
Kari’s expertise extends across strategy, culture, and leadership, making her a trusted advisor in navigating today’s multifaceted challenges such as large-scale turnarounds, M&A integration, technology adoption, re-structuring, and more. A Master Certified Coach with over 5,000 hours of coaching experience, she partners with CEOs and directors to anticipate emerging trends, resolve stakeholder tradeoffs, and embed resilience into organizational cultures. Recognized for her candor and strategic acumen, Kari equips leaders and boards with tools to unlock systemic value. A decorated Air Force officer, Kari led operations for an aircraft fleet valued at over $1.2 billion and spearheaded logistics for critical missions, including hurricane evacuations and combat deployments in Iraq. Her deep commitment to ethical and stakeholder-centric leadership underpins her vision of empowering organizations to embed the conditions for enduring success. As a sought-after advisor, speaker, and author, Kari inspires directors and executives to harness the transformative power of workforce mobilization, fostering resilience, agility, and readiness for the challenges ahead.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
