Before joining Crowe in 2024, ITR Economics Consulting Principal and Chief Economist Brian Beaulieu served as CEO of the economic research and consulting firm beginning in 1987. Brian researches business cycles and economic forecasting as tools for improving profitability, and has shared his highly valued research results via presentations, workshops, and seminars in numerous countries to hundreds of thousands of business owners and executives for the last 40 years.
He is coauthor of Prosperity in the Age of Decline, a powerful look at how to make the most of the US and global trends over the next 20 years, as well as Make Your Move, a practical and insightful guide to increasing profits through inevitable business cycle changes. Brian also coauthored But I Want It!, ITR Economics’ first children’s book.
Brian serves on the board of directors for the Ariens Company, a leading global manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, as an advisor to Ackerberg Investors Fund III, as well as the board for Bellwether Wealth, an investment management and strategic wealth planning firm based in Lincoln, NE.
Brian has shared his expertise through various media outlets, including: USA Today, Knight Ridder, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, The Washington Post, Kudlow and Friends, First on Fox, and numerous other outlets.
Stephen M. R. Covey is the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Speed of Trust, which has been translated into 22 languages and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. He is also the author of the newly released Wall Street Journal best-seller, Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others, which was named as the #1 Leadership Book of 2022 by the Outstanding Work of Literature Awards.
Stephen brings to his writings the perspective of a practitioner, as he is the former President & CEO of the Covey Leadership Center, where he increased shareholder value by 67 times and grew the company to become the largest leadership development firm in the world.
A Harvard MBA, Stephen co-founded and currently leads FranklinCovey’s Global Speed of Trust Practice. He serves on numerous boards, including the Government Leadership Advisory Council, and he has been recognized with the lifetime Achievement Award for “Top Thought Leaders in Trust” from the advocacy group, Trust Across America/Trust Around the World.
Stephen is a highly sought-after international speaker who has taught trust and leadership in 57 countries to business, government, military, education, healthcare, and NGO entities.
Adam Echter is a Partner with Simon-Kucher and leads the Global Industrials Sector. Adam’s career is marked by a deep commitment to enhancing sales excellence, business model innovation, and strategic pricing across various industries. With a rich background in sales development—from grassroots outside sales to the comprehensive restructuring and empowerment of sales teams—his expertise has impacted industrial companies with revenues ranging from $100 million to several billion dollars.
Such experience and success have led to recognition as one of “The Top 25 Strategy Consultants and Leaders of 2023” by the Consulting Report.
An author of note, Adam co-authored “Beating Inflation” alongside Dr. Hermann Simon, a best-selling author and co-founder of Simon-Kucher. This work underscores his thought leadership in the field of pricing during economically volatile times. Moreover, his contribution to the speaker circuit has delivered valuable insights through the Professional Pricing Society, Chief Executive Group, Private Equity International and various industry/academic forums.
Adam holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University at Buffalo and an MBA in finance from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business. Notably, his commitment to education and mentorship led him back to the Simon School of Business to help develop the first comprehensive pricing degree formally recognized by any MBA program.
Verne Harnish is founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), with over 18,000 members worldwide, and founded and chaired for fifteen years EO’s premiere CEO program held at MIT, a program in which he still teaches today.
Founder and CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company with over 290 partners on six continents, Verne has spent the past four decades helping companies scaleup.
The Global Scaleup Fellow at The Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, he’s the author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits; authored The Greatest Business Decisions of All Times,” for which Jim Collins wrote the foreword; wrote Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) which has been translated into 26 languages and has won eight major international book awards including the International Book Award for Best General Business book; and is the co-author of Scaling Up Compensation. His latest book is Start to Scale.
Verne serves on several boards including vice chair of The Riordan Clinic; co-founder and chair of Geoversity; and board member of the social venture Million Dollar Women. A private investor in many scaleups, Verne enjoys piano, tennis, and magic as a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
Pat is one of the founders of The Table Group and is the pioneer of the organizational health movement. He is the author of 13 books, which have sold over 8 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. As President of the Table Group, Pat spends his time speaking and writing about leadership, teamwork and organizational health and consulting with executives and their teams. Prior to founding the firm in 1997, Pat worked at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation and Sybase. Pat lives in the Bay Area with his wife and four boys.
Sarah McArthur is editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader journal, thought partner and trusted advisor to world-class leaders including former CEO of Boeing and Ford Alan Mulally, and advisory board member of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum in the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). Author and editor of numerous books and articles including Work Is Love Made Visible and Coaching for Leadership, Sarah is a founding member of Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and former chief operating officer of Marshall Goldsmith, Inc.
Founder and CEO,
Execute to Win
Lee Benson has spent over 30 years in the business world, focused on one thing: creating value. Today, he’s the CEO of Execute to Win, where he helps organizations of all sizes accelerate the value they bring to the table. His journey into value creation started way back when he was pulling weeds for just 25 cents an hour.
Since then, he’s had the privilege of founding and leading eight companies, including Able Aerospace. What started with just two employees grew into a team of 500, serving 2,000 customers across 60 countries, and eventually celebrated a 9-figure exit in 2016. It’s been an incredible ride!
Renowned Speaker and Author in Value Creation and Leadership
Lee is a sought-after speaker and author on the topics of value-creation, leadership, execution, and strategy. He has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Inc., and he has been interviewed by CNBC, Bloomberg, and other major media outlets.
Driving Results Through Focus and Continuous Innovation
Lee is passionate about helping organizations create value. He is results-oriented and is known for his ability to help leaders cut through the noise and get the most important things done. He is also a strong advocate for continuous improvement and innovation.
Vice President, Global Finance & Accounting Division Personiv, a division of eClerx
Steve is the VP 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.
Steve’s background includes 25 years growing the largest recruitment process outsourcing and military Veteran recruitment firm, supporting 8,000 companies with 60,000+ hires, and co-founded an Inc. 500 company while there.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served as a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer in the Gulf War.
CEO, VirtuousAI
Chris Happ is the CEO of VirtuousAI, where he’s pioneering a new era of execution for mid-market businesses with BAIO—the world’s first Business Automation, Intelligence & Outcomes platform. A serial entrepreneur and seasoned technology leader, Chris has spent his career transforming how companies operate, scale, and win with data.
Driven by a deep understanding of the challenges mid-sized businesses face, Chris launched VirtuousAI to close The Execution Gap, the costly distance between a company’s strategic goals and its ability to deliver. Under his leadership, VirtuousAI is redefining how businesses compete in the AI era: not by outspending the giants, but by out-executing them. His mission is to empower mid-market leaders to move faster, work smarter, and achieve measurable outcomes that drive sustainable growth.
Before founding VirtuousAI, Chris built and exited multiple successful ventures at the intersection of finance, supply chain, and enterprise software. His background blends deep operational knowledge with a visionary approach to automation and business intelligence, making him a trusted voice on the future of work, data, and strategic AI.
President North America Strategies,
STS Capital Partners
Founder & CEO, Blackcloak
Dr. Chris Pierson is the Founder & CEO of BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection for
corporate executives, board members, and high-net-worth individuals and their families. Chris has been
on the front lines of cybersecurity and privacy in both the public and private sectors for over 25 years.
Previously at the Department of Homeland Security, Chris served for over a decade as a special
government employee on the Cybersecurity and Privacy Committees. He has served as President of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Arizona InfraGard. Chris has also spent time as the Chief Privacy
Officer for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), as the Chief Information Security Officer for two prominent
FinTechs, and is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute.
Chris is a globally recognized keynote speaker on digital executive protection, a cybersecurity thought
leader, and board advisor for startups. He is frequently quoted by prominent trade and mainstream media
such as WSJ, NYTimes, Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Insider, and invited to speak at international events such as RSA, Black Hat, ISSA, and SecureWorld, among others.
Chris received his B.A. and M.A. from Boston College and his Ph.D. and J.D. from the University of Iowa.
CEO, Health Compass Consulting; Author, Fixing Healthcare: How Executives Can Save Their People, Their Business, and the Economy
Donovan Pyle is the CEO of Health Compass Consulting and author of “Fixing Healthcare: How Executives Can Save Their People, Their Business, and the Economy.” He also serves as a Senior Advisor at the Validation Institute in Boston. Backed by the highest designations in the employee benefits industry, Donovan brings a unique blend of creative vision and analytical rigor to the complex world of healthcare and employee benefits.
While working on the insurer and brokerage side of the industry, Donovan witnessed how the misaligned incentives between brokers and employers significantly undermined the financial and physical health of organizations. To counter the brokerage industry, Donovan founded Health Compass Consulting in 2018. The pioneering fiduciary-based management consulting firm is dedicated to helping employers with 100 to 10,000 employees combat the estimated $300 billion in annual waste within the U.S. employer-sponsored healthcare system. To achieve this, the firm developed three proprietary frameworks: Assess, Procurement, Implement, Manage™, Total Benefits Assessment™, and the Health Plan Maturity Model™. These frameworks empower clients with the clarity essential for identifying opportunities, setting goals, and developing roadmaps to achieve them. As a result of their data-driven approach and role as fiduciaries, Health Compass clients save an average of $1,856 per employee per year, with better coverage.
As Chairman of the Validation Institute’s Certified Health Value Professional (CHVP) Advisory Board, Donovan further contributes to the industry by elevating the professional standards of benefits consulting through leading education on health plan innovation.
Donovan’s insights on transforming employee benefits from a cost center to a strategic asset are regularly featured in publications such as Employee Benefit News, Yahoo Finance, SHRM, and Seeking Alpha. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and a contributor to podcasts, offering actionable strategies for executives seeking to improve the financial and physical health of their organizations.
CEO and Founder, Mugsy
Leo Tropeano is the founder and CEO of Mugsy, the men’s clothing brand redefining comfort and style. His journey began over a decade ago when, frustrated by a failed trip to find jeans that both looked sharp and felt good, he set out—despite having no apparel experience—to re-engineer men’s denim from scratch. After years of research and countless prototypes, Mugsy launched its first pair of jeans, offering men the unheard-of combination of style and sweatpants-level comfort.
Leo received his graduate degree from Miami University (OH) in accounting and economics, then honed his business skills as a CPA working at PwC before starting Mugsy. Under Leo’s leadership, Mugsy has grown from a single-product denim disruptor into a full lifestyle brand, relentlessly focused on delivering clothes that look great and feel even better. In recognition of his entrepreneurial vision and impact, Leo was named EY’s 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year Midwest and his story is proof that with grit, creativity, and a customer-first mindset, it’s possible to change an industry–one pair of jeans at a time
CEO and Founder, Mugsy
Leo Tropeano is the founder and CEO of Mugsy, the men’s clothing brand redefining comfort and style. His journey began over a decade ago when, frustrated by a failed trip to find jeans that both looked sharp and felt good, he set out—despite having no apparel experience—to re-engineer men’s denim from scratch. After years of research and countless prototypes, Mugsy launched its first pair of jeans, offering men the unheard-of combination of style and sweatpants-level comfort.
Leo received his graduate degree from Miami University (OH) in accounting and economics, then honed his business skills as a CPA working at PwC before starting Mugsy. Under Leo’s leadership, Mugsy has grown from a single-product denim disruptor into a full lifestyle brand, relentlessly focused on delivering clothes that look great and feel even better. In recognition of his entrepreneurial vision and impact, Leo was named EY’s 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year Midwest and his story is proof that with grit, creativity, and a customer-first mindset, it’s possible to change an industry–one pair of jeans at a time
CEO and Founder, Mugsy
Leo Tropeano is the founder and CEO of Mugsy, the men’s clothing brand redefining comfort and style. His journey began over a decade ago when, frustrated by a failed trip to find jeans that both looked sharp and felt good, he set out—despite having no apparel experience—to re-engineer men’s denim from scratch. After years of research and countless prototypes, Mugsy launched its first pair of jeans, offering men the unheard-of combination of style and sweatpants-level comfort.
Leo received his graduate degree from Miami University (OH) in accounting and economics, then honed his business skills as a CPA working at PwC before starting Mugsy. Under Leo’s leadership, Mugsy has grown from a single-product denim disruptor into a full lifestyle brand, relentlessly focused on delivering clothes that look great and feel even better. In recognition of his entrepreneurial vision and impact, Leo was named EY’s 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year Midwest and his story is proof that with grit, creativity, and a customer-first mindset, it’s possible to change an industry–one pair of jeans at a time
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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.
