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.
Kevin Hancock is the managing owner and Chairman of one of America’s oldest family businesses as well as an award-winning author and nationally recognized public speaker.
Established in 1848, Hancock Lumber Company is led by its 720 employees operating 11 lumberyards, 4 sawmills, a truss manufacturing facility, and timberlands in Maine and New Hampshire. Hancock Lumber is a nine-time recipient of the ‘Best Places to Work in Maine’ award. The company is also a recipient of the Maine Family Business of the Year Award, the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence, the ProSales National Dealer of the Year Award, and the Maine Retailer of the Year Award.
Kevin is a past chairman of the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association, the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, and the Bridgton Academy Board of Trustees. Kevin has also served of the Board of Directors for the Hussey Seating Corporation in Maine, the Seneca Sawmill Corporation in Oregon, and the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission.
Kevin is a recipient of the Ed Muskie ‘Access to Justice’ Award, the Habitat for Humanity ‘Spirit of Humanity’ Award, the Maine Development Foundation ‘Ken Curtis Leadership Award’, and the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame ‘Directors Award’.
Kevin is the author of three books:
Kevin also partners with the executive coaching firm SSCA to provide senior management training programs around the concepts of shared leadership, dispersed power, and deep employee engagement.
Kevin is a frequent visitor to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and an advocate of strengthening the voices of all individuals—within a company or a community —through listening, empowering, and shared leadership. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and lives in Maine with his wife Alison.
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.
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.
Founder and CEO of Advantage Media and Forbes Books
Adam Witty is the Founder and CEO of Advantage Media and Forbes Books, a global leader in publishing and Authority-building content media services for top business leaders and entrepreneurs. Today the select community comprises more than 2,000 authors across 44 U.S. states and 14 countries.
A sought-after speaker, teacher, and advisor on marketing and business growth, Adam has shared the stage with Steve Forbes, Gene Simmons of KISS, and other industry icons. His expertise in “Authority Media” is showcased through his best-selling books, including The Authority Advantage and Authority Marketing. His latest book, The Authority Advantage: Building Thought Leadership Focused on Impact Not Ego, became a #1 Amazon bestseller in five categories and received acclaim from major reviewers like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Indie.
President North America Strategies,
STS Capital Partners
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 President, North American Strategies of STS Capital, Andy offers consulting to our clients and team on M&A deals while providing his expert guidance through all phases of the transaction process. In addition to performing the responsibilities of a Managing Director, Andy is responsible for expanding engagements with key strategic partners in North America to build enduring relationships for STS.
Within his career as CEO and as M&A advisor, Andy has personally led over 30 M&A 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 $670M, with total value exceeding $1.5B. 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.
Andy is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), which is a global leadership community of chief executives and business owners. He participates as a key facilitator at YPO’s annual three-day M&A Playbook symposium where he shares his thought leadership as an industry expert.
Prior to joining STS Capital, Andy was President and CEO of Accella Performance Materials from 2012-2017. He led Accella to grow in revenue by 6x and profit by 8x under 5 years through organic and acquisitive growth (14 acquisitions), culminating in a strategic sale to the Carlisle Companies.
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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.
