CEO SUMMIT

SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE

Ed Bastian

CEO, Delta Air Lines

As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian leads 100,000 global professionals who are building the world’s premier international airline, powered by a people-driven, customer-focused culture and spirit of innovation. Under Ed’s leadership, Delta is transforming the air travel experience with generational investments in technology, aircraft, airport facilities and, most importantly, Delta’s employees worldwide. A more-than-25-year Delta veteran, Ed has been a critical leader in Delta’s long-term strategy and champion of putting Delta’s shared values of honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance and servant leadership at the core of every decision.

Since being named Delta’s CEO in May 2016, Ed has expanded Delta’s leading position as the world’s most reliable airline while growing its global footprint and enhancing the customer experience in the air and on the ground. During his tenure as CEO, Delta has become America’s most awarded airline, having been named the Wall Street Journal’s top U.S. airline; Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year, the top-ranking airline in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, the Platinum Award recipient for operational excellence by Cirium; among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list and many more. 

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Captain Alexander Armatas​

Flight Leader and Commanding Officer, U.S. Navy Blue Angels

Captain Alexander P. Armatas joined the Blue Angels in August 2022. He has accumulated more than 4,500 flight hours and 911 carrier-arrested landings. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, four Strike/Flight Air Medals, five Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, one Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various personal, unit and service awards. Captain Alexander P. Armatas is a native of Skaneateles, New York. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering. 

Ed Bastian

CEO, Delta Air Lines

As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian leads 100,000 global professionals who are building the world’s premier international airline, powered by a people-driven, customer-focused culture and spirit of innovation. Under Ed’s leadership, Delta is transforming the air travel experience with generational investments in technology, aircraft, airport facilities and, most importantly, Delta’s employees worldwide. A more-than-25-year Delta veteran, Ed has been a critical leader in Delta’s long-term strategy and champion of putting Delta’s shared values of honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance and servant leadership at the core of every decision.

Since being named Delta’s CEO in May 2016, Ed has expanded Delta’s leading position as the world’s most reliable airline while growing its global footprint and enhancing the customer experience in the air and on the ground. During his tenure as CEO, Delta has become America’s most awarded airline, having been named the Wall Street Journal’s top U.S. airline; Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year, the top-ranking airline in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, the Platinum Award recipient for operational excellence by Cirium; among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list and many more. 

Dick Finnegan

The Turnover Expert; Author, The Power of Stay Interview

Dick Finnegan is THE global turnover and engagement expert, having cut turnover by 30% and more for healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, distribution centers, call centers, and other industries…and on all six inhabited continents. Dick has authored the top-selling SHRM-published book in history, The Power of Stay Interviews, along with four other books. BusinessWeek magazine has said “Finnegan offers fresh thinking for solving the turnover problem in any economy”. He has been similarly cited by Forbes, Chief Executive Magazine, and Consulting Magazine. As a supremely rated speaker, Dick Finnegan opens executives’ eyes to turnover’s mega-impact on their productivity and profits, and provides strongly-researched and business-driven ways to fix turnover, comparing those same solutions to the ways organizations improve sales and service. He holds bachelors and graduate degrees from The Pennsylvania State University and lives in Orlando, Florida.

Ashley Goodall

Author, Nine Lies About Work and The Problem with Change

Ashley Goodall is a leadership expert who has spent his career exploring large organizations from the inside, most recently as an executive at Cisco, and before that at Deloitte, as the Chief Learning Officer for Leadership and Professional development. He is the co-author of Nine Lies About Work, which was selected as the best management book of 2019 by Strategy + Business and as one of Amazon’s best business and leadership books of 2019. His most recent book, The Problem with Change, was selected as a Financial Times Best Business Book of 2024.

Chris McChesney

Co-Author, The 4 Disciplines of Execution; Global Practice Leader of Execution, Franklin Covey

Chris McChesney is the Global Practice Leader of Execution for Franklin Covey and one of the primary developers of the 4 Disciplines of Execution. For more than a decade, he has led FranklinCovey’s design and development of these principles, as well as the consulting organization that has become the fastest growing area of the company.

Chris has personally led many of the most noted implementations of the 4 Disciplines, including the State of Georgia, Marriott International, Shaw Industries, Ritz Carlton, Kroger, Coca Cola, Comcast, Frito Lay, Lockheed Martin and Gaylord Entertainment. This practical experience has enabled him to test and refine the principles contained in the 4 Disciplines of Execution from the boardrooms to the front line of these, and many other organizations.

Chris’ career with Franklin Covey began by working directly with Dr. Stephen R. Covey and has continued over two decades to include roles as a Consultant, Managing Director, and General Manager within the organization. Chris launched the first 4 Disciplines of Execution Practice in the Southeast Region of Franklin Covey and today has seen it expand around the globe. Throughout this period of significant growth and expansion, Chris has maintained a single focus: to help organizations get results through improved execution.

Zach Mercurio

Author, The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance and The Invisible Leader

Zach Mercurio, Ph.D.is a researcher, author and speaker specializing in purposeful leadership, mattering, meaningful work and positive organizational psychology.

He wrote The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of Authentic Purpose. His forthcoming book The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance will be released by Harvard Business Review Press in 2025.

Zach works with hundreds of organizations around the world to forge purposeful leaders who enable mattering, motivation, well-being and performance. Some of his clients include the U.S. Army, USA Wrestling, J.P. Morgan Chase, Delta Airlines, Marriott International, The Government of Canada and The National Park Service. He also serves as one of author Simon Sinek’s “Optimist Instructors.”

Zach earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change from Colorado State University where he serves as a Research and Teaching Fellow in the Department of Psychology’s Center for Meaning and Purpose and as an Instructor in the Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change program.

His research on meaningful work has been awarded by The Association for Talent Development, The Academy of Management and The Academy of Human Resource Development.

Zach lives in Fort Collins, CO with his wife, two sons and two adopted dogs.

Donna Orender

Former Commissioner and President, WNBA; Former SVP, PGA Tour; CEO, Orender Unlimited

Donna is a highly respected corporate business leader having led growth and innovation in several high-profile companies. She has been recognized as one of the top 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports and one of Newsweeks100 most Influential people in the business of sports and is a best-selling author with her 2018 release of Wowsdom! the Girl’s Guide to the Positive and the Possible. Her experience in sports, entertainment, and digital businesses is extensive. Donna served 6 years as the Commissioner and President of the WNBA during which she time revitalized the brand and created business growth in key areas including attendance, television ratings, digital, event development, and merchandise sales while innovating new strategies that spurred sponsorship growth and led the way in game and content coverage. 

Prior to the WNBA, Donna spent 17 years at the PGA TOUR, and was an executive in the office of the Commissioner where she developed and led global production, programming, distribution, brand, and digital businesses, her ability to see the white spaces provided for the founding of PGA TOUR radio as well as SHOTLINK, the technology/data engine that forms that foundation of the TOUR’s digital businesses of today and a ground-breaking television rights deal and strategy.

Currently, Donna serves as the CEO of Orender Unlimited. Her work has included the creation of a strategic plan for the golf industry, initiated by the PGA of America, focused on the development of new consumer markets and the accompanying transformational changes necessary to realize success. Donna authored “Connecting with Her”, a guidebook on how the women’s market could supercharge industry growth.

Eric Vaughan

Chief Executive Officer, IgniteTech

Eric Vaughan is an accomplished technology executive and AI thought leader. As CEO of IgniteTech, he spearheads the company’s AI-first approach, transforming its products and services with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence.

As the former founder and CEO of three software companies, Eric has earned a reputation as an innovator — architecting and developing groundbreaking software, hardware, and integration solutions. His extensive M&A experience spans over 50 transactions on both the buy and sell sides, including public-company buyouts, private equity sales, and divestitures from IBM.

Eric actively contributes to the advancement of the industry through regular articles in leading business and technology publications and as a sought-after AI speaker at events worldwide. At IgniteTech, he drives an AI-centric culture, pushing teams to continuously upskill and explore the latest AI technologies.

Outside of IgniteTech, Eric is an avid runner. He has completed 50 marathons, his last being the 2021 NYC Marathon, and over 50 ultramarathons, including nine 100-mile endurance trail races.

Don Yaeger

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.

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS

Jessica Combs

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.

Kari Granger

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. 

Roundtable

Strategic Planning Workshop

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:

  1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
  2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
  3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

 

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.

To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

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.

To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

Golf Outing

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.

To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.