Seminar will address timely topics for C-suite executives

Say you’re a C-suite executive and have the chance to attend a lunch and a seminar during a trade show you’re attending, where you can learn how to better understand the current dynamics of your industry as well as how to improve your company’s work environment. You’d probably be interested in attending, no?

Well, here’s your chance.

On Tuesday, Nov. 13, the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) will hold its third-annual CEO-Only Seminar in conjunction with the Private Label Trade Show. The seminar is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, which is adjacent to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, site of the trade show.

The seminar is open to individuals who hold positions as CEO, chief operations officer and other upper management titles by which they exercise power over the strategy and actions of their companies.

Speakers for this year’s seminar include Alan Noddle, the former president of Ahold USA and Daymon Worldwide; Matt Thornhill, founder of the Institute for Tomorrow; and Ernest DelBuono, a corporate communications expert. The title of Noddle’s talk is “Understanding What Is Going on in Today’s Retailing Market.” Thornhill will speak on “Making Your Company Millennial Friendly” and DelBuono will address crisis management.

Peggy Davies, PLMA’s vice president of association relations, says the international trade group wanted to find the best speakers for the most-timely industry topics, including Noddle speaking about the current state of grocery retail.

“Due to a busy mergers and acquisitions environment, consolidation and other marketplace factors, the competitive landscape for retailers and store brand manufacturers promises to be altered,” Davies says, noting a recent article from The Wall Street Journal stating the U.S. grocery industry is in one of its most challenging financial stretches in decades.

Regarding Thornhill’s presentation, Davies notes that millennials value a good work-life balance. To them, success is having control over how and when they work and accumulating various life experiences. Hence, Thornhill will discuss ways to make the workplace more attractive to millennials.

For a CEO, the foundation of a solid crisis management plan is transparency, authenticity and accountability, Davies says, providing insight into DelBuono’s presentation.

“The role of the CEO in today’s era of transparency is more focused upon than ever,” Davies says. “In a crisis, the role of upper management is to lead and be seen as strong and decisive. The proliferation of social media has transformed the way we get information, and online platforms deliver news and visuals quickly. The response is most effective when the CEO is visible, caring and engaged. Personal investment by the most powerful individual in the company sends a reassuring signal to employees, customers, and shareholders.”

Davies says the PLMA developed the CEO-Only Seminar because formal education for people in upper management, while beneficial, can be very time-consuming. The PLMA introduced the program in 2016 because it felt the best approach to take for C-level education was through peer-to-peer discussion with other executives in the same or allied industries, supplemented by instruction from experts on specific subjects of timeliness and relevance to today’s management, Davies says.

“Our program is devoted to discussing the challenges and opportunities facing a company’s ultimate decision-maker; to address the unique problems that these leaders face; and to help find answers to their success-or-failure problems,” Davies adds.

For more information on the CEO-Only Seminar, contact Peggy Davies at 630-605-3368 or [email protected].