2019 CEO Talent Summit

September 24th - 25th, 2019

West Point, New York

The Historic Thayer Hotel

Human Capital | Talent Development | Corporate Culture

Make magic with your talent and teams. You’re only as good as your people. At the 2019 CEO Talent Summit at West Point, top business and military leaders share secrets for recruiting extraordinary people and building high-revving cultures that win. Nothing is more important for you to stay competitive today—and no other event combines the best of the US Army’s elite leadership school and America’s top CEOs to help you: Create A Culture That Never Quits. Uncover the HR secrets of the US Army’s Special Forces Recruit The Best. Get the tools you need to find amazing people—and get them aboard Stop Turnover. Learn the art of employee loyalty in volatile, uncertain times Manage Smarter. Master the emerging technologies reshaping the workplace Inspire Your People. Create resilient, impactful teams across your company Located at the Historic Thayer Hotel at West Point and limited to just 125 participants, you’ll gain new relationships from across American business, and come away with powerful strategies you can put to work right away.

Featured Speakers

Yves Lermusi

CEO & Founder

Checkster

Denise Graziano

Author

Talent is a Team Sport

LTG (Ret.) Frank Kearney

Jon Harmon

Chairman

McGuireWoods

Doug Sieg

Managing Partner

Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC

Brigadier General (Ret.) Bernard Banks, Ph.D.

Tim Heilman

Chief Innovation Officer

Choice Financial Group

Daniel Jacobs

Chief Executive Officer

Avanoo

Wayne Cooper

Executive Chairman

Chief Executive Group

Nigel Travis

Executive Chairman, Dunkin' Brands

Author, The Challenge Culture

Margaret Keane

Chief Executive Officer

Synchrony Financial

Dan Fries

SVP & Managing Director

Sibson Consulting

Agenda

September 24-25, 2019

Tuesday, September 24

7:15 am - 8:15 am

Networking Breakfast and Registration

8:15 am - 8:25 am	Welcome from Chief Executive Group and Thayer Leader Development Group
8:25 am - 9:20 am	Create A Culture That Never Quits Nigel Travis \| Executive Chairman, Dunkin' Brands; Author, The Challenge Culture One of the most successful CEOs of the last decade takes you inside his well-honed formula for creating a great culture by challenging nearly everything—from people and processes to C-Suite assumptions and past practices. You’ll see how to build a a purpose-driven company that’s willing to ask tough questions—and listen to every employee—and thrive in any economic environment.

9:20 am - 9:30 am	Networking Break
9:30 am - 10:20 am	Recruiting and Retaining High Performers-- Uncover the HR Lessons of the US Army's Special Operations Forces Keynote Speaker: Lieutenant General (Ret.) Frank Kearney LTG (Ret.) Kearney shares more than 35 years of insider knowledge into how the U.S. Army’s elite special operations forces identify, recruit, motivate and retain some of the toughest, smartest people in uniform—and mold them into in a super high-performing organization. With lessons for every CEO, he’ll share real-world military situations where the best and the brightest are challenged to their limits—and win.
10:20 am - 10:35 am	The State of Executive Pay Wayne Cooper \| Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Group Drawing from Chief Executive’s exhaustive research on compensation data from more than 1,600 private companies, we’ll share the key trends and takeaways on 2018 CEO and senior executive compensation. You’ll gain valuable insights to benchmark your company’s compensation practices versus those of comparable companies. Improve your ability to compensate confidently, strategically and competitively to attract and retain the best executive talent.
10:35 am - 10:55 am	Networking Break
10:55 am - 11:45 pm	Talent Management Secrets That Actually Work Margaret Keane \| Chief Executive Officer and President, Synchrony Financial Doug Sieg \| Managing Partner, Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC Ignite purpose, create loyalty and build cohesive teams that thrive. Building on LTG (Ret.) Kearney’s presentation, two CEOs lay out the tools for transforming the way you develop your people, with extraordinary results.
11:45 am - 12:45 pm	Lunch at Thayer Hotel
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm	Concurrent Peer-to-Peer Roundtables (1) Beyond Diversity: The Business Case for Inclusive Leadership Facilitated by: Jon Harmon, Chairman, McGuireWoods LLP Most of us understand the value of diversity. But diversity, in many organizations, can devolve into tokenism and become just another box to check off. Inclusion, on the other hand, goes to the heart of an organization’s purpose. When voices are valued, perspectives are appreciated, and opportunities are open to all, talent thrives – and so does performance. This session will explore how leaders can unleash the power of inclusion to the benefit of the entire organization. Topics discussed will include: how to dispel myths and misconceptions around diversity and inclusion; how to overcome barriers obstructing widespread opportunity and involvement; and how to infuse inclusion into an organization. (2) Quality of Hire: How to measure it, how to improve it? Facilitated by: Yves Lermusi, Chief Executive Officer, Checkster As any CEO will tell you, people are your most important asset, and getting the right talent into your company—and helping them thrive—is absolutely critical. It’s also tougher than ever. Some 60% of companies cited "identifying quality hires as their top challenge,” according to a study by Aptitude Research Partners. Yet many CEOs who can't—or don't know how to—measure how well they perform when it comes to bringing talent into their company. How do you know if you’re attracting the right candidates? What’s working and what’s not in the hiring process? And how can you measure and predict the long-term success of your hires? This roundtable will help you create a framework to measure and improve your people decisions, from the hiring process through to retention and promotion decisions. Join your peer CEOs in a discussion of best practices and proven strategies for improving your organization's processes, ensuring more certainty in your hiring decisions—and reducing involuntary turnover. There’s nothing more important for your success. (3) Why Organizational Onboarding Should Be Top of Mind for CEOs Facilitated by: Dan Fries, SVP and Managing Director, Sibson Consulting The data collected is shocking: one third of new hires begin job hunting during their first week in a new job, driving employee turnover costs to be as much as 200 percent of salary. One antidote is an effective onboarding program, which can increase three-year retention by two thirds and first-year productivity by close to 50 percent. To be effective, onboarding has moved from a human resources led, check-the-boxes event to an ongoing, organization-wide process where each level from senior management to the hiring manager has a role. As millennials and post-millennials become a larger part of the workforce, engagement starting on day one is becoming the new table stakes. Learn what best practices look like and hear what has worked for other organizations in this roundtable session. Additional roundtable topics will include issues such as: Making M&A Really Pay Off. Merge companies and merge cultures—and improve both Creating Amazing Cultures. Build a company your people love—and fight for Hiring Rockstar Performers. Recruit the best by giving them what they really want Motivating Without Pay. Getting the most from your people without spending the most Fueling Your Future. How to use succession planning to accelerate growth
2:10 pm - 2:30 pm	Networking Break
2:30 pm - 5:00 pm	Historical Guided Experience of West Point -- Leading at Scale Led by Major General (Ret.) Robert Ivany and Colonel (Ret.) Pilar Ryan This unique, out-of-the-classroom guided experience through the United States Military Academy at West Point will allow attendees to evaluate and address strategic leadership challenges through the prism of the past. We’ll visit the iconic Cadet Chapel and Battle Monument at Trophy Point to explore: West Point graduates’ leadership roles in the Civil War, specifically Ulysses S. Grant versus Robert E. Lee, and the key takeaways from the different styles of these two leaders that stand the test of time Concepts of leadership, building teams and values-based talent development Lessons to apply in recruiting high performers Motivating employees in hard times and helping teams learn from failure
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm	Networking Cocktail Reception
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm	Dinner and Patriots in Business Award Ceremony

Wednesday, September 25

6:15 am -7:15 am	Morning Fitness Session – Military-Style Team Training (limited to 50 attendees) An attendee favorite in 2018 with something for everyone, whatever your fitness level! Get the day started by experiencing the “Mission First, People Always” warrior ethos firsthand. Learn valuable lessons in discipline and teamwork that can translate directly into your workplace environment.
7:30 am - 8:15 am	Networking Breakfast
8:15 am - 8:25 am	Day 2 Welcome
8:25 am - 9:55 am	Workshop: Accelerating Talent Development in Agile Organizations Brigadier General (Ret.) Bernard Banks, Ph.D. You’ll dive into the role of managers and management in leader development, including mentorship, coaching and rewarding for intangibles. Banks shares strategies from West Point, connecting the importance of a learning culture to the challenge of talent development. You'll work together with your fellow CEOs to create an action list of tools and take-aways to foster initiative and innovation in your organizations.
9:55 am - 10:15 am	Networking Break
10:15 am - 11:05 am	CEO Case Study: Finding and Building Teams that are Future Ready Denise Graziano \| Author, Talent is a Team Sport More than vision, marketing, finance or technology, it’s ultimately people that determine organizational success. Great teams of people are great. Good teams are good, and everything else is painful. This presentation will outline key factors needed to create and keep a great, high-performance team-- talent, skills and community-- using a new perspective. Additionally, and most importantly, the session will share what leadership approach is needed to drive team success.
11:05 am - Noon	Ignite Change and Drive Clarity in the Midst of Disruption Tim Heilman \| Chief Innovation Officer, Choice Financial Group Daniel Jacobs \| Chief Executive Officer, Avanoo We are seeing a radical evolution of workforce trends. The nature of work is changing. The social contract is changing. Employees' expectations are changing. In the midst of this disruption, what leaders say and what employees hear are not often the same. How can CEOs bridge the gap? This session will share real examples of how successful leaders are harnessing and amplifying their stories to ignite organizational change, unleash hidden potential in their organization and inspire a high-performance culture.
Noon	Conclusion

Note: Agenda subject to change. * This conference is a private event, not affiliated or endorsed by the U.S. Army or U.S. government.

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Event Venue

The Historic Thayer Hotel at West Point

674 Thayer Rd | West Point, NY 10996

Call-In Reservations:
Reservations (toll free): 1-(845)-446-4731
Please call The Thayer Hotel directly and mention the “2019 CEO Talent Summit Room Block” to receive the discounted rate of $249/night before August 22, 2019.

Situated inside the gates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, 50 miles north of New York City with commanding views of the Hudson River, The Historic Thayer Hotel has been a national treasure since opening in 1926.

More about the hotel here.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2018 CEO TALENT SUMMIT

Industry leaders shared best practices for today's talent challenges including how to address human connection in the age of isolation.	Attendees enjoyed exclusive tours of the West Point grounds on the Great Commanders Guided Experience during the 2018 summit.	Keynote speaker BG Rebecca Halstead discussed the connection between exemplary military and corporate leadership.
CEOs and Executives experienced a military-style training alongside General Dennis Reimer, (U.S. Army Retired), Former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.	Small groups of CEOs joined interactive roundtable discussions to focus on key topics related to their business.	Patriots in Business awards recipients were recognized for providing outstanding support to active duty military members, veterans and their families.

About Our Partner

Thayer Leader Development Group (TLDG) at West Point

Thayer is a premier leader development organization, having trained more than 31,500 leaders from over 600 companies around the world, and ranked as a Top 40 leadership training company in 2017 by Training Industry, Inc. Thayer believes that building leaders starts with a simple premise: character is foundational to your ability to lead. Experience the legacy of military leadership lessons through custom-designed corporate programs, or open enrollment or online programs, from those who have led, and today, empower organizations to adapt and thrive.

As a leading, global expert in values-based leader development, Thayer’s proprietary and motivating 4-pronged learning approach includes applied academics sessions, experiential learning, access to senior advisors and coaches, and inspirational keynotes. Thayer is based in the Historic Thayer Hotel at West Point, where approximately 50% of all programs are hosted. The other 50% are hosted globally at locations chosen by clients.