Thursday, September 30
11:00 a.m. - Lunch at the Seaport Hotel
1 Seaport Lane, Boston, MA 02210
Location: Outside Plaza C Ballroom
11:30 – 11:45 a.m. - Opening Remarks
Location: Plaza C Ballroom
Settle in for an afternoon of stimulating content and conversation as we introduce our agenda and review objectives for our annual retreat.
Speaker: Gordie Spater, CEO, Katahdin Group
11:45 – 12:30 p.m.- Roundtable CEO Introductions
The power of the network is real. Given the increased new membership in the last two years, we’ll go around the room to hear each of you as you introduce yourself. Give your (briefest) elevator pitch and let us know one accomplishment that you are proud of (we know there are many!). Don’t forget to write down the names of three CEOs you would like to connect with.
Facilitator: Erin Mullen, Managing Partner, Katahdin Group
12:30 – 1:00 p.m. - Transitions: How we negotiated recent leadership transitions through turbulent waters
CEO & Key Exec Panelists:
Facilitator: Roger Keene, Katahdin Group
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Networking Break
1:30 – 2:00 p.m. - Let’s Hear from an Economist. Macroeconomic view of the world from a lower and middle market perspective.
Speaker: Allison Nathan, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Facilitator: David Cohen, Katahdin Group
2:00 – 2:30 p.m. - Forecasting for 2022: Where to Start? We all agree that 2020 and 2021 were unprecedented. What trends and baseline do we use to forecast 2022 and beyond?
CEO Panenists:
Facilitator: Brian O’Donnell, Katahdin Group
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. - Activity: Walking in Your Customer’s Shoes. As CEOs, we take for granted that you understand your customer and their needs. In this exercise, Ted Nelson, Chief Branding Strategist from Mechanica, will help us explore that truth and evaluate your customer engagement insight through a series of questions and thoughts.
Speaker: Ted Nelson, CEO, Mechanica
Facilitator: Gordie Spater, Katahdin Group
3:15 – 3:30 p.m.- Break with Snack
3:30 – 4:15 p.m. - Pivots: How we identified the opportunity, knew when to shift and then executed the shift.
CEO Speakers:
Facilitator: Mark Goldstein, Katahdin Group
4:15 – 4:30 p.m. - CEO Presentation: Spotlight on a young CEO in the emerging space of AI.
Speaker: Benj Cohen, CEO Proton ai
Facilitator: Mark Hatton, Katahdin Group
4:30 – 4:40 p.m. - Summary/Check Out: End the day with a quick check out on the retreat: Insights gained, action items to implement, and who to connect with in the network, following the retreat.
Facilitator: Erin Mullen, Katahdin Group
4:40 – 5:00 p.m. - Introducing the new Katahdin Group members-only app including a directory of all your peers in the network and the opportunity to engage with both your Collective peers and the entire network.
Facilitator: Amy Black, Marketing Director, Katahdin Group
5:00 – 5:40 p.m. - Check In to the Seaport Hotel
Bring your bag up to your room, freshen up
5:40 p.m. - Meet in Seaport Hotel Lobby for departure on a bus to our boat cruise. Bring your list of the three people you want to connect with. Don’t be late!
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. - Dinner Cruise with Your Peers: Join us for a nautical journey as we sightsee Boston at sunset and enjoy dinner and drinks on Boston’s classic yacht, Northern Lights, inspired by the New England commuter yachts of the roaring 20s.
Friday, October 1
7:45 – 8:15 a.m. - Mindfulness Does a Company Good: Morning presentation on corporate meditation and brief practice
Meditating has been scientifically proven to have an impact on leadership and overall employee productivity. Join us as we review some of the well-known companies that have meditation programs, learn about the benefits and tips for implementing— and participate in a brief guided meditation together.
Speaker: Amy Black, Marketing Director, Katahdin Group & Mindfulness Teacher at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. - Breakfast – All American Buffet
Location: Outside Plaza C Ballroom
9:00 – 9:15 a.m. - Opening Remarks
Slept on thoughts? We’ll go through our objectives for the day and offer time to reflect on lessons learned yesterday. Did you connect with anyone on the boat?
Speaker: Gordie Spater, CEO, Katahdin Group
9:15 – 9:45 a.m. - M&A: why now is the time and how we made it work despite (or because of) the environment.
CEO Panelists:
Facilitator: Steve Munroe, Katahdin Group
9:45 – 10:15 a.m. - Networking Break
10:15 – 11:00 a.m. - Acquiring and Retaining Talent: Ideas on how to do this while building culture among the leadership team and the entire organization. How to encourage new voices to come to the table and be heard in any environment (virtual, onsite, hybrid) while sticking to the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives.
CEO Panelists:
Facilitator: Brian O’Donnell, Katahdin Group
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Value Drivers at An Exit: What does the market value and how did you identify it to have a great outcome?
CEO Panelists:
Facilitator: Vic Odryna, Katahdin Group
11:30 – 11:45 a.m. - CEO of the Year Awards & Group Photo
Facilitator: Gordie Spater, Katahdin Group
11:45 – 12:00 p.m. - Summary and Check Out
Insights gained, action items to implement, and who to connect with in the network following the retreat. We will also collect your feedback on how we can continue to make our Annual CEO Retreat the best investment of your time. We are all ears.
