Presented by Plazabridge Group™

Business leaders are faced with disruptions like no other time in history:

• The Age of Urbanization
• The Exponential Technology Convergence: Accelerating technological change
• Aging and Reducing Population
• Greater Global Connections in Trade, Capital Investments, Finance and Business Relationships

Plazabridge Group’s recent CEO Interviews found common challenges in planning for 2016 and beyond. The above disruptions are daunting. Some of the most common challenges include:

• Reaching, selling and managing to a global market
• Keeping up with the economic changes and dealing with uncertainty
• Improving salesforce productivity and closing ratios when getting the customer’s attention and keeping it is increasingly difficult
• Performing data driven marketing with a marketing team is not data driven knowledgable
• Keeping up with Technology that effects our business growth practices
• Redefining Innovation for the longer term (innovative product strategy, innovative processes, innovating branding strategies…etc.)

And a big concern:
Transformation of workforces: managing the gaps in a multi-generational workforce, mentorship and development of Millennials, the freelance, contracting floating world of talent vs. hiring

Do your challenges fall in these areas? Are you facing a challenge and feel some critical outside thinking could help you breakthrough?

PBG Shares insights on managing through and continuing to grow sales with key strategies to manage through the above challenges with our Open Forum Discussion.

Speakers:

• Teresa Spangler, CEO of Plazabridge Group and President of the World Trade Association of NC, Invited member of the Science and Technology Committee for the NC Business Defense Association.
• Richard Spangler, Chief Productization Officer, Plazabridge Group, and Director of Commercialization for the Science and Technology Committee for the NC Business Defense Association
• Sean Witty, CEO, ADEX Machining Technologies
• Rajeev Kulkarni, Chief Product Officer, VP at 3D Systems Corporation

Agenda:

• Shared insights on converging technologies
• Critical elements to achieve and maintain success in the near and longer term
• Global state of competition and opportunities
• Where are the opportunities today

Speaker Bios:

Teresa Spangler, General Partner & Founder of Plazabridge Group
Teresa has a passion for growing business. For more than 30 years, she has designed business models, routes to markets, company strategies as well as bridged the gap between products and services and customer purchasing behavior. Her experience includes growing companies as the entrepreneur, creating and launching new divisions for Fortune 1000 companies, entering global markets and new market segments and executing strategies to take companies to their next level of growth.


Richard Spangler, General Partner & Founder, Plazabridge Group
Richard Spangler is a leading business development consultant and recognized change accelerator who creates actionable results. An original founder of PlazaBridge Group, he has an intense desire to help growth companies migrate through the maze of issues and to help the executive/entrepreneur accelerate into success while minimizing errors. His expertise includes product strategy and management,entrepreneurship, mergers & acquisitions.

Sean Witty, CEO, ADEX Machining Technologies 

Sean is a multidisciplinary executive with more than 15 years of experience in finance, M&A and integration, operations, technology, investments, and product marketing and management. His career includes experience working internationally, founding and running his own company, operating through various business cycles, and transitioning across multiple product lines and industries. He is currently the President of ADEX Machining Technologies, a company he co-founded in 2007, transformed into a contract manufacturer for Aerospace OEMs, and then sold in 2014 when the company was recapitalized to pursue further growth opportunities.

Rajeev Kulkarni, Chief Product Officer, VP at 3D Systems Corporation
Over the last 20 years, Rajeev has been part of a core group that has invented five 3D Printing technologies and applied them into hundreds of industrial and consumer solutions.
Specialties: 3D Printing, Product Development, Startups, Entrepreneurship, Angel Investing, Strategic Marketing, Business Models, Innovation

Agenda: 
8:30 am – 9:00 am      Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 am – 11:30 am    Fireside Chat Discussion followed by Q & A
11:30 am - Noon          Meet the Speakers

Program Cost: BIG Members free

                             Guests $50 in advance, $60 at the door

                              Students $20

Registration: RSVP to terry@bigcouncil.com or register below.

Dress Attire: Business casual