GGI Conference Review
GGI North American Regional Conference incl. a GCG M&A Dealmakers Meeting, Cleveland, OH,USA, 30 May - 02 June 2024
What a buzz to have been at the largest GGI North American Regional Conference to date. With well over 150 attendees, it was wonderful to feel the energy as our members arrived.
It was a family affair on the Wednesday evening prior to the start of the conference, when Anthony J. Soukenik invited early arrivals to “An Evening of Bling, Baubles, Cocktails and Hors-d’oeuvres” at the Rivchun Jewelers, owned and managed by his brother, where it was difficult to resist drawing out one's wallet/purse with all the sparkles on display.
The warm family feeling continued the next day when the women got together for a tour of the city, as well as lunch in a fine restaurant. “Thank you for making me feel so welcome,” one of the participants mentioned to Leslie A. Berkoff, who together with Elisabeth Colson and Amy Seneshen, led the discussions during lunch.
Our three sponsoring host firms -- Cavitch Familo & Durkin (represented by Mike Cohan and Mike Rasor), Cascade Partners (represented by Raj Kothari and Ron Reed), and Ciuni & Panichi, Inc. CPA (represented by Brian Marita) – were very much involved in helping to plan the event, and we couldn't thank them enough for their contributions and connections in bringing this event together. It was also a wonderful touch for all of them to team up to host a Pre-Cocktail Happy Hour at Cavitch's offices, a 5-minute walk away from the conference hotel.
On Friday, our keynotes certainly delivered on information and inspiration.
George Mateyo spoke about “Has the Fed Fixed Inflation and Will Taylor Save Cardi Again?”. As Chief Investment Officer at Key Private Bank, he is responsible for establishing sound investment strategies for private and institutional clients, expanding internal and external research capabilities and managing the delivery of solid risk-adjusted investment performance. He also chairs Key Private Bank’s Investment Strategy and Oversight Committee.
During Prof Scott J. Allen's keynote, “The Master Algorithm: A Blueprint for Leading in Complexity”, participants learned to ask probing questions, initiate targeted experiments, and adapt by evaluating progress. One terrific takeaway soundbite? “Leaders create the weather.” Scott is the Robert M. Ginn Institute Professor for Leadership & Social Responsibility at John Carroll University. As a professor of management, he teaches courses in leadership, the future of work, and executive communication. He's an award-winning educator passionate about working with people of all ages.
We were also fortunate to have other guest speakers involved during the course of the conference.
Chris Cocca spoke at the GGI Business Development & Marketing Practice Group meeting about the “Business Development Playbook – Building Blocks for New Client Growth”.
Jennifer Fondrevay was the keynote speaker for the GCG M&A Dealmakers Meeting on Saturday, covering the topic of “Leading Through Uncertainty”.
GGI's Expert Groups were very busy during this conference. The International Taxation Practice Group (ITPG) and the North American Healthcare Networking Meeting both kicked off the official part of the conference on Thursday afternoon, and there was terrific participation in all of the others – from Corporate & Tech to Auditing, Reporting & Compliance, as well as from Best Practices for Professional Service Organizations to Corporate Governance & Compliance, to name a few. There were also a few combined sessions covering topics that affected the Expert Groups involved, e.g. Employment Law and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (who looked at DEI in Employment Law); Debt Collection, Restructuring & Insolvency and Litigation & Dispute Resolution (who covered the topic of “The Intersection of Arbitration and Bankruptcy”).
We were very pleased to have a couple of Partner Workshops during this conference, run by our sponsors. Barry Devine from Tri-Merit looked at “Understanding the Inflation Reduction Act and how to take advantage of the new Clean Energy Economy”. Aaron Gustin and Chandu Nagarajan from Miles Talent Hub discussed “The Accounting Pipeline Shortage - Exploring Alternatives to Outsourcing”.
What a fabulous event. We've come away energized, inspired and even more connected to each other.
