WithIt Sets Agenda for Professional Conference

June 13, 2014  by in Industry, Special Events   

Trish Mueller, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for The Home Depot, will speak on "The Art & Science of Leadership" to kick off the event.

She will share lessons from her leadership experiences, including how she acquired and honed the necessary skills for managing the strategic branding and advertising direction for The Home Depot and its subsidiaries.

Prior to joining The Home Depot, Mueller has held senior marketing management roles at The Sports Authority, home furnishings retailer American Signature and ShopNBC, a home shopping network.

The event will be Aug. 11-13 at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel and Conference Center. Registration is $300 for WithIt members and $425 for non-members. 

The 2014 event will present accomplished leaders from a variety of industries to inspire and educate attendees.

“This year’s program has been carefully crafted to help attendees identify, value and cultivate a wide variety of leadership attributes,” said conference chair Carol Gregg, president of Red Egg. “Some of these attributes—like building rapport and influencing others—are more of an art, while others—like harnessing technology to be more productive and developing the skills needed for effective negotiating—are more of a science."

New features within the 2014 program include a series of “expert exchange sessions” allowing attendees to gain insights and build new connections in focused topic areas, as well as WithIt’s take on the popular Technology, Entertainment, Design talks, better known as “TED Talks.”

“For this rapid-fire, 45-minute session, we’ll have three inspired speakers ready to take the stage and share a short, powerful message on topics ranging from reinvention to staying relevant,” Gregg said. “Their ideas will leave us smarter, happier, more productive … or all three!”

Additional program highlights include:

* The Power of Networking: Essential Relationship-Building Inside and Outside Your Company

Helene Lollis, partner and resident, Pathbuilders

As the head of the leadership team at Pathbuilders, Lollis guides strategic direction and program development and provides high level partnership with clients. Trained as a chemical engineer, she spent 12 years with Amoco and BP Corporation. Her session on networking will include an active, out-of-seat experience to enhance attendees’ Conference experience and ensure everyone leaves with new connections that will benefit them personally and professionally for years to come.

* Industry Roundtable: What’s Choking the Pipeline of Women Advancing to Senior Roles 

Paula Scott Fogarty, freelance writer and former president of Kindel Furniture

A leader in the home furnishings industry for 20 years, Fogarty served as president of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Kindel Furniture from 2000-2006, and prior to that led public relations, sales and marketing for 12 years. She also ran a successful marketing and communications firm for four years before beginning her research for a book she is writing on the changing role of women in the furniture industry. Drawing on her own experiences, as well as the research she has thus far conducted for her book, Fogarty will describe some of the obstacles to women advancing in the furniture. Then she’ll turn her attention and expert interviewing skills to a panel of leading industry executives, from whom she’ll cull additional insights on how to bridge the gender gap in the home furnishings C-suite.

* Living a Life of Purpose: How to Volunteer, Give Back and Make an Impact

Lisa Robison and Kim Turner, Dwell With Dignity

Dwell with Dignity is a Dallas-based non-profit group of interior designers and volunteers dedicated to creating inspiring homes for families struggling with homelessness and poverty. They provide and install home interiors that include furnishings, art, bedding, kitchen supplies and food for the pantry, believing that if they can change a person’s surroundings, they can help change their outlook on life. Robison and Turner will address the benefits of volunteering at all stages of a person’s career. They’ll also share the story of Dwell With Dignity and provide a sneak peek at their first Atlanta installation.

The education program also includes sessions on using technology to increase your personal and professional productivity and how to negotiate more successfully, for yourself and your business.

In addition to the education program, tours of the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center and America’s Mart are planned as pre-conference excursions, and a Tuesday night appreciation dinner will feature table décor sponsored by Currey & Co. and entertainment from Atlanta folk singer Amy Andrews. 

Registration is available online. For a special group rate at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead, which is centrally located in the heart of the Buckhead business, shopping and entertainment district, call 404-261-9250 and ask for the WithIt Conference rate of $159.