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From Home Furnishing Business

Speakers Announced for CEO Summit in Las Vegas

November 4, 2014  by in Industry, Las Vegas, Market, Special Events   

Early bird registration rates are available through Nov. 28 for this executive-level conference for the furnishings, home décor and gift industries. 

The CEO Summit brings together an impressive roster of influential thinkers to discuss critical issues facing the gift and home furnishings industries, and offers executives a unique opportunity to network with peers and discuss challenges and opportunities.  

Keynote speaker on Jan. 20 is financial industry expert Ron Insana, senior analyst and CNBC. Insana is a contributor to CNBC and MSNBC, where he discusses the most pressing economic issues of the day. He has written for Money magazine and USA Today and has hosted two nationally syndicated radio programs. Insana is known for his high-profile interviews, which included Presidents Clinton and Bush, billionaire investors Warren Buffet, George Soros and Julian Robertson, among others. He also has interviewed captains of industry including Bill Gates, Jack Welch, and the late Steve Jobs. Insana was named one of the “Top 100 Business News Journalists of the 20th Century” and was nominated for a news and documentary Emmy for his role in NBC’s coverage of 9/11. At the summit, Insana will discuss the U.S. and world economy.

Tom  Morris, chairman of Morris Institute for Human Values will offer practical forms of world class wisdom, and tangible takeaways. Organizations report that their executives and associates are using his ideas to great effect months and even years after a presentation.

Steve Baker, vice president of The Great Game of Business Inc. has become a top rated and sought after speaker, author and coach on topics of Open Book Management, Strategy and Execution, Leadership and Employee Engagement. Baker co-wrote the update of the #1 Best Seller The Great Game of Business 20th Anniversary Edition.

Kent Panther, senior vice president at Wray Ward Creative Communications, has for more than 25 years cultivated expertise in how to measure the results of marketing tactics and expenditures and, more important, how to tie marketing to sales. In his strategic planning and business development work, he has focused on bringing the right measurement tools to the home and building categories. Panther works closely with teams responsible for developing marketing communications plans with built-in metrics for tracking progress and demonstrating effectiveness. He will share ways to improve marketing ROI by identifying targets’ most significant activities, and he identifies the top tools with which to measure results. Attendees will walk away knowing how to apply different tools and techniques.

Keynote speaker on day two is Andreas Weigend, director of Social Data Lab and former chief scientist at Amazon. Weigend is an expert on the future of big data, social-mobile technologies, and consumer behavior; and teaches at Stanford University, University of California-Berkeley, and China’s Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Stanford after studying in Germany and Cambridge, U.K. As Amazon’s chief scientist, he helped create the firm’s data strategy and customer-centric culture. He founded the Social Data Lab, which connects faculty and students with companies looking to find new forms of engagement with their customers.

“Bringing a critical mass of thought leaders of such a high caliber in one venue is truly unique in the industry,” said Robert Maricich, CEO of International Market Centers. “It’s an opportunity to share knowledge and expertise, to learn from each other, to talk about the future, and help the industry move forward. For the past three winters, Las Vegas Market has held this one-of-a-kind event and it continues to add value for executives attending our market.”  

The CEO Summit is co-produced by IMC and Eller Enterprises, and sponsored by leading sales agencies, key industry service providers and top suppliers.

“Throughout the CEO Summit program’s history, our sponsors have represented top tier suppliers and thought-leaders,” said Randy Eller, president of Eller Enterprises.  

Sponsors for the 2015 event include premier sponsor Surya, gold sponsor Global Views and summit sponsors Brandwise, Creative Co-Op, DEMDACO, DesignWorks Investments, Enesco, Evergreen Enterprises, Ganz, Giftcraft, Grace Management Group, Ivystone, OneCoast, Puttin’ Out (In a Socially Acceptable Way) The Fisher Group-UBS, UMA Enterprises, Uttermost, VRA Partners, and WHEREOWARE.

The CEO Summit at Las Vegas Market is an executive-level conference designed for owners, principals, and C-level management of gift and home furnishings manufacturers and sales agencies. Registrants must meet these criteria to attend. For more information or to register, visit here. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Randy Eller at 731.225.1253 or reller@ellerent.com.