USF Announces CEO Forum Lineup
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe University of Saint Francis has announced the featured speakers for its annual CEO Forum. The October event will focus on global and local entrepreneurial growth. August 29, 2013
News Release
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The 20th annual CEO Forum at the University of Saint Francis, “The Future of Entrepreneurship: Redefining the Marketplace,” will examine methods entrepreneurs and business people can use to expand their businesses and grow sales. The forum will take place Thursday, Oct. 17 in the USF Performing Arts Center. Tower Bank is the corporate sponsor.
Speakers will stress that entrepreneurial growth means learning how to do commerce outside of the traditional market area, either by globalizing, expanding into larger metropolitan areas or delivering online. They will urge business people to move outside the comfort zone to investigate larger possibilities by explaining their successful experiences, research and processes.
To support this idea, Todd Schwartz, Deputy Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., will deliver the presentation, “The global business climate and the opportunities that exist – why is it important to think about the global marketplace?”
Scott Glaze, Chief Executive Officer of Fort Wayne Metals, will discuss how operations overseas, partnerships and a focus on exports have increased sales by one-third.
Maciek Szaferski, EDM Products Direct, importer/distributor/wholesaler of thousands of general merchandise and consumer goods, will detail how imports drive his business, and discuss the operations and subtleties involved.
Lori Berndt, president of The Olive Twist, an olive oil and vinegar tasting bar and retail boutique in Fort Wayne, Auburn and online, will discuss business growth as related to partnerships, collaborations and social media.
After the individual segments, the speakers will engage in informal discussion and then open up topics with the audience to wrap up the event.
In addition to the change of venue, the format of the 20th event has been refined. A breakfast will be served before the speakers' presentations, and, in lieu of the panel discussion, extended comments on different facets of the theme will be made by the business experts.
Registration starts at 7 a.m., with a buffet breakfast and networking beginning at 7:30 a.m. Schwartz's keynote address will be at 8:15 a.m. followed by presentations by Glaze, Szaferski and Berndt. The event is expected to adjourn by 11 a.m. Registration and ticket purchasing are at ceoforum2013.eventbrite.com.
“We are pleased to offer business leaders this time-honored resource in the USF Performing Arts Center,” said event organizer Dr. Danny Powell of the Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership. “The space lends itself very well to networking, and the breakfast, shorter format and choice of four dynamic speakers all add up to a powerful experience that will help fuel business success.”
The University of Saint Francis, founded in 1890 as a comprehensive university in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership, School of Professional Studies and School of Creative Arts. The university's College of Adult Learning designs focused curriculum for working adults by offering online and accelerated programs, through its Virtual, Fort Wayne and Crown Point campuses. More than 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF for its academic excellence.
Source: University of Saint Francis