A University of Chicago professor and entrepreneur will discuss leadership and a panel of local tourism industry leaders will discuss resiliency in the wake of a tough year at the 12th annual Economic Summit on Oct. 24 at the Sky Ute Casino & Resort.
The summit, sponsored by La Plata County Economic Development Alliance, will be a daylong event. It’s theme is “Versatility: The Real Competitive Advantage.” The conference will address business challenges and provide ideas and models to help overcome obstacles.
More than a dozen speakers and breakout sessions are planned.
The keynote presenter, Gregory Bunch of the University of Chicago, will discuss “The Strategic Leader in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous World.” He will also host a breakout workshop session on the topic to dive a little deeper.
Bunch draws on experience as an entrepreneur, manager, consultant, alderman and teacher. He is the founder of Masterplan International Corporation, a strategy consulting firm. He was also a partner at Brandtrust, a brand strategy consultancy.
Bunch co-founded a health care software start-up in the San Francisco area, and he has worked with numerous Fortune 50 companies, family businesses and start-ups in the areas of innovation and strategy.
Companies he has worked with include Abbott Labs, American Express, Danaher, Dover, ETS, Harley-Davidson, Hewlett-Packard, Kimberly-Clark, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, State Farm and Yum! Brands.
Also on the agenda, Al Harper, owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad; James Coleman, owner of Mountain Capital Partners/Purgatory Resort; and Marcie Bidwell, executive director at Mountain Studies Institute, will give a tourism and resiliency panel discussion and presentation during lunch.
Tourism panel members are expected to speak about their businesses’ coming challenges and what they are doing to prepare for them.
Summit attendees will also hear from Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of La Plata County Economic Development Alliance.
Zalneraitis will give a summary of local economic trends and what it might mean for area businesses in the short and long term.
Other breakout sessions will cover marketing, foreign trade and export, leadership, risk management, investing for business, manufacturing and patents, entrepreneurialism and more.
Visit https://bit.ly/2xuW7KY to register for the event and to find detailed information about speakers, presentations and sponsors.
Tickets are $65 per person for alliance members and $80 per person for nonmembers. The ticket is inclusive of all events as well as the breakfast, lunch and cocktail reception.
The La Plata Economic Development Alliance is a public-private partnership dedicated to collaboration among the public, nonprofit and private sectors to strengthen the local economy through retention, expansion and recruitment of quality businesses.
Visit www.yeslpc.com or call 259-1700 for more information about the alliance.
parmijo@ durangoherald.com
