Speaker Bios and Program Descriptions
Janet M. Miller, CEcD, FM • Keynote Speaker • Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Janet M. Miller is Chief Economic Development Officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Janet has oversight of a twelve-member economic development team that acts as the region's lead marketing agency for economic development with functions including business recruitment, working with existing Nashville-based firms on expansions, entrepreneurship initiatives, and international business. Miller works on a day-to-day basis with corporate executives of relocating companies to advise on relocation investments and locations. Successful relocation projects in which Miller has been involved include Nissan's North American headquarters, Dell Computer Corporation, Caremark Rx, Asurion, Louisiana-Pacific, HCA, PRIMUS/Ford Motor Credit, Mars Pet Care, and numerous others. Since she took on the departmental leadership role at the Chamber in 2002, over 78,000 jobs have been created in the Nashville region and over 240 companies recruited.
Miller was named the local Sales and Marketing Executive Association's National Salesperson of the Year for 2006, and was named one of three "Women of Influence" in the "Inspiration" category by the Nashville Business Journal in July 2007. She was named a Fellow Member of the International Economic Development Council in recognition of exceptional contributions to the field of economic development in America in Fall of 2007. She is a past-President of the Tennessee Industrial Development Council, a past Tennessee director for the Southern Economic Development Council Board, and a board member and past chairman for the Tennessee Economic Partnership. She is also a Tennessee board member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP); a member of AAA Auto Club's Tennessee advisory board, a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), an associate member of CoreNet Global, past membership recruitment chair and program committee co-chair for Nashville's Downtown Rotary Club, a member of the Business Leadership Committee for Lipscomb University; and serves on numerous other boards. She is a graduate of the 2001 class of Leadership Nashville, and is a member of Leadership Music's 2007-2008 class. Miller is a frequent lecturer at economic development classes around the country, including engagements as an instructor at Basic Economic Development Courses at Georgia Tech, the University of Kentucky, and for the Tennessee Basic Course.
Miller is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma, and she received the Certified Economic Developer designation, the industry's highest achievement, in 2000. Prior to her tenure at the Nashville Chamber, she served as Director of Research and Marketing for Grubb & Ellis/Centennial, Inc., one of Nashville's largest commercial real estate firms. Miller is a lifelong Nashville resident and is married to David M. Miller.
Keynote Description: Leveraging the Music City Brand for Economic Development
Janet Miller will share expertise on marketing your city for economic development purposes. The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has been deliberate in its efforts to use marketing methods that have a prove track record incorporating new ideas and continuously working to se the Nashville region apart from its key competitor cities. Participants will gain ideas and insights about how to implement a marketing plan and ensure that it works within a greater brand strategy, is backed by sound research, fits into a specified budget and has measurable results.
Rusty Sherwood • Keynote Speaker • McGraw-Hill Construction
Mark (Rusty) Sherwood is Vice President, Channel Partners, McGraw-Hill Construction. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record (ENR), GreenSource, and MHC's 11 Regional Publications, McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $4.0 trillion global construction community.
A senior manager with McGraw-Hill for over 11 years, Rusty has developed, organized and led business development and market strategies for all of MHC's customer segments including the regional and national AEC community and the national building product manufacturers group. Most recently Rusty co-led the redesign of McGraw-Hill Construction's sales organization shifting structure and methods from "product-centric" to "voice-of-the-customer" solution teams.
Rusty co-founded and chairs the AEC Business Builder's Forum, a consortium of senior level AEC marketing and business development executives convened for the purpose of debate and consideration of present trends, economic issues and best practices shaping our industry. A regular speaker at numerous US construction conferences and events, Rusty offers a unique take on the US construction marketplace based on 27 years of industry experience and MHC's ability to recognize key trends, market potential and what leading organizations do to stay on top. Raised in Southern California, but currently calling Denver, Colorado his family's home, Rusty holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and International Finance from USC and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
Keynote Description: US Construction 2010: Is There an Upside (to This Downsized Market)?
A three-part review of the direction in US Construction for 2010. Part 1 provides a brief review of US national and regional construction econometrics. Part 2 overlays the significant trends that are shaping our industry, both good and bad. Part 3 concludes the session with translating these key indicators into business implications for strategic planning purposes.
Geoff Webb • Keynote Speaker • Graceworks, Inc.
Geoff Webb, Vice President and CFO (Chief Freedom Officer) at Graceworks, helps deepen the leadership and communication skills of hundreds of professionals each year -- all so they're free to make the human connection.
Geoff draws on over 20 years of leading leaders in the military, corporate, and non-profit sectors as well as his unique and diverse experiences to help others expand their influence. He graduated from West Point with a degree in Engineering Physics and went on to command units in Europe and Asia as an attack helicopter pilot. Geoff has also worked as a professional television actor and taught improvisation in New York City. He has lent his leadership to such non-profits as The Boy Scouts of America, World Vision, and Young Life. In between all this, he found time to plan and lead expeditions to six continents (Antarctica is next!). With Graceworks, Geoff has the chance to improve the culture and bottom line of companies all over the world. Just a few of the AEC firms he has worked with include HOK, CH2M Hill, Gensler, Parsons, HNTB, SHP Leading Design, and BWSC. Check out www.graceworksinc.com for more info.
Keynote Description: Leading on Purpose
To truly amplify your marketing performance, you'll need to take charge and lead on purpose. Meaning, it's not going to just happen -- you've got to make it happen. There are deliberate actions you can take to help that project manager think like a marketer, to get your leadership team to buy into and back new marketing strategies, and to motivate your staff to pour themselves into each pursuit. In this fun, interactive keynote, Geoff will share how to clarify your marketing vision, how to ignite that vision in others, and how to create a flexible plan that brings that vision to life.
Joey Asher • Speechworks
Joey Asher is a professional communication and selling skills coach who specializes in working with construction, architecture, and engineering firms. His clients include Skanska, Robins & Morton, Choate Construction, Hoar Construction, BE&K Construction, Doster Construction, TVSA, HOK, Jordan, Jones & Goulding, and many others.
Joey has written three books on presentation skills and selling. Joey's latest book, How to Win a Pitch: The Five Fundamentals That Will Distinguish You from the Competition, was published last year by Persuasive Speaker Press. His first book, Even a Geek Can Speak: Low-Tech Presentation Skills For High-Tech People, was published by Longstreet Press in 2001 and is in its second printing (2006) by Persuasive Speaker Press. His book Selling and Communication Skills for Lawyers was released in 2005 by American Lawyer Media.
Joey's background is both as an attorney and as a newspaper reporter. He worked as an adjunct professor of law at Emory University School of law and was an attorney at Troutman Sanders L.L.P. in Atlanta. Prior to law school, he worked as a newspaper reporter for the Gannett newspaper chain in Georgia and New York. Joey graduated from Cornell University and Emory University Law School.
Program Description: How to Win a Pitch
You don't need fancy PowerPoint, elaborate models, or even dynamic speakers to win a new business pitch in the construction, engineering, and architecture marketplace. But you do need to execute a few fundamentals better than your competition.
Those fundamentals will be the focus of this highly interactive presentation by Joey Asher, President of Speechworks, and author of How to Win a Pitch: The Five Fundamentals that Will Distinguish You from the Competition. The presentation will include lots of discussion and interactive exercises. Joey Asher's firm has been working with construction, engineering, and architecture firms for 23 years in helping them compete for business. Joey is an attorney, a former newspaper reporter and the author of three books on communication and selling skills.
Mike Buell • SMPS Business Development Institute Speaker
Michael T. Buell, CPSM, has been a marketing/business development professional in the A/E/C industry over the last 17+ years. He has worked with construction/development, engineering consulting and architecture/engineering/planning firms from small to global in size. Due to his efforts in relationship building, Michael has earned a national reputation as a leader in the industry and as a passionate speaker/trainer for business development professionals.
Program Description: Developing Your Value Proposition
This session is a highly interactive discussion on turning the features of your firm into direct benefits for the client and answering the question, "What makes your firm any different from the others?" If you've ever been asked that and stammered, listing statistics and general facts about your firm, it's likely you've said nothing either truly different or even interesting. There are things, however, that you can guarantee are different about your firm. We will pull those out and turn them into a unique value proposition that turns your client's response from "So what?" to "Now that's interesting!"
Larry Casey • Skanska
Mr. Larry Casey is responsible for Business Development, Marketing and National Accounts for Skanska USA Building. He is based out of the Greater Washington DC operations of Skanska and is active in several industry organizations including ULI, NAIOP, DBIA, COAA, CMAA, SMPS, and CURT. Mr. Casey has served in various positions in the real estate industry over his 32-year career, working for national companies such as Centex, Gilbane Building, and Skanska. He is a member of the executive leadership team of Skanska USA Building. Skanska is a Global Fortune 500 $22 billion a year international builder and developer with more than 60,000 employees working in Europe, Latin America, and the United States.
Mr. Casey is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic University with a BS in Building Construction and received his MBA from Nova Southeastern University. He recently completed an executive management program at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland and executive course work at Harvard University. Since 1989 Mr. Casey has been an adjunct professor at Florida International University for the College of Engineering in their Construction Management Masters of Science program and is currently a professor at Georgetown University in their Master's in Real Estate program.
Program Description: Competitor Intelligence - Wargaming to Win
No presentation description available at this time.
Donna Corlew • Brown & Caldwell
Donna has over twenty years of experience marketing professional services, with concentration on
management and direction of marketing and business development activities. In her role as Regional Marketing Manager, Donna assists regional leaders in business planning process; develops and implements marketing plans; manages sales information; coordinates with corporate business development; trains/mentors marketing staff and Client Service Managers; and has direct involvement and leadership of key pursuits.
Donna achieved the designation of Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM) through the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) in 1993 and was elevated to the status of Fellow of the Society in 2004. Active in SMPS since 1987 on local and national levels, her service to the Society culminated in a term as National President in 2007-08.
Program Description: Maximizing Your Conference and Tradeshow Investment
Opportunities abound, and we could attend a conference or sponsor an event every week -- if budgets would allow! This session offers insights into evaluating opportunities and how to get the most out of your investment, whether attending, exhibiting, or supporting an event.
Margie Flynn • BrownFlynn
Margie shares her deeply ingrained passion for the community and belief in "doing well by doing good" as principal and co-owner of BrownFlynn. Margie speaks the language of bottom-line impact and has been instrumental in shaping a variety of responsible practices for regional, national and global corporations and organizations. Margie's strong commitment to ethical business practices and eye on global impact also make her a dynamic speaker and trusted advisor for clients who seek to improve their business practices while catalyzing positive change. She approaches all obstacles with unfailing optimism, pragmatism and a willingness to listen, which has led her to mastermind creative strategic alliances, long-term communication solutions and valuable community relationships for clients. Before 1996, Margie spent more than a decade with National City Corporation where she served as co-vice president and manager of National City Corporation's corporate communications department with Barb Brown. Margie and her husband, Danny, have three sons and reside in Highland Heights, Ohio.
Program Description: Triple Your Bottom Line: The Business Case for Sustainability
Businesses are increasingly integrating sustainability into their operations for a number of key reasons -- reducing costs, motivating employees to innovate and find ways to maximize revenues, creating customer and brand loyalty, reducing risks, creating competitive advantage, or strategically expanding its role in their communities. But, how do companies make sustainability stick and "triple their bottom line"? By adopting it as a core value and integrating it into the full cycle of business processes, sustainability will become integral to a business' culture and the company will integrate it into every business decision. A strong organizational structure, combined with effective stakeholder engagement, planning, goal setting and communications, provides the foundation for effectively integrating sustainability into a company's mission and day-to-day operations. Companies that truly embrace sustainability will gain a competitive advantage and not only survive these challenging economic times, but thrive well into the future.
Polly J. Green
Polly J. Green is a consultant with 25 years of marketing and business development experience with engineering, architectural, and general contracting firms. Her areas of expertise include: business development, strategic planning, coaching/mentoring, and leadership training. Polly graduated from West Virginia University with a B.A. degree in Psychology. She has been a member of SMPS since 1985, past president of the SMPS - Research Triangle Chapter and has presented programs at both SMPS National Conferences and SMPS Southeastern Regional Conferences. Polly received the 1999 Women in Business Award -- Top 25 Women in the Research Triangle, NC Area.
Program Description: Generational Selling
Can you imagine a day when a phenomenal deal is closed, a revolutionary winning presentation is created, or your marketing plan is approved without numerous revisions? This can happen when you understand and optimize the generational issues and attitudes that influence your clients and team members.
Join Polly Green on a journey to understand generational differences and utilize generational strengths to "sell" your ideas and build consensus. Participants will: gain insights into the views that influence the 5 current generations; develop communication techniques that employ generational viewpoints and strengths; Understand how leveraging generational strengths can make a difference both in your career and life!
Peter J. Kienle, FSMPS, CPSM, MBA • McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc.
Pete Kienle's career spans 25 years in management, marketing and business development in the A/E/C industry. In his current position as Business Development Director, Pete is in charge of Business Development for McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc. in North and South Carolina. Pete was the 2006/2007 National President of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), serving on the National Board of Directors from 2003 through 2008. He is a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM) as well as a Fellow of the Society. He has a BSBA and an MBA from The Ohio State University, and previously served in marketing management roles for three ENR 500 design firms.
Pete started his career as an owner's representative/project manager on over $250 million of building construction, including serving as the chair or committee member on over 100 A/E project selections. In total, he has prepared, coached or participated in over 1,000 A/E interview presentations. In the last five years, he has made over 50 presentations on A/E/C trends, issues and best practices for Deltek, ACEC, AIA, SMPS, PSMA, Zweig White, and IOMA. He is often quoted in industry publications and has authored articles for SMPS and PSMJ.
Program Description: Debriefing as an Effective Sales Tool
One of the most effective activities in the marketing process is debriefing. It is amazing that many firms still do not conduct a debriefing after every selection process is finished. And the most successful firms do them after they win as well as when they come in "second." This session will give a framework for conducting a thorough debriefing. The discussion will focus on the who, what, when, where, why and how. There is no silver bullet for debriefing; it largely depends on who you are debriefing. But a flexible and inviting approach always works best. Audience participation is expected -- please bring your toughest debrief situation ever for the presenter and group to review and give you suggestions. This is one job where the marketer is ideal as the principal or PM usually have vested interests and do not listen as well as a marketing professional. Tell them you want to conduct the debrief and you make yourself a more visible and valuable person in the marketing and sales process.
Gene Matthews • Kleinfelder
Gene Matthews is currently leading the Marketing and Business Development efforts in the Energy Division of Kleinfelder. He has over 25 years experience leading sales and marketing efforts for firms providing consulting engineering and environmental services. Gene holds a degree in Physics and Chemistry from Cornell College, and is a Certified Professional Services Marketer and past President of the Nashville SMPS Chapter.
Program Description: Measuring Your Marketing ROI
Many firms struggle with objectively measuring the performance of their marketing and business development efforts: "How do I know how we are doing?" This presentation will describe some fundamental and practical methods to capture the information necessary to evaluate the performance of your revenue production process and personnel.
Attendees should leave the presentation with ideas they can implement to capture the information they need to evaluate performance. If you are a principal or leader and cannot objectively describe the performance of your unit's Marketing and BD efforts, then this is a must for you. If you are on the front lines in Marketing/BD, and you are not clear on how your performance is measured, you may want to see how it could be done. If you have no interest in Marketing or BD, what are you doing here?
Schermerhorn Team
Program Description: Schermerhorn Symphony Hall - Best Practices From Pursuit to Closeout
The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is a world class, state-of-the-art acoustic performance hall and the new home of The Nashville Symphony. The key to success was a cohesive group consisting of the ownership, consultants and contractors who committed to a common vision with clear shared goals, maintained respect for each other's area of expertise, and collaborated across all lines of the team participation with expectations of communicating directly with each other. Come hear directly from the team that made it happen!
Barbara Shuck • Emc2 Group Architects
Barbara Shuck, FSMPS, CPSM, has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, business development and sales. She is Vice President, Marketing Director at Emc2 Group Architects Planners, PC, in Mesa, and is Secretary/Treasurer on the SMPS National Board. She co-authored the 2009 SMPS Foundation White Paper "Social Networking for Competitive Advantage." She was SMPS Arizona Chapter President (2002-03) and received Arizona's Pinnacle Achievement Award (2004). She was Committee Chair for SMPS Build Business 2008 (Denver). She has an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management (Glendale, AZ), and a BA in Communication Arts and French from Washburn University (Topeka, KS).
Program Description: Social Networking: From the Basics to Implementation Planning
Why should your firm consider social networking as a tool in the marketing toolbox... or is it just another fad? This session provides overview of the groundbreaking SMPS Foundation White Paper, Social Networking for Competitive Advantage: How professional services firms differentiate themselves to win work, recruit, and retain talent. Attendees will gain insight from a summary overview of social networking practices and learn what other firms are doing based on results of a survey conducted in 2009. From there, we will discuss various social media and implementation strategies that attendees will find useful to develop their own social networking programs. Audience participation, dynamic discussion and sharing ideas will be highly encouraged.
James Threalkill • Skanska
James Threalkill is an industry leader in managing Community Outreach and Diversity Programs for large construction programs. As Senior Director of Diversity, he is charged with the leading the diversity and inclusion effort for Skanska, and he works closely with our project teams. His primary role on projects is to coordinate community outreach events to encourage Minority, Woman-Owned Business and small business participation. His notable projects include The Meadowlands NFL Giants/Jets Football Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ; L.P. Field, Home of the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, TN; Nissan North America Corporate Headquarters, Franklin, TN; and LeBonheur Children's Medical Center, Memphis, TN.
Bea Thompson • Moody • Nolan, Inc.
In 1995, Bea Thompson, AIA opened the Nashville office of Moody • Nolan, Inc., which is recognized as the largest African American owned and operated architectural firm in the country. Now, with more than 160 employees, Moody • Nolan has six regional offices in addition to the Columbus, Ohio headquarters. The firm provides architectural and interior design services for a variety of new and renovation projects and annually plans and designs more than $350 million of construction. In Ms. Thompson's more than 25 years of architectural experience, she has worked in a variety of different focus areas including government, healthcare and education. Current work includes: Music City Center, Northwest YMCA Natatorium Addition and Historic Renovation of Lindsley Hall in Nashville. Her open communication between owners and team members, as well as her involvement in the management, planning, design and construction administration of projects, has been the foundation for her ability to develop and maintain strong client relationships.
Amber Gooding • Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority
Amber Gooding is director of Business Diversity Development with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA). In her role as director of Business Diversity Development for the MNAA, Gooding is responsible for administering the organization's federally mandated disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program and its voluntary local small, minority and woman-owned business enterprise (SMWBE) program. Gooding also serves as a networking resource and liaison to provide the maximum opportunities for large and small companies to participate in contracting with the Authority's two airports, Nashville International Airport and John C. Tune Airport. A Memphis native, Gooding's previous experience includes serving as executive director of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission and as special assistant on urban affairs to the Governor. Her former employment also includes various executive positions in her hometown, including: vice president of Government Affairs & Health Systems for The Regional Medical Center; chief executive officer of Horizon Medical Management; administrative director of Methodist Health System and special assistant to the Honorable Harold E. Ford, Sr. An avid community activist, Gooding has served on and is a member of multiple boards and organizations, including Outlook Nashville, the Women's Foundation, Leadership Memphis, Nashville Academy of Science and Engineering and the Community Resource Center of Nashville and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Equal and Fair Employment Opportunity. She currently chairs the Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce board of directors. She is a past president of Links, Inc. Gooding holds a bachelor's degree from Christian Brothers University.
Program Description: Diversity Panel - The Changing Face of Design & Construction
Maximizing diversity participation is a major focus on both public and private projects. The firms who take a proactive approach vs. a reactive approach continue to be leaders in the industry. Come hear from some of our industry's top professionals who are experts in diversity as it relates to design, construction and procurement.
Brad Thurman • Wallace Engineering
Brad Thurman, P.E., FSMPS, CPSM is a principal and Chief Marketing Officer with Wallace Engineering, a structural and civil engineering consulting firm. He holds a Master of Architectural Engineering degree from Oklahoma State University and has 24 years experience in structural engineering. For the past 13 years, he has helped lead Wallace's marketing efforts across two disciplines and five offices. Brad is a past-president of SMPS Oklahoma, served for three years as an instructor for the SMPS Presidents' Leadership Symposium, an annual training program for incoming chapter presidents-elect, and was co-chair of Build Business 2009 in Las Vegas.
Program Description: Love You Long Time: Marketing as a Consultant
Consulting firms are a component of virtually every project. Specialty consultants -- engineering, audio/visual, testing, you name it -- face many of the same challenges marketing themselves as their clients do when reaching out to obtain work. They also face some very different issues, such as inclusion on multiple teams and confidentiality. As marketing professionals in consulting firms, we need to keep in mind how to approach those who need our services and how we can respond to and support their marketing efforts. This session will address some of the approaches and pitfalls of marketing a consulting firm, and will look at ways that it's different from marketing a prime firm... and how, in many ways, it's really the same.
Jim Walton • Brand Acceleration
According to Jim Walton, CEO of Indianapolis- and Charlotte-based Brand Acceleration, it's crucial to understand not only how your brand efforts influence an audience -- you must also look at every aspect of your daily activities. As an advertising, public relations, and brand management veteran, Jim Walton has been serving the needs of local, regional, and global clients for more than thirty years. With a broad range of experience that includes print and broadcast media, web, exhibit and trade show management, and client-level advertising and marketing, Jim brings a wealth of knowledge to his clients. His bi-weekly e-magazine, Rants from the Brand Coach, is regularly read by more than twelve thousand recipients across the nation and around the world. He is a member of the SMPS Indiana and Carolinas chapters. Brand Acceleration is a full-service advertising, public relations, brand management and graphic design firm which focuses exclusively on the areas of architecture, engineering and construction, as well as economic development and motorsports.
Program Description: Whole Brand Thinking
Your company brand is represented in everything you do, from the way you answer the phone, to the appearance of your office, to the coffee you serve. Have you ever considered the myriad ways you positively or negatively impact your company brand?
In this presentation, Jim Walton reveals the answers to these and many other nagging questions. He looks closely at the little things and evaluates just how they are seen by customers and prospects. Jim helps audiences take a look at where they are now and offers simple strategies for helping them get to where they want to go. In this optimistic and empowering presentation, he helps companies develop solid strategies and explores tactics that will help them move forward successfully. In Whole-Brand Thinking, Jim helps the audience review the many ways they can grow a powerful and positive brand image. Plus, he shows several successful and not-so-successful examples of branding efforts.
Desired Learning Outcome: What is a brand? What does your company brand represent? What can you do to improve or establish your brand position?
For more information regarding Programs, please contact Mendy Mazzo, Skanska USA Building Inc.