Learn from the experts how to think and act strategically.
These business leaders and experts in the field will challenge your
thinking, provide you with fresh ideas and workable strategies needed
to address your business’s
role in Ascension’s competitive
business environment.
FACILITATOR:
Sherrie Despino
President / CEO
Ascension Parish Chamber of Commerce
Since being selected for this position in January, 2006, Sherrie has worked diligently with the Chamber membership to assist and support their businesses activities. She has helped initiate many new programs that have allowed chamber members more networking opportunities and has worked closely with local and state officials on matters that affect the
business community.
Sherrie volunteers her time to many organizations in the Ascension Parish area. Currently, she presides as the 2008-2009 President of the Rotary Club of East Ascension. Sherrie is a 2001 Ascension Leadership graduate and served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors before being selected as their President/CEO. She is a founding member of the St. Elizabeth Women’s Advisory Council, a past board member for the Ascension Fund and volunteers her time to the Jambalaya Festival Association and many other non-profit agencies.
Sherrie is married to Luther Despino, Jr. and they reside in Gonzales. They have two children and three grandchildren.
OPENING REMARKS :
Robert Burgess
President / Chief Operating Officer
EATEL
Robert Burgess has 35 years of telecommunications management experience in wireless and land-based companies including BellSouth, ATandT, CenturyTel, Gulf Coast Wireless (Sprint affiliate) and EATEL. He currently oversees EATEL’s daily operations and reports to the Board
of Directors.
A strong advocate for education, Robert divides his time outside of EATEL by serving on the boards of River Parishes Community College Foundation and Education’s Next Horizon, as well as the Business Roundtable at Baton Rouge Community College.
Other community involvement includes serving on the boards of Blueprint Louisiana, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, St. Elizabeth Hospital and Louisiana Telecommunications Association. Additionally, he is a member of the Committee of 100, Louisiana Committee for Economic Development and the Council for a Better Louisiana (Advisory Board).
Robert earned his Bachelor of Science degree from University of Louisiana, Lafayette, and a Masters of Business Administration from NOVA
Southeast University.
Managing Change: Understanding The Demographics of the Evolving Workplace
Marilyn Moats Kennedy
Marilyn Moats Kennedy is founder and president of Moats/Kennedy, Inc. (formerly Career Strategies) a 35-year-old management consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. Marilyn researches and writes about the evolving workplace and gives more than 100 presentations a year. Sample topics include, “Changing Demographics in the Workforce,” “Trend Spotting,” “Satisfaction versus Service,” “Organizational Politics” and a variety of topics within career planning and job hunting. Her training sessions have reached more than 300,000 people. Marilyn is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with both Bachelor and Masters Degrees.
Career highlights include:
*DePaul University faculty member for 11 years
*Job Strategies editor for Glamour magazine for 18 years
*Author of six books on career planning and organizational politics including the best-seller, Office Politics: Seizing Power Wielding Clout
*Publisher of Kennedy’s Career Strategist, a subscription newsletter from 1986-2002
*Appearances on 20/20, Good Morning America, and Oprah
*Founding member of the Council of 100 at Northwestern University and charter member of the Medill School’s Journalism Hall of Fame
Team Building
Kerry Sauley , Ph.D., SPHR
LSU, Continuing Education Instructor
Rucks Department of Management
Kerry Sauley is a Marjory B. Ourso Excellence in Teaching Professor in the Rucks Department of Management at Louisiana State University. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from LSU. During his tenure at LSU he has received numerous teaching awards. In 2003 and 2004, he was named best professor and his management principles class was named best class at LSU according to surveys conducted by the LSU Daily Reveille, the LSU student newspaper. In 2007, he was recognized by Business Week magazine as one of 12 favorite business professors throughout the United States. His areas of teaching/research interest include equity perceptions at work, emotional intelligence, Big 5 personality theory, team building, human resource management, and organizational behavior. He is a member of the Southern Management Association and the Academy of Management.
2010 Baton Rouge Area Economic Outlook Survey
Adam Knapp
President and CEO
Baton Rouge Area Chamber
Adam Knapp was named President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber in March of 2008. In this position, he is responsible for administering the organization’s operations, crafting its long-term vision, and executing the principles of The Campaign for a Greater Baton Rouge, BRAC’s five-year economic development initiative.
Prior to joining BRAC, Knapp was the Deputy Director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA). In his role, Knapp directed recovery policy and research functions including infrastructure, housing, education, and economic recovery, administrative operations, and was responsible for the establishment and oversight of the State’s strategic plan for recovery.
Prior to his LRA tenure, Knapp was Economic Development Advisor to two governors and the Policy Director for Louisiana Economic Development (LED). Prior to state government, he worked for Accenture, one of the world’s premier technology and management consultancy firms, as an emerging technology consultant.
A native of Lake Charles, Knapp graduated from Davidson College in 1996, and also studied at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Julius-Maximilians Universität in Würzburg, Germany.
Past Presentations Archives
