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In a recent news release, the Commercial Painting Industry Association announced that it would be co-hosting the 2023 CPIA Leadership Conference with Technology Publishing Company in Chicago.
For its third year, the conference will be held in tandem with the Commercial Contractor Connect hosted buyer event.
Recent Turnout
In October, over 100 members and sponsors of the CPIA met for its second annual Leadership Conference, co-hosted with TPC in Henderson, Nevada. The conference, which took place from Oct. 10-13 at The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa, featured an array of first-class networking activities, panel discussions and a dual-track educational session series.
“Our association membership has grown exponentially this past year, and we were very fortunate to have so many of our members attend and engage. Over the years I have been involved in dozens of trade shows and conferences and this second iteration of the CPIA Leadership Conference—twice the size of our first—was far and away the most dynamic and engaging event of them all,” said CPIA Executive Director Mike Stanley.
“The response and feedback we have received have been amazing and it is satisfying to know that this annual event will continue to expand. Co-producing the conference alongside the Commercial Contractor Connect has also created the opportunity for our members to meet privately with executives from many of the top supplier companies in our space. These meetings have been productive for both the suppliers and also our contractor members.”
For most attending the CPIA Leadership Conference, things kicked off on Monday, Oct. 10. Split into groups based primarily on members of private CPIA peer and leadership development groups, attendees either met with their respective groups at the resort or traveled to Maverick Helicopter Tours in Las Vegas.
Courtesy of CPIA Strategic Partner The Sherwin-Williams Company, the once-in-a-lifetime helicopter tours took six aircraft from Las Vegas over iconic sites, such as The Las Vegas Strip, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and more. In roughly 45 minutes, passengers then descended into the Grand Canyon, where they were perched on a natural observation location some 300 feet high from the Colorado River.
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Technology Publishing Company |
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Courtesy of CPIA Strategic Partner The Sherwin-Williams Company, the once-in-a-lifetime helicopter tours took six aircraft from Las Vegas over iconic sites, such as The Las Vegas Strip, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and more.
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On day two, the Leadership Conference formally officially kicked off with an opening keynote address by Connor Fields, a three-time Olympian for BMX Racing and the only American athlete to receive an Olympic Gold Medal for the sport.
Fields was followed by General Manager of Operations at Higgins Coatings Nick Higgins, who presented a session on paint recycling and maintenance practices. After the presentation by Higgins, CPIA Co-Founder Aaron Moore led a roundtable discussion focused on business growth.
The afternoon closed with a Coatings Panel, featuring Jim McBrayer, CEO of McBrayer & Associates, as the moderator and the following coating representatives:
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Steve Wiezorek, Senior Vice President – Product Innovation, Sherwin-Williams;
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Andrew Theokas, Strategic Account Manager, National, Benjamin Moore;
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Sheldon Roth, Corp. Accounts Sales Manager, PPG;
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Terry Wallace, Vice President of Sales, Tex-Cote LLC;
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Josh Newman, Vice President, Behr Pro - Southeast; and
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Ron Partridge, Senior Account Manager, High Performance Polymers Arkema.
For the rest of the afternoon, attendees were able to compete against one another in a golf outing on the Reflection Bay Golf Course (sponsored by Benjamin Moore) or relax on a luxury road tour of the Hoover Dam and other surrounding sites.
That night, Benjamin Moore treated conference guests to dinner at Celebrity Cars, a unique event space filled with millions of dollars in exotic and classic cars, motorcycles and more.
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Technology Publishing Company |
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The Coatings Panel was moderated by Jim McBrayer, CEO of McBrayer & Associates, and featured an array of panelists from Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, PPG, Tex-Cote LLC, Behr Pro and Arkema.
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On Wednesday, Oct. 12, an Asset Panel kicked off the day packed full of educational opportunities. Moderating the panel was Owner and Sales Operations of HD Painting, Jon Dryfhout. The panel featured the following participants:
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Christopher Sotiropulos, Vice President of Stadium Operations, Las Vegas Raiders;
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Marni Chiero, Real Estate & Customer Experience Manager, Prologis; and
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Tim Hauert, Director of Construction, Tradelane Properties.
Following the panelist discussion, attendees had the freedom to choose educational tracks that either interested them personally or spoke to their position in business, whether it be an owner or executive team leader.
The full collection of topics and session speakers included:
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Staffing Approaches by Founder of ProfitWorks LLC Annie Newton;
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Leadership Development by CEO Coach, Founder of CEO Ride and author of The Biker’s Guide to Business: When Business and Life Meet at the Crossroads Dwain DeVille’s;
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Exit Strategies by Richard H. and Cory B. Tanner, CEO and President, Exit IQ and Moreton Business Solutions;
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Robotics and AI in Construction by Ricky Houghton, Robotics Executive at Finish Robotics;
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Commercial Repaint Leads by Partner and Vice President of AltaVista Aaron Hockel; and
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Commercial Paint Failures by Technical Director for the Commercial Services Group at KTA-Tator Inc. Kevin Brown.
Before the educational portion of the conference came to a close, all attendees came together for a presentation by McBrayer on the EOS model and how industry professionals can work on business instead of in business. The day officially concluded with a Technology Panel moderated by TPC CEO Brion Palmer.
Panelists featured included:
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Dan Johnson, Global Markets Manager, Graco Inc.;
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Jaimar Mansel, Customer Marketing Director, Sherwin-Williams (Purdy);
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Dominic DeAngelo, Director of Sales, Harsco; and
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Jack Franks, Contractor Development Manager, The Wooster Brush Company.
That evening, everyone met at the Reflection Bay Golf Club for a dinner sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. This meal was followed by a cigar bar and bourbon tasting, which was sponsored by The Contractor Fight.
On Thursday, Oct. 13, contractors met with suppliers behind closed doors for their one-on-one meeting sessions as part of the Commercial Contractor Connect portion of the event. To celebrate the success of both the co-located events, attendees met for a casino-themed closing party, sponsored by PPG.
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Technology Publishing Company |
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On Thursday, Oct. 13, contractors met with suppliers behind closed doors for their one-on-one meeting sessions as part of the Commercial Contractor Connect portion of the event.
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Although most people were headed back home the following Friday, several who were eager to keep the momentum stayed an additional day to go golfing at the Wolf Creek Golf Course in Mesquite, Nevada.
The CPIA and TPC have since thanked the following sponsors for contributing to the events' success:
Looking Ahead
While at The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa, the CPIA made several announcements regarding new event opportunities and the third annual Leadership Conference.
As revealed on a flyer given to all attendees at the event, the Association shared that the CPIA Leadership Conference and TPC’s Commercial Contractor Connect will set up operations in Chicago next year.
Taking place in September 2023, the third annual Leadership Conference will again be hosted in conjunction with Technology Publishing Company’s Commercial Contractor Connect event.
Registration is slated to open early next year.
The Association also took the opportunity to announce a new event: an executive retreat. The CPIA shares that the retreat will take place from May 7-9, 2023, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This event was created specifically for members of executive and leadership peer groups of the Association and is by invitation only.
The Broadmoor is the world’s longest-running consecutive winner of both the Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond awards and has an extensive history dating back to 1865.
Nestled on the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains and surrounded by lush greenery, the location offers over 315,000 square feet of flexible and functional event space, convention space and meeting areas of all sizes.
For more information on the 2023 events, watch the CPIA website for updates and announcements.
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