Critics agree, IB Expo looks like another hit

Business takes center stage at the 7th annual In Business Expo & Conference, the Madison area’s premier business-to-business expo.

From the pages of In Business magazine.

Just in case you’ve dreamed of rubbing shoulders with the stars, this year’s In Business Expo & Conference is your chance to hobnob with local business celebrities.

Mark your calendar for Dane County’s premier business event, Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Alliant Energy Center. With more than 100 exhibitors anticipated, well over 1,100 attendees, and dozens of expert speakers, the IB Expo has everything to make your business a must-see show in town.

This year’s event kicks off with a keynote presentation from Libby Gill, a former executive at Sony, Universal, and Turner Broadcasting. Gill was instrumental in creating and communicating culture change. Drawing on her experience, she will share provocative leadership strategies to connect the dots between individual accountability and organizational success.

Attendees can get the red-carpet treatment by visiting the expo floor and gaining business insight during free, informative, and entertaining seminars at the main stage, while the keynote breakfast costs $40 per person or $260 for a table of eight.

New to the expo is a booth from Microsoft featuring demonstrations of a number of devices, including a Surface hub, a large, flat, touchscreen conference room system, multiple Surface Studio devices, and a variety of other Surface systems.

Educational opportunities will cover a range of timely topics, including cyber security, digital brand cohesion, benefits as a recruiting tool, handling your technology addiction, and more.

Additionally, visitors to the exhibit hall can participate in a lively autograph game and collect signatures from exhibitors in their IB autograph book for a chance at winning a number of exciting prizes.

Preregister now at MadisonBusinessExpo.com.

Igniting bold leadership

Change is all around us, and in order to succeed in an ever-changing business climate, leaders must place as high a priority on people and performance as they do on process and procedure. But how do you prepare for the new normal?

Libby Gill

As a former executive in the highly competitive television entertainment industry, Libby Gill was at the forefront in creating and communicating culture change. After nearly 20 years in senior leadership roles in communications at media giants Universal Studios, Sony Pictures, and Turner Broadcasting, Gill left the television industry in 2000 to forge her own path as the CEO her own executive coaching and consulting firm, Libby Gill & Company. A sought-after speaker, Gill guides established and emerging leaders to increase passion and productivity in their organizations.

She’ll also publish her fifth book in early spring of 2018, titled Hope Is a Strategy. If that sounds like an intentional reversal of the oft cited “hope is not a strategy” business axiom, it is.

“Frankly, I just got so tired of hearing ‘hope is not a strategy,’” Gill notes. “I’ve found hope to be for me, personally, the driving force to get through changes. It’s a sense of ‘there’s something more, there’s something in the future if we could just keep looking ahead.’ Leaders need to recognize that it’s part of their job to paint that picture of the future while recognizing the obstacles, and get people really excited about the possibilities.

“With disengagement, which is often where I’m brought in as a coach,” Gill continues, “sometimes it’s working with new leaders and sometimes it’s with teams that are a little bit checked out. How do we get them re-enthused or re-engaged? To me it’s all about infusing that sense of hopefulness and painting that picture of the future.”

In the intense world of television entertainment, Gill says she learned from good and bad bosses. “There are a lot of egos in the entertainment industry, as everyone knows,” she quips.

“The people who are just sort of magical are the ones who can marry vision with execution. I’ve seen people who are great visionaries, great idea people, but can’t necessarily make things happen. On the other hand there are some people who are amazing implementers but don’t have that broad vision.”

Gill’s clients include ABC-Disney, AMC Networks, Avery Dennison, CA Technologies, Cisco, Comcast, Deloitte, Eli Lilly, GoDaddy, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, Nike, Oracle, PayPal, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Safeway, The Conference Board, Warner Bros., Wells Fargo, and many more. A frequent media guest, Gill has shared her success strategies on CNN, NPR, and the Today show and in BusinessWeek, Time, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and more.

The PR and branding brain behind the launch of the Dr. Phil show, Gill’s focus today is helping individuals and organizations “capture the mindshare” — that is, the heads and hearts — of their customers, colleagues, and communities. Drawing on her experience, Gill will share provocative leadership strategies to connect the dots between individual accountability and organizational success during her IB Expo keynote presentation.

The keynote breakfast costs just $40 per person or $260 for a table of eight. Reservations can be made online at MadisonBusinessExpo.com.

Keynote sponsored by MassMutual Wisconsin

(Continued)

Stars of business stage

Following in step with this year’s Hollywood theme, some of Madison’s biggest business stars will take the stage and share their leadership tips, challenges and opportunities facing their industries, and lessons learned in their careers. Attendees will hear from Deb Archer, president and CEO of Great Madison Convention and Visitors’ Bureau; Michael Johnson, president CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County; Mark Bakken, founder and managing partner at HealthX Ventures; Jim Tubbs, president and CEO of State Bank of Cross Plains; and more!

Stars of Business Stage sponsored by State Bank of Cross Plains

Collect exhibitor autographs

Expo attendees will once again have the chance to win prizes just by making connections at the event. Each attendee will receive an autograph book with their registration materials and will earn a signature after making a meaningful connection with an exhibitor. Attendees will be eligible for various prize drawings based on the number of connections made. Winners will be announced at the end of the day.

Click here to sign up for the free IB ezine — your twice-weekly resource for local business news, analysis, voices, and the names you need to know. If you are not already a subscriber to In Business magazine, be sure to sign up for our monthly print edition here.