{"id":53808,"date":"2023-02-09T16:27:30","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T00:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=53808"},"modified":"2023-02-10T09:04:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T17:04:24","slug":"all-aboard-executive-connection-summit-tugs-office-industry-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2023\/02\/all-aboard-executive-connection-summit-tugs-office-industry-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"All Aboard: Executive Connection Summit Tugs Office Industry Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was Mikhail Gorbachev, the onetime leader of the former Soviet Union, who once offered the phrase \u201cIf you are not moving forward, you are moving backward.\u201d One can\u2019t say old Mikhail wasn\u2019t a man of his word, as evidenced by the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and, later, the Soviet Union itself (we\u2019ll stop there\u2026we know better than to pull on that thread).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps it was the realization of encountering a crossroads that prompted the line. From a business standpoint, success and failure are generally a product of momentum, and given the events of the past three years, recognizing the value of both momentum and the need to change directions at a crossroads will dictate the destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herein lies the value of the Executive Connection Summit (ECS), and by extension, The Consortium. Both entities are the brainchild of Mike Stramaglio, Hiro Ueda and the tireless team efforts of Stramaglio Consulting that have helped make them a reality. This year\u2019s show went off Jan. 15-18 at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona, in front of an audience of roughly 300 attendees from all walks of life in the office technology sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mike Stramaglio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Stramaglio constantly utters the phrase \u201cdriving the industry forward\u201d in reference to both ECS and The Consortium. He\u2019s determined to invite as many willing participants to the party as possible, which represents an unprecedented effort to share not only best practices but optimal strategies as well. It\u2019s as if he created a national peer group, without boundaries, a refreshing departure from the \u201cevery business for itself\u201d mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ECS covered many of the popular talking points that have dominated our space, with presentations and keynotes that touched on digital transformation, ecommerce, growth opportunities and diversity\/female leadership, among others. Dealer and manufacturer panels provided free-wheeling takes on the state of the industry, with granular dives into areas such as cybersecurity insurance, leadership and managing chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What follows is a sampling of takeaways attendees gleaned from the four-day ECS experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sam Stone<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you, Mike Stramaglio (and everyone) for putting this together. In the past ECS meetings I\u2019ve attended, I\u2019ve always come back with at least a few connections or product offerings that will help my customers. ECS23 was off the chart. So many great speakers from powerful companies. This year, we\u2019ll introduce e-commerce to Stone\u2019s Office Equipment\u2019s clients looking for this platform from their vendors. We knew about OpenAI before the meeting, but having the ability to speak with Microsoft and Intel directly helped me have a better understanding of how to use it in our business. Lastly, catching up with people we do business with, like ACDI, Sharp, Lexmark, and Great America, was the cherry on top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Sam Stone, president, Stone\u2019s Office Equipment<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Stephanie Keating Phillips<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is my second year attending ECS and first full year being a part of The Consortium and I am just blown away at the team that put this conference together. The time, energy and passion that goes into putting this conference together show in every aspect of the four days you are in attendance. From the panel discussions to the presentations to the dinners and social hours to the final day of golf, the efforts pay off as it is one of the best put-together conferences of the year. This year, I was lucky enough to sit on a panel discussion regarding women and diversity in the workplace. I learned that even though the five women on the panel come from different backgrounds and have had different paths that led them to this industry, the one common theme that I gathered was that we all agreed that this industry needs to continue to evolve and make efforts to become more inclusive. The speakers this year were top-notch. The overall industry experience was incredible, and one could take a morsel of information from every presenter and apply it to growth or change in our own lives, both in the workplace and as humans. The consistent theme was diversification and change, whether that be technology, cybersecurity, change in looking at leadership structure in your organization or change that is inventible with a whole new world like AI. I think the ECS conference does a great job of making the few days spent together like a bit of a think tank. Listen, learn, think, question, digest and act are what I got out of the four days I spent at ECS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Stephanie Keating Phillips, director of solutions, Advanced Imaging Solutions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Brett Apold<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cECS 2023 was one of the best shows I have ever attended. There was a level of excitement and a desire to learn among the attendees that are rarely found these days. The content of the show provided a great balance of industry veterans and forward-thinking tech companies. Tony Pater and Mike Riordan reminded all of us it\u2019s still about hard work and perseverance to ensure success. Another highlight was Tami Beach, who gave a great presentation on data analytics and AI tools. This is an industry must-attend show!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Brett Apold, vice president of sales, ARCOA Group<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Raj Thadani<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI find ECS to be a thought-leading and thought-inspiring event. This event that Mike, Hiro, Gavin, Jenny and many others put together provides an opportunity to share, learn, meet old friends and make new friends. ECS brings the industry together. I always leave here feeling energized!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Raj Thadani, president, Ross International, Mars International and Marks Logistics<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Barry Simon<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter spending four days at the Executive Connection Summit (ECS), I walked away with a lot of content and many questions. How do we leverage cyber Insurance and what do we look for? With ecommerce, how should we look and what are the rewards and challenges? Microsoft\u2019s Chad GHT is revolutionary! I also learned the importance of hiring veterans. Last but not least, my favorite quotes came from my good friends, Tony Pater, when he said \u201cwalk fast\u201d and from Mike Riordan, \u201cpeople don\u2019t care what you know until they know how much you care.\u201d This was a great four days!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Barry Simon, president, Datamax<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Greg VanDeWalker<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have always enjoyed attending the ECS in the past for many reasons. This year, like previous years, had great content that is always cutting and bleeding edge. But the two presentations I enjoyed the most were hearing Tony Pater and Mike Riordan. Both of them reminded us it is still about the people. Technology is always changing and breaking old ways of doing things and that is OK. However, how to build and lead a team doesn\u2019t really change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Greg VanDeWalker, senior vice president, IT channel and services, Collabrance<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chip Miceli<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ve been to every ECS so far. I enjoy the presentations and always come away with good information. Mike Riordan, who\u2019s a legend in our industry, provided lots of training for dealerships. He\u2019s very down to earth and offers great insight on how to build quality organizations. He\u2019s quick to point out that the credit for organization building belongs to the people who do the hard work and execute plans. It\u2019s good advice from someone who has lots of in-the-field experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Another great presentation was the panel on diversity in our industry. Panelists included Jennie Fisher of GreatAmerica Financial Services, Stephanie Keating Phillips from AIS, Melani Patterson of Sharp Electronics, Natalie Cumberbatch of Kyocera, and Patricia Ames of BPO Media. They raised a lot of great points, showing the contributions of women in our industry while illustrating the need to increase their numbers in our workforce.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Chip Miceli, CEO, Pulse Technology<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jenna Miner<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Executive Connection Summit has become a staple of the industry and sparks thought, innovation, and action across the imaging channel! ECS brings together distribution, development, OEMs and dealers for the sole purpose of growing the industry and inspiring change. This year, ECS focused on three major themes: AI, DX, and cyber and the exclamation mark on it all was its intense diversity in thought. We saw representation from all backgrounds, generations, genders and, more importantly, we witnessed a mutual respect of new and old, software and hardware, and the next steps for this great channel! ConnectWise is honored to be a title sponsor for the second year running and we look forward to next year!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Jenna Miner, channel development manager, ConnectWise<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kevin McCarthy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cECS was a tremendous networking event and\u00a0provided\u00a0the opportunity to enjoy\u00a0a little bit of\u00a0history,\u00a0with presentations from Tony Pater and Mike Riordan,\u00a0while giving\u00a0us lots\u00a0of\u00a0food for thought\u00a0to help us in\u00a0planning where our\u00a0futures may be heading.\u00a0There were also plenty of take-homes to implement today,\u00a0from\u00a0leveraging cyber insurance\u00a0and security law\u00a0to panels discussing a myriad of issues and solutions specific to our industry. We’ll be back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Kevin McCarthy, president and CEO, Modern Office Methods<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Frank Cucco<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cECS 2023 was a great mix of the past, the present and the future. It was by far the best event I have attended in years. Mike, Hiro and the team brought the future to the present. I\u2019m excited to attend ECS 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Frank Cucco, CEO, Impact Networking<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was Mikhail Gorbachev, the onetime leader of the former Soviet Union, who once offered the phrase \u201cIf you are not moving forward, you are moving backward.\u201d One can\u2019t say old Mikhail wasn\u2019t a man of his word, as evidenced by the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and, later, the Soviet Union itself (we\u2019ll stop there\u2026we know better than to pull on that thread). Perhaps it was the realization of encountering a crossroads that prompted the line. From a business standpoint, success and failure are generally a product of momentum, and given the events of the past three years, recognizing the value of both momentum and the need to change directions at a crossroads will dictate the destination. Herein lies the value of the Executive Connection Summit (ECS), and by extension, The Consortium. Both entities are the brainchild of Mike Stramaglio, Hiro Ueda and the tireless team efforts of Stramaglio Consulting that have helped make them a reality. This year\u2019s show went off Jan. 15-18 at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona, in front of an audience of roughly 300 attendees from all walks of life in the office technology sector. Stramaglio constantly utters the phrase \u201cdriving the industry forward\u201d in reference to both ECS and The Consortium. He\u2019s determined to invite as many willing participants to the party as possible, which represents an unprecedented effort to share not only best practices but optimal strategies as well. It\u2019s as if he created a national peer group, without boundaries, a refreshing departure from the \u201cevery business for itself\u201d mindset. ECS covered many of the popular talking points that have dominated our space, with presentations and keynotes that touched on digital transformation, ecommerce, growth opportunities and diversity\/female leadership, among others. Dealer and manufacturer panels provided free-wheeling takes on the state of the industry, with granular dives into areas such as cybersecurity insurance, leadership and managing chaos. What follows is a sampling of takeaways attendees gleaned from the four-day ECS experience: \u201cThank you, Mike Stramaglio (and everyone) for putting this together. In the past ECS meetings I\u2019ve attended, I\u2019ve always come back with at least a few connections or product offerings that will help my customers. ECS23 was off the chart. So many great speakers from powerful companies. This year, we\u2019ll introduce e-commerce to Stone\u2019s Office Equipment\u2019s clients looking for this platform from their vendors. We knew about OpenAI before the meeting, but having the ability to speak with Microsoft and Intel directly helped me have a better understanding of how to use it in our business. Lastly, catching up with people we do business with, like ACDI, Sharp, Lexmark, and Great America, was the cherry on top.\u201d \u2014Sam Stone, president, Stone\u2019s Office Equipment \u201cThis is my second year attending ECS and first full year being a part of The Consortium and I am just blown away at the team that put this conference together. The time, energy and passion that goes into putting this conference together show in every aspect of the four days you are in attendance. From the panel discussions to the presentations to the dinners and social hours to the final day of golf, the efforts pay off as it is one of the best put-together conferences of the year. This year, I was lucky enough to sit on a panel discussion regarding women and diversity in the workplace. I learned that even though the five women on the panel come from different backgrounds and have had different paths that led them to this industry, the one common theme that I gathered was that we all agreed that this industry needs to continue to evolve and make efforts to become more inclusive. The speakers this year were top-notch. The overall industry experience was incredible, and one could take a morsel of information from every presenter and apply it to growth or change in our own lives, both in the workplace and as humans. The consistent theme was diversification and change, whether that be technology, cybersecurity, change in looking at leadership structure in your organization or change that is inventible with a whole new world like AI. I think the ECS conference does a great job of making the few days spent together like a bit of a think tank. Listen, learn, think, question, digest and act are what I got out of the four days I spent at ECS.\u201d \u2014Stephanie Keating Phillips, director of solutions, Advanced Imaging Solutions \u201cECS 2023 was one of the best shows I have ever attended. There was a level of excitement and a desire to learn among the attendees that are rarely found these days. The content of the show provided a great balance of industry veterans and forward-thinking tech companies. Tony Pater and Mike Riordan reminded all of us it\u2019s still about hard work and perseverance to ensure success. Another highlight was Tami Beach, who gave a great presentation on data analytics and AI tools. This is an industry must-attend show!\u201d \u2014Brett Apold, vice president of sales, ARCOA Group \u201cI find ECS to be a thought-leading and thought-inspiring event. This event that Mike, Hiro, Gavin, Jenny and many others put together provides an opportunity to share, learn, meet old friends and make new friends. ECS brings the industry together. I always leave here feeling energized!\u201d \u2014Raj Thadani, president, Ross International, Mars International and Marks Logistics \u201cAfter spending four days at the Executive Connection Summit (ECS), I walked away with a lot of content and many questions. How do we leverage cyber Insurance and what do we look for? With ecommerce, how should we look and what are the rewards and challenges? Microsoft\u2019s Chad GHT is revolutionary! I also learned the importance of hiring veterans. Last but not least, my favorite quotes came from my good friends, Tony Pater, when he said \u201cwalk fast\u201d and from Mike Riordan, \u201cpeople don\u2019t care what you know until they know how much you care.\u201d This was a great four days!\u201d \u2014Barry Simon, president, Datamax \u201cI have always enjoyed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":53809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,1638],"tags":[98,2092,583,185],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53808"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53808"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53844,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53808\/revisions\/53844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}