AD Finance and HR Summit called a success
AD welcomed more than 180 attendees from 114 AD member owner distributors and service providers to the second annual AD Finance & HR Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota, in early June.
The program included strategic and relevant HR and finance topics, and featured networking roundtables, keynote speeches, concurrent educational sessions, a service provider tour, and more.
“Networking has continuously been rated one of the top benefits of the AD membership and this Summit provides an excellent opportunity to extend that networking power to the Finance and HR decision-makers at AD independent distributors, so they can take industry knowledge, best practices, and action items back to their businesses,” said Neil Cohen, AD senior vice president human resources.
Christy Schmalzer, director of human resources at Auer Steel & Heating Supply Co., said, “[The Summit] is a wonderful conference for HR and finance folks. The networking is invaluable along with the learning opportunities on topics that matter most to our organization.”
One service provider said the executiion of the AD Summit was top-notch, adding that the timing, keynote speakers, variety of sessions, organization and attention to detail were superb.
“One third of this year’s attendees were attending an AD meeting for the first time so this particular Summit was an exciting opportunity for us to welcome AD’s newest members that joined as a result of our three mergers this year,” said Drew Moyer, AD CFO.
Heather Fleming, people operations manager at Van Meter Inc., said attendance at the two-day event was time well spent. "The Summit provided great opportunities for learnings and networking as well as just the right mix of take-aways for strategic thinking and items to implement right away to make an impact on your company,” she said.
“Being able to attend a seminar with other HR and Finance professionals and discuss topics of mutual interest in a great environment for learning was very valuable,” added Michael Cassell, CFO at Hanes Supply, Inc.
In post meeting survey, 100 percent of attendees said they would recommend the Summit to other AD members and said they plan to attend again next year. According to attendee ratings, every session met or exceeded expectations.
Based on the results and positive feedback over the past two years, AD plans to hold another Summit next year.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
