8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Best Practices Workshop
A more detailed schedule will be provided in the near future.

7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Dinner - Board, Past Chairs & Spouses only

8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Best Practices Workshop
A more detailed schedule will be provided in the near future.

7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Business Value Workshop
Breakfast will be provided starting at 7:30 a.m., workshop begins at 8:30 a.m.

6 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Emerging Leaders Reception
Sponsored by Copia & WIN-911

Welcome Reception 
Sponsored by GE Digital

7:30 a.m. - 8:30 am.

Breakfast - Available to all attendees
Special Interest Group breakfast: First Time Attendees & LATAM

LATAM Breakfast sponsored by COPADATA

8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.

Jose Rivera, CSIA CEO
Welcome 

9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Keynote Speaker
Mike Maddock, CEO & Founding Partner, Maddock Douglas
The Questions Disruptors Ask Themselves

Bruce Lee once said, “A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”

Business Disruptors are often celebrated for their courage and vision, but Mike Maddock thinks that much of their success is rooted in the questions they ask themselves; questions that reveal new opportunities that the rest of us often miss.

This keynote presentation is based on Mike’s best-selling book Plan D. It is a highly entertaining talk that focuses on the unexpected, replicable and generative questions enlightened leaders learn to ask themselves and their teams.

Key takeaways include: 

• How to ensure your leadership team is balanced
• How to uncover meaningful problems before you start generating ideas
• How to build a team that can create even in the most difficult circumstances

Sponsored by Software Toolbox

10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Break

Sponsored by Software Toolbox

11 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.

Speed Networking
The CSIA Executive Conference has always provided members with an opportunity to network. Back this year by popular demand, SI and Partner members will be provided with a few minutes to introduce themselves, their companies (including areas of specialization) and share what they seek from this networking session. Some participants will seek potential suppliers of engineering or specialists (e.g. vision, motion, robotics) for specific projects. Others may seek collaboration opportunities to serve a client that is expanding outside of their covered geography. Some SIs may seek potential members for a new peer group. If this interests you, come and join this session and prepare and rehearse your elevator pitch as things will move very fast…

Sponsored by Schneider Electric

12:15 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Group Photo

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Lunch - Available to all attendees
Special Interest Group lunches: Emerging Leaders and Benchmarking Committee

Emerging Leaders Lunch Sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Automation

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

Extreme Ownership for Business & Life

• Introduction to the Battle of Ramadi
• Four Laws of Combat
• Mindsets for Victory

3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Industry Expo and Reception

Sponsored by Red Lion & Siemens

6:30 a.m. - 7 a.m.                                                                    

Registration: 5k Fun Run/Walk

7 a.m. - 8 a.m.

5k Fun Run/Walk
Feel the cool breezes of the mighty Mississippi River as you run along its banks, past steamboats and ferries, and enjoy the sights of downtown New Orleans. The course begins at the World Trade Center, just steps from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and takes you through beautiful Woldenberg Park, known for its numerous statues, memorials and public art lining the river. Runners will go 5K on this course while walkers will traverse a shorter 3K course along the same scenic route.

Sponsored by: Cimon, COPADATA, Graybar, Software Toolbox, Win-911

9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Keynote Speaker
Alex Chausovsky, Miller Resource Group
Economic and Labor Market Update

The US and Global economies are facing numerous headwinds, while the war for talent rages on across America. Some system integrator organizations are ill-prepared to handle these challenges, hampered by the uncertainty and beholden to the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality. Others are thriving, armed with analytical insights that empower them to outperform their competitors. This presentation will deliver practical and actionable advice designed to help business leaders plan for future economic conditions and elevate their organization's talent strategy.

Sponsored by: Skkynet

10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Break

Sponsored by Iconics

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

CSIA Townhall Meeting

Not able to attend the 2023 CSIA Executive Conference in person? Or maybe you are attending but you want to extend the conference experience to your entire team at no additional expense?

Then the livestreamed 2023 CSIA Townhall Business Meeting is perfect for you.

This meeting, which is required by CSIA bylaws, will be broadcast live.

Set aside just one hour to hear from the CSIA Board Chair, Treasurer, CEO and others about the association’s financial health, strategic plans and other important updates.

Your entire team is welcome!

You can find registration here for the live stream event.

Sponsored by Graybar

12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Lunch - Available to all attendees
Special Interest Group lunches: Women in Industry

Sponsored by: AVEVA

1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Track 1

Sam Hoff, Tim Ogden, Nigel James, Renato Leal and Don Rahrig
Making Money Using Digital Tools

Sam Hoff leads a panel of Control System Integrators that are making money using Digital Tools.  They will explore how integrators can increase their client touch through digital engagement.

Sponsored by: Graybar

Track 2

Rick Pierro
The 30 Year Life Cycle of a Successful Systems Integrator (from 0-$150M sales)

15 practical steps for increasing profits and growth while:

• Surviving the first 5 years
• Reaching the turbulence of $10M plus in sales
• Preparing the company for sale
• Preparing for an acquisition
• Reorganizing for growth and incredible efficiency

Track 3

Frank Riordan and Natalie Meeker
Training and Engaging Entry Level Engineers

DMC has been hiring entry-level engineers for decades, with the latest class of over 40 having just started this summer. DMC has a proven methodology to take recent graduates and train them to become top caliber engineers. This presentation will cover everything from creating the best first day experience, to technical training, and employee engagement. If you are interested in hearing real- life onboarding strategies and walking away with actionable insights about getting new employees up to speed, then this is the session is for you.

2:15 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.

Break

2:25 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.

Track 1

Sandrine Perino
Upskilling SI Resources for Today's Automation Space

The scope of work delivered by End Users continues to expand. Leading End Users look towards people/process/ technology to address significant challenges related to sustainability, resiliency, asset optimization, talent, and labor shortages, ..etc. For the SI company this translates into the need to make its company attractive to the entering workforce and the need to upskill them quickly to leverage new approaches to automation.

While most Sis are familiar with the leading role AWS plays in the Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services, most may not be aware of its enabling role for traditional automation solution providers. AWS has also been developing solution accelerators for Sis to leverage. This presentation will share how AWS is expanding his support to help SI grow their business with ready to consume accelerators, paired with overall Si talent professional development through carefully curated self-serve virtual content.. “

Sponsored by: Graybar

Scott Patterson and Jeff Forbes
Crisis Averted - Cyber Security Protocols to Protect Your Business

The business of managing cyber risk is complex and can seem overwhelming.  Without the property security protocols, you place your business and your customers' business at risk.

We'll discuss what is needed to assess your risk and protect your business from cyber criminals, including insuring against critical events.

Emerging Leaders Panel: John Sullivan, Mike Azevedo, Danielle Crough and Tim Nolan
Identifying and Challenging Next Generation of Leaders

Companies last and grow with their leaders. If you can’t identify and develop new leaders, you are left stagnant or with an expiration date. This makes it critical to continuously expand the next generation of leaders internally. 

The panel provides perspective from both those identify and growing leaders as well the next generation of leaders, to bring the full picture from both sides.

We will first discuss success stories and tips for identifying the next generation of leaders. This can be an incredibly difficult step, especially as we escape the perspective that the next leader needs to be like us. 

Once identified the next step focuses on how to provide them with the right opportunity.  How do you provide relevant challenges and growth opportunities without risking the success of the business or satisfaction of the client? How do you ensure the challenges are hard enough to provide growth without crushing them with impossible tasks?  How did the panel make mistakes in these areas, and how can you learn from those mistakes?  

The panel will conclude with time for questions and answers.  We hope that at the end of this panel that you have a new perspective on finding and growing leaders as well as concrete actions to make steps in your organization.

3:10 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Break

3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Track 1

The Opportunities of Cybersecurity and Digital Transformation

The increased adoption of digital transformation has changed the cybersecurity landscape, catalyzing novel forms of attacks, and motivating the increased sophistication of criminal enterprises. As organizations have accelerated their digitalization strategies with an increasingly remote workforce, they have become more dependent on third-party software, expanding their surface exposure and points of vulnerability. Now, Systems Integrators have the opportunity to play an important role in mitigating cyberattacks, providing cyber strategies and to be honest brokers. Learn from a panel of SIs as they discuss how they navigate the complexities of cybersecurity, what threats and mitigation techniques they believe important and worth increased attention, and the practical measures and guiding principles they follow to speak with confidence to their end users across both OT and IT. 

Sponsored by: Graybar

Today’s savvy recruit candidates and B2B buyers are using LinkedIn to help decide which company to work with. Senior leaders have an important branding opportunity to reflect both personal and company capabilities and values in a way that will appeal to both candidates and prospective buyers.

Learn the strategies and best practices to take full advantage of the platform. These will include strategies that most are not aware of to improve their visibility to be found by the LinkedIn search algorithm.  We will touch on the importance of your company page, but this presentation will be focused on the importance of and how to expand your company’s reach through your own LinkedIn executive profile.

Dan Markowitz
Assessing Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP) Feasibility 

As Companies are looking for an exit strategy, one viable option would be converting to an ESOP. The presentation will walk through why an ESOP, what makes a company a good candidate, how a transaction works and what happens after a Company converts to an ESOP. 

4:15 p.m. - 4:25 p.m.

Break

4:25 p.m. -5:10 p.m.

Track 1

Brian Romano
Customer Service and Support: OEM and SI Leverage of Industry 4.0

As US manufacturers continue to experience a workforce skills gap and labor shortage, companies have begun to ask more from the OEM and SI communities, including remote support, monitoring, and maintenance programs. What was once a system enhancement and offering, an Industry 4.0 implementation is a means to leverage the technology for SI’s and OEMs to provide the service and support requested by their customers.

Sponsored by: Graybar

Track 2

Ben Smith

Demystifying Analytics

Join Clayton & McKervey to learn more about how Data Analytics can contribute to cost savings, process improvement, and growth. We will be discussing what data analytics is, the most common tools used, why it is important and possible use cases for your business. 

Panel - Ray Brown, Dan Markowitz, Joe DeJong, Karen Griffin, Brad Peistrup and Tony Valasek
Succession Planning to Developing a Culture of Ownership

This session will be a panel of ESOP Professional and Companies who have transitioned to an ESOP.  The panel explore the pro and cons of the ESOP structure, the success of implementing the ESOP, impact on company culture, the impact on recruiting and retention and employees and the impact on the selling shareholders.  

6 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Cocktail Reception

Sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Automation

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Awards Dinner
Hosted by Wright Sullivan
*Event will be livestreamed*

Experience the 2023 CSIA Executive Conference from the comfort of your home/office when you join CSIA CEO Jose Rivera and Emcee Wright Sullivan as they present the CSIA Awards Ceremony live from the 2023 CSIA Executive Conference.

“Bring” your whole team to celebrate the winners of the 2023 Integrator of the Year, Partner of the Year, Rising Star Award, and Charlie Bergman Award.

Find registration for the live stream event here.

Sponsored by AVEVA & Schneider Electric

8 a.m. - 9 a.m.                                                                                       

Breakfast

Panel Discussion: Still More Lessons from the Hot Stove
Moderators: Mark Voigtmann and Brian Clifford
Panelists: TBA

Automation projects rarely go according to plan.   Correction—automation projects never go according to plan.  Which brings up a saying of Mark Twain: “ A cat that sits on a hot stove will never sit on a hot stove again.  But of course, that cat won’t sit on a cold stove either.”  That’s why we call this popular session “Lessons from the Hot Stove.”  Each of our panelists will tell us about a project where the temperature of the stove was elevated.  That doesn’t mean it was unsuccessful—that just means there were a few things that went wrong.  And in true confessional fashion, our panelists have promised to tell us what they learned as a result of the experience so that those in the audience will feel confident enough to “climb back up” on their stoves again.

*(Spouses Welcome)

10:45 a.m. - Noon*

Closing Keynote Speaker
Lisa Ryan

Integrating Engagement Strategies: How to Keep Your Top Talent from  Becoming Someone Else's

This presentation is personalized for the leaders of CSIA's community and the specific issues they face in attracting and retaining top talent in a post-pandemic workplace.

Participants will gain the actionable ideas and strategies needed to compete and win the war for talent and create the type of workplace where people want to stay. They will leave the session with actions they can use immediately for personal and professional gain. Plus, they'll  have a  lot of fun in the process!

Sponsored by COPADATA

12:30 p.m.

• Lunch
• Tour of the New Orleans Jazz Museum
• Narrated Music History Tour through the French Quarter
• Deluxe Roundtrip Transportation

• Lunch
• Narrated tour on the water through Jean Lafitte National Park and Swamp
• Deluxe Roundtrip Transportation

• Lunch
• Narrated tour on the water through Jean Lafitte National Park and Swamp
• Deluxe Roundtrip Transportation

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Closing Reception