Atlanta—FEI Group, the nation’s largest network of interior and exterior finish contractors, will host its popular leadership development initiative, Climb, for the first time since 2019. This year’s event, scheduled to take place May 18-20 at the Grand Hyatt here, sold out in just two weeks.
Climb Leadership is designed to deliver the knowledge, skills and mindset required to lead a thriving FEI member organization into 2023 and beyond. FEI charged its membership with submitting applicants they considered to be the next-level leaders within their businesses. According to FEI, the program accepted attendees who were willing to take risks, disrupt old patterns and make way for new ways of thinking, doing and leading.
“Leadership development has never been more important than in today’s ultra-competitive labor market,” said Graham Howerton, president of FEI Group. “Leadership can, and should, be demonstrated throughout the organization. Our goal is to give our members’ top performers the foundation they need to incorporate this mindset into their day-to-day operations.”
FEI has enlisted an impressive slate of leadership experts to deliver the event, among them: Gerry O’Brion, author and keynote speaker; Robb Best, CEO of Mindframe; Kris Kuester, director of people development and learning at Nationwide Marketing Group; Scott Vansant, executive vice president and formerly CFO at SRS Distribution; and Bill Sanford, leadership trainer, speaker and executive coach at Bell Leadership Institute. The curriculum will cover topics ranging from building high-performance teams and financial fundamentals to establishing a culture of accountability, commitment and deep engagement.
The leadership workshop will require flexibility, openness and a willingness to take risks. The FEI team and its talented roster of speakers will guide attendees, but emphasize that it’s their commitment, engagement and trust in the process that will allow for transformational learning and ultimately inspire them to take part in shaping the future of their organization.
“We have developed a format that will leverage the energy of the larger group while allowing for small, intimate group connections,” Howerton stated. “The technical aspects of running a business are front and center every day, so we’ll focus on the general development of a well-rounded leader.”