President's Blog

The future success of the electrical distribution industry depends largely on having a younger and more diverse workforce. The up and coming leaders will be crucial to moving our place in the channel forward. NAED’s Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) Conference was specifically designed to help these individuals take the next step in continuing a thriving career.

The 2011 LEAD Conference will take place July 21-24 at the InterContinental Chicago. This meeting offers the perfect opportunity for networking, learning and interacting with industry experts. It’s a high-energy conference that strives to get NAED members and affiliates ready for active participation, growth, and leadership within their own organizations and the electrical industry as a whole.

The keynote speaker is going to be Rulon Gardner, American Olympian Gold Medalist, who will share his personal experiences about how persistence leads to success. Also during the event, attendees will hear about ways to understand manufacturer and distributors relations, what contractors want from their trading partners and strategies for being a successful leader.

A special thanks goes to our 2011 LEAD sponsors: Encore Wire Corporation and IDEAL Industries. View the full event schedule. Enhance your emerging leaders’ skills and their place in your company, register now to attend LEAD.

I want to give a big thanks to all of the sponsors and our members who attended the 2011 National Electrical Leadership Summit in San Diego. If you weren’t there, you missed out on an exceptional event.

During the general sessions, we heard about the major trends that will define the advance or retreat of globalization and how leaders should go about merging new technologies into their company culture. The valuable education sessions covered everything from the smart grid to the process of business exit planning. There were also several great group discussions via the Alternative Energy Solutions Panel, the U.S. Economic Forecast Panel Discussion, and the Manufacturers Annual Forum.

Everyone enjoyed a lot of great opportunities to catch up with old friends and build new business contacts. During the Reception & Closing Awards Dinner, several of our industry’s leaders were recognized for their service, including John Duda of Butler Supply Company, who was presented with the 2011 Arthur W. Hooper Achievement Award.

Additionally, 2010-2011 NAED Chair Jack Henderson of Hunzicker Brothers passed the gavel to Bob Reynolds of Graybar, who officially began his term as 2011-2012 NAED Chair. I want to thank Jack for all of his efforts over the last year; the association has really benefitted from Jack’s enthusiasm and vision for the future of electrical distribution. We are excited to have Bob as our new chair; he truly has a passion for the people in the industry and a tremendous business sense.

For those who attended this year’s Summit, we would like to hear about what you enjoyed and where you thought we could make improvements, so feel free to leave a comment on this blog. I invite everyone to save the date for next year’s Summit, April 25-28, 2012, in Washington, D.C. In the meantime, watch this video to see more of what you missed in San Diego.