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THE PINNACLE EXPERIENCE

The Pinnacle Experience

Senior marketing and business development leaders are invited to participate in The Pinnacle Experience, an annual symposium designed to challenge the status quo, brainstorm fresh ideas and network with thought leaders in and outside of the industries. 

The Pinnacle Experience is for professionals with significant experience (10-15+ years), who serve as the “first chair” for leading their firm’s marketing and business development strategies. This may include CEOs, CMOs, directors, principals, and vice presidents. The Pinnacle Experience was held in Atlanta, GA, in November 2024.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of The Pinnacle Experience! 

View the event photos

We want your insight! 

The Pinnacle Experience won’t take place in 2025, as we’re using this year to connect with senior A/E/C marketers and business developers to shape the best possible programming for the future. We’d like to better understand how we can provide the most valuable education and networking opportunities for senior leaders in the A/E/C industry.

Please take a few moments to complete this short survey—your insights will directly influence what’s next for senior-level education and networking at SMPS.

Complete the survey

Schedule-At-A-Glance

All education sessions at The Pinnacle Experience are CEU-eligible and attendees may earn up to 8.75 CEUs for attending all education sessions.

Wednesday, November 6
4:00-6:00 PM | Registration open for attendees
5:30-6:30 PM | C-Suite Panel Discussion
6:30-7:30 PM | Welcome Reception & Networking | Sponsored by OpenAsset

Thursday, November 7
7:30-8:30 AM | Breakfast & Networking
8:30-9:00 AM | Intro & Welcome
9:00-10:30 AM | Social Super Glue: How to Create a Thriving Workplace Culture | Kris Boesch
10:30-11:00 AM | BREAK
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | AI & The Future of A/E/C | Dan Chuparkoff
12:00-1:00 PM | Lunch & Networking
1:00-2:30 PM | Applied Curiosity | Carla Johnson
2:30-3:00 PM | BREAK
3:00-4:00 PM |Turning Insights into Action: Implementing What You’ve Learned | Stacy Stout
4:00-4:30 PM | Discussion & Wrap up
4:30-5:30 PM | The Pinnacle Power Hour & Networking

Friday, November 8
7:30-8:30 AM | Breakfast & Networking
8:30-9:00 AM | Day-One Recap/Day Two Kick Off
9:00-10:15 AM | Future Proofing Your Business | Detria Williamson
10:15-10:30 AM | BREAK
10:30-11:30AM | Balancing CEO Priorities with Industry Trends | Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM
11:30AM-12:30 PM | Lunch
12:30-1:45 PM | Super Panel Discussion
1:45-2:00 PM | Final Remarks: Wrap-Up & Dismissal

2024 Symposium Presenters

Keynote Speaker
Social Super Glue: How to Create a Thriving Workplace Culture
Kris Boesch
Keynote Speaker Balancing CEO Priorities with Industry Trends Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM

Keynote Speaker
AI & the Future of A/E/C
Dan Chuparkoff

Keynote Speaker Applied Curiousity
Carla Johnson
Keynote Speaker
Future Proofing Your Business
Detria Williamson
Panelist
C-Suite Panel Discussion
Skip Bourgeois
Panelist
C-Suite Panel Discussion
Chad Heimbigner, PE

Panelist
C-Suite Panel Discussion
Russ Sanford, FSMPS, CPSM

Program Facilitator
Stacy Stout, FSMPS, CPSM

Attending The Pinnacle Experience

Take a look at the attendees for the 2024 Pinnacle Experience 

2024 Attendees

Check out all the firms that will be represented at this year’s Pinnacle Experience in Atlanta.

In good company

The Pinnacle Experience Advisory Committee

Facilitator:

Stacy Stout, FSMPS, CPSM

Advisors:

Alec Gleason
Cricket Robertson, FSMPS, CPSM
Jennifer Van Vleet, CPSM

HQ Staff Leads:

Nandi Rice, MA
Danielle Gray, MBA

Attendee Experiences

“The Pinnacle Experience challenged me to stretch my mind in new ways.”

-David Werking, FSMPS, CPSM
Business Development Manager, ERMCO, Inc.


 

“The Pinnacle Experience challenged me to stretch my mind in new ways.”

-David Werking, FSMPS, CPSM
Business Development Manager, ERMCO, Inc.


 

SMPS Thanks our 2024 Pinnacle Experience Sponsors

TOP SPONSOR & WELCOME EVENT PARTNER

openasset

2024 CONFERENCE SPONSORS

Deltek

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

Stantec Black
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Phone

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Social Super Glue: How to Create a Thriving Workplace Culture

Kris Boesch
Founder and CEO
Choose People
In this highly interactive and energized exchange, Kris Boesch weaves valuable content, enlightening stories and tangible tools to support you in creating a thriving workplace culture and powerful employment brand. Kris takes cultural savviness to the next level and unveils the secret ingredient to the secret sauce of creating joy at work. You will discover how to authentically uplift and energize yourself and your team. You will also learn how to create voluntary collaboration, camaraderie and connection amongst your team. This “glue” results in the capacity to persevere through tough times, inspiration to go the extra mile and retention of top talent. All of this leads to delighting your customers and confidence in fulfilling on your brand promise. This specific keynote will support participants in creating a thriving workplace culture based on our proven methodology where team members feel known, mattered and included.

Key takeaways include understanding:
  • The Essential Ingredient to a Thriving Culture
  • The 3 Critical Paradigm Shifts
  • 7 Savvy Strategies to Strengthen Your Team

Balancing CEO Priorities with Industry Trends

Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM
Managing Director, Strategic Growth Advisory
Stambaugh Ness
As a senior marketing and business development leader, one of the most powerful ways you can help transform your firm is by understanding forthcoming disruptions and aligning strategy to position the company for these threats and opportunities. Firm priorities established by the CEO and strategic plan need to continually be viewed through the lens of the megatrends impacting the firm and your clients. This program will look at common CEO priorities right now, as well as the trends that have the potential to disrupt these priorities or allow your firm to gain a competitive advantage. 
 
Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM is Managing Director, Strategic Growth Advisory for Stambaugh Ness. In this role he guides corporate strategy for AEC clients, including marketing and business development. As the former chief marketing officer and principal for a group of integrated AEC companies, he successfully navigated the path to firm leadership and ownership before becoming a consultant

AI & the Future of A/E/C

Dan Chuparkoff

Preparing for an AI-future might be the most important challenge of today. But people are already overwhelmed by a firehose of change. Now teams are skeptical and anxious about the disruption that A.I. might bring. For Marketing and Business Development leaders in A/E/C, this is especially true. The dust is still settling from the world’s massive WorkFromHome experiment, and now AI is changing the way teams create, collaborate, and solve problems. Today, it’s critical for teams to understand how AI will impact the way we work. Today, Dan Chuparkoff, former leader from Google & McKinsey, shows teams how to do just that.

Applied Curiosity

Carla Johnson

We hail curiosity as something we should all exhibit, but it’s become a lost art. The world around us is moving faster than every before. And the technology and best practices of yesterday become obsolete before we can even implement them. What if, instead of being a time-consuming distraction, curiosity is the ultimate competitive advantage that’s right under our noses? 

It’s time we understand the true fundamentals of curiosity and how to apply them so that we can not only do more, better, and faster, but also find a way to connect on a deeper level. All while finding a renewed sense of excitement about the future and our collective contribution to it.

In this engaging and optimistic keynote, Carla Johnson cracks the curiosity code and teaches you how to build your curiosity muscles from the ground up. She’ll show you how to create an ecosystem that ensures that the way we do things is inspired, educated, collaborative, psychologically safe, and grounded in care and intention.

Curiosity is the shortcut to smarter innovation, deeper trust, and monumental growth. Teams that can instantly deploy curiosity will be the ones that thrive in the future of work.

Audience Takeaways

  • Discover the two fundamental criteria necessary for curiosity to flourish.
  • Learn the three ways of thinking that makes better results come faster.
  • Ignite a movement that values questioning, experimentation, and collaboration to elevate outcomes everywhere.

Future Proofing Your Business

Detria Williamson

The A/E/C industry is recognized as one of the most challenged in adopting digitization, driving a critical need for transformation. As part of this rapid shift, now more than ever, marketers, business developers and strategists must implement adjacent strategies to future-proof their firms. In this era of digital transformation and hyper-speed change, complexity is everywhere. How do we keep up?

In this interactive session, led by global marketing and innovation executive Detria Williamson, we will explore ways to create stronger connections between teams, partners, and most importantly customers, to drive mutual growth. This engaging and interactive session will be led by Detria Williamson, former Accenture Managing Director for Digital Transformation and Innovation, and former Chief Marketing & Product Officer at the renowned design and innovation firm IDEO, will share strategies for future-proofing your firms through innovation and ecosystem development.

A keynote speaker for Microsoft, META, Google, Web Summit, and Oracle, Detria has also been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fintech Times, Campaign, and more.

C-Suite Panel Discussion

Skip Bourgeois
VP Marketing/Principal
Coffman Engineers
Chad Heimbigner, PE
Chief Operating Officer/Principal
Coffman Engineers
Russ Sanford, FSMPS, CPSM
Chief Growth Officer
Kleinschmidt

We will be joined by Coffman Engineers VP of Marketing/Principal, Skip Bourgeois and Chief Operating Officer/Principal, Chad Heimbigner, PE who will discuss the strategic composition of their leadership team. They will share insights about how marketing and operations work together to create a powerful brand. 

We will also hear from Russ Sanford, CPSM, Chief Growth Officer for Kleinschmidt about his career journey, and how he has competitively positioned himself to become CEO. 

Sponsored by:

Social Super Glue: How to Create a Thriving Workplace Culture

Stacy Stout, FSMPS, CPSM
Founding Principal
BRANDiac Strategies
Stacy Stout, FSMPS, CPSM is the founding principal of BRANDiac Strategies where she focuses on building business, relationships and brands. BRANDiac is a strategic marketing firm dedicated to helping clients compete more effectively through clear market differentiation, consistent brand delivery and cost effective go-to-market implementation. We provide comprehensive services including market analysis, brand strategy and positioning, brand identity, brand management and strategic marketing.
 
With over 25 years of experience, Stacy’s proven expertise in marketing and branding has earned her the respect of the A/E/C community, both on a local and national level, making her an in-demand speaker and facilitator at industry events across the country. She is a Fellow in the Society for Marketing Professional Services (FSMPS), a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM), was named Marketer of the Year in 2011, and in 2016 received the Leonardo Award, the highest recognition given by SMPS Colorado. Stacy earned her Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from the University of Colorado Denver and served as a Director-at Large on the SMPS National Board.

Welcome Reception & Networking

Kick off the Pinnacle Experience with an exclusive Welcome Reception, sponsored by OpenAsset. Join fellow senior AEC leaders for an evening of networking, conversation, and connections in a relaxed setting. Don’t miss this opportunity to mingle with peers and set the stage for an inspiring event!

Sponsored by:

Formula 1's Journey to the U.S.: Leveraging B2B and Building Projects for Success

Emily Prazer
Chief Commercial Officer
Formula 1 and Las Vegas Grand Prix, Inc.
In this session, we’ll explore the remarkable journey of how Formula 1 successfully expanded its brand in the United States, focusing on the strategic B2B work that made it possible. Gain insight into how Formula 1 not only captured the attention of American audiences but also enticed businesses to participate in this global phenomenon.
 
Hear about the challenges Formula 1 faced, from breaking into a competitive sports market to aligning with major building projects that supported their expansion. Learn how they crafted compelling partnerships, designed mutually beneficial opportunities for businesses, and leveraged large-scale construction projects to drive engagement and brand visibility.

November 8 | 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm | THE PINNACLE POWER HOUR

Take time to re-charge and network before you break for dinner on your own. Beverages and light hor devours will be served. This reception will take place in the Mill City Foyer.

November 8 | 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm | GROUP PROJECT WORK

Following dinner, feel free to use the co-working space to work on your group projects. Coffee and beverages will be provided.

November 9 | 12:30pm | Redesigning the Marketing Blueprint: Uncommon Strategies for Unparalleled Success

In the inventive world of architecture, engineering, and construction, marketing leaders are tasked with finding the perfect blueprint for their strategies and planning. But the truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and there shouldn’t be.

With a track record of accelerating marketing teams at high-growth companies toward IPOs and successful exits, Derek Ries, VP Marketing, Sales Development and Partnerships at OpenAsset, learned how to move past common and outdated approaches by necessity to find his own blueprint for successful marketing—and he wants to show that you can too.

In “Redesigning the Marketing Blueprint: Uncommon Strategies for Unparalleled Success,” Derek will share how to find and hone your brand’s individuality, rethink your approach to leveraging marketing technologies, and bring together a team of passionate high-performers to challenge marketing norms and generate unprecedented results, fast. By making elements of this blueprint your own, you’ll get a seat at the table by demonstrating the impacts of your marketing and the “why it matters.”

November 7 | 5:30pm | CMO TO CEO PANEL DISCUSSION

Amy Jones is President/CEO of O’Connell Robertson, a mission-driven architecture/engineering/interior design firm based in Austin and providing design solutions that positively impact communities throughout Texas. Amy became the Firm’s fourth president, and the first woman to serve in that role in the Firm’s 70+ year history, in 2016. She has been with O’Connell Robertson for 25 years and has been a Principal and Shareholder since 2004.

As President, Amy leads corporate strategy & vision, guides talent and people issues, and manages finance and operational activities with the Firm’s Senior Leadership Team. Throughout her career at O’Connell Robertson, she has been involved in and led the Firm’s marketing and business development team and served in a project executive role. Amy’s focus on client relations, business development and community engagement has provided a strong foundation for the Firm’s growth over the last decade.

Throughout her career, Amy has been engaged in regional organizations and issues supporting youth and education, providing leadership to several local boards. She is currently a member of the Austin Chamber’s Education and Talent Council; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas Advisory Council (also past Board Chair); and a member and past Education Chair of the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO). In 2022 she co-chaired the PAC fundraising committee for the successful $2 billion Austin ISD bond election.

Amy is a past board member for the Association for Learning Environments Southern Region and Austin Chapter and has been active in other community and professional organizations, including serving as past President of the Austin Chapter of the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), a Leadership Austin alumni, and former Board Member and Chair for the Austin Ed Fund.

A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Amy has a Bachelor of Journalism degree and completed the UT Austin Continuing Education Marketing Certificate Program. She and her husband Ken have two successful sons, Matt and Josh, who are each following their passion into their careers as collegiate and high school basketball coaches.

November 7 | 5:30pm | CMO TO CEO PANEL DISCUSSION

Matt Huelskamp, President at Hyder Construction, has been in the construction industry for 19 years and with Hyder for the last 15. He is a two-time University of Denver graduate with an undergraduate degree specializing in Real Estate and Construction Management as well as an Executive MBA. He’s actively involved in several professional organizations within the Denver business community including serving as a board member on the Associated General Contractors of Colorado as well as the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation where he sits on the Board of Governors.

November 7 | 5:30pm | CMO TO CEO PANEL DISCUSSION

Speakers

Grenee Martacho, CPSM, CEO of Concord General Contracting, has made it her mission to shatter the norms in commercial construction while empowering the men and women around her to do the same. In 2020, she successfully led the firm in becoming an Employee-Owned company and grew the firm to a $130 million general contractor, growing her team from 30 people to over 65 employee owners in three years. Under Grenee’s leadership, Concord has been recognized as a “Best of Arizona Business” General Contractor for the past three-years.

November 7 | 6:30pm - 7:30pm | WELCOME EVENT: THE PINNACLE PURPLE PARTY

Let’s kick off our time in Minneapolis, by paying homage to the official color of the Vikings football team and the legendary artist, Prince…PURPLE. Come decked out in your best purple attire, and or accessories. 

Sponsored by:

November 9 | 9:30am | BUILD RESILIENT LEADERS & CHANGE PROOF WORK CULTURES

Adam Markel‘s thought-provoking and transformational speeches on how to cultivate a Change Proof culture by building resilience inspire business leaders and individuals around the world.

November 8 | 1:00pm | CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

Once called “crazy or genius” by Forbes Magazine, Matthew Manos is the Founder and Managing Director of verynice, a design strategy practice that gives half of its services away for free to non-profit organizations. With a portfolio of work that has reached millions of people across the globe, verynice’s client experience spans 1,000+ brands including the American Heart Association, Apple, the City of Los Angeles, Disney Imagineering, Google, REI, and the United Nations. One of the first examples of social entrepreneurship in the design services industry, verynice launched with a mission to alleviate expenses for nonprofit organizations while increasing access to design for all. Since its founding in 2008, the company has been able to displace nearly $50,000,000 USD in professional services through its groundbreaking pro-bono and open-access initiatives.

November 8 | 9:00am | IDEAS ARE THE CURRENCY OF THE 21st CENTURY

This workshop is completely experiential and will give attendees one actionable and brilliant idea they can take with them. It will also be fun, and it will bring enthusiasm. Claudia Azula believes successful organizations depend on their people’s great ideas and implementation. However, she recognizes that brilliant ideas don’t just appear out of thin air. They need consistent effort, a trustworthy system, and, most importantly, dedicated periods of time that promote a relaxed and playful environment. Companies like Google use playfulness to build trust, encourage gentle physical activity, and foster open brainstorming. Generating great ideas requires both left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. Our culture tends to overemphasize analytical thinking, leading to mental fatigue while ignoring imagination and creativity, both of which are responsible for encircling the work of a healthy and profitable company.

November 7 | 5:30pm | CMO TO CEO PANEL DISCUSSION

Join us as we open The Pinnacle Experience programming with an engaging conversation with current CEOs who were in Marketing leadership positions (CMOs etc.) their journey, lessons learned and advice for how to handle and manage the shift.