Plans are well under way for the 2019 WHMA Annual Wire Harness Conference, February 19th – 22nd in Dallas, TX at the Fairmont Hotel. For more than 25 years, this conference has become one of the few investments that give their attendees an opportunity to learn, grow, share and discover new approaches to many aspects of the wire harness industry. The conference features presentations on topics important to wire harness manufacturers, OEM’s and suppliers.
This year’s conference keynote presenter will be Todd Buchholz with his presentation titled “New Ideas from Dead CEOs”. Buchholz is the former White House senior economic advisor, Tiger hedge fund managing director and best-selling author. His lively and informative speaking engagements have earned him a place in Successful Meetings Magazine’s “21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century and his best-selling books on economics and financial markets have been widely translated and are taught in universities worldwide.
As a frequent commentator on the state of the markets, Buchholz brings his experience as a former White House director of economic policy, a managing director of the $15 billion Tiger hedge fund, and a Harvard economics teacher to the cutting edge of economics, fiscal politics, finance and business strategy. His presentation, “New Ideas from Dead CEOs “ will bring to life history’s greatest CEOs—from Steve Jobs to Ray Kroc to Akio Morita, Estée Lauder to Tom Watson Sr.—and shows how their lives, leadership and lessons can inform and inspire us in today’s chaotic marketplace.
How did Sam Walton help create the “scissors economy” and go from being the owner of a single dime store to the CEO of Wal-Mart? How did Estée Lauder, a working-class woman from Queens, convince the shoppers at Saks to buy her cosmetics? How did the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 eventually lead to A.P. Giannini’s success as America’s greatest banker?
In this speech, Buchholz answers these questions and shows today’s business managers how to deploy their entrepreneurial secrets to benefit their companies in today’s hyper-competitive global economy. He uses his experience as a White House economist, Harvard scholar, and Wall Street professional to show investors what kinds of CEOs to invest with and what kinds of companies to steer away from. In addition, Todd lays out a forecast for the economy and the financial markets. You will come away from this keynote presentation with a fresh understanding of the competitive pressures we face today, and a road map to finding success.
Another session at the conference features Taylor St. Germain with a talk on, “Wire Harness Industry Economics – The Future and Now.” Taylor is an Analyst at ITR Economics. ITR Economics™, content provider for IEWC’s Hotwire® industry newsletter, provides industry-renowned economic intelligence to reduce risk and drive practical and profitable business decisions. Since 1948, ITR has provided business leaders with economic information, insight, analysis, and strategy. With a knowledge base that spans six decades, ITR has an uncommon understanding of long-term economic trends and how to react to critical changes in market conditions.
This session will provide ITR’s views of what to expect from the economy this year and beyond, covering such topics as industry and consumer trends, business to business activity, tax reform, trade, inflation, interest rates and more. Attendees will also learn about a method by which their company can take advantage of their own data and the economic environment. Using rate-of-change calculations, the audience will find out how to identify where they are in the business cycle and which key leading indicators should inform their business strategy to help them to make the right decisions at the right time.
You will walk away from this session with:
- A clear vision for the economic future in 2019 and beyond
- Understanding the impact of government policy on the economy
- Inflation, interest rate and profitability expectations
The conference will also feature a presentation on “How to Profit from R&D Tax Credits” given by a representative of the Alliant Group. This presentation will discuss the R&D Tax Credit and other related tax breaks that save U.S. businesses more than $12 billion annually. Even better, under recently issued government regulations, more industries now qualify for the R&D Tax Credit than ever before. Plus, the R&D Tax Credit regulations allow eligible taxpayers to “look back” to all open tax years (typically three years plus the current year) for potential research credits that were never claimed.
And with finding quality workers at an all-time critical point, Aaron Demerson of the Texas Workforce Council will present “Future Workforce Development in Manufacturing.”
Of course, it would not be a WHMA Conference without a lot of networking and fun. The infamous golf outing this year will be held at the Dallas Cowboys Golf Course. View the latest innovations from the top suppliers to the industry in the vibrant exhibit hall and five hours of best practice roundtables. This is one event you do not want to miss!
Continue to check out the latest conference news and register for the event, please visit https://annualconference.whma.org/.
By: Jim Manke