The first thing to say would be that the Executive Forum left us with high quality contents, outstanding speakers, networking, new technologies, four intense days of work and new projects. But the Executive Forum is actually a lot more than that.

It is the best business conference of the future of work. An event where you can nurture with new contents and ideas, and, most importantly, do business.

This year it was in San Diego, a wonderful American city, right in the border of Mexico. Maybe the proximity to that country served as inspiration to introduce, for the first time ever, the 25 most influential leaders of the industry in Latin America, and nominate executives of the region for the Top 100 list of 2018.

The theme of the event this year was “Dare to Lead”, and summoned over 1,100 leaders and suppliers of the industry.

Even though a large share of attendants came from the American market, there was, as always a strong international attendance, with a significant Latin American presence.

There were also lots of suppliers showing their wide variety of services and products.

Concurrent sessions remained a challenge, as there is always more than just one attractive session. This year we were able to access 4 lines of panel conferences and presentations, plus two presentations of “Ideas in Action”, where suppliers show the solutions they are developing.

Once again, Regional Roundtables were developed, and Latin America shared a table with several persons interested in gaining further knowledge of our region.

During the keynote conference, Barry Asin, President of Staffing Industry Analysts discussed the leadership in the industry and its relationship with people, the market and innovation. This conference was followed by a panel debate with the CEOs of On Assignment, Allegis Global Solutions, Manpower Group, and AMN Healthcare.

Doris Kearnes Goodwin caught the audience’s eye during her conference of “Leadership Lessons from the White House”, going through the biographies she wrote about four presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

In addition, Professor Harry Kraemer from the Kellogg Business School, showed that values-based leaders are more necessary than ever and that the trip to become one of those leaders starts with self-reflection, true self-confidence and genuine humility”. In his book, “From Values to Action” he provides great learning for every manager.

Furthermore, Mark Thompson gave a conference about the leaders he admires, referring to the leadership of Steve Jobs and Richard Branson.

The next business appointment of Staffing Industry Analysts is Collaboration in the Gig Economy, which will be developed in Dallas in September. For those of you who cannot attend the Dallas conference, Miami and the Fountaineblue await you on February 2018 for a new Executive Forum.