Private meeting of the RILA Board of Directors. Sponsored by Rabine Paving Group Join your industry colleagues for golf and networking at the Tiburon Golf Club, favorite of both professional and amateur golfers alike. Carved out of 800 acres of native Florida foliage, this Greg Norman designed course plays like a classic links course that is challenging for any player. Buses depart from the Ritz-Carlton Lobby at 10:45am. Lunch is provided at the course. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Join Leadership Forum attendees for a 2.25 mile walk through Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, a 14,000 acre preserve in the heart of the Western Everglades. Owned and operated by the National Audubon Society, Corkscrew is home to the largest remaining stand of old growth Bald Cypress forest in North America as well as almost 200 bird species, alligators, otters, Florida black bear, white-tailed deer and red-bellied turtles. The first opportunity for Leadership Forum attendees to meet and reconnect as an entire group, this casual reception will feature the NFL Conference Championship Game. Dress casually and relax with new friends and old while cheering on your team of choice. Sponsored by Gordon Brothers
Sandy Kennedy
President
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Gregg Steinhafel
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
Target Corporation
Incoming Chairman
Retail Industry Leaders Association The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Janet Hoffman
Global Managing Director, Retail Practice
Accenture
Chris Donnelly
Executive Partner, Retail Practice
Accenture The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
For many North American retailers, growing internationally is no longer an option, it’s an imperative. With an over-stored and slow growth domestic market, North American retailers must consider finding growth through new international markets. In fact, many already have with various levels of success. Profitably capturing international growth requires thoughtful strategies and efficient execution. As domestic retailers go abroad, international retailers are coming to North America with many more to come. Despite our domestic economy’s slow growth and saturated landscape, some international retailers believe North America holds strong growth opportunities. Some will succeed, while others will fail; and the domestic retail market reaction may significantly affect the outcome. Accenture’s Janet Hoffman and Chris Donnelly will lead an interactive session on the “whys, hows and results” of global retail expansion, both going from and coming to North America.
Moderator: Chris Wallace
Veteran Journalist & Host of Fox News Sunday
Panelists:
Frank Blake
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
The Home Depot
The Honorable Judd Gregg
Former United States Senator (R-NH)
The Honorable Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator (D-MN) The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
The United States is facing a looming fiscal crisis. Unchecked growth in mandatory entitlement spending and the national debt, coupled with stagnant economic growth and federal revenue collections are putting us on an unsustainable course. And the longer-range outlook gets worse, not better. Baby boomers will retire, health care costs will continue to grow – by 2025 revenue will be able to finance only interest on the debt and entitlements, nothing more. No national defense, no homeland security, no transportation and infrastructure – well, you get the idea.
This moderated panel discussion and work session will delve into the current fiscal situation of the United States and offer real alternatives for addressing it. Panelists will discuss the options, political realities, and recent developments in DC. CEOs in attendance will get an inside look at the tough choices that face the nation, offer their thoughts and opinions on solutions, and gain insight into how they might best influence the process.
Walter Robb
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Whole Foods Market, Inc. The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Starting out in 1980 with one store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods has grown into the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with more than 300 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. Hear how this mission-driven company uses its core values, quality standards, and “declaration of interdependence” to foster shared fate and mutual success, and how it lives the three elements of their mission: Whole Foods – Whole People – Whole Planet.
Ahmed Hassan
Celebrity Landscaper & TV Host
Lunch in Estuary l
Activity in the Tea Garden
Facilitator: Chris Wallace
Veteran Journalist & Host of Fox News Sunday
Panelists:
The Honorable Haley Barbour
Governor of Mississippi (R)
Kevin Warsh
Former Member of the Board of Governors
U.S. Federal Reserve System The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Revenue is obviously an important component of the federal fiscal situation as well as the state of the states. There is no shortage of revenue proposals, and they range from simple tax increases and loophole closings to a complete overhaul of the federal tax system. The debate also focuses on how tax reform can improve economic growth and international competitiveness. The retail industry is in a uniquely powerful position with regard to taxes, as not only do we pay among the highest relative corporate income tax rates, but our large employment base and our sales tax collection role directly involve us in many levels of federal, state and local taxes.
This session will build on what was discussed previously, and encourage discussion and debate around the tax issues critical to retailers’ competiveness: corporate tax rates and options; overall federal tax reform; and sales tax efairness.
Moderator: Stuart Varney
Host of Varney & Company
FOX News Channel
Panelists:
Tim Baer
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Target
Janet Dhillon
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
jcpenney
Sam Reeves
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Walmart U.S.
Walmart
The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
The general counsel is an integral part of the retail enterprise. Today’s general counsel touches a growing list of complex issues, including corporate governance, intellectual property, labor and employment (including NLRB and DOL activities), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and much, much more. Their to-do lists are long and varied. At this year’s Leadership Forum, we will gather the general counsel of some of the leading retailers in the country. Moderated by Fox News’ Stuart Varney, this panel will delve into the pressing legal challenges facing the retail industry today and discuss legal trends for the future.
Bea Perez
Chief Sustainability Officer
The Coca-Cola Company The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Today’s consumers expect businesses to do more than simply be profitable and provide a high-quality product or service. They also expect us to be responsible employers, good stewards of the planet and its resources, and active contributors to thriving communities. That means that we must embrace sustainability strategies as key drivers of our overall business strategies.
Bea Perez, The Coca-Cola Company’s Chief Sustainability Officer, will share some of her experience and ideas on how companies and brands can win with consumers by aligning around a sustainability agenda.
Michael Cavanaugh
Star of Broadway Musical "Movin' Out" Artisan, Plaza Ballroom and Ritz-Carlton Ballroom Join Leadership Forum participants for an evening of dining and private entertainment featuring Michael Cavanaugh, known as the New Voice of the American Rock & Roll Songbook. Made famous for his piano/lead vocals in the Broadway Musical "Movin’ Out," Michael Cavanaugh was handpicked by Billy Joel to star in title role. Michael appeared in the show for three years and more than 1200 performances. Michael began touring in 2005 in his own right, creating a show that reinterprets the modern pop/rock songbook. This special evening will feature fabulous networking, an elegant dinner, and an intimate show featuring Michael, up close and personal like you'll see him nowhere else. Sponsored by Gordon Brothers Ron Brownstein
Political Director
Atlantic Media Company The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Ronald Brownstein, named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his coverage of the 1996 and 2004 presidential campaigns, explores the state of each party today. Blending history, a sophisticated analysis of polls and voting trends, and insider assessments of both parties’ brand, he explores what is next for America’s major political parties. Finally, he combines this assessment of the electoral environment with an analysis of the challenges that await President Obama, and a preview of the 2012 elections.
David Brooks
Author & New York Times Columnist The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom Sponsored by Hallmark Cards, Inc.
David Brooks, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, has covered some of the most significant events in recent time – the fall of the Soviet Union, the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. economic recession. In doing so, he began to realize was that while policy makers tend to make decisions based on the assumption that people are rational individuals who respond to incentives, the reality is that human nature is much more complicated, and that decisions are made based on emotion, on human connections, and on thinking that happens below our level of awareness. This reality has huge implications for everything from our education system to our business models, and perhaps no industry can benefit from acting on this knowledge more than consumer-facing industries like retail and consumer goods manufacturers. The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom Foyer |
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