The Presidents` Forum

The Presidents’ Forum
of charlotte
We d n e sda y, De c emb er 2, 2015
Presidential Presenters:
Tim Brier
Managing Director, Trinity Management, and Founding Team Partner
Priceline.com
Tim Brier, a founding team partner of Priceline.com Inc., served
as the President of its Travel Business since its inception in 1996
until 2000 when he moved to London where he was co-founder
and Chairman of Priceline Europe Holdings, N.V. and Priceline.
com Europe Ltd. and served on their Boards until 2004. Prior to
priceline.com, Mr. Brier co-founded CAP Systems, a division of
Synapes Group, Inc., that provides affinity-marketing programs to the airline and
hotel industries, and served as its President from 1995 to 1998. Since his time at
Priceline, Mr. Brier has been an investor and advisor to a number of start-ups and
existing businesses through Trinity Management, Inc., his consulting and investment
company, and an active member of the Board of Trustees of Marist College.
Kyle O’Brien
Executive Vice President Sales, Chobani Holdings
Kyle O’Brien leads the global sales initiatives for Chobani Global
Holdings, Inc. and is involved in all core aspects of business
development for the company and its family of brands: Chobani
Greek Yogurt, America’s #1 selling yogurt brand; Chobani
Champions; and Gippsland Dairy. With more than 20 years of
foodservice, retail, business development, and operations
experience, Mr. O’Brien was instrumental in spearheading
Chobani’s launch. Since joining Chobani in 2006, he has helped grow the company
from a Central New York start-up to a $1 billion dollar global enterprise. His vision to
make Chobani available to mass consumers led him to successfully secure national
and global distribution in several key markets—a vision that leads Chobani’s
continued success today. Based in Charlotte, N.C., Mr. O’Brien has built Chobani’s
sales force from one (himself) to more than 45 employees strong, and a 2,000+
people global workforce.
David Jones,
Chairman CRFE and President & CEO, Peak 10
Founded in 2013, the Charlotte Regional Fund for
Entrepreneurship (CRFE) is a charitable fund aimed at
strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem, supporting
increased innovation, improving development of high-growth
entrepreneurs, and ultimately increasing job creation within the
city of Charlotte. David Jones serves as its Chairman. He also
co-founded Peak 10 in March of 2000 and has led the company to
a top market position as a leading independent data center, managed services, and
cloud computing solutions provider in the United States. As the company’s President
and Chief Executive Officer, he has assembled a talented management team, which
has worked together to build one of the industry’s strongest operating cultures
and financial performers. Mr. Jones has received numerous professional distinctions
including the Blue Diamonds’ IT Executive of the Year in 2015, Business Person of the
Year in 2010 by the Charlotte Business Journal, and Entrepreneur of the Year award
presented by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
The Business of Growth
William G. (Bill) Higgs,
Co-Founder Mustang Engineering, Author of Mustang, The Story
With two partners Bill started Mustang Engineering, Inc. in
Houston, Texas in 1987 to design and build offshore oil platforms.
His key responsibilities were sales, marketing and project
management. Mustang qualified for two straight years as
one of the “Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America”
and was the top ranked engineering firm. Mustang won the
“Innovate Houston” award for being the most “People” oriented
company in Houston. This award confirmed the “People Oriented…Project Driven™”
motto of Mustang and affirmed Bill’s passion for teambuilding and organizational
development. Starting in 1993, Mustang expanded into refinery/petrochemical,
pipelines, Automation and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) while establishing offices in
eight countries. Mustang established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
in 1996, sold to the Wood Group in 2000 and turned management over to the 2nd
generation leadership in 2006. In 2008, Mustang delivered $1B in revenues and Bill
retired with partner Paul Redmon as CEO and Founders.
T h e Pr e s ide n t s’ Fo ru m
S c h e du l e
W e dn e sda y, D e c e mbe r 2 , 2 0 1 5
7:15 - 8:15 a.m.
Registration/Networking/ Breakfast
8:20 - 8:50 a.m.
Kick Off Address by Tim Brier
8:55 - 9:25 a.m.
Morning Presentation by Kyle O’Brien
9:45 - 10:55 a.m.
Breakouts/Peer-to-Peer Interactions:

Using M&A as a Vehicle to Grow your
Business

Leveraging Internal and External Strategic
Advisors for Optimal Results 
Employee Engagement - Re-cruiting your
Best Employees
11:10 - 12:20 p.m.
Breakouts/Peer-to-Peer Interactions:

Marketing & Sales: “From Interest to Close”

Business Transition: “10 Things That need
to be in Your Selling Contract” 
Managing Lender Relationships: “How to
Get to a Win”
12:20 - 2:15 p.m.
Lunch
Luncheon Address by David Jones
Afternoon Address by Bill Higgs
2:15 - 2:30 p.m.
Meet the Experts/ Networking/Adjourn
T HE PRESIDEN T S ' F o ru m
O F C h a r l o tt e
A 'By-Invitation-Only' Program For
CEOs, Presidents Or Owners
“It was a great session. I learned something that I’m taking back to my organization and our team
members.”
Anne Ibekwe
Goodwill Industries of Southern Piedmont
The Presidents’ Forum of Charlotte
“I was very impressed with the President’s Forum. The
Forum I attended was probably one of the best such
events I have been to….I found the key note addresses
informative and thought provoking; the break-out sessions
were conducted very well and had many valuable “takeaways” for me.”
You can’t google the solution to an important
business problem. What you can do is listen to
and discuss how other CEOs have addressed
the same issues of concern to your business.
From enlightening “case study” presentations
to inspiring smaller roundtables and substantial
peer-to-peer networking, you’ll get practical
solutions, generate new ideas and make valuable
business connections.
Presentations
Successful owners and prominent leaders discuss
best practices to resolve key business issues.
Roundtable Interaction
Participate in engaging Q&A sessions with the
Forum’s CEO, faculty and other top-level experts.
Networking
Share ideas, develop leads to expand your market,
and build your business through strategic alliances.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Linda Clark
American Medical ID
The Presidents’ Forum of Houston
The Employers Association
3020 West Arrowood Road, Charlotte, NC 28273
“This was my first time (attending the Forum) and I didn’t
know what to expect. The speakers were really good. The
panel discussions were very valuable and I’m pleased with
the wide assortment of resources made available on the
topics I cared about. Phil Thomas, the corporate culture guy
and the technology panel were fun and made good points.”
The Presidents’ Forum was created through the
efforts of the Advisory Board of Charlotte and The
Entrepreneurship Institute (TEI) to provide practical
solutions, relevant information and valuable contacts
needed to thrive in a challenging economy. TEI is the
most successful independent non-profit educational
corporation organized solely to assist and encourage
the growth of American enterprises. Since 1976,TEI has
assisted thousands of company presidents in solving
problems and developing business contacts that
contribute positively to the bottom line.
Mark Glasser,
Packard Design
The Presidents’ Forum of Boston
To learn more about the Presidents' Forum and our
various other opportunities and resources,
visit www.tei.net.
Follow us on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/TEIForum
3700 Corporate Drive, Suite 145
Columbus, Ohio 43231
www tei. net
1 800 736 3592
Part nering Organizat ions :