Annual Conference

Building the Future Today

The Executive Forum’s Leadership Conference 2024 “Building the Future Today” brought EF members and guests the opportunity to listen to, engage with, and learn from leaders who are shaping tomorrow, today. Keynote speakers (featured below) provided leadership lessons that were both highly personal and evidence-based. 

The event, held at the Greenwich Hyatt on November 2, 2024, provided also rich networking opportunities for more than 200 attendees, as well as an update from board chairs on organizational progress for the year. 

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Behind the Scenes with a Media Visionary

Keynote Speaker Paul Buccieri, Chairman and President of A+E Networks, in a fireside chat with Dr. Kimberly Gilmore, Lead Historian at The History Channel, reflected on his leadership journey, touching on the importance of networking in a genuine way, not confusing kindness with weakness, and leveraging AI as an enhancement, not a replacement, to human creativity.

Starting as a runner in TV production, Paul climbed the ranks, eventually landing executive roles with 20th Century and ITV Studios before joining A+E Networks. Along the way he understood the importance of a strong network and always kept in touch with people in a genuine and humble way. He cultivated a people-first leadership style, believing that people make the company. He built a respectful, fearless culture at A+E that is forward-focused and embraces change. Paul’s vision for A+E has been transformative, pushing the network from a cable-centric mindset to a diversified media ecosystem with expanded content creation and new revenue streams. They are now a creator of content, not a curator, successfully capturing the time and attention of their customers. Paul put creativity first, knowing commercial success would follow.

For Paul, AI plays a crucial role in this evolution, enhancing operational efficiencies without replacing human storytelling. AI assists with coding, automation, and promotional cuts, while human editors refine the output. He sees AI as a powerful tool for amplifying creativity, not replacing it—a perspective that helps position A+E at the cutting edge of media. In a rapidly changing industry, Paul isn’t waiting to see the future—he’s building it.

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Leading from the Inside Out

McKinsey & Company Senior Partners Ramesh Srinivasan and Kurt Strovink discussed findings from their research from working with global CEOs, including how a new, more human approach to leadership is needed, and that to bring humanity back, leaders must learn to lead from the inside out – understanding their own purpose and inspiration and then use that to lead others. These lessons and others can be found in their new book, The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out.

The pair explained that in a rapidly changing world, the pressure on leaders grows every day. Economic challenges, unrelenting shareholder pressure, and evolving market demands push leaders to the brink, leaving many feeling they are underprepared or even burned out. Employees are voicing a common sentiment: leaders aren’t meeting the mark. In this context, Ramesh and Kurt urge leaders to transform from the inside to handle challenges in bold, human-centered ways.

According to their research, true leadership begins with taking responsibility for what you can't control. This paradox pushes CEOs to lead from within by embracing their own purpose and inspiration and then radiating that to others. Leading others means embodying humility, admitting you’re not the smartest person in the room, and building a culture of truth-telling. When employees feel empowered to share openly, leaders can harness the full, collective talent of their organizations.

Srinivasan and Strovink concluded in saying that inside-out leadership means setting a bold vision that challenges conventional corporate limits. Leaning into uncertainty requires informed optimism and a willingness to learn and unlearn.  By blending boldness with objectivity, CEOs who lead from the inside out can steer their organizations toward a future where innovation, purpose, and resilience flourish together.

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Peak Performance when the Stakes are High

Melanie Curtis, a world record professional skydiver, author, coach, and performance expert who helps leaders and teams expand their own edges of achievement, inspired us to set big goals, pushing beyond where we’ve been, and not to just seize opportunities, but to magnify them.

Known for breaking barriers at high altitudes, Melanie translated the skydiving mindset into a roadmap for leaders and teams seeking exceptional performance. Positivity, passion, and performance are central to setting goals that bring higher stakes and amplified opportunities. But she doesn’t stop there. The key is relentless follow-through, committing fully from day one. Even when goals challenge old habits, show up for yourself and see it through. As Melanie says, "finishing has power."

In high-stakes settings, like a skydiving jump, stress is inevitable. But Melanie emphasizes the importance of creating an emotionally safe environment for teams. Leaders must foster connections that allow everyone to manage their own stress, tap into their intuition, and act without hesitation.

Melanie inspires us to aim high and embrace a bit of fear. Be bold, listen to the ideas that bubble up from within you, and, most importantly, act. When we magnify each opportunity, we expand not only what’s possible but also who we can become as leaders.

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Executive Forum Presents the Robert C. Sloan Award

 The Executive Forum (EF) presented Barbara McCartney with the Robert C. Sloan Award on November 2, 2024, at the 2024 Leadership Conference “Building the Future Today” in Greenwich, CT in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the EF.  Barbara is seen in the photo, center, with outgoing board chairs Scott Smith and Cheryl Palmer.

Barbara joined the EF in 2019 and has continually looked for ways to add value to the member experience. As the co-lead of the New Member meetings, she revamped the format to ensure it fostered engagement, learning, and best practice sharing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Barbara initiated mini accountability groups that helped maintain connections and support among New Members and continue today. She became the Leadership Conference & Events Chair in 2021. During her 3-year tenure in this role she has introduced smaller, location-tailored events in NYC, CT, and NJ, greatly increasing engagement and participation, and elevating the attendee experience.  

Barbara’s career includes marketing, general management and growth advisory roles with several leading food and nutrition industry companies. She is a passionate changemaker known for energizing categories, brands and organizations by unlocking their greatness.

The Robert C. Sloan Award has, in each instance, been presented to an individual who has taken the EF to “a new level” and contributed significantly to the overall value of being an EF member.  

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Scenes from the Conference