It’s hard to believe that a full year has passed since the Executive Connection Summit (ECS) welcomed the who’s who of the office technology dealer community. But beginning Sunday, nearly 350 attendees are expected to converge on The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch for ECS 2024, an expansive, two and a half-day agenda designed to help guide dealers into the future of technology and revenue-generating opportunities.
Next week’s show is bigger than ever and has relocated from the Hotel Valley Ho to the McCormick Ranch in order to accommodate the burgeoning ranks. However, the main thrust is unchanged: tracking the technologies and opportunities that can keep dealers remain ahead of the curve. We sat down with an ultra-busy Mike Stramaglio, the founding father of the event (along with Hiro Ueda—both of Stramaglio Consulting) to generate a little more buzz heading into next week’s event.
The timing of ECS has always struck me as being fortuitous—scheduled between New Year’s Day and the Super Bowl. How is that for excitement?
Stramaglio: What I’ve found is people like this timing. It’s a perfect time to launch the New Year; it’s still ahead of the fourth quarter for all of the Japanese OEMs, and it’s the year-end for most of the American companies. These companies have either just finished planning for the next fiscal year or are in the process. The timeframe is exciting, because you have the whole cornucopia of requirements that the industry needs to address and address quickly. I think the excitement in between the New Year and the Super Bowl just lends to a fantastic and exciting time.
We understand ECS 2024 is a sellout?
Stramaglio: Typically, we have somewhere between 230 and 270 attendees. We changed locations, because last year we could sense that it was getting pretty tight. So we relocated to the McCormick Ranch, which is a beautiful facility. This year, we will have about 340 people, so that’s a big jump.
Tell us a little about the new venue.
Stramaglio: The Executive Connection Summit has primarily been about helping the industry and floating all boats. Forging connections between the executives and the companies. Valley Ho was really perfect for when we were at 200-250 people. It was an outside property, and you could pretty much meet with anybody, anytime. Last year, we ended up with standing room only and didn’t have enough conference rooms. The facility just couldn’t handle it. So we visited various sites, and we found that the McCormick Ranch met all of our needs. It has enough conference rooms, and the ballroom is perfectly suited for what we do. They just finished remodeling it at the end of last year, so we’re going to be the first event in the new facility. It’s going to be great all around.
On top of that, the golf course is right across the street for our Wednesday outing, so it’s easier to manage and it’s a gorgeous course. Between the service we’ve been getting, all of the renovations, the food and the bar, everything will be conducive to keeping it intimate, yet big enough for what we want to accomplish.
What’s new for 2024?
Stramaglio: Last year, we introduced Intel and Microsoft AI. Many people came up to me and said, “Why are you showing me AI?” A few weeks later, AI explodes on the national scene and now everybody knows what it is. The moral of the story is, every time we have a Summit, we try to find what’s coming, how it can help the industry and how we should be prepared. This year, it’s going to be the application of AI, how to make money and improve upon it. The next thing we’re bringing into the equation is quantum computing. We’re going to be addressing this requirement from data center capabilities to normal computing, if I can say it that way, and the impact of the quantum computing capability joined up with AI. The wrapper around it is that we’re constantly making sure that we’re providing a view and awareness, but also the preparation component, like we did with AI. We working with companies like Overwatch, who are heavily into quantum computing and AI, and they’re going to help us bring that into the channel.
You trumpeted EV chargers during ECS 2023, and by the end of the year many dealers had either added it to their portfolio or are in the process of doing so. That shows how ECS is really in touch with what’s coming down the road.
Stramaglio: There again, dealers asked me why we were talking about topic. Our overall mission is to get the industry ahead of the curve. A year later, no one’s asking “why” about EV chargers. They’re asking “how?” And the same thing is going to be happening with quantum computing. I think this is going to be a great event from a practical perspective, from hiring veterans to how to deploy AI or generative AI. Plus, having companies like Sharp and Toshiba do their thing. It’s a very diverse agenda and I’m pretty proud of it.
What do you think will be the key takeaways?
Stramaglio: We will be having virtual programs that people can take back to their businesses. The same is true for the HIT program for hiring veterans in transition. It’s another virtual program attendees can bring home and immediately implement it into their training programs for hiring people and hiring veterans. Between AI, quantum computing and hiring veteran programs, I think these will be quick and effective takeaways.
Impact Networking is going to be delivering a whole series of strategies for dealers to take a look at, and if they wish to pursue it, they’re going to get a really good education. [Impact CEO] Frank Cucco will discuss how they do things, and they’re willingness to let dealers emulate it, if they wish to. Plus, we’ll have John Hey talking about the industry and the numbers, plus the importance of strategic planning and succession planning. We’re pretty much covering the gamut from strategy and vision, with actual leave-behinds that you can take back with you.
Judging by the tremendous guest list of industry movers and shakers, it seems like you’ve really designed a cornerstone, nonpartisan event that speaks to all dealers.
Stramaglio: We’re agnostic. We’re not a transactional meeting; no one’s out there with a booth trying to sell copiers or printers. What we’re trying to do is bring all of that knowledge into the channel and help people make choices. Frank Mallozzi, recently of EFI, just started his own consulting company, and we have a part in the agenda where he’s going to be talking about production print, textile printing—things he knows extremely well. There’s going to be a session specifically on production print, and the great part about it is no one in the audience has to feel like they’re being sold something. They’re learning from Frank the nuances of the business and how to make money. We truly want to lift all boats.
