Apex 2022 Conference Recap

APEX 2022 has come and gone, and what a conference it was!

Immediately following the evening Welcome Reception was the APEX Council Dinner, sponsored by CBE, CONTROLTEK and Gatekeeper. The APEX Council, Elite Sponsors and 25 randomly selected attendees were whisked away by buses to a secret destination! Riddled with excitement and anticipation, the APEX buses arrived at Mount Richmore, the private mansion of John Rich (Big & Rich). There, John hosted the APEX group for dinner, cocktails and a private APEX concert to remember! Even the sponsors were surprised!

Guests took the opportunity to meet with John one-on-one, take photos, and hang out for the evening with cocktails and cigars from John’s personal humidor. John even signed a custom TalkLP guitar, autographed it, then handed it to Scott Denton, CEO of Amphion!

On APEX Day 1, the invitation-only attendees were met with relevant and timely content that only APEX can provide, such as:

• Perspective from the US Intelligence Community: Preparing for Political Unrest (Speaker: CIA)

• Face Matching: Misinformation, Trends and Legalities (LP/AP Executives in the arena)

• Modifying Behavior for Maximum Shrink Success from Frontline Employees (LP/AP Executive panel, facilitated by Amber Bradley)

And don’t forget, APEX is known for surprising their attendees, so they provided everyone with the surprise of a lifetime: the real Rudy Ruettiger, subject of the true-life story depicted in the movie, Rudy! How wonderful it was to hear the attendees cheer, “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!” These chants went well into the evening as attendees were having dinner with the limited APEX sponsors.

Rudy gave the attendees an inspirational message of what it means to be a champion – a speech they will not soon forget!

APEX Day 2: APEX Day 2 opened with, “7 WINNING Technologies The Best Performing Grocers Are Prioritizing” by one of the most engaging thought leaders in retail. Named by RIS News as one of the “Top 10 Influentials in Retail,” and also placed on "The List of People Shaping Retail's Future," by the National Retail Federation (NRF), This APEX original brought down the house with economic insight into current world events and how they will impact retail within the next few months. The information gleaned from this session will give attendees an opportunity to put plans in place to mitigate impending risk.

The day continued with more stellar content by the Director of Global Intelligence and Executive Protection for a Fortune 200 company, who spoke to the APEX group of executives about, “Predicting Social Unrest & Identifying the Most Likely Locations” – a session that provided an unprecedented opportunity for attendees to get ahead of business disruptions sure to come as we approach midterm elections and other significant events.

APEX Day 2 wouldn’t be complete without Chief Kristen Ziman (ret.) speaking to the group about “Preparing for & Preventing the Unthinkable,” which provided APEX attendees with an unexpected, never-before-seen glimpse into the reality of an active shooter incident. Not only did Chief Ziman provide the APEX group with leadership-in-crisis advice, but also ways to prevent active shooter situations from happening.

APEX Day 2 wrapped up with our signature Networking event, which took place at Ole Red on the infamous Broadway Avenue! This rooftop venue featured a LIVE band, food, cocktails, and some good ‘ol fashioned networking – APEX style!

And finally, APEX Day 3 came and went with more unprecedented content for the APEX attendees. Aside from finishing several days of intermittent raffles with a cash drawing for $1500 to a single lucky attendee, the day finished with the session entitled, “Executive Leadership: Proactive Ways to be the Executive Your People Deserve,” with panelists Alisa Dart (GVP, Albertsons Companies), Larry Carroll (VP, Casey’s General Stores) and Matt Hilbrink (VP, Raley’s).

Panelists (left to right): Larry Carroll (VP, Casey’s General Stores),
Alisa Dart (GVP, Albertsons Companies), and Matt Hilbrink (VP, Raley’s)