DAB Content

August Meeting: Karen Posey – CEO Whisperer Meets Enterprise Value Architect

Finola Annibella

Session Overview

The 6 Things Only the CEO Can Do
Where Strategy Becomes Enterprise Value

A keynote for CEOs and First Teams who want to move from running the business to designing it—and build companies that scale, attract capital, and compound enterprise value.

Enterprise value doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from the CEO doing the right things. When the CEO operates as architect, not bottleneck, clarity replaces complexity, decisions accelerate, and the business becomes scalable without dependence on one person. This keynote reframes the CEO role from driving execution to designing leverage, from managing activity to architecting value, and from being indispensable to building an enterprise.

Leaders leave with clarity on where the CEO creates disproportionate enterprise value, a sharper understanding of First Team ownership, faster decision-making with less organizational drag, and a new lens on how boards, strategy, and structure compound value. The challenge for most CEOs isn’t effort. It’s focus. Enterprise value grows when strategy is clear, ownership is aligned, and leadership energy is directed toward the highest-leverage work.

The keynote introduces the six areas where only the CEO can create enterprise value:

  1. Vision Clarity by designing a future the market understands and values.
  2. First Team Alignment by turning leadership into a coordinated engine.
  3. Stakeholder Confidence by building trust with boards and capital.
  4. Strategic Alignment by structuring the business to scale.
  5. Personal Effectiveness by protecting energy and decision quality.
  6. Board Collaboration by moving from oversight to value creation.
    1.  

The CEO’s job is not to execute the strategy.
The CEO’s job is to design the system where execution becomes inevitable.

Bio

Karen Posey is an Enterprise Value Architect and CEO & Managing Partner of KP Strategies. She works with CEOs and Boards to turn strategy, leadership alignment, and execution into measurable enterprise value—growth that is scalable, financeable, and durable.

Often described as where CEO Whisperer meets Enterprise Value Architect, Karen helps leaders move from running the business to designing it. She brings clarity to complexity, accelerates decision velocity, and builds operating models that reduce dependency on the CEO while increasing enterprise value.

Her career spans launching four successful companies, leading a regional turnaround, advising Fortune 500 organizations, serving as VP of Strategy for a $12B healthcare payer, and acting as CEO of a MedTech company. Across every role, her strength has been translating vision into results.

Karen is a Vistage Certified Speaker and trusted advisor across Healthcare, MedTech, Digital Technology, and Defense Technology. Grounded in purpose and passionate about wellness, she believes sustainable performance starts with clarity, discipline, and personal effectiveness.

 

March Meeting: Ryan Miller with Team Vertice

finola.annibella@yahoo.com

Team Vertice is a senior-led B2B marketing consultancy built by experienced operators who’ve led strategy, built pipeline, and driven revenue inside the walls of startups, scale-ups, and Fortune 50 enterprises.

Collectively, we’ve helped hundreds of B2B brands generate nearly $1BN in trackable revenue—through smart positioning, aligned go-to-market strategies, and marketing systems built for scale. We’ve led in high-growth environments, guided companies through transformation, and partnered with leadership teams to turn marketing from a cost center into a strategic growth function.

We bring the mindset of in-house executives with the flexibility of a consultancy. Whether the challenge is brand clarity, sales and marketing alignment, or scaling demand generation—we show up as embedded partners focused on what matters: driving results.

October Meeting: Emma Doyle, Leaders Coaching Their People

Finola Annibella
Emma Doyle (COACH EM), helps leaders COACH their people unleashing human potential.

Are you ready to tap into your full potential and achieve exceptional results? Look no further than Coach EM, your dynamic Energy Coach! With a background as an international high-performance tennis coach turned corporate coach, Emma specializes in helping managers and leaders coach their teams to harness their energy, ignite curiosity, and achieve high performance under pressure. She invites her clients to embrace a champion mindset and utilizes proven coaching tools to unleash their potential.

Emma is a multifaceted professional, serving as a coach, trainer, author, and sought-after keynote speaker around the world. She possesses the unique ability to transform motivation into activation, empowering individuals and organizations to exceed their goals. As a former D1 US college tennis player and a world team coach for Australia on 20 occasions, Emma draws upon her vast experience in international high-performance sports coaching to bring unparalleled insights to her corporate coaching practice.

Driven by a passion for excellence, Emma holds the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) qualification from the International Coach Federation (ICF). She is also a certified practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Emotional Intelligence, enabling her to deliver coaching experiences that address the holistic needs of her clients. Emma extends beyond coaching; she is also an Amazon best-selling author for her book titled “What Makes a Great Coach?” Drawing from her personal journey and professional expertise, Emma highlights the top 10 practices of the world’s best coaches. She firmly believes that these tools are the key skills needed in modern leadership today.

In addition to her accomplishments, Emma is the host of The Coaching Podcast, where she has conducted in-depth interviews with hundreds of expert sports and business coaches. Her podcast has become a go-to resource for those seeking valuable insights into coaching and leadership.

As a TEDx speaker, Emma delivered her talk titled “Unleashing Female Potential,” engaging audiences with her key coaching messages. Her clients often liken her to the real-life female version of Coach Ted Lasso, believing that it is more important to be curious than judgmental.

When Emma is coaching, you can find her indulging in her passions for golf, wine tasting, tennis, and pickleball, or exploring the breathtaking mountains where she resides in Denver, Colorado, and drinking the best coffee in the world in Melbourne, Australia.

September Meeting: Alecia Huck, A Catalyst for Big Wins

Finola Annibella

I’m Alecia Huck, a catalyst for big wins. My passion is tackling colossal problems and crafting strategies with gumption, bringing tears of joy and pride to even the stoic, because some tasks are too monumental to tackle alone.

I confront roadblocks, leading to celebrations that restore faith in humanity, whether in a championship game or a small victory with pride and pizza, shaping lives forever.

The journey demands separating reality from fantasy, confronting limitations with courage, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

December Meeting: Janine Davidson, Leadership Lessons

Finola Annibella

Davidson began her career as an Air Force pilot and was the first woman to fly the USAF’s tactical C-130. She went on to serve multiple roles as a civilian official in the Pentagon, finishing that chapter as the 32nd Undersecretary of the U.S. Navy. In this talk, she will discuss leadership lessons from her diverse career as an Air Force pilot and a senior Pentagon official and how these lessons inform her current role as president of a large public university.”

August Meeting – The Apollo and Artemis Moon Missions

Finola Annibella
August Meeting – The Apollo and Artemis Moon Missions

Join us to learn more about these 2 incredible moon missions. Lisette Clemons grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado.  She married Dean and began a 27 year Air Force journey with his career.  She taught fourth grade in many states before becoming a mother to two sons.  From 1991-1999 she was the Teacher-in-Residence at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL during the summer months.  She worked with many astronauts, scientists, and engineers to help inspire teachers from all over the world to teach their students about America’s Space Program.  She especially enjoys sharing the Apollo stories told to her from the Apollo astronauts.  Now, is the time of the Artemis Generation with the return to the Moon and beyond.

December Meeting – Members Only Engagement & Mimosas

Finola Annibella
December Meeting – Members Only Engagement & Mimosas

For December, we will start by hearing our Presidential candidates’ short speeches, then our much-anticipated members only engagement exercises will begin!  Each table will be competing for the most points by guessing which clues belong to which members.  Festive mimosas will be available, because, well, Tanner wanted it that way.  We look forward to seeing you all there and continuing the holiday cheer!   

August Meeting – John Garrett, Attracting and Retaining Engaged Talent

Finola Annibella

What’s Your “And”?: Create Unique Cultures that Attract and Retain Engaged Talent

Talent is at a premium, so organizations need to differentiate themselves more than ever before. The future professional doesn’t define expertise simply in college degrees and certifications. They have passions outside of work that enhance their ability to develop stronger levels of trust with colleagues and customers. Through hilarious stories and extensive research, this keynote encourages organizations to uncover their people’s passions in order to increase the lifetime value of every employee.

John Garrett — thought provoker, catalyst for change, and award-winning author — is on a mission to create better workplaces. What the two-time Emmy nominee may do best is champion the human side of professionals, consulting with organizations to develop more productive cultures while shining a light on their people’s rich lives outside of work. Delivering inspiring keynotes about his research and recording over 500 podcast episodes of What’s Your “And”? landed him on Accounting Today’s list of the top 100 most influential people in the profession.

John received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a letterman jacket as a trombone player in the marching band. He went on to pass the CPA exam and received his certified public accountant certificate while working at PwC and performing stand-up comedy as a hobby.

Since then, he’s been on stage over 2,000 times and tracks from his debut album, Outside the Box, can be heard on several channels on SiriusXM Satellite Radio and Pandora. He’s also been on The Bob & Tom Show, featured in the New York Times, opened for Louie Anderson at resort casinos, opened for the band Train, and has been invited to perform at several comedy festivals.

John currently lives in Denver and enjoys watching college football, going to concerts, and eating cookie dough ice cream — especially at the same time.

February Meeting – The Leader’s Secret Weapon in a Future of Uncertainty

Finola Annibella
February Meeting – The Leader’s Secret Weapon in a Future of Uncertainty

In 2022 and beyond, leaders are faced with the growing dilemma of how to “go with the flow” in an ever-changing market. With staffing, technology, and innovation challenges looming, it feels impossible. Join Gail and Bruce for an energizing and experiential presentation on how leaders can and should think, speak, and behave differently to find success in the future of business. Their “Secret Weapon” has been proven to create high-performing teams, increase emotional intelligence, cultivate mind-blowing innovation, and help leaders navigate the rough currents of the market.

Gail Montgomery, CEO and Co-Founder of ExperienceYes

Gail is an unapologetic optimist and idealist who believes in the power of putting people first. She is Co-Founder and CEO of ExperienceYes, a women-owned, NOT boring consulting business that teaches companies how to embrace and practice “The Improv Mindset.”

With a unique background in Human Resources, Change Management, and Training, Gail believes in “smashing” the box, loving the deep-end and ensuring fun comes first. She has worked in Corporate Human Resources as a recruiter for a Fortune 50 Global insurance company, as an Executive Director for a Non-profit Arts organization, and as a Director for several SAAS tech start-ups developing Change Management and Training and Onboarding programs. Her data-supported and proven approach helps businesses get to solutions faster, leaders and teams to work more efficiently and effectively together, and positively strengthens culture. Unique and impactful, Gail’s human-centric strategies produce increased trust, belonging and productivity.

Bruce Montgomery, President and Co-Founder of ExperienceYes

He has broad business leadership experience, ranging from leading the IT organization for one of the country’s largest non-profit theatres, to driving value through strong relationships as the leader of Key Accounts for a sports and entertainment analytics company (delighting top-tier clients such as: NHL, NFL, NASCAR, and The Shubert Organization). Prior experience includes over 15 years in IT and Management consulting, where he focused on driving adoption through structured change management and training & development. 

A “creativist” at heart, Bruce is passionate about business-driven creativity and innovation, focusing on improving outcomes by through experiential and immersive engagements. He places great importance on partnering with organizations to help develop healthy cultures that lead to measurable success.