The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) is bringing in “best in class” speakers to provide powerful educational
sessions at the historic 50th NSGA Management Conference and 16th Team
Dealer Summit.

“We are thrilled about the educational program we have put together for this year’s Management Conference and Team Dealer Summit,” said NSGA President and CEO Matt Carlson. “Having business leaders such as Carmine Gallo, Marshal Cohen, Dale Dauten, Adam Pressman, Inga Goddijn, John Webb, Jr., and Scott Bolduc share their expertise will give our attendees some very valuable knowledge and insight in a variety of areas that they can use to be more successful.”

Monday, April 28

The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success
Bestselling business journalist Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for some of the world’s most admired brands, including Coca-Cola, Chevron, Hyundai, LinkedIn, Pfizer, SanDisk, Medtronic and Intel. Gallo will show attendees how to rethink their business, reinvent their products and revitalize their vision of success by following the example of Apple founder Steve Jobs and the techniques used by other companies that adopt the Apple ethos. Gallo has interviewed hundreds of successful business professionals to get to the root of Steve Jobs’ innovative philosophies and this will help attendees learn how to match and beat the most powerful competitors, develop the most revolutionary products, attract the most loyal customers and thrive in challenging times.

Lessons Learned from 2013
Marshal Cohen has followed retail trends for more than 30 years and is a nationally renowned expert on consumer behavior and the retail industry as the chief industry analyst for The NPD Group, Inc. Cohen will share some of the same insights and motivational techniques he uses when he leads some of the country’s top firms in long-range and strategic planning sessions. Cohen has held a variety of positions analyzing and interpreting NPD’s combined consumer and point-of-sale tracking services for the apparel, footwear, accessories and sports industries.

Data Breach Breakdown
This issue became international headline news when millions of Target customers had their personal data stolen by cyber-hackers. Customers of Nordstrom’s and Easton-Bell Sports also were victims of this growing problem and the importance of preventing this from happening to your business has never been greater. Providing the knowledge to make sure it doesn’t happen to those in the sporting goods business are two experts in the field – Inga Goddijn, the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Risk Based Security, Inc., and John Webb, Jr., the Chairman and CEO of Emery and Webb.

Tuesday, April 29

12 Laws of Driving Exceptional Performance
The program about leadership language and skills will save attendees plenty of future meetings. They will be enlightened with principles that transform how people think of their work and their roles in their organizations and this session will be a tool that can be implemented with immediate results. Dale Dauten, the President of Lumina Corporation, founder of The Innovators’ Lab and a world-renowned author, has researched innovators and achievers since he was in college and will share the insights and talk about techniques to raise the performance level of anyone on a team or organization.

Retail Success Still Depends on Core Principles
Adam Pressman will share more than a decade of experience of consulting in retail and healthcare on initiatives such as organizational transformation, store operations, customer contact strategies and customer experiences. Pressman will compare consumer trends and draw conclusions from AT. Kearney’s 2013 Achieving Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) study to the one presented at the 2010 Management Conference. Pressman currently leads A.T. Kearney’s AERO department and Integrated Customer Engagement offerings.

Managing E-commerce Expansion
Sporting goods sales via online/E-commerce channels will continue in the future, triggering the need to expand product assortments without the burden of adding inventory. Some retailers will continue to support E-commerce through their distribution centers, some will look to expand through factory direct shipments to the .com consumer and some will do both. There are challenges for many retailers that will be addressed by Scott Bolduc, who is the Director of Supply Chain Strategy for SPS Commerce and has more than 25 years of experience in this area. The presentation will also address the growing trend in supply chain automation and how each partner plays a role in the process.

“We are excited about the wide range of relevant topics which will put attendees in a better position to succeed in their businesses,” Carlson said. “Knowledge is power. Attending this event gives NSGA members distinct advantages in their marketplace.”

The NSGA Management Conference and Team Dealer Summit, the longest-running event of its kind and the premier educational and networking event in the sporting goods industry, will also provide plenty of formal and informal opportunities for connecting with leaders and colleagues from all corners of the industry at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa, which is located near Palm Springs, Calif. The event will include a tennis clinic, golf tournament, “Mr. Newsome’s Neighborhood Walk” and new opportunities to connect in a social setting.

On Tuesday night, the industry’s past will be embraced with the annual Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony. Ira Silberman of Diversified Products and Bob Zide of Zide’s Sports Shop make up the Class of 2014 and will join more than 150 leaders, innovators and industry icons who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1956.

On Monday afternoon, the industry’s present and future will be recognized at the third annual NSGA All-Star Awards Luncheon. Awards will be presented to companies that have made significant contributions to the industry and the 2014 NSGA College Scholarship program recipients will be announced.

More details on other speakers, as well as registration for the event, will be announced in the coming weeks. For more details on the 2014 Management Conference and Team Dealer Summit, to be held April 27-30, 2014, go to the conference site at www.nsga.org/conference.