An Executive Community 

Led by your Peers

The PDX Operations Leadership Forum is an invitation only summit for Operations Executives from the leading brands in the Portland area. Hosted at the Moda Center, the forum is steered by a leadership team of Operations Executives. These executives are responsible for driving the strategic direction of the forum, ensuring the sessions bring relevant content and maximum value. 

The PDX Operations Leadership Forum is part of the PDX Executive Forums, a series of summits created to build a stronger community among brand executives in the greater Portland Metro area. Speakers, topics, attendees and partners are selected through a nomination process and participate by invitation only.  

LEADERSHIP TEAM

The Forum is steered by the Leadership Team. These executives are responsible for the strategic direction of the Forum, and each of the sessions are structured to bring relevant content and maximum value. 

Wayne Young

Chief Operating Officer

Hanna Andersson

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Eric Roedl

Chief Operating Officer

University of Oregon Atheltics

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Teresa Bonnell

Vice President

Finance & Operations

William Henry

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Erin Graham

Chief Operating Officer

OMSI

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Rob Baumgartner

Vice President

Global Operations

Planar Systems

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Brian August

Chief Operating Officer

Oregon Humane Society

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Kara Fox-Larose

President

ilani Resort

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Vince Granato

Chief Operating Officer

Port of Portland

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Joe McCarthy

Chief Operating Officer

Keystone Pacific

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Adam Winston

Director of Operations

Waste Management

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Steve Owen

Chief Retail & Marketing Officer

First Tech Credit Union 

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Mike Bever

Executive Vice President

Operations

Tillamook County Creamery Association 

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Sam Desue Jr

Chief Operating Officer

TriMet

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Stephanie Copeland Weber

Chief Operating Officer

Ruby Receptionist

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Chis Finley

Vice President

Operations

Nautilus, Inc.

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Kristen Stathis

Vice President

Customer Operations 

Portland General Electric

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Robert Bach

Vice President

Operations

CD Baby

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Kimberly White

Head of Interior Design Services

Vacasa

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Brian Young

Chief Operating Officer

Machine Sciences Corporation

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Caleb Stelle

Director of

Operations

AWS Elemental

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Doreen Loofburrow

Senior Vice President

Travel Services &

Operations

AAA of Oregon

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Mark Law

Chief Operating Officer

New Seasons Market

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Mark Ferdig

Vice President

Program Operations

Mercy Corps

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Brian Moe

Global Senior Director

Strategic Sourcing

Avid 

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PDX Executive Forums

The Operations Leadership Forum is part of the PDX Executive Forums, a series of invitation only summits for Portland brand executives. 

Register

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Attendance is by invitation only. To learn about the invitation process,

please contact

PDX EXECUTIVE FORUMS

Operations Leadership Forum

May 14, 2019 | Moda Center

2019 Agenda

The executives on the PDX Operations Leadership Forum advisory team drive the strategic direction of the forum to ensure the content is relevant and drives maximum value.

8:15am-8:45am: Check-In and Morning Reception

8:45am: Welcome Comments

Wayne Young

Chief Operating Officer

Hannah Andersson

8:50am: Opening Session

Strategic Insights from Planning, Launching and Managing the $500 Million ilani Resort Project

Opened in 2017, ilani navigated years of complex regulations before breaking ground on the $510 million project. Since opening, ilani has achieved much success and more than 75 awards and continues to expand its business model with an addition of a Meeting and Entertainment venue on its first anniversary, a gas station and convenience store on its second anniversary, and soon to announce its next expansion project.

Kara Fox-LaRose, President of ilani Resort, will share operational insights of launching and managing the project, as well as discuss the risk management process as her team plans for ilani’s growth.

9:40-10:10am: Networking Break

10:10-11:00am: The Growth Formula

Through 18 years of data gathering and research, we have found that the success of businesses is tied to five key elements:

Highly-Aligned Leadership

Relentless Focus on Team

Customer Obsession

Insurgent Mindset

Operating Foundation

These key elements make up “The Growth Formula”.  In this keynote, Dave Uhler will focus on how these same Growth Formula elements can be leveraged atop a strong Operating Foundation to realize the vision of your organization.”

11:00am-12:00pm: Round Table Sessions

Round Table A

Data's Role in the Operating Foundation

It’s no surprise that in today’s business climate, data is at the core of a strong Operating Foundation. An organization’s ability to identify, acquire, and grow the strategic data assets required to transform and improve business performance is key to delivering the strategic potential of a strong Operating Foundation. The right operational data & technology enablers and operating model help you generate the strategic data assets needed to strengthen your organization and amplify business. During the breakout, attendees will split into groups to discuss the core principles of data strategy including:

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• Is your data strategy delivering the anticipated results?

• Does your current analytics environment impede timely fact-based decision making?

• Are you able to accurately measure the performance of your organization?

• How can you ensure that new D&A initiatives will be adopted by all stakeholders?

Round Table B

Robotic Process Automation

Business processes are an integral component of a strong Operating Foundation. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) democratizes the ability to automate processes, which enables business to shift focus to value-added activities while improving the speed and accuracy of repetitive, labor-intensive business processes. During the breakout, attendees will split into groups to discuss hot topics related to RPA. Sample topics are included below, but topics will also be solicited from participants:

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• What processes are suitable for automation using RPA software?

• How do I work with IT to implement RPA?

• How can RPA be implemented in a highly regulated industry (e.g., finance, healthcare)?

• How can I scale RPA in my organization?”