My thoughts from Gateway to Innovation 2019
Michelle Taylor, Business Development Executive
636-590-5979 | mtaylor@technologypartners.net
With the 2019 Gateway to Innovation conference now in the books, I’d love to take a minute to share my thoughts on the event. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the SIM- St. Louis chapter and the St. Louis CIO Board for their continued support, guidance and volunteer time. The Planning committee also did an excellent job with their countless volunteer hours making this conference a reality! Technology Partners jumped at the chance to support as a proud sponsor of this event.
Recap:
G2I is the premier IT innovation conference in the St. Louis region and is supported by the St. Louis corporate community. I found it difficult deciding which session to attend as there were SO many good ones to choose from. Getting a chance to listen to how these leaders in St. Louis are transforming their organizations with technology and innovation was quite an opportunity, one that all who attended felt.
This first session I attended was “Anticipate before you Automate”. Dan Roberts, President and CEO of Ouellette & Associates did an excellent job moderating. I was able to hear from leaders at Mastercard, Post Holdings and RGAx. The theme here was that the advancements in technology continue at an ever-increasing rate. The discussed Iot, AI, machine learning, Blockchain… all hot topics right now, which I find fascinating! Determining what, where, and when to make an investment into these evolving technologies. Needless to say, I took a lot of notes!
Then, headed back to our table, I was able to connect with many that have worked for Technology Partners in the past, as well as our clients, past clients, people looking for jobs and everyone in between. This is where the rubber hits the road! And this is the type of energy that was clear to many that I encountered. It was really good to connect with so many of my clients in the same place on the same day! They were happy to see us there supporting this amazing conference.
Lunch. Let me just say that Don McMillian was “technically funny”. I got a chance to listen to him over lunch and he was hilarious! He had the whole crowd laughing (and a few crying), making for a great opportunity for networking as well as belly laughs!
The next session I attended was “Talent Transformation: Skating to Where the Puck is Going to Be”.
My kids play ice hockey, so I was naturally drawn to this session by title alone. I was also drawn to this session because it spoke to my sphere of professional interest. Technology Partners is always looking for new and innovative ways to hire and retain top IT talent for our clients, for staffing and solutions. I got to hear from leaders at Ameren, Delta Dental of Missouri, McCarthy Building Companies and Maritz. Once again, Dan Roberts did an excellent job moderating this panel. The theme here was the Recruiting and maintaining a pool of talented IT personnel and how increasingly important to implement and maintain the technology base. We happily spent our time listening to these leaders discuss strategies that they’re deploying to develop a strong, talented and innovative IT organization.
After our time continued to fly by, we headed back to the table for more networking. This time was invaluable and was arguably worth the entire day right here.
Then, Closing- Kai Kight.
Wow, he plays the violin so beautifully. Kai was a classical violinist turned Innovator. His message was a good one. His question to the audience was, “Why do some people just play notes they are handed while others are writing new music in the world”? He shared his inspiring story of how he became an innovative composer in his field.
It’s tough to pick a favorite part of the day, but I have to say that you can’t put a price on events like this. Between the insight you gain from proven leaders in the field to networking with some of the brightest people around, the entire day starts to become one big highlight. Gateway to Innovation 2019, was a total success, and I look forward to attending this event again in 2020.
Have any questions about what we learned here, or want to take your company’s staffing or solutions to the next level?
Have any questions about what we learned here, or want to take your company’s staffing or solutions to the next level?
Email me and I can help you figure out what you need to stay up to date!
