4th Annual ALPFA Chicago Leadership Summit

From Adversity to Advantage – Leading in Challenging Times

On November 12, 2009, the ALPFA Chicago Chapter hosted its 4^thAnnual Leadership Summit at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk. Attracting over 160 attendees comprised of professionals, students, and corporate sponsors, the event took just close to six months to come together with a committee of 18 volunteers, dedicating time for evening conference calls, weekend meetings, and countless strings of e-mails. Also, on the day of the event, 13 student volunteers assisted with set-up, registration and final logistics. The Leadership Summit committee worked alongside the ALPFA Chicago Board to put this event together, their combined efforts provided not only with the venue, it also brought together seven of the Chicagoland area media and business leaders to present their personal tools, strategies, and tips on being a leader that is prepared to lead in challenging times. 

The event began with remarks from our keynote speaker, Julian Posada, Founder and President of Café Media. Julian highlighted the importance of taking risks and how opportunities abound when we step outside of our comfort zone. He shared with the audience this quote from CK Prahalad: “In the race to the future there are drivers, passengers and road kill.” From his perspective, to be a leader in challenging times, you must be a driver. In his personal life, he did this when, at the height of success in his role as General Manager for the Tribune’s Hoy, Chicago’s only Spanish daily newspaper, he decided to follow his dream to start his own media company. Julian also stressed the importance of excelling at what we want to do, at a personal and professional level. In this case he quoted Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” 

The keynote address was followed by a panel discussion led by Freddie Torres, national President of the National Hispanic Sales Network and comprised of five executive representatives from our ALPFA sponsors. They shared their personal and professional experiences on how successful leaders don’t need a title to lead, how they have leveraged their networks to achieve personal and organizational goals, and why it is critical, now more than ever, to reach beyond your comfort zone to achieve success. JC Gonzalez-Mendez, President of McDonald's Latin America, talked about how “the road to success is a tollway, not a freeway.” He spoke about how in his road to success he often took risks such as moving from Mexico to the U.S., as well as taking positions in different functions before getting to where he is today. Julie Wood, Chief People Officer at Crowe Howarth LLP and Suzanne Sinclair, Director Talent Acquisition at Allstate Insurance, stressed the importance of actively developing and nurturing meaningful relationships through networking, mentoring others as well as having a mentor.

Gustavo Gaeta, Advisory Principal at KPMG LLC, noted that career and leadership are not always straight path, therefore he emphasized the need for individuals to continue to learn and gain new skills. He noted that one must to be prepared for when opportunities present themselves. He also gave us a new paradigm shift to consider that new opportunities are not risks but that they are part of personal development and growth.  Morgan Foster, Agency Field Executive for State Farm, shared her perspective on not being afraid of life obstacles and others’ perceptions. As a petite woman of color, in several situations, clients assumed her to be the assistant. She noted their surprised reactions when these individuals realized that she was the one in charge. Hence, she stressed that it is important not to let other people’s perceptions limit you in who they think you are.

After the conclusion of the panel discussion and audience questions, attendees were invited to participate in the evening’s networking reception. The venue provided an inviting floor plan for conversations, introductions to new relationships and catching up with old friends.

Several attendees shared that this leadership summit convinced them they should join the ALPFA Chicago Chapter. One of our current members, Josie McPhee, said, “I really enjoyed the Chicago Leadership Summit because with imagination, commitment and perseverance, we grow from an individual into a team, move from impossible to possible and take a vision to reality." 

We’ve set the bar high with this year’s summit, and look forward to a landmark fifth anniversary Summit in 2010. The overall take aways from this years Leadership Summit were that to lead and be successful in challenging times is about being open to opportunities, continued learning, being prepared, fostering and nurturing relationships, not to fall in others’ perceptions, and being willing step out of your comfort zone.