Shelly Blake-Plock, Founder and CEO, Yet Analytics; Pritpal Kalsi, Director, SC&H Group; Dr. Daniel Durand, Chief Innovation Officer, LifeBridge Health; Nicole Casanova, CEO, Casanova Ventures; Joe Mechlinski, CEO, SHIFT
On November 4, SC&H Group hosted nearly 300 professionals at the inaugural “AdvantEdge: Leading on The Edge” innovation summit.
Notable thought leaders on the front lines of innovative practices, in both technology and culture, shared best practices and first-hand experiences about “leading on the edge” in a marketplace that is changing at warp speed.
Jennifer Amato, Director, SC&H Group; Lori Burghauser, Principal, SC&H Group; Andrew Michael, Group Manager, M&T Bank; Duke Allen, CFO, SC&H Group; Jason Amato, Director of Finance & HR, RDA Corporation; Greg Horning, Director, SC&H Group
AdvantEdge was born out of SC&H Group’s internal innovation summit. This year, after hearing positive feedback from employees, the firm was inspired to open it up to the community, bringing companies together to learn about the subject versus tackling it alone.
Arnold Farmer, Manager, SC&H Group; Aasya Tabassum, Senior, SC&H Group; Erin Birckhead, Manager, SC&H Group; Julie Crisp Kernan, President & CEO, Business Volunteers
“AdvantEdge was a natural next step. We designed the agenda with input from our professionals, clients, event partners, and also based on feedback from other thought leaders,” said Ron Causey, SC&H Group’s co-founder and CEO. “The companies and leaders who are experts in their fields of study successfully delivered practical solutions for challenges businesses are facing today. We hope this event will continue to serve as a new platform for innovation.”
Speakers and topics at AdvantEdge included:
- Nicole Casanova, Casanova Ventures’ CEO and Connection Catalyst, on “Connection Builds Innovation.” She urged the crowd to get out there and meet people. Connections often yield innovations in unexpected ways.
- Yet Analytics founder and CEO, Shelly Blake-Plock, discussing the “AI & Analytics Outlook 2020 and Beyond.” On the near horizon, he said, is something called deep learning. “Artificial intelligence is on the brink of approximating the human brain in terms of evaluation and decision-making. Such advances will bring great upside for all kinds of applications, business and otherwise.”
- Pritpal Kalsi, SC&H Group’s Business Performance Management director and CEO-elect, offering “The Path to Financial Transformation.” He underscored the value of continual innovation and evolution, stating, “Don’t stand still. Keep moving forward with diligence. Innovate to maximize performance for all stakeholders.”
- Joe Mechlinski, founder and CEO of SHIFT and bestselling author ofSHIFT the Work, teaching “How to Create a Culture of Innovation.” He said, “Empower people. Cultivate an environment where everyone believes that the true value is on being good rather than looking good.”
- Dr. Dan Durand, Chief Innovation Officer of LifeBridge Health discussing “Innovating from the Inside Out.” He touched on how the nation’s research and development efforts represent a world-leading engine, but the costs of care are too high and the outcomes are too inconsistent. “We need to innovate our way out of the challenges we face,” he said.
This year, esteemed Baltimore businesses served as AdvantEdge partners: LifeBridge Health, Merritt Companies, M&T Bank, and Venable.
Ron Causey, CEO, SC&H Group; Pete Ragone, Director, SC&H Group; Lori Burghauser, Principal, SC&H Group
For a video recap of the event and to learn more, visit: https://www.schgroup.
About SC&H Group
SC&H Group is a nationally recognized management consulting, audit, and tax firm serving clients from rapidly growing private sector businesses to Fortune 500 companies with global brands. The firm’s strategic practices provide the leading-edge thinking and advice that transform our clients’ businesses and help them outpace the competition. We embrace the future and help clients prepare, innovate, and evolve their businesses in this complex and highly competitive world. For more than 25 years, SC&H Group has demonstrated its commitment to delivering powerful minds, passionate teams, and proven results on each and every engagement. Learn more at www.schgroup.com.
Jamie Campbell, Leasing, Merrit Properties; Jim Schmutz, President & CEO, Special Olympics
