This year’s event, as in previous years, featured a full slate of breakout sessions with dynamic speakers. Here’s what they had to say about the 2016 conference.
“As our industry heats up, good people are becoming harder to find. M&As are one of the best ways to bring in top talent and leaders who will help you grow to the next level.” —Paul Greenhagen, president and CEO, Westwood Professional Services
“From a strategic perspective, our Hot Firms are entering the fourth quarter with plans to fuel the fires of 2017. To predict the future, they’re using backlog of work, pipeline of new work, and predictive cash flows – without those tools in place, Hot Firms are running into 2017 blind.” —Ted Maziejka, Zweig Group financial and management consultant
“We had an open discussion on the concept of work-life balance and how the perception of this concept is shifting as millennials come into leadership roles.” —Christina Zweig, director of marketing, Zweig Group
“By presenting at the conference, we got the chance to share the ideas that work for us while also having the value of those ideas confirmed by our industry colleagues.” —Dan Williams, president and CEO, Garver Engineers
“My partner Mike Woeber and I presented on the Federal Research Tax Credit for A/E firms. We were enthused by the exceptional interest and intelligent conversations, but also by the genuine desire from the attendees to further their exploration of this area of strategic federal taxation. The investment in Zweig, and specifically sponsoring the Hot Firm conference, has already paid back in spades.” —Dawson Fercho, partner-founder, Corporate Tax Advisors
“In 2016, social media, marketing, and recruiting go hand-in-hand. The design firm that doesn’t figure that out does so at their own peril.” —Randy Wilburn, director of executive search, Zweig Group
“The M&A panel was a rare opportunity to hear from an incredible group of industry experts. I was interested in the aspects of deal structuring that all four panelists agreed on, as well as some of the areas in which their philosophies differed. There was so much to learn and I think that panel could have kept going for hours!” —Jamie Claire Kiser, director of M&A services, Zweig Group
“The focused interest in growth through M&A by firms of all sizes, locations, and sectors, underscored the bullish outlook the Hot Firms have in their people, practices, and the future. The questions and topics were at a very high level.” —George Christodoulo, attorney-partner, Lawson & Weitzen
“I presented on the business benefits that come from being able to forecast people and dollars more effectively and plan further into the future. Hot Firm is a great opportunity to hear firsthand from industry leaders about their business challenges and needs. Very often, another participant or attendee has a similar experience and has a solution to share.” —Tom Vandervort, founder, Planifi
“The Zweig conference manages to get the right mix of networking, learning and fun. The keynote speakers are always interesting. Thank you for another great learning experience. The conference always provides practical, real-life material and procedures that can have an immediate and positive effect on our firms.” —Calvin Ladner, president, LJA Engineering
“I presented on cost reduction through your technology infrastructure. We had a great discussion on automation, cloud-based services, migration processes, and what to expect from a procedural and cost basis, should you decide to make the move. I presented Zweig Group as our first case study, saving roughly $300,000 a year without adding any additional staff.” —Jay Thornton, director of IT & e-commerce, Zweig Group
