Serious matters on the ESX agenda

There’s the fun stuff—like the club crawl and the selection of the ESX mascot from a gaggle of dogs, cats and other pets, but there are serious business discussions on tap for the ESX show in Nashville, just a few short weeks away, June 17-21.

The show is of course a lot of fun, said ESX Chair George De Marco, but it definitely will be interwoven with great opportunities for companies to gain business intelligence, he said.

"There’s so much great content planned for the show, in keynote addresses, luncheon speakers and all the different business and educational sessions. There will be no shortage of serious business discussions and thought sharing," he said.

Of course, competition in the industry is always top of mind, especially with the telcos and cable companies continued foray into security and interactive services. The Rise and Shine Breakfast, scheduled for Thursday, June 20 at 8 a.m. at the Music City Center, will be especially designed for attendees to "ask the tough questions and learn what the strategies of the panelists and where the future of the industry lies," said De Marco. "Companies large and small need to be tuned into the thoughts and actions of these market-leading companies to understand how their offerings and capabilities will need to evolve."

Session panelists include: Mitch Bowling, senior vice president and general manager, new businesses, Comcast Cable; Todd Pedersen, CEO of Vivint Inc.; and Jamie Rosand Haenggi, chief marketing and customer experience officer, Protection 1.

"These industry giants will give their perspectives on where the market is headed, how they are going to compete, as well as share their thoughts on the evolution of interactive services and what new services might be coming in the future," said De Marco. "It’s great for attendees to have a barometer like this to know where the industry is headed. We will encourage attendees to ask the questions they’ve been waiting to have answered."

Bowling is general manager of new businesses for Comcast Cable and is currently leading two lines of business at Comcast—Xfinity Home, Comcast’s broadband and cloud-based platform that provides next-generation security, home control and energy management features, and Xfinity Signature Support, a new 24x7 technical support and equipment protection program.

Todd Pedersen is the CEO and founder of Vivint Inc., the largest home automation provider in North America. Pedersen co-founded Vivint because he saw an opportunity to sell high-quality products using a personal approach. Under his leadership, Vivint has evolved from a groundbreaking idea into one of the fastest-growing home management companies, with more than 675,000 customers and 3,200 employees.

Jamie Rosand Haenggi leads all of Protection 1’s marketing, communications and customer experience strategies, as well as call center operations. An integral member of Protection 1’s new management team, she brings more than 20 years of global experience in marketing, sales, operations and strategy to the position.

Newtown Police Chief Shares Experience

The ESX Industry IceBreaker Luncheon, scheduled for Tuesday, June 18 from 12 to 1:30 will feature Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe, who had the extremely difficult job of responding and reacting to an elementary school scene that no one could have imagined on December 12, 2012. De Marco said that in conversations with Chief Kehoe, while he admitted the shooting was devastating, he said the aftermath was worse, dealing with the loss and grief of the community and the world. "Chief Kehoe will be talking about this very serious matter and how law enforcement, the industry and ESA can partner together. This event touched people around the world, and we will also use the show to discuss a new school initiative we hope to develop and launch."

The list of high-level discussions continues with the ESA Eye-Opener Breakfast, Tuesday, June 18 from 9 to 10:30 a.m., featuring Robert Owens, a former U.S. Air Force Special Ops leader from the elite "Para Rescue" unit. Owens will focus his talk on what it takes to be a leader. The ESX Keynote Luncheon on Wednesday, June 19, 11:45 to 1 p.m. features Roy Spence, co-founder and chairman of marketing firm GSD&M.

Spence, who has been named "Ad Man of the Year" and "Idea Man of the Century," helped GSD&M grow some of the country’s most successful brands, including Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, DreamWorks, the PGA TOUR, BMW, the U.S. Air Force, LL Bean, the Clinton Global Initiative and "Don’t Mess with Texas."

"Spence has an amazing background and developed the brands for some of the most well-known companies," De Marco said. “What he shares with attendees will hopefully help them develop the 'purpose driven initiative' he discusses, within their organizations."

"There are so many incredible sessions at ESX," De Marco said. "We will talk about everything from managed services as well as mobile PERS. ESX has so many opportunities for companies to gain amazing business intelligence."