AD's 2023 summit connects independent distributors from various industries

Nearly 200 attendees from AD member and service provider companies came together in St. Louis from July 19 to 21 for the 2023 AD Finance, HR & IT Summit. The three-day event focused on cross-functional collaboration and best practice sharing. The summit offered over a dozen breakout sessions covering diverse topics in finance, HR, and IT, catering to attendees' specific interests. Sessions explored subjects such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, supply chain disruptions, cybersecurity, recruitment trends, and employee upskilling.

“Across finance, HR and IT, our industries constantly shift and require us to stay up to date on the newest trends and opportunities available to us,” said Drew Moyer, AD chief financial officer. “This forum is instrumental in helping our community learn from each other and collaborate, and our members find great value sharing ideas with their peers in other distribution segments.”

“We’ve been getting together leaders from independent distributors across North America to learn from experts and their peers on challenges that many companies face and opportunities to support their people strategy,” said Neil Cohen, AD senior vice president, human resources. “Focusing on these areas allows our participants to take ideas back to their companies that will help them more effectively hire new talent, develop their people and ensure that their employees have a great place to work.”

The summit also featured educational sessions hosted by AD service providers, offering ways for AD members to improve efficiency and operations. Attendees had ample networking opportunities throughout the event to foster professional relationships.

“These functional leaders in the AD community get immense value from the wide variety of breakout sessions and networking events across the three days,” said Dan Koch, AD vice president, information technology. “The summit truly represents the collaborative spirit of the AD community in our shared efforts to effectively compete, grow and win together.”