Lexington, Kentucky USA - WhatTheyThink.com today announced that it continues to flesh out the agenda for the second annual Print CEO Forum scheduled for October 2nd and 3rd, 2010, at Chicago's prestigious University Club.  A key topic of conversation during the event will be the importance of succession planning for printing businesses.

Register Now

"Succession planning is an area of weakness for many printing companies," said Randy Davidson, President of WhatTheyThink, "yet it is one of the most important strategic planning elements for any business.  We are pleased to have Paul Reilly and Jim Russell of New Direction Partners present an informative and educational session that will help printers put in place a formalized succession plan for the next generation of leadership."

New Direction Partners offers strategic planning services for printing businesses, including succession planning.  Reilly and Russell bring many years of experience to this exercise and both have run successful printing companies:
- Paul V. Reilly:  Prior to joining New Direction Partners, Paul was Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board of Cenveo, Inc., one of North America's leading printing firms. During his ten years at Cenveo, the firm grew from $17 million to almost $2 billion in sales with more than 10,000 employees, 86 plants and numerous sales offices throughout North America. Paul is aso the Founding Chairman of the Print Council, a business development alliance founded by leaders in the graphic arts industry to influence and promote the greater use of print media.
- James A. Russell: Prior to joining New Direction Partners, Jim was President and CEO of Arbor Press in Royal Oak (Detroit), Michigan. During his tenure at Arbor Press, the company was recognized as an eight-time winner of the National Association for Printing Leadership's (NAPL) prestigious Management Plus Awards program that recognizes the best managed graphic arts companies in the country. Arbor Press was also recognized twice during Jim's leadership as one of the 50 fastest growing printers in the country.

A preliminary agenda and registration page is available at PrintCEOForum.com. WhatTheyThink has also arranged a limited number of rooms at the University Club, should attendees wish to take advantage of the convenience of staying at this exclusive venue during the Forum.

Why Attend?
The Print CEO Forum, which opens Saturday, October 2nd, at 8:30 AM and concludes at 11:30 AM on Sunday, features a wide range of industry thought leaders speaking about highly relevant topics for print business owners and managers.  Each session will conclude with two to three specific takeaways that can benefit any business in the industry.

"Our agenda is shaping up rapidly," said Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor, WhatTheyThink, "and we are very excited about the strategic level of content that will be included in the second annual Print CEO Forum.  This year's event is a not-to-be-missed event for any print business owner or manager looking to accelerate business growth in an environment that is still challenging."

Confirmed speakers include:
- Robert Tapella, U.S. Public Printer
- Joseph P. Morgan, Jr., President & Chief Executive Officer of Standard Register, a nearly $800 million, 98-year-old company that is in the midst of reinventing itself.
- Wendy Cebula, president of Vistaprint's North American business unit. Vistaprint is often cited as one of the industry's most astonishing success stories.
- Dr. Joe Webb, Director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center
- Barbara Pellow, Group Director of research firm InfoTrends and digital media pioneer
- Peter Schaefer, New Direction Partners, an expert in printing industry mergers and acquisitions
- Gail Nickel-Kailing and a panel of "green" printers discussing green strategies for improving profits
- Margie Dana of Print Buyers International and a panel of high-profile marketing executives discussing the role of print in the modern media mix
- Paul Reilly and Jim Russell of New Direction Partners, experts in succession planning for printing businesses.

"One of the most popular sessions last year," added Sherburne, "was the discussion between industry luminaries Frank Romano and David Zwang about the highlights of Print 09, and we are repeating that session again this year to help attendees make more effective use of their time at Graph Expo 2010. While we are still securing speakers and developing the agenda, we will be joined by a panel of high-profile and very successful print CEOs who will share their thoughts about the industry and what printers should be doing to address a rapidly changing future.  Finally, there will be a focus on social media, how printers can use these new media in their businesses, and what customers are doing in this realm.  This will be a fast-paced, forward-thinking conference that is unlike anything else in the industry."

"While this is a printer-only event," said Davidson, "we are pleased that manroland has agreed to be our sponsor this year, allowing us to grow this exclusive event and make it even more valuable to attendees than last year. Their generous sponsorship makes possible a dinner at the University Club Saturday evening as well as limo transportation to the convention center on Sunday."