July 28, 2022 – Last month, AD welcomed over 200 attendees from 110 Canadian and American companies to the 2022 AD Finance, HR & IT Summit, where they attended educational sessions and shared best practices with their independent distributor peers.

“Recent years have been unpredictable from a financial standpoint for all of us,” said Drew Moyer, AD’s CFO. “The summit adds value for our members by giving them context for their current position in the industry, and they hear from other members and gain advice to help them make well-informed decisions for their businesses.”

(To ensure the agenda would be relevant to those gathered, AD gathered feedback and ideas from its members before the summit.)

Keynote speaker Angie Morgan discussed how effective leadership can cultivate sparks of innovation, and motivate, inspire, and engage a team.

Because employees feel more engaged when they can understand the connection between their work and the broader organizational goal, she challenged the business leaders in the audience to tackle the question: How often is your vision for your business front and centre for your employees?

The Finance breakout sessions featured industry experts covering current topics relevant to industrial distributors, including the impact of inflation, warehouse automation and rebate reporting.

The HR breakout sessions ranged from employee mental health and well-being, talent recruitment and retention, to leadership development and employee engagement.

“It’s so beneficial for our members to talk through their challenges and share strategies that work or might need some improvement,” said Neil Cohen, AD’s senior vice-president of HR. “The expertise across disciplines that everyone brings to the meeting creates opportunities to learn about new ways to address topics that are likely affecting every company one way or another.”

IT sessions included presentations from thought leaders that addressed the current cybersecurity landscape, data-informed decision-making, and digital transformation.

“Digital transformation is always a major talking point, and educational opportunities discussing cybersecurity and how to help drive growth by leveraging artificial intelligence and data analytics have never been more compelling,” Dan Koch, AD’s vice-president of IT. “I hope our members left with some action-oriented takeaways to improve and grow their operations.”

Delegates also had opportunities to attend information sessions hosted by curated and vetted AD service providers. Based on the overwhelmingly positive response from recent summits, AD plans to host another Finance, HR & IT Summit next year.

AD is North America’s largest marketing/buying group for construction and industrial supplies. Its memberships comprises 845-plus independently owned member distributors, representing over 500 branches and annual sales of $58.5 billion across nine industries and three countries.

— With files from Haly Baran, AD Canada