Perhaps no other event is better equipped to help you manage and grow your TPA firm. Here’s what past attendees had to say:

“I liked everything about this conference! Each and every session was relevant to my business. And the sharing of ideas and information during the roundtable discussions was incredibly enlightening.”

“This was, by far, the best conference I have EVER attended. I so enjoyed talking freely to other women who understood doing business in the pension world. This allowed me to see how our practice compared to others – what we're doing right and what needs to be improved.”

“It’s been years since I’ve come away from a conference feeling like I had gained so much. I found all of the topics worthwhile. The size of the conference made it easy to meet most everyone and the openness and frankness of the attendees was special. I left with loads of ideas.”

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MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 
Informal Mixer

6:15 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Optional Event: Champagne Cable Car Tour of San Francisco *NOTE: THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL
Hop aboard a genuine motorized cable car and see the city as you never have before! Enjoy champagne as a professional guide leads our tour through the storied streets of San Francisco. Attendees will see a number of well-known San Francisco landmarks, including Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Nob Hill, Union Square, Chinatown and more!  

The cable car will depart from the hotel at 6:30 p.m. and will return at 8:00 p.m.

TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. 
Continental Breakfast 
   
8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. 
Welcome
Wendy Frame, Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, Minneapolis, MN, Conference Co-chair
Barbara B. Leadem, QPA, QKA, Atlantic Pension Services, Inc., Kennett Square, PA, Conference Co-chair

8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
General Session 1: The Twelve As to Axe: A Prescription for Women’s Success
There are ways women are conditioned to behave and think because of how they are socialized. This program will identify the 12 A's that govern and influence women and how they impact their daily lives both at work and home: Accountability, Accessibility, Assertiveness, Aggressiveness, Anger, Affability, Authority, Accommodate, Avoid, Affiliation, Approval and Apologetic. Session learning objectives include:

•    Identify the most common 12 stumbling blocks to women's success.
•    Understand how women's relationship to the 12 As can undermine her credibility and power both at work and home.
•    What behaviors are sanctioned for women and how it impacts daily life.
•    How to overcome and transcend the 12 As: Building on emotional intelligence.

Audrey Nelson PhD, Nelson Communication, Boulder, CO

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Beverage Break  
  
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. 
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 1
 
12:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. 
Lunch and Sponsor Demonstrations

2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. 
General Session 2: Living Your Brand — Putting the WOW in Service
Today brands must deliver beyond expectations of great performance. They must go deeper. Your brand is the core of your company and the heart of your culture. Successful brands must connect with both the heart and mind, creating an emotional connection with the customer while building service and customer loyalty. Each time you and your team interacts with the public, via emails, face to face or on the phone, you impact how the public feels about you and your organization. Energize and empower your team by creating brand champions. Attendees will learn:

•    About their personal brand
•    How to answer the four brand questions
•    How to be more persuasive and influential with team and clients
•    How to develop and communicate the brand to employees
•    How to put the strategy into action — talking vs. doing
•    How to share your brand without bragging
•    How to use the power of your brand to keep employees motivated
•    How to implement programs and activities that reinforce your brand
•    How to see the importance of speaking and writing in consistent brand language

Karen McCullough, Karen McCullough & Co., Houston, TX

3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. 
Beverage Break
  
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 2

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 
Reception with Sponsors 
Join us in the exhibit area to wind down from a busy day, network with your peers, and learn about new products and services from our conference sponsors.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. 
Continental Breakfast 
   
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. 
General Session 3: TPA Best Practices
This interactive session will focus on best practice strategies for your TPA practice, and will help you improve your management skills, provide useful tools and resources and address topics that are useful to a TPA owner/manager. We will discuss: 

•    Employees: dealing with different work environments (remote or local) and managing employees
•    Communication: internal (within your company) and external (clients and referral sources)
•    Technology: tools and tricks to make your office more efficient

Adam C. Pozek, ERPA, QPA, QKA, QPFC, DWC ERISA Consultants, LLC, Salem, NH

9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. 
Beverage Break  
  
10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 3

11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 
Lunch and Sponsor Demonstrations

1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 
General Session 4: The Mathematics of Marketing

Some, more analytical folks, think that marketing requires a fair amount of creative flair — flair often associated with the right-brained folks of our species. Flair that many business people may not have in their skill set. However, marketing — like many things, including music, engineering, and graphic design — is mathematically based. It is a process of data, numbers and patterns. This presentation will discuss the mathematics of marketing and how to use them to kick start your firm’s marketing process and multiply your opportunities. As a result of the presentation and discussion, business leaders will:

•    Clarify the important role marketing and branding play in the sales process (particularly in today's multi-channel, digital world)
•    Understand the intersection of courage, content and contact
•    Discover ways to develop a powerful — and manageable — marketing plan

Sheri Fitts, ShoeFitts Marketing, Portland, OR

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. 
Beverage Break 
  
3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. 
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 4
 
5:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Group Activity: Wine Tasting at Winery SF
Join us for a tasting event at Winery SF and enjoy distinctive wines produced right in San Francisco from a highly acclaimed Sonoma and Napa Valley winemaker. A private shuttle will transport attendees across the bay to Treasure Island, where they will sample several wines “blind,” explore their palate, discuss the flavors with others, and match them to the winemaker’s notes. Attendees can continue to enjoy their favorite wine until the answers are revealed and a winner is selected. Light hors d’oeuvres will also be served.

A shuttle will depart from the hotel for Winery SF at 5:15 p.m. The wine tasting will take place from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., at which time the shuttle will return to the hotel where attendees can dine on their own for dinner.

THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2014

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast  
  
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. 
General Session 5: Current Trends/Future of the Industry
What changes in the industry are affecting benefits practices lately? What is happening that will likely require evolution by administrators and consultants in the future? Is 3(16) plan administration merely a passing fancy? Are MEPs the wave of the future, assuming Congress acts to make them viable? Will revenue sharing rules change? Ilene Ferenczy, whose legal practice includes many third party administrators and retirement plan consultants, will discuss the changes she has witnessed and been a part of with her clients, and her thoughts about what is up and coming. Session learning objectives include:

•     Advantages and risks of operating as a 3(16) administrator or a MEP sponsor
•     Proposals in Congress that could affect the way TPAs operate
•     Fiduciary liability and revenue sharing: questions being asked in the industry about whether this is a good way for fees to be paid
•     What effect (if any) fee disclosure is having on behavior by plan sponsors, participants, and service providers
•     Tax reform and plans: what to do if Congress cuts back on benefit availability

Ilene H. Ferenczy, Esq., CPC, APA, Ferenczy + Paul LLP, Atlanta, GA

9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 
Beverage Break   

10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. 
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 5

11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 
Closing Remarks 

11:30 a.m.
Conference Adjourns

Disclaimer
The statements and materials presented at the Women Business Leaders Forum are solely the opinions of the speakers and do not represent the opinion or the position of ASPPA. ASPPA does not assume any responsibility for the contents of the statements and materials presented.

CONTINUING EDUCATION INFORMATION

The Women Business Leaders Forum offers up to 15 hours of ASPPA continuing education credit.