Credera’s Strategic Forums Continue to Grow and Serve Top-Level Executives

Credera Team

Credera’s Strategic Forums Continue to Grow and Serve Top-Level Executives

Leaders are learners. If you’re a senior executive at the top of your organization, from whom do you continue to learn? Credera’s Strategic Forums have sought to provide a solution to “loneliness at the top” with enjoyable, relationship-based peer learning in real time. Through confidential small groups, C-level executives gather throughout the year to learn from their peers in similar roles at companies of comparable scale.

What Are Credera’s Strategic Forums?

To describe the Strategic Forums, it’s important to highlight what they are not. They are not competitive, ensuring members are not from direct competitors or at risk of distrust. They are non-selling, prohibiting any solicitation, vendor activity, or pressure to win business through the forums. And they are not advice-giving, but rather sharing personal experiences, leaving space for fellow members to interpret and apply lessons as they choose.

How Do the Forums Work?

Each forum is facilitated by a Credera partner, who serves as a fellow forum member and learner. Meeting six times throughout the year, each meeting begins with members sharing personal or business highs and lows since the last meeting, building genuine relationships.

Next, members rotate who initiates a prepared topic for a ‘deep dive’ discussion. This may be a current challenge the executive is facing, an emerging trend in the marketplace to be explored, or another relevant question for all members to consider. Lastly, each member shares their one greatest takeaway from the discussion, to verbalize what they learned and support practical application.

The four core principles—being confidential, committed, non-selling, and experience-sharing— will remain anchored in place. Each forum may choose to meet in person or virtually, connect between meetings, host site visits at members’ unique offices, or determine other features according to the group’s interests. The trust-based relationships and experience sharing will remain the essential elements that make the forums highly valuable to its members.

What Are the Current Forums?

Currently, Credera hosts forums based on the following eight roles: chief marketing officer (CMO), chief information officer (CIO), chief technology officer (CTO)/chief architect, chief data and analytics officer, digital executive, innovation executive, strategy executive, and chief diversity officer. Each of these eight are based in Dallas, and two (CMO and CIO) are also based in Houston, with 10 forums in total. A new Digital Executive Forum based in Denver is planned to be launch soon, with more forums and cities on the horizon.

What Do Members Think?

“I have really appreciated the camaraderie of the meetings coupled with valuable content,” said Kathie Holt, business information officer at Toyota Financial Services and member of the CTO/Chief Architect Forum.

“I love the energy, passion and learning with this group,” said Scott Lovejoy, vice president of technology at Topgolf Callaway Brands and member of the Innovation Executive Forum.

“I find them very valuable and am grateful to be a part of them,” said Stephen Tolerico, CIO at Sewell Automotive Companies and member of the Dallas CIO Forum.

Credera looks forward to continuing to grow its Strategic Forum program. “I’ve seen these Forums provide tremendous value through learning from fellow top executives’ experiences,” says Andrew Warden, Credera partner and member of the Strategy Executive Forum. “We also get to enjoy the friendships we’ve built, which is priceless.”

Interested in learning more about the forums? Reach out to Allison De La Torre, allison.delatorre@credera.com.

About Credera

Credera is a global, boutique consulting firm that creates measurable results at the intersection of strategy, data, transformation, and technology. Credera and our network of affiliated companies work with the best companies in the world, from strategy through execution, to serve clients globally through our offices in 16 countries. Credera’s deep business acumen and technical expertise, combined with a true dedication to building trusted relationships, unlock remarkable performance for our clients. Our mission is to make an extraordinary impact on our clients, our people, and our communities. Visit us at www.credera.com.