Electric cooperative CEOs from throughout the nation will gather on Marco Island, Florida, early next year to hone their leadership skills and connect with peers at the annual NRECA CEO Close-Up.

The Jan. 10-12 conference will feature new executive roundtable discussions designed to give CEOs the chance to talk with one another about the latest topics affecting their co-ops, including AI, data centers and rates, said Kristen Wheeler, NRECA senior manager of event education and programming.

NRECA staff will be on hand to moderate the sessions, but Wheeler said the goal is for co-op leaders to share obstacles, lessons learned and successes among themselves.

"One of the things that makes NRECA CEO Close-Up so valuable is the chance to hear directly from peers facing many of the same opportunities and challenges,” Wheeler said. “Attendees leave with fresh perspectives and make connections that continue long after the conference."

Here’s a look at the conference highlights:

Speaker lineup

At the opening general session on Monday, Jan. 11, NRECA CEO Jim Matheson will welcome CEOs and deliver remarks. He also will present the J.C. Brown CEO Communication Leadership Award.

The keynote speaker at the opening session will be author, economist and futurist Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics and chairman of The Futurist Institute. He will talk about the future of energy amid growing global demand.

An afternoon general session that same day will feature exclusive findings from NRECA’s data center lexicon project. Stephen Bell, NRECA senior vice president of Communications, will provide insights into how people perceive data center development, which messages build understanding and trust and how communications can unintentionally create confusion or concern.

The morning general session on Tuesday, Jan. 12, will feature David Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst of The Cook Political Report. He will talk about this year’s midterm election results and what to expect as a new Congress convenes.

The keynote speaker at the closing general session that afternoon will be Evy Poumpouras, an author and former Secret Service agent who will talk about how CEOs can connect authentically with their teams, positively influence people and outcomes, and create high-achieving cultures.

NRECA President Mike Partin, CEO of Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative in Pittsburg, Tennessee, will also address fellow co-op leaders during the conference.

Breakout sessions

Breakout sessions will focus on a wide variety of topics important to CEOs, including:

• The CEO-board relationship
• An update on NRECA’s employee benefit programs
• Best ways to build leaders
• How to make better decisions by asking better questions
• AI readiness
• Strategic planning
• The next chapter for co-op broadband service
• Lessons from NRECA’s Large Loads Task Force
• Crisis communications
• The latest legal developments
• Top 10 cybersecurity questions and answers

Golf tournament

America’s Electric Cooperatives Advocacy Classic golf tournament will be held on Sunday, Jan. 10, and is open exclusively to CEOs and golfers from companies sponsoring the event. The fundraiser supports NRECA’s political engagement activities on behalf of electric co-ops. For details, contact Amy Lewis, NRECA PAC and political engagement director, at Amy.Lewis@nreca.coop  or 703-907-6917.

Pre-conference workshop

For new CEOs, there will be a special workshop on Saturday, Jan. 9: “The Trust Advantage: Leading With Intention During Your First Three Years As CEO.”

The workshop will focus on how crucial the first years of a CEO’s tenure are in building trust with employees, directors, consumer-members and other stakeholders to create long-term success.

Visit the conference page for the full schedule, registration information and more.