Keynote Speaker
AI and the Workforce: Adapting to a New Era of Technology
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Professor, UCLA
Author
Founder, Digital Cultures Lab
Frontiers in Strategic Account Management
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President & CEO, Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA)
Panel Discussion
Implementing AI for Success in the Sales Organization
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Global AI Leader & Managing Partner, ZS Consulting
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Senior Director of Application Development, Service Corporation International
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Senior Director of Product Management, Autodesk
To be decided
Frontiers in Strategic Account Management
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President & CEO, Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA)
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CEO, Solecta
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Key Account Manager, Owens Corning
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Value & Access Business Director at Boehringer Ingelheim
Challenges in Motivating and Incentivizing Sales Organizations
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Chief Revenue Officer, Ohana Operators
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Head, GTM Sales Compensation, Planning and Performance Strategy, Workiva
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Senior Director, SalesGlobe
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Partner, Simon-Kucher
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Research Director, Forrester
Sampling of Past and Present Corporate Thought Leaders
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Jim Lecinski
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Mark V Hurd
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Gilles Grapinet
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Byron Matthews
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Kris Vervaet
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Marc Boissonnet
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Thierry Collet
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Hajo Rapp
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Carl Roberts
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Alberto Moriana
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Erik Charles
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Cor Dubois
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Maxime Laugier
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Paul Helmore
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Joe Stallard
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Chris Suhoza
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Huw Tippett
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Volkhard Bregulla
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Mike Moorman
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Mark Roberge
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David Skok
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Rhonda Kallman
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Pedro Miranda
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Rosemary Heneghan
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Geoff Williams
Sampling of Past and Present Academic Thought Leaders
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Michael Lenox
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Baba Shiv
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Andy Zoltners
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Anne Coughlan
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Michael I. Norton
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K. Sudhir
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Das Narayandas
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VK Kumar
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Doug Bowman
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Goutam Challagalla
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Gary Frazier
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George John
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Ajay Kohli
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Doug J. Chung
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Frank V. Cespedes
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Margaret Ann Neale
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Gary L. Lilien
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Harikesh S. Nair
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Mark Bergen
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Mark Houston
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Rajdeep Grewal
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Sandy Jap
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Shantanu Dutta
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Sunil Gupta
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Werner Reinartz
Please Check Back Frequently for Updates on the 2025 The Thought Leadership on the Sales Profession Conference
The conference is a two-day event, broken into both morning and afternoon sessions. Morning sessions include keynote presentations as well as plenary panels delivered by distinguished authors and industry experts. Afternoon sessions consist of TED-style talks in which academics will present their research in the areas of professional selling and sales force management and practitioner panels will respond with key insights and suggestions for future research. Some events have been planned for attendees outside of the normal hours of the conference that will provide additional opportunities to both see more of the city and network.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is the conference?
Registration begins on June 17th at noon, with opening remarks scheduled for 1:30 pm. In the evening, some keynote addresses will be delivered. The conference will conclude on June 18th at 5:00 PM. The Conference will be held at UCLA Anderson School of Manangement. Please visit the venue link at the top of the page for additional information.
What did the Agendas of the Past conferences at Stanford, HEC Paris, Harvard, Columbia and UVA Darden look like?
The most recent agenda for the 2023 conference can be found here. The agenda for the 2019 conference held at Stanford can be found here. The agenda for the 2017 conference held at HEC Paris can be found here, the schedule of the 2014 conference held at Columbia can be found here, and the program from the 2012 conference at Harvard can be found here. This site will be updated as the programming is finalized, so check back soon for more information.
Our Team
Tom Steenburgh
thomas.steenburgh@vanderbilt.edu
Ralph Owen Dean and Professor of Marketing
Dean
Vanderbilt University,
Owen Graduate School of Management
Mike Ahearne
Mahearne@uh.edu
C.T. Bauer Professor of Marketing
Research Director
Sales Excellence Institute
University of Houston,
CT Bauer College of Business
Johannes Habel
jhabel@uh.edu
Associate Professor of Marketing
Associate Professor
University of Houston
CT Bauer College of Business
Conference Coordinator
Randolph E. Bucklin
randy.bucklin@anderson.ucla.edu
Professor Emeritus of Marketing
Professor Emeritus
UCLA
Anderson School of Management
Andres Terech
andres.terech@anderson.ucla.edu
Adjunct Professor of Marketing
Faculty Director
Morrison Center for Marketing and Data Analytics
UCLA
Anderson School of Management