WARWICK – Company executives have a lot more in common than their corner offices and six-figure salaries.
But they don’t often interact with each other, especially across industries.
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Robert Fiske, founder and CEO of the Rhode Island CEO Council, wants to change that. Having revived the dormant executive membership organization last year, Fiske hopes to grow its presence further through a March 23 summit.
“The whole concept of the organization is to build a community of the people who have workforces in Rhode Island,” Fiske said. “The better they can do, the better their employees do, the better their communities do, and the better our economy does.”
And doing “better” in the face of a potential recession, political unrest and other economic headwinds certainly won’t be easy. Which is why the 2023 Rhode Island CEO Summit will feature two top-level business leaders, both with Rhode Island roots, to share their insights and advice.
Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America Corp., is the featured speaker. Coming fresh off the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Moynihan will share his take on the forecasted market downturn and other economic insights through a conversation with Steve Zubiago, CEO of Nixon Peabody LLP.
“He’s going to have as good a handle on what’s coming down the road as anybody in the country,” Fiske said of Moynihan.
Moynihan will also offer more personalized advice to event participants in a second question-and-answer-style session.
The event kicks off with an introduction from Tom Burnham, head coach for New York Yacht Club sailing team American Magic, which is competing in the 2024 America’s Cup. Competing, and winning, elite-level sailing competitions may not seem like the most obvious comparison to running a company, but Fiske said there are key similarities.
“No one knows what’s coming in the year ahead,” Fiske said. “Tom is going to speak on how executives can prepare for these incredibly high-speed, critically important decisions in their own industries.”
In keeping with the mission of fostering frank and open dialogue among company CEOs, the event will not be open to the press, although nonmembers are welcomed, Fiske said. Moynihan and Burnham were also not available for advanced interviews.
Fiske founded the group in 2006 as the Chief Executives Club of Rhode Island. In 2012, its operations were transferred to Rhode Island College and its former President Nancy Carriuolo, but the group fell dormant when a new college president took over in 2016. Fiske, who had moved to the West Coast, felt compelled to revive the group when he returned to Rhode Island, especially amid the pandemic.
“The world has changed, but the importance of reconnecting and getting together is even more crucial,” he said.
The Rhode Island CEO Council relaunched officially with a 2022 summit. Since then, the council has grown to about 50 members representing companies of various sizes and industries. Members must be the top executive in their company, based in Rhode Island or leading a sizable state workforce for a national company, to join.
The CEO Summit will be held at 7 a.m. on March 23 at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick in Warwick. Nonmembers can attend on an invite-only basis.
Providence Business News is an event sponsor.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
