Excellerate 2025 Focused on Central Oregon Business Continuity
The number of potential risks to business owners, even in seemingly safe Central Oregon, is actually very high. We all need to be prepared to respond, survive and thrive to the unexpected.
On September 11, 2025, hundreds of the top business leaders in Central Oregon filled the Riverhouse Convention Center for the fourth annual Excellerate Central Oregon Business Forum to focus on business continuity, contingency planning and disaster preparedness. The timing was appropriate. We live in uncertain times. Wildfires, drought, earthquakes and tsunamis off the coast, the increasing risk of the Cascadia event, economic instability, tariffs, cyberattacks, terrorist attacks, gun violence, addiction, mental illness and suicide risks with employees, civil disorder. The number of potential risks to business owners, even in seemingly safe Central Oregon, is actually very high. We all need to be prepared to respond, survive and thrive to the unexpected.
The overarching message to the leaders attending was:
Speakers included:
Each speaker was followed by robust roundtable discussions in which business peers shared best practices and lessons learned on the topic presented. As always, these discussions were vibrant and valuable, as Excellerate offers a once-a-year opportunity for top business leaders to engage in practical discussions with a range of other leaders on shared challenges.
Excellerate is produced by Michael Sipe, 10x Catalyst Groups and Vistage with a purpose to bring leaders of the regional business community together for meaningful interaction and relevant learning opportunities. Attend next year and join us in the conversation!
The overarching message to the leaders attending was:
- Be Prepared
- Be Proactive
- Build a Team
- Learn Resilience
- Have a Mindset to Prevail
Speakers included:
- Jordan Smith, local IT expert and VP of CMIT, who spoke on the dangers of cyberattacks on small businesses, especially those increasingly driven by artificial intelligence. Practical guidelines for preventing devastating attacks were offered.
- Jennifer Donhue, retired Naval Commodore and local executive coach, discussed how to build resilient teams.
- Laurence Kennedy and Christie Hutcherson, nationally renowned physical security experts, explored contingency planning and disaster preparation in their presentation: “Preparing for the Risks You Don’t See Coming.”
Each speaker was followed by robust roundtable discussions in which business peers shared best practices and lessons learned on the topic presented. As always, these discussions were vibrant and valuable, as Excellerate offers a once-a-year opportunity for top business leaders to engage in practical discussions with a range of other leaders on shared challenges.
Excellerate is produced by Michael Sipe, 10x Catalyst Groups and Vistage with a purpose to bring leaders of the regional business community together for meaningful interaction and relevant learning opportunities. Attend next year and join us in the conversation!
As always, these discussions were vibrant and valuable. |
Attend next year and join us in the conversation! |
Michael Sipe is a local mergers and acquisitions advisor and business coach.
CrossPointeCapital.com
10xGroups.com
Vistage.com
CrossPointeCapital.com
10xGroups.com
Vistage.com
