Hundreds motivated to "Think Innovation" at Kellen Leadership Conference

ATLANTA, GA — With more than 250 Kellen Company employees and conference sponsors in attendance at its 7th Annual Leadership Conference, the association management company's three-day “Think Innovation” seminar program unveiled new ways to serve existing clients and attract new clients. More than 45 educational sessions were created and presented by Kellen employees during the conference, held August 1-3 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center.

“The ability to grow and realize our goals as a company and as professionals is directly linked to how well we 'create new.' It's about how we anticipate and embrace change and how we drive innovation to better serve our clients through new processes, service offerings and best practices,” said Peter Rush, Kellen Company Chairman and CEO.

All Kellen staff from offices in Atlanta, New York City, Washington, Tucson, Brussels and Beijing joined together in a meeting that was part cross training, part education and part networking. “Today, business is global. At the heart of a professional services firm like Kellen are the people. Face-to-face meetings help build bonds and provide a seamless service offering to our clients,” said Alfons Westgeest, Managing Partner of Kellen Europe.

The annual meeting also provided an opportunity for Kellen to exercise its five core values — integrity, client focus, quality, profitability and fun. Kicked off by a "Solutions Challenge," conference sessions covered client topics such as leveraging new technologies, maximizing associations' sponsorship revenues, managing antitrust issues and developing board member relationships. Kellen also looked inward with sessions dealing with managing priorities in a dynamic environment, managing people for results and developing global strategies. In addition to getting a 360-degree view of the business, attendees got a 360-degree look at the wonders of the sea at the world’s largest aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium.

“The Kellen Leadership Conference is unique in two ways. It’s our own people facilitating the sessions. We know of no other AMC that puts on an annual educational conference for all of their employees. As a result, our clients are better served,” said Rick Cristol, Kellen’s President.

True to the theme, Kellen recently named its first Chief Innovation Officer, Tor Holtan, who will oversee implementation of Kellen Best Practices throughout the company, assess and implement improvements in operations, and develop new products and services in marketing, distance learning and conference areas.

“Kellen is an extremely dynamic company,” said Randy Ma, Manager of Kellen’s Beijing office. “Meeting colleagues from around the world ensures that we can implement global programs quickly and efficiently.”