Spark 1.0 Schedule

Ten­ta­tive sched­ule for Spark 1.0 at EDS 2024, May 21 – 23 at Resorts World in Las Vegas. 

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Day 1 Tues­day, May 21^st

Focus: Indus­try, Elec­tron­ic Com­po­nents, Asso­ci­a­tions, Emerg­ing Mar­kets, Lever­ag­ing Per­son­al Brand Aware­ness, and Networking

Objec­tive: Increase under­stand­ing of the indus­try’s his­to­ry, sales chan­nels, asso­ci­a­tions, and emerg­ing mar­kets. Devel­op per­son­al brand aware­ness and real­ize the pow­er of per­cep­tion and the val­ue of brand recog­ni­tion. Man­age social media plat­forms to increase net­work­ing opportunities.

9:00 – 10:00 am 

Wel­come & Introductions 

Jen­nifer Smith (JMS Synergy) 

• Wel­come
• Spark Pro­gram Overview
• What to Expect as a vir­tu­al Spark Attendee
• Cohort Intro­duc­tions

10:00 – 11:00 am 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: The Elec­tron­ic Com­po­nent Industry 

Dave Nor­ris (Nor­ris & Associates) 

• Con­nects the roles and core com­pe­ten­cies each chan­nel (Dis­trib­u­tors, Man­u­fac­tur­ers, and Man­u­fac­tur­er Representatives)
• Con­tributes to the over­all suc­cess of the elec­tron­ic com­po­nent industry
• Best prac­tices shared relat­ed to engag­ing and work­ing with each channel

11:00 – 11:15 am 

Break 

11:15 – 12:15 pm 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Emerg­ing Markets 

Dale Ford (ECIA)

• Famil­iar­izes how his­to­ry and learn­ing influ­ence the future of emerg­ing mar­kets and the growth of the elec­tron­ic com­po­nent industry
• Demon­strat­ing the fast pace of advanc­ing tech­nol­o­gy, the indus­try’s chal­lenges and respon­si­bil­i­ties, and the ques­tions lead­ers must answer

12:15 – 1:15 pm 

Lunch 

1:15 – 2:15 pm 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Indus­try Associations 

David Lof­tus (ECIA)

• Know the impor­tance and ben­e­fits of the elec­tron­ic com­po­nent indus­try asso­ci­a­tions, how each sup­ports its mem­bers, and oppor­tu­ni­ties to get involved and expand your network. 

2:15 – 3:30 pm 

Work­shop: Build Your Brand 

Jen­nifer Smith (JMS Synergy) 

• Learn to rec­og­nize your innate skills, under­stand exter­nal per­cep­tions and the effect on devel­op­ing your brand.
• Learn the impor­tance and ben­e­fits asso­ci­at­ed with brand recognition.
• Devel­op a per­son­al brand mes­sage and prac­tice using it dur­ing inter­ac­tions in sched­uled pro­gram events.

3:30 — 3:45 pm 

Break 

3:45 — 4:45 pm 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Social Media Brand 

Heather Fulara (Digi-Key)

• Uncov­er tips and tech­niques for build­ing a per­son­al brand on social media. She high­lights the pros and cons of cre­at­ing your brand through social media, the steps required to keep it fresh and up to date, and the ben­e­fits you will gain. Heather demon­strates ways to lever­age your brand’s strengths on the LinkedIn platform.

4:45 — 5:00 pm 

Recap and Review 

Jen­nifer Smith (JMS Synergy) 

• Review pre­sen­ta­tion take­aways and set expec­ta­tions for day 2

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Day 2 Wednes­day, May 22^nd

Focus: Per­son­al Devel­op­ment, Lead­er­ship, and Industry

Objec­tive: Rec­og­nize lead­er­ship char­ac­ter­is­tics, styles, and behav­iors impact­ing orga­ni­za­tion strat­e­gy and cul­ture. Gain insight into strengths and devel­op­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties. Alum­ni share the val­ue of attend­ing Spark programs.

9:00 – 10:00 am 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Lead­ing Change 

Shane Zutz (Digi-Key)

• Explore best prac­tices, bring­ing forth new ideas to lead­er­ship, illus­trat­ing the need, beyond obvi­ous tech­ni­cal and deep knowl­edge skills, to mas­ter the abil­i­ty to influ­ence; one must pos­sess var­i­ous trans­fer­able skills. 

10:00 – 11:00 am 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Advanc­ing Cul­tur­al Innovation 

Jack­ie Mat­tox (Women in Electronics) 

• Research-based trends in tal­ent-relat­ed top­ics that impact orga­ni­za­tions and shareholders.
• The impact of diver­si­ty and inclusion.

11:00 – 11:15 am 

Break 

11:15 – 12:45 pm 

Net­work­ing: Meet A Leader 

Var­i­ous Indus­try Leaders 

• Oppor­tu­ni­ty to engage and share per­son­al aspi­ra­tions and career goals with Indus­try lead­ers who pro­vide per­spec­tives, insight, aware­ness, and poten­tial suggestions.
• Beyond the ben­e­fit of meet­ing and learn­ing from the expe­ri­ences of indus­try lead­ers, the par­tic­i­pants will learn the chal­lenges fac­ing the oth­er cohort mem­bers with whom they are paired, advanc­ing their network.

12:45 – 1:45 pm 

Lunch 

1:45 – 2:45 pm 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Smart Busi­ness Analysis 

Gra­ham Kil­shaw (Lec­trix)

• Con­nect val­ue with strat­e­gy to com­mu­ni­cate and dri­ve prof­itabil­i­ty in organizations. 

2:45 – 3:15 pm 

Work­shop: Build Your Brand 

Jen­nifer Smith (JMS Synergy) 

• Review Strengths Find­er assess­ment results and explore cor­re­la­tions between tal­ents and perceptions.

3:15 — 3:30 pm 

Break 

3:30 — 4:15 pm 

Pan­el Dis­cus­sion and Review Session 

Var­i­ous Spark Alumni 

• Spark alums share the ben­e­fits of attend­ing the Spark pro­grams, focus­ing on the expe­ri­ence of increas­ing indus­try knowl­edge, iden­ti­fy­ing per­son­al devel­op­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties, and inter­act­ing with key con­tacts to add to their network. 

4:15 — 5:00 pm 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Dig­i­tal Marketing 

Jen­na Hes­ter­w­erth (Arrow)

• Real­ize the effects rapid trans­for­ma­tion has on dig­i­tal mar­ket­ing focus­ing on lever­ag­ing sim­i­lar mes­sages tai­lored to dif­fer­ent stages in the buy­ing process. 

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Day 3 Thurs­day, May 23^rd

Focus: Indus­try, Per­son­al Development

Objec­tive: Dis­sect future pre­dic­tions for indus­try growth, expan­sion, and chal­lenges. Map career goals and plan learn­ing paths.

9:00 – 9:45 am 

Work­shop: Build Your Brand 

Jen­nifer Smith (JMS Synergy) 

• The impor­tance of col­lab­o­ra­tion and emo­tion­al intel­li­gence skills; how they connect.
• Review assess­ment results and iden­ti­fy indi­vid­ual devel­op­ment opportunities

9:45 – 10:45 am 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Indus­try Trends 

Steve Yong (QT-Brightek)

• Aware­ness of the exter­nal fac­tors that influ­ence the elec­tron­ic industry.
• How indus­try trends impact lead­er­ship strat­e­gy, direc­tion, and decisions. 

10:45 – 11:00 am 

Pre­sen­ta­tion: Indus­try Future 

Alex Iuo­rio (Avnet)

• Future pre­dic­tions, fore­casts, and poten­tial chal­lenges for the elec­tron­ic com­po­nents industry. 
• Sig­nals of change that lead­er­ship needs to be aware of in the mar­kets they support. 

11:00 – 11:15 pm 

Break 

11:15 — 12:00 pm 

Shar­ing, Pro­gram Reflections 

Jen­nifer Smith (JMS Synergy) 

• Par­tic­i­pants share vital take­aways, ben­e­fits, and the impact of their expe­ri­ence in attend­ing the Spark 1.0 program. 

12:00 – 12:30 pm 

Pro­gram Close 

Jen­nifer Smith (JMS Synergy) 

• Recap learn­ing and next steps.
• Share insight to Spark 2.0