Agenda at a Glance

Get in the Small Giants spirit by taking an optional bonus tour of Motawi Tileworks, thanks to the generous hosts.

Motawi is located in Ann Arbor, MI. This tour is free, but transportation to/from is on your own. Space is limited.

COMPLETE THIS FORM to reserve your spot. Use the code "SMLGIANTS" to make it complementary. 

This private meet up is just for current members of Sounding Board, the Women's Leadership Group, and both current Leadership Academy members and Leadership Academy alumni.

Meet in the Book Tower lobby at the Bar Rotunda for a private mixer to meet and greet with other program participants.

Set the foundation for your Small Giants Summit experience by getting to know fellow attendees, while enjoying heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

Join us on the 13th floor of Book Tower to kick the Summit off on a high note! This is the first event for all Summit attendees. We can't wait to see you!

The Raw Truth
Connecting to Self

Megan Gluth 
Catalynt Solutions, Inc.

What if the story you’ve been telling yourself about who you are is holding you back from who you could become? Meg’s journey of resilience, loss, self-discovery, and leadership took her from college dropout to owner of one of the largest certified women-owned US-based chemical distributors in North America. Her raw and unfiltered story will challenge you to know yourself, and think through how to handle yourself, and how to handle your business by leading with authenticity and purpose. Together, we’ll sit in the discomfort to embrace our truth and hold ourselves accountable to being who we’re meant to be.

Your Internal Compass
Connecting to Wisdom

Marina Suholutsky
PurposeBuilt

Your inner world is the unseen force that shapes how you lead, connect, and show up. Imagine: what if you could unlock the wisdom of your own inner compass to navigate the world with greater ease? Join Marina for more than just a learning experience—this session is an invitation to deepen your connection to yourself and others. Marina will guide us in exploring our Four Directions: the mind’s curiosity, the body’s presence, the heart’s compassion, and the spirit’s trust. Uncover how you naturally lead, where you over-rely, and where you might be neglecting your full potential. Come ready to align your leadership in the direction of your highest self!

Peaches and Coconuts
Connecting to Others

Lance Shipp
SeatonHill

Once you get past surface level networking, the real magic of connection and building relationships begins! Join us for a guided workshop with Lance, where he’ll  have you diving deep to build bonds and trust with one another. Leave your business cards at home, and get ready to practice the intentionality and skills that will have you sharing and learning more about your fellow Small Giants in special and meaningful ways.

Continue making new connections over a tasty lunch!

You can also take this time to participate in speed Sounding Board mentoring roundtables over lunch. Scroll to the bottom of this page for more details.

Mindful Moment: Connect to Body

💙 Made possible by HumanKind Business Leaders

Maegan Raymond, fellow Small Giants leader and the Business Manager at American Landscape and Lawn Science, will take a few minutes to help us get centered after lunch so we are ready to make the most of the afternoon ahead!

Celebrating People
Connecting to Employees

Kyle David
KDG

Everyone wants to be seen and heard on a deeper level. However, going beyond surface level pleasantries to connect with what truly matters can be challenging. At KDG, building individual connections has become a model for action, acknowledgement, and employee support. In this interactive session, Kyle will reveal the power of connection through KDG’s Employee Recognition Framework. He’ll share how these tools inspire communication, spark understanding, and empower leaders to personalize connections for their team members. Get ready to celebrate people in ways that support meaningful connections!

Seeding New Cycles
Connecting to Community Impact

Sebastian Africano
Trees, Water & People

More details coming soon!

Think Tank
Connecting to Ideas

Devyn Bachman
John Burns Research and Consulting

Dive into this dynamic session where collaboration meets community! Whether you’re grappling with a team issue, a strategic roadblock, or a personal leadership hurdle, the Think Tank is designed to harness the collective wisdom of the group to help navigate solutions to important challenges and opportunities. Through a structured framework of sharing, listening, and ideating, Devyn will guide our solution-focused conversations. Bring a challenge, an open mind, and get ready to be part of a transformative problem-solving experience.

Mindful Moment: Connect to Body

💙 Made possible by HumanKind Business Leaders

Heidi Baumgart, Co-Executive Director of the Small Giants Community, will help us wrap up the afternoon with a grounding exercise. 

Who Are You, Really?
Connecting to Identity

Hai Nguyen
Text-Em-All

When you strip away your job, your title, and your work responsibilities, who are you at your core? Join Hai for an interactive session that will set the foundation for your Summit experience by inviting you to step into a space of deep reflection and vulnerability. Through guided prompts and thoughtful sharing, you’ll embark on a journey to uncover the essence of who you are beyond your business. This isn’t just about self-discovery—it’s about connecting with others on a profound level, fostering empathy, and gaining clarity on how your authentic self drives your purpose. 

Continue making new connections over a tasty lunch!

You can also take this time to participate in speed Sounding Board mentoring roundtables over lunch. Scroll to the bottom of this page for more details.

Mindful Moment: Connect to Body

💙 Made possible by HumanKind Business Leaders

Csia Ogozaly, Founder and Brand Strategy Consultant, will help us align our energy and ground ourselves, so we are refreshed and ready to make the most of the afternoon ahead!

What is Enough?
Connecting to Legacy

Carl Erickson
Atomic Object

Who we are determines the decisions we make and the actions we take. Once you understand your identity outside your business, you can see how it shows up IN the work you do. Through reflection and conversation, get clarity around your end goal, including the impact you want to have and the legacy you want to leave behind. This interactive session is designed to help you uncover if the path that you’re taking will get you to the place you want to end up.

The Antidote to Isolation
Connecting to the Community

Christopher Arnold
Care Deeply Consulting

Steve Krull
Be Found Online

They say it’s lonely at the top. Internalizing the weight of responsibility, the pressure to succeed, and the constant comparison to others can make it hard to share your struggles or ask for help. But you don’t have to carry the burden alone. Listen in as Steve vulnerably shares his deeply personal journey as CEO of Be Found Online with Christopher in this fireside chat, and discover how the power of connection and community can help break through through the loneliness of leadership.

Mindful Moment: Connect to Body

💙 Made possible by HumanKind Business Leaders

Rob Dube, fellow Small Giants Community member and founder of 10 Disciplines and imageOne, will help us take some time to reflect on our day's inner journey and start to think beyond ourselves. The perfect way to ground ourselves as we wind down the day.

Meet in the 1st floor lobby of the Shinola Hotel OR the Westin Book Cadillac to catch the shuttle to our evening reception! 

The Detroit Bus Company will be shuttling us from our hotels to Newlab Detroit, located in Michigan Central.

We'll gather together to enjoy a delicious meal and continue our conversations with like-hearted leaders.

The highlight of our evening will be the Small Giants Hall of Fame ceremony! We celebrate all of the finalists, and will announce the 2025 inductees live.

Mindful Moment: Connect to Body

💙 Made possible by HumanKind Business Leaders

Paul Spiegelman, co-founder of the Small Giants Community, will help us take a few minutes to get centered and ground ourselves before we jump into the day.

Legends of Purpose
Connecting to Values

Tom Walter 
Tasty Catering

Sabrina White
Text-Em-All

2025 Hall of Fame Inductees

Join us for an unforgettable and inspiring conversation featuring the 2024 Small Giants Hall of Fame award winners — Sabrina White (Next Gen Leader Award) and Tom Walter (Founder/CEO Award) — alongside our newest 2025 inductees, whose names will be revealed during our April 30 Hall of Fame evening reception. These legendary leaders are committed to making a difference on their teams, in their businesses, and in their communities. As model Small Giants, they'll share their approach to leadership and how they lead with heart to live out their purpose and values.

Take a break, stretch your legs, enjoy the view of Detroit from the balcony, and chat with new friends. You can also participate in a speed mentoring session with a Sounding Board mentor (scroll to the bottom of the page for more details). 

The Productivity Surge
Connecting to Technology

Patrick Ciccarelli
Varsity Technologies

What if you could supercharge your team’s productivity—and their satisfaction—by 40%? Although we’re not cloning humans just yet, the future of work is already here, and it’s powered by AI. In this workshop, Patrick will help us discover how cutting-edge AI tools can transform the way your team learns, works, and grows. From real-time learning and personalized professional development to boosting staff productivity, you’ll walk away with actionable strategies and techniques to foster accountability and drive effectiveness. Technology can help you unlock your team’s full potential, while keeping your purpose and people at the heart of it all.

The Moments That Matter
Connecting to Customers 

Kevin Jennings
Junction 32

Your brand isn’t what you say it is—it’s what your customers experience. Every interaction either builds or breaks their trust, and that trust determines whether they come back, refer you, or walk away. So how do you create experiences that make your brand unforgettable? Join Kevin for an engaging workshop where you’ll discover how to design everyday moments that customers love, remember, and talk about. You’ll walk away with a simple framework to build trust, fuel loyalty, and turn customers into lifelong fans.

Think Tank
Connecting to Solutions

Deanna Walker
Venturity

Dive into this dynamic session where collaboration meets community! Whether you’re grappling with a team issue, a strategic roadblock, or a personal leadership hurdle, the Think Tank is designed to harness the collective wisdom of the group to help navigate solutions to important challenges and opportunities. Through a structured framework of sharing, listening, and ideating, Deanna will guide our solution-focused conversations. Bring a challenge, an open mind, and get ready to be part of a transformative problem-solving experience. 

Beyond Transactions
Connecting to Partners

Small Giants know the secret: business relationships shouldn't just function - they should fortify your mission. Get ready to discuss best practices for how to transform ordinary vendors into passionate partners, transactional customers into loyal advocates, and typical suppliers into strategic allies. We’ll share and learn practical ways to build connections that thrive on shared values, create mutual growth beyond the bottom line, and develop resilience that withstands market turbulence. Go beyond business relationships to elevate your purpose.

Mindful Moment: Connect to Body

💙 Made possible by HumanKind Business Leaders

Beck Sydow, founder of HumanKind Business Leaders, will create a space and lead us in a mindful awareness practice so our minds and bodies feel rejuvenated and ready to make the most of the afternoon ahead!

Getting Real
Connecting to Vulnerability

Stacey Cabell
Starstuff Travel, LLC

Showing vulnerability at work can feel risky, especially when it reveals a somber past and the sides of us we’d rather stay hidden. Stacey took the terrifying risk to open up to clients and her team, turning her own vulnerability into a resource that actually boosted sales. Stacey’s story will inspire you to break down the walls between your personal and professional life. She demonstrates that you can harness your authentic self to create deeper connections with employees, customers, and partners. Come ready to reflect and discover how your human experiences can be your biggest competitive advantage.

Limitless Beliefs
Connecting to Failure

Travis Slisher
FCI Constructors, Inc.

What if your greatest failures were the key to unlocking your deepest connections and limitless potential? In this transformative talk, Travis will take us on a journey of raw vulnerability, sharing powerful stories of his own struggles and setbacks to reveal a profound truth: your identity isn’t defined by judgment or criticism, but by how you embrace failure as a catalyst for growth. Discover how self-love, kindness, and the support of those closest to you can redefine the way you lead, love, and live. We’ll learn to transform failure from a source of fear into a foundation for extraordinary leadership and meaningful relationships. Get ready to vulnerably embrace a perspective that will help you unlock the resilient, limitless leader within you. 

Pick Up the Phone
Connecting to the Present

Darius Lana, Ph.D.
Knight Agency

As busy leaders, we often overlook the most precious gift we can receive - and give - genuine, real-time connection. Darius’ deeply personal story of love, loss, and family is a powerful reminder that being empathetic and purpose-driven means making time for what matters most. Through real-life moments that challenge how we show up for one another—no matter the distance—Darius will inspire us to be present. Small, intentional acts of connection are not only meaningful, but can transform our relationships and the way we lead. Because in life and leadership, you never know when it might be the last call.