Over 150 retailers and suppliers have arrived in Lisbon for the Narta 60th anniversary Executive Leadership Conference.
Narta chief executive officer, Michael Jackson, says the conference agenda has been meticulously curated with specifically selected experts and themed content structured for personal and professional development.
“This is the most powerful speaker content we have ever put together. We are mindful of the current trading environment as well as the challenges and pressures currently experienced by both retailers and suppliers, so we have stripped back this conference to maximise the content for all delegates. As a result, we have longer content days than we have had at previous conferences and we have also added an extra day of content for this year’s event.
“The content on the opening day will focus on executive leadership with speakers that show how to make the impossible possible and how this can be utilised both in the workplace as well as among friends and family. Other speakers will focus on the latest developments with innovation, technology and the use of artificial intelligence.
“The second day will be focused on the economy and how this impacts businesses within the appliance and consumer electronics category in Australia and New Zealand. We have just come off an election in Australia – so this will be an important part of the discussion.
“We will then hear from a specialist on global economics and geopolitics – a former intelligence community executive with 30 years of experience in the CIA and the US Marine Corps who will be talking about Russia, Ukraine, Middle East and the Trump tariffs and what that means for our industry in terms of logistics and the impact to the supply chain..
“We then have a speaker focused on cybersecurity that has worked very closely with the government to highlight the importance of this area to everyone’s business.
“We will then host a live podcast on stage to discuss the importance of high performance and excellence in the workplace.
“Following this will be a speaker that is an expert in identifying burnout among executives – burnout is not something that happens instantly, it builds gradually over time. We will also be discussing the future of the workplace and managing generational changes.
“The only official evening will be a gala dinner where we will be celebrating the Narta Group’s 60th anniversary and acknowledge, the future, where we are and how we got here.
“I am pleased to confirm we have been joined by an exciting group of people that have been involved with Narta over several decades – including Bob Stanley and his wife. Bob worked with us for 25 years and it is important to recognise such a stalwart of the industry who worked in many areas while Narta was a buying group but was also part of the evolution of the group into services and systems.
“The last day of the conference will focus on mental health and balance from a personal and professional perspective and then we will close with summing up around high performance and specifically a winning mindset.
“While previous Narta conferences have featured a famous high-profile celebrity, this conference is more focused on delivering a broad range of speakers that are all leaders in their respective fields to challenge, empower and inspire delegates.”