Session Title: Vision 2030 – How BRM Transforms the Way Organizations Work

The world has changed. Power has shifted from the organization to the consumer and constituent. Technology is no longer a means to run operations but a focus on growth and competitive advantage. Traditional thinking no longer works. To survive in 2030, organizations must think and act differently. And BRM will be there to lead the charge.

Key Takeaways

1 – Why organizations must think and act differently to survive in the future, and the role BRM plays in helping them do that.

2 – What does BRM look like in 2030?

3 – What do we need to do now to get us there?

Jeff Warren is the President of Barkley Consulting Group, a leading BRM consulting firm that helps organizations develop top BRM talent and create impactful BRM programs. Jeff has over 20 years of experience building and evolving BRM programs and teaching BRM professionals how to deliver the role to make an impact on their organizations. His class, “The HighPerforming BRM,” has taught hundreds of BRMs – veterans and those new to the profession – the skills and strategies needed to master BRM. Jeff has over 35 years of leadership and innovation experience as an IT executive, with a focus in business and technology.

He has held various IT leadership roles around Business Relationship Management, IT Strategy Development, and Design Thinking and Innovation. Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Hofstra University and a Certificate of Professional Development from the Wharton School of Management, University of Pennsylvania. He has his MBRM from the BRM Institute. In addition to his consulting practice, Jeff is a frequent industry guest lecturer and speaker and works in an advisory capacity for start-ups in the technology sector.

Session Title: Agile & Relationship Management- A Perfect Match

In today’s fast-paced and interconnected business landscape, the ability to build and maintain strong relationships while remaining agile is crucial for success. This session focuses on the intersection of relationship management and agility, exploring how organizations can effectively navigate changing dynamics and leverage their connections to drive innovation and growth.

We will delve into how the core principles of Relationship Management and Agile work better together and explore their symbiotic relationship.

Aaron Monroe, VP and Head of Enterprise Business Agility. He is a dynamic transformation leader with over 20 years of experience helping Fortune 500 companies build high performing teams, accelerate speed to market, and increase business value delivered. He has a proven track record of leading successful enterprise transformations, and is capable of defining and implementing high agility behaviors and practices at scale. He is a senior level change leader, proficient at leading analytical problem-solving efforts to improve the effectiveness of product development, engineering practices, and business operations. Aaron is a compelling communicator able to motivate leaders at all organizational levels to embrace an Agile mindset, adopt Agile practices, and embrace change.

 Aaron holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in English, an M.S. degree in Project Management, and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

He also holds Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) Prosci, and OKR Coach certifications.

Session Title: Resilience – Healing Workplace Trauma 

As a BRM, we often come into situations where relationships are broken. It is important that as a BRM we’re able to remain objective and be able to indentify things that may trigger negative feelings. In these situations its important to reframe and respond positively and empathetically. Let’s look at practical steps needed to identify who you want to be and how you want to show up in conflicts to create relationship resilence. 

Meet Alice Pryor, a Values-Driven Business Relationship & Client Experience Executive with a background in Economics, thriving in dynamic, creative environments as a strategic partner in capturing maximum value and fostering organization-wide communication.

Beyond her professional achievements, Alice is a devoted mother of two girls and a passionate advocate for pets, though she currently is enjoying a child free and pet free empty nest. Recently relocating to Raleigh, NC, to be closer to family, she embraces her southern roots despite her Minnesota origins. Alice’s love for writing has sparked an exciting journey, where she’s currently working on a book and a movie project. Her fascination with Chat GPT and AI has led to a consulting opportunity, exploring the vast potential of technology.

In collaboration with a friend and colleague, Alice is also co-founding a non-profit organization called Ava’s Pathways. This organization aims to support women in crisis, helping them rise up and create a strong community of empowerment.

Embracing the philosophy of living in the flow and taking on challenges fearlessly, Alice is excited to contribute her insights and learn from fellow professionals at the 2023 BRMConnect conference.

Session Title: Simplifying the RSOAP – it really is possible to have a relationship strategy on a page!

Relationships thrive on open communication, transparency, and shared goals. This does not happen quickly, and can not be done by one person or one ‘side’ alone. I will share my story of working with one department to change their perception of IT, IT’s perception of this business unit, remove unnecessary stress from the collaboration, and importantly, achieve business goals.

A key component to this has been open and honest discussions and collaboration to create a Relationship Strategy on a Page (RSOAP) with our business units. During the session, I would share the templates I created (based on BRM) and experience.

Andrea has been with INPO for 8 years in various roles, including business analyst and innovation leader. She is a certified Business Relationship Management Professional, Virtual Facilitator, and VTS@Work Facilitator, with additional training in business analysis and business architecture.

As a technology business partner, she serves as a liaison between the INPO strategy and IT strategy, working directly with business units on their upcoming initiatives and requirements. Andrea has a passion for building relationships, making connections, and achieving strategic goals. Outside of work, she enjoys her family and friends, church service, producing a podcast, and creating laser crafts.

Session Title: Unleashing the Powerhouse Alliance: Maximizing Value through BRM-BA Collaboration

Join us as we revolutionize the way you perceive collaboration between Business Relationship Managers (BRMs) and Business Analysts (BAs) in institutional projects. This compelling proposal unveils a dynamic roadmap to unlock the full potential of their partnership, enabling you to seize unprecedented opportunities and achieve resounding success. Presented with Jonathan Medrano. 

Ashlee Vasquez (she/her) is the Assistant Director of Strategic Services at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) for the Business Relationship Management office and has worked in Higher Education IT for 10+ years. As one of the founding Business Relationship Managers for the university, Ashlee was part of the team responsible for developing the foundation and introducing/promoting this new role at UTSA. She is skilled at fostering relationships at all levels of the organization while cultivating a team of leaders. Under her leadership, the BRMs build meaningful and influential relationships that help drive value by supporting the university community and strategic initiatives/goals. 

Session Title: Ensuring Financial strategy: Garnering CFO Support for the advancement of BRM

Leveraging your BRM capability or launching a BRM program all starts with support at the top. In this session, Amy will detail the most effective steps to getting CFO support for BRM program.  Top three takeaways include…

1. Training your executives to support BRM among their leadership teams/peers
2. Defining key ROIs your finance team wants to see
3. Don’t be afraid of Finance!! We want to support you – tell us why

Amy Moses, the Director of Finance and Technology at BRM Institute, brings a unique blend of financial expertise and technological insight to her role. Holding a degree in Accounting and certified as a BRMP professional, she expertly navigates the financial landscape while incorporating innovative tech solutions for enhanced outcomes. Amy’s knack for numbers and her dedication to fostering strong business relationships have contributed to her organization’s success under her leadership.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Amy is a passionate volunteer, dedicating her time and support to causes dear to her heart. Her love for dogs is evident through her involvement in supporting domestic abuse survivors by providing service animals. In her downtime, she enjoys savoring the nuances of whiskey, showcasing her appreciation for the finer things in life. Amy Moses’ story is one of balancing excellence in finance and technology with a compassionate commitment to giving back and relishing life’s pleasures.

Session Title: Food for Thought, How to Engage C-Suite Business Partners

Join Bart Keany and the Centene Team as they guide you to what many BRM teams need, share best-in-class results to reach Strategic Partnership. This Fortune 26 organization is leading the way and changing the health of the community for the better, one person at a time.

Please join the Centene executive BRM team as they share recipes for success for engaging c-suites from over thirty markets (subsidiaries).  

1. Creating the Menu:  How the team divides and conquers to produce a buffet of tasty topics to tantalize the senses. 

2. Killing Roaches while Serving Steak: How account management structure to isolate tactical distractions from your main course (strategy). 

3. Forget Yelp: Chill out with the surveys and serve delectable insights that uplevel discussions. 

4. Bring in the celebrity chef: The importance of actively engaging the CIO and why they will thank you for it. 

5. Show and tell of the monthly cadence of engaging the c-suite: -Presentation is everything: how we preparing to engage -Seats at the Chef’s table: how we tailor engagement -Building Buzz: How we keep the c-suite interested and informed 

6. Would you like that to go? – Q&A 

Bart Keaney has been leading IT Business Engagement at Centene since 2017. His managed healthcare experience spans over twenty-five years in various management and consulting roles including technology, operations, and finance. He currently resides in southern California and holds an MBA in Healthcare Management. He’s also a former alumni of the REACH executive management program, developed in partnership between Centene, Washington University, and Brookings Institute.

Session Title: The Fearless BRM

One of the BRM mindsets is to be fearless. What does that mean for the BRM? What are the behaviors the fearless BRM embraces and practices? Barbara Trotter will share examples from her real-world experience when she was the fearless BRM that anyone can relate to and put into practice. Mart will share how he coaches BRMs to become more fearless with dos and don’ts for BRMs. All examples provided by Barbara and Mart you can start practicing immediately following the conference.

Barbara took on her Business Relationship Manager (BRM) position in early 2023 at one the largest media companies in the US. The various leadership positions she held throughout her career have provided her with a wealth of corporate experience and diverse skill sets, favoring her BRM role. 

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Arizona State University, an MBA from Grand Canyon University, and she continually seeks new opportunities for professional development. Immediately after taking on the BRM role, she added the BRMP and CBRM credentials to her list of certifications. Barbara’s dedication to continuous learning and professional development reflects her commitment to providing the highest level of BRM excellence.

Before she took on her current BRM role, she effectively led cross-functional teams to achieve shared goals by encouraging a collaborative and team player mindset, fostering a culture of continuous growth. This started early in her career for various organizations in industries such as legal services, food & beverage, transportation, and others. 

Barbara enjoys empowering others and making a positive impact both professionally and personally in her spare time and as a volunteer now that she is an empty nester. Constantly speaking with young women to promote self-esteem, self-improvement, and personal development. She seamlessly combines her passion and purpose as a BRM with her diverse interests to create a well-rounded and grateful life. 

Session Title: BRM For Impact

The session asks why we manage business relationships. What is the impact we’re hoping to create?

We look at the obvious impacts, creating revenue and facilitating the creation of value in organizations. We argue that this is fundamentally important, like the air that we breathe. We also show why it is so important for our credibility that we do this incredibly well – this is the impact that can make or break us in the boardroom.

But we also look at impact beyond the obvious. Breathing is fundamentally important, but it is not our purpose for living. Similarly, revenue and improving ways of work are fundamentally important, but there are other deeply purposeful and meaningful impacts we as a community need to, have to make.

It starts with each of us. How impactful are we on those around us. Are we bringing our best selves into each ‘moment of truth’.

Beyond our personal impacts and the impact we create on our organizations, our community has a responsibility to do more. Our highest form of contribution is to broader society. Some may argue that basic value addition to organizations is enough, but is breathing enough for each of us when we look at our personal purpose? We inevitably demand greater purpose and impact for ourselves, but only if we have the fundamentals in place.

We look at those broader impacts we should be striving for as a BRM community, in our workplaces and as volunteers beyond our roles. We speak about the newly established World Impact Foundation, the triple bottom line of Relationshipism and the Relationship Centered Organization. We show why it is important to get involved and add momentum to making our community an inspirational community that makes a genuine difference, creating credible impact in organizations and meaningful impact beyond ourselves.

Baziel Barends has over twenty years’ experience in digital transformation with executive roles including leadership of business relationship management, supply chain systems, and service management functions in a multinational retailer. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Accounting and has completed an Executive MBA (EMBA) with distinction at the University of Cape Town. His EMBA research focused on Leadership-as-Practice, intrinsic motivation, power, and shared ownership and was featured at BRMConnect 2020 The Risky Business of Distributed Power.

He has coached executives as part of the EMBA program in the modules of systemic leadership and organizational viability and he believes that Business Relationship Management and Relationshipism are powerful enablers in these areas. This has driven him to volunteer in various roles with the institute, including leadership of the Relationshipism team.

The Improv Mindset

In a time of transition, hybrid work, and uncertainty— teams and individuals, more than ever, need to be great collaborators & communicators to make good decisions. The Improv Mindset helps you Let Go of what’s not important, Notice More around you, and Use Everything in effective ways. Learn the most widely useful mindset for work and life, inspired by how improv performers behave on stage. In this keynote you will be learning by doing, connecting with others in the room through interactive experiences.

Beau Brousseau, Lead Facilitator at On Your Feet. Partner at Bridge City Improv, which produces public & private comedy shows and provides professional role-play actors to support in-house training programs.

As an active and passionate member of the single, global BRM community- Chris will be offering his insights and expertise during panels as the BRMConnect panel moderator! We’re glad to have Chris joining the line up at the 2023 World BRMConnect Conference.

I have over 30 years of experience in/working with different Technology groups, aligning with both internal and external partners, as a developer, project manager, regional/national manager, director and as a business relationship manager (BRM). I have always had a passion for building strong relationships and developing strategic partnerships. I work hard to understand the business’ organization, objectives, and operations while converging them with Technology to deliver value and minimize risk. I take pride in being the “voice of the customer” and their advocate. I know the role of Technology directly impacts business success, but I also know how critical it is to ensure Technology is focused on the right things.

In the end, I focus daily on my WHY, which is “To engage people in a meaningful way in order to enable them to achieve great things!”

Session Title: Better Team Habits as a Bridge to Better Results

You’re in the business of relationships but it can be challenging at times to pinpoint what is driving the best results for you and your team. What if it could be more joyful and less stressful for you and your team to drive results? Join Charlie to learn how small changes and shared habits on your team will lead to more belonging and joy and show better results.

Charlie Gilkey has advised hundreds of teams, from Fortune 100 companies to tiny nonprofits, through Productive Flourishing, the coaching and training company he founded.

Charlie is the author of the upcoming (August 29, 2023) book, Team Habits: How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results and the critically acclaimed book, Start Finishing: How to Go From Idea to Done. He is also a former Army logistics officer and a near-PhD in Philosophy. Charlie lives in Portland, OR.

Session Title: The Power of the Ask: How to harness your asking power to keep commitments to yourself, get what you want, and take inspired action daily!

The Power of the Ask keynote will bring attendees to find more focus and peace in their daily life by learning how to usetheir own superpower of asking. The three-part process includes: asking better questions, asking for help, and asking for guidance from a strength greater than their own. The keynote will include interactive sections, such as: individual reflection, partner work, and group discussion and feedback. Attendees are guaranteed to leave with take-aways they can implement right away and sustain in the long term!

Carmen Ohling is an entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, founder of the Flow Life Academy, holistic life coach for ambitious women, and former corporate executive. She has also served as an expert on many media outlets, such as: Fox News, Living Local and a variety of health and women-centric podcasts. Carmen has traveled the country on national tours to highlight critical issues for women and to create a better understanding about harnessing the authentic power that is inside each of us, in order to design a life we truly desire.

Session Title: Strategies for Building IT and Business Relationships

Attendees will go on the BRM journey at Burns & McDonnell Engineering Design to Build International Company. This session will focus on the BRM impact upon business value, strategic relationship management and effective ways to organization and position the BRM capability.

Christina brings an energy to the BRM community and her organization. She has over 28 years of experience in IT, spending her first 24 years in the Oracle ERP space as a technical leader.

She has a natural ability to teach others about the BRM capability by sharing her story and helping them develop the tools and strategies for building strong relationships inside IT and with Business Leaders to become a Strategic Partner. She is certified in BRMP and CBRM. She recently completed her 215 CPD credits. She is well on her way to becoming a Master BRM.

Christina works for a Top International Engineering Company called Burns & McDonnell (Design to Build) in Kansas City. 

In her spare time, she travels across the US to Executive Conferences as a preferred speaker to share her BRM journey with other CIO’s and Executives so they can leverage knowledge from her experience on how to bring the BRM capability to their organization. 

She holds a volunteer position as VP for a group called CITO – Future CIO’s organized by EFM Events. https://www.efmevents.com/

Session Title: Building the BRM Capability Within a Delivery Team

Is a dedicated BRM team not in your organization’s budget? Learn how to build out an IT delivery team with a BRM mindset- giving your business partners value and strategic direction. Attendees of this session will discover how to map out an alternative path for building the BRM capability when a dedicated BRM function does not exist in your organization. 

Claire likes to say that she is a researcher at heart that “fell into IT”. Her passion is building capable IT delivery teams that fully understand the goals and concerns of their internal and external stakeholders. In her current role of Director of IT Business Solutions, Claire leads the team responsible for technology and data solutions needed to run dozens of clinical studies and manage a biorepository of 1M+ research samples. Claire has a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University and is well versed in BRM, Agile, and ITIL practices.

Session Title: Bridging Strategy and Results: The Power of Relationship-driven Execution

“Without a strategy, execution is aimless. Without execution, strategy is useless.” — Morris Chang

In today’s dynamic business landscape, the role of Business Relationship Managers (BRMs) is more pivotal than ever. They bear the weighty responsibility of not only forging connections between individuals, but also of catalyzing the kind of impactful outcomes that truly matter. Navigating this terrain requires a dual focus – one eye fixed on an organization’s strategic compass and the other on the intricate dance of translating strategy into tangible action. This artful interplay is what sets exceptional BRMs apart, enabling them to effect transformative change within their organizations.

Join us for an illuminating keynote by Darrel, our Chief Visionary Officer, as he shares a treasure trove of real-life instances. Delve into his experiences to unravel the secrets of seamlessly intertwining strategy and execution through the magic of relationships. Darrel’s insights will equip you with practical techniques to become an architect of strategic success.

Key Takeaways:

• Uncover the key components that elevate a strategy from a boardroom concept to a living force in the daily rhythm of an organization.
• Navigate the essential elements of execution that demand vigilant oversight by BRMs to ensure envisioned outcomes.
• Gain a profound understanding of the pivotal role that relationships play in bridging the chasm between high-level strategy and its grounded, day-to-day realization, thus paving the way for the desired impact.

Don’t miss this transformative session that promises to empower you with the wisdom and tools to turn strategic visions into tangible, remarkable achievements. Your journey towards mastering the art of relationship-driven execution starts here.

Darrel Popowich is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in the technology industry. He has held numerous leadership roles, including CIO of H&R Block Canada where he led a team of IT professionals responsible for supporting the company’s tax and financial services businesses. Coaching executives across the world, Darrel is a respected thought leader in his field, with a passion for leadership and business relationship management (BRM).

He has been involved with BRM training and implementation for many organizations and has spoken at a number of CIO conferences on the topic. His extensive experience in technology and business make him a valuable asset to any organization.

Session Title: The BRM Engagement Strategy- Identifying & Maturing Critical Relationships

Many organizations are struggling to get their BRM teams off the ground. While building relationships is paramount to the role, many are not sure the best way to go about this. Often, they miss critical influencers across the organization. As a result, their BRM team flounders. This session takes a practical approach to building a BRM engagement strategy. This session will be presented by Kristen Carvaines, Lauren DiMarino and Elizabeth Harness.

Elizabeth Harness has held a variety of positions within both National Interstate Insurance and Vanliner Insurance, most recently serving as the Director of Customer Service for Vanliner. During her many years with the company, Elizabeth has identified the need for and led a variety of cross-functional initiatives and participated in a number of headlining projects, including the implementation of a new Claims system which is underway. Elizabeth is a certified Business Relationship Management Professional (BRMP).©

The Improv Mindset

In a time of transition, hybrid work, and uncertainty— teams and individuals, more than ever, need to be great collaborators & communicators to make good decisions. The Improv Mindset helps you Let Go of what’s not important, Notice More around you, and Use Everything in effective ways. Learn the most widely useful mindset for work and life, inspired by how improv performers behave on stage. In this keynote you will be learning by doing, connecting with others in the room through interactive experiences.

Mariah Muñoz, Lead Facilitator at On Your Feet. Artist, writer, and producer with a decade of experience in the corporate apparel & footwear industry. She is a powerhouse facilitator and educator who utilizes her background in theatrical improv to connect humans in a genuine and dynamic way.

Session Title: The Critical Role of Organizational Behavior in Effective Business Relaionship Management

Effective business relationship management is essential for success in today’s competitive business environment. Organizational behavior is a critical driver of successful relationships between organizations, but it is often overlooked in relationship management efforts. This presentation focuses on the importance of addressing organizational behavior to improve business relationships and outlines specific strategies for doing so.
The presentation highlights how addressing organizational behavior can lead to measurable improvements in relationship quality, including increased trust, collaboration, and satisfaction. Specific example will be provided behaviors that can positively impact relationship quality, such as active listening, being responsive to partner’s needs, and focusing on long-term relationship building.

Through these examples, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the importance of organizational behavior in relationship management and leave with practical strategies to improve relationships with their customers, suppliers, and partners. Addressing organizational behavior creates a culture of collaboration and trust that fosters long-term relationships and drives business success. 

Elka is an experienced Business Relationship Management (BRM) leadership coach and facilitator. Her focus is to bring value to individual BRMs and BRM teams and help them succeed in and obtain results from their BRM capability and practice.

Leveraging over 25 years’ experience working in and with a wide variety of industries and types of organizations and driving for tangible business value, she brings a wealth of practical approaches to her coaching and facilitation sessions. She has worked both internally within organizations and externally as a coach and consultant with organizations to establish, assess and improve a value and business results-focused BRM capability and discipline.

She has been involved with the BRM Institute since 2013 in a variety of ways to support and enhance the BRM community and discipline, and develop future body of knowledge contributions and knowledge offerings.

In 2022 she won the Arnie award from the BRM Institute for global excellence.

Session Title: Accelerate Your Leadership Journey with Mentoring

Looking to change the trajectory of your career? Seeking effective *and* efficient ways to level up your leadership skills? Or are you brimming with experiences and expertise you are eager to share with others? Then join us for an interactive workshop investigating how to find, start, and get the most from a leadership-development focused mentoring relationship. Discover the key factors for success as a mentor or mentee. Walk away with ideas, resources, a plan, and most of all . . . the confidence to start a mentoring relationship today!

Session Title: How to Create Impactful Stories with Data-Driven Storytelling

In this talk, we explore the art of using data to tell our stories. We will discuss the importance of identifying your audience, choosing a subject, gathering and analyzing data, and using visualization and narrative techniques to bring the data to life.

We will look at building a process around engaging reports. The talk will provide actionable tips and best practices for effectively communicating meaningful data insights, as well as the importance of testing and refining the story to persuade key stakeholders. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to turn data into compelling and memorable stories that will create change and leave a lasting impact.

I am the founder of Method and Metric, which I launched in 2017. For over 10 years, I’ve helped business owners, entrepreneurs, and marketing teams build winning SEO strategies for their organizations.

My passion for progression, creativity backed by data, and the democratization of tech have led me to build an agency focused on connecting data and people in an ethical and forward-thinking way. I am a creative problem solver, marketer, and entrepreneur, known for building high-performing teams and delivering results.

Business today is being dramatically reinvented by digital transformation and our customer’s ability to shop from anywhere. As a result, there is greater pressure to be easily discoverable online. Here is where I help companies uncover the formula that will generate more website traffic and, more importantly, more revenue.

Session Title: Unleashing the Powerhouse Alliance: Maximizing Value through BRM-BA Collaboration

Join us as we revolutionize the way you perceive collaboration between Business Relationship Managers (BRMs) and Business Analysts (BAs) in institutional projects. This compelling proposal unveils a dynamic roadmap to unlock the full potential of their partnership, enabling you to seize unprecedented opportunities and achieve resounding success. Presented with Ashlee Vasquez

Session Title: Emotional Intelligence: Unveiling the Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything! 

John Krogh is a highly skilled Management Consultant and Coach with extensive expertise in High-Performance Governance (HPG), Business Relationship Management, and Service Management.

With Value Shepherd’s renowned HPG methodology as his foundation, John has a commendable track record of assisting organizations in optimizing the value derived from their human and technology investments. His strategic focus on Business Relationship Management, Emotional Intelligence, Culture Transformation, and Customer Experience Management has enabled many successful organizational transformations

High-Performance Governance thrives when businesses are empowered to control outcomes, costs, and risks. Key to this achievement is transparency, responsiveness, and a relationship built on trust. Business Relationship Management emphasizes transparency and trust-building, while Customer Experience Management prioritizes responsiveness.

Session Title: Understanding Emotions and Building Beneficial Culture for Your Organization

We used to be told that emotions didn’t belong at work…but humans are emotional beings and you can’t leave that side of you at the door when you go to work. Learn now to understand the emotional culture of your team and the wider organisation. Get a vision of how people are feeling and see how this is impacting the way they interact and on their productivity. During this session you will gain an understanding of how to use the emotional culture deck to unwrap the emotions that could be impacting on your team, build a plan to shape the emotional culture of the organisation in a way that will build stronger relationships and enhance produtivity throughout the organisation

Currently working as a Business relationship Manger for the NZ Police, I see a strong future for organisations that choose to harness the power of the relationships within their businesses. I am an IT Service Management consultant and practitioner with a global reputation. I am skilled at managing organisational change and assessing and improving business processes, particularly as they relate to IT Services.
I was a member of the authoring team for ITIL4’s “Direct, Plan and Improve’, and a contributing author for the ITIL4 Practice Guides.

I have spoken at IT Service Management conferences in New Zealand, Australia, USA, Norway and Finland.
As a qualified and experienced journalist and editor, I bring an additional, very useful skill set to any position I undertake. I am a committed and loyal member of any team, putting in whatever effort is required to ensure a high level of satisfaction for my customers.
I pride myself on having excellent communication skills, both written and oral and am able to develop excellent working relationships with people at all levels of an organisation. I am highly motivated and organised and enjoy seeing the benefits of well managed service improvement plans.

Session Title: Maturity Model for Community Centric Investment Decisions

When you think of the Triple Bottom Line (People, Purpose, Planet) how do you ensure that investment decisions are aligned with these social goals? How do you think on a global scale and still make decisions locally that result in driving the business purpose and encompass all the facets of the Triple Bottom Line? In this session, Katie will share a maturity model to understand what level your organization is at when it comes to making decisions that are Triple Bottom Line focused. This model brings concepts from technology governance. Join her for this session and learn how to tailor your maturity model to your organization’s needs and business purpose.

Katie has a passion for creating an equitable and harmonious culture where individuals feel connected to their environments, communties, and people within them. In her current role as the BRM and Governance manager for the State of Oregon, Katie uses her 30+ years focused on governance and strategic planning to help technology partners connect with business missions and showcase value from a person and community-centric approach. In this role over the past 5 years Katie has formed, matured and led a BRM and governance team of 8 based on the BRM Institutes framework.

Session Title: Service Relationship Management (SRM): Reversing the Depersonalization of Support.

It started by looking through a BRM lens with our support capability which was a paralleled stakeholder feedback –  we are not receiving the day-to-day support that we need. The work began in fall of 2021 with building a Service Relationship Management (SRM) capability.

Our goal – elevate the local IT support landscape. BRM serves as a coach our support professionals to help build strong connections with customers and understanding their unique needs. SRM establishes a consistent and seamless customer experience: seeing customers as individuals and moving their journey beyond transactional exchanges.

We are reshaping the future of customer support, ensuring a human-centric and relationship-driven approach that leaves a lasting impact on the customer’s experience. Join Leanne as she walks through their journey, highlighting how we sought clarity are SRM, the strategic decisions made along the way, how BRM coached the support professionals, the impact it is having on our customers and staff, and our future plans.

Key takeaways and outline

• how we sought clarity are SRM, the strategic decisions made along the way
• how BRM coached the support professionals
• the impact it is having on our customers and staff, and
• our future plans,

Leanne McGiveron, Director of Business Relationship Management (BRM) leads the BRM, support services, and academic IT teams for Purdue Agriculture. Together, we discover and engage Purdue’s technology investment, clearing the path for Agriculture innovation and emerging tech while providing a personalized technology experience. 

Leanne’s work in corporate and higher education industries, including 25 years in Information Technology leadership, has equipped her to navigate the ever-changing technology landscape, while keeping the human element at the core. She has a special passion for topics of career development, value/strategy, culture and maturing the BRM capability. Join her as she speaks to developing a Service Relationship Management capability.

Session Title:From Theory to Practice: Implementing Portfolio Management in Day-to-Day BRM

Unleash the potential of Portfolio Management: From Tactical to Practical! We’re transforming theory into action and inviting you to join us. This engaging panel discussion, led by Kip Fanta of the Kip Fanta Group, brings together experts Vaughan Merlyn (Co-Founder of BRM Institute), Roy Youngman (BRM Institute), and Stuart Holtby (GetInSync) to delve into the real-world application of Portfolio Management for BRMs.

It’s time for BRMs to evolve from being mere order takers, reacting to incoming demands, to strategic partners effectively guiding these demands. BRMs often find themselves on their back foot, grappling with demands while essentially flying blind due to the absence of data-driven insights that provide context. This session is about empowering BRMs with the knowledge and tools to transform this narrative.

Our panel will explore the fundamental principles and practical approaches of Portfolio, Program, and Project Management, and highlight the crucial role of Business Relationship Management in these areas. We will demonstrate how to integrate portfolio management into your day-to-day BRM practice using GetInSync, a unique platform powered by ChatGPT AI.

Discover how GetInSync can support strategic work within your IT Function and bolster critical business relationships. As a bonus, all attendees of the session will receive a voucher for a one-on-one discovery session, tailored to demonstrate how Portfolio Management can be effectively incorporated into their specific organizational context.

Bonus: Tailored Discovery Session: All session attendees will receive a voucher for a one-on-one discovery session, providing a tailored exploration of how Portfolio Management can fit into their specific organizational context.

Join us in putting Portfolio Management into practice!

3 Takeaways:

1. Strategic Partnership: Learn how BRMs can transform from being order takers to strategic partners, effectively shaping and guiding incoming demands rather than just reacting to them. Discover how to leverage data-driven insights to take a proactive, context-aware approach to demand management.

2. Practical Application of Portfolio Management: Understand the principles and practical approaches of Portfolio, Program, and Project Management in a real-world setting. Discover how to incorporate portfolio management into your day-to-day BRM practice to optimize investments and assets, drive innovation, and maximize business value.

3. Leveraging GetInSync for Strategic Work: Experience a live demonstration of how the GetInSync platform, powered by ChatGPT AI, can support strategic work within the IT function and enhance critical business relationships. See firsthand how AI-driven insights can transform your BRM practice and empower your strategic decision-making

Kip Fanta is the Principal at the Kip Fanta Group (kipfanta.com). He established his company to inspire and enable leaders at all levels, with a focus on helping Information Technology (IT) and all Shared Service Providers/Functions, both internal and external, become more strategic with their business partners. Kip partners very closely with the Business Relationship Management (BRM) Institute for all areas related to BRM, along with Inixia for Professional GBS. Kip is a Master of Business Relationship Manager (MBRM) and Knowledge Provider (KP) with BRM Institute. He is excited to bring all of the offerings found on Knowledge Path to Success (KPTS) for Business Relationship Management (BRM). Kip works with Inixia to provide Professional GBS training. Along with his professional training, he provides consulting and coaching to organizations of all sizes and industries, both within the US and globally, in their overall BRM and GBS implementations.

With his strong passion for relationships and the importance they play within business, Kip is also a consultant/advisor with Relations Research. Additionally, Kip is a strong partner with GetInSync and SkillsTX, who have each built best-in-class platforms to enable strategic portfolio management and digital skill development accordingly.

Prior to taking a step out on his own, Kip spent 25 years within the IT and Global Business Services (GBS) organization within Procter & Gamble (P&G). During his time at P&G, Kip’s roles included working up to one of the more senior and global BRM roles for one of P&G’s business units. Additionally, he held roles within Service Management, SAP Development, Manufacturing IT, Customer Teams, and Internal Audit. Across his career, Kip has traveled extensively (Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, China, Philippines, and more), valuing and enjoying the opportunity to experience and work with companies and people from all cultures and experiences.

Kip is frequently called upon to moderate, emcee, and speak at all types of meetings. He has a passion for engaging and developing others, and has been a sought-after speaker and trainer over the past 25 years. His ‘Bring It’ talk has helped inspire many to take their personal leadership skills to the next level.

Session Title: The BRM Engagement Strategy- Identifying & Maturing Critical Relationships

Many organizations are struggling to get their BRM teams off the ground. While building relationships is paramount to the role, many are not sure the best way to go about this. Often, they miss critical influencers across the organization. As a result, their BRM team flounders. This session takes a practical approach to building a BRM engagement strategy. This session will be presented by Kristen Carvaines, Lauren DiMarino and Elizabeth Harness.

Lauren DiMarino joined National Interstate Insurance as a Developer in 2013 and later transitioned to the role of Business Analyst. Lauren was instrumental in a number of successful Underwriting initiatives surrounding the implementation of a new policy management system. Lauren became a Business Relationship Manager in 2021 and liaises between the Underwriting Center of Excellence and Information Technology.

Lauren is a certified Business Relationship Management Professional (BRMP)© and is completing her Six Sigma Black Belt at Kent State University in Ohio.

Session Title: Food for Thought, How to Engage C-Suite Business Partners

Join the Centene Team as they guide you to what many BRM teams need, share best-in-class results to reach Strategic Partnership. This Fortune 26 organization is leading the way and changing the health of the community for the better, one person at a time.

Please join the Centene executive BRM team as they share recipes for success for engaging c-suites from over thirty markets (subsidiaries).  

1. Creating the Menu:  How the team divides and conquers to produce a buffet of tasty topics to tantalize the senses. 

2. Killing Roaches while Serving Steak: How account management structure to isolate tactical distractions from your main course (strategy). 

3. Forget Yelp: Chill out with the surveys and serve delectable insights that uplevel discussions. 

4. Bring in the celebrity chef: The importance of actively engaging the CIO and why they will thank you for it. 

5. Show and tell of the monthly cadence of engaging the c-suite: -Presentation is everything: how we preparing to engage -Seats at the Chef’s table: how we tailor engagement -Building Buzz: How we keep the c-suite interested and informed 6. Would you like that to go? – Q&A 

Coming Soon!

The Improv Mindset

In a time of transition, hybrid work, and uncertainty— teams and individuals, more than ever, need to be great collaborators & communicators to make good decisions. The Improv Mindset helps you Let Go of what’s not important, Notice More around you, and Use Everything in effective ways. Learn the most widely useful mindset for work and life, inspired by how improv performers behave on stage. In this keynote you will be learning by doing, connecting with others in the room through interactive experiences.

Kristen Schier, Facilitator at On Your Feet. Actor and improviser with extensive improv teaching, directing, and performance experience. She holds a BFA in Performing Arts. She has toured all over the country teaching and performing at various festivals such as the Chicago Improv Festival, Vancouver International Improv Festival, Boom Chicago Comedy Festival in Amsterdam, and more.

Session Title: The Resilience Revolution: The Importance of Cultivating Business Resilience Through the Strategic Role of a BRM.

BRM Capability is going to be the key to deliver business value and this workshop fosters practical tips and strategies to advance the strategic partnerships with the business partners throughout the organization. This workshop has been tested with clients world wide and has been appreciated across the globe. Nataliya is presenting alongside Svetlana Sidenko.

Nataliya is a success-driven Transformational Leader, BRMP®, and Business Resilience Accredited Trainer, offering 20+ years of international experience in Aerospace, Telecom, Finance, Banking, Consulting, Hospitality & Retail. She has 10+ years of experience in Training and Coaching on various topics, focusing on Business and People Resilience, Stakeholder Relationships, Continuous Improvement, Change Management, and Project Management. Nataliya helps develop people’s resilience while building high-performing teams, creating a culture of trust and accountability, and enhancing resilience in organizations. 

Nataliya acts as a trusted strategic SME in Project Management, Change Management, Business and People Resilience, Process Improvement, Digital Transformation, and I&T Governance.

Nataliya is committed to rewarding work full of meaning and service, fuelled by the spirit of purpose, resilience, and a growth mindset that sparks profound change with a lasting positive impact on people and organizations.

Session Title: The Fearless BRM

One of the BRM mindsets is to be fearless. What does that mean for the BRM? What are the behaviors the fearless BRM embraces and practices? Barbara Trotter will share examples from her real-world experience when she was the fearless BRM that anyone can relate to and put into practice. Mart will share how he coaches BRMs to become more fearless with dos and don’ts for BRMs. All examples provided by Barbara and Mart you can start practicing immediately following the conference.

I coach, consult, educate, train, present, author, volunteer, and audit in specialty areas including service management, business relationship management, organizational change management, cybersecurity, governance, risk management, and business continuity.

Since 1992, I have helped elevating the service capability levels and business and process performance, of 100s of organizations around the globe and increased their levels of effectiveness and efficiencies enabling their business success and growth. I coach, mentor, and advise business executives of multibillion-dollar organizations in their quest for results that exceed market and customer expectations. This has culminated in successfully positioning my customers, or I prefer to call them my business partners, before going public or before an acquisition or a merger.

I have been instrumental, and still are, in helping dozens of organizations to become certified in ISO standards such as ISO/IEC 20000, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 22301. While my business partners deserve all the credits, it is always humbling to be allowed to guide yet another organization towards becoming ISO certified and to experience at first hand their organizational transformations.

I have certified 1000s of business professionals in BRM, Change Management, COBIT, Cybersecurity, DevOps, FitSM, ISO/IEC 20000, ISO 22301, ISO/IEC 27001, NIST, and ITIL. What my students appreciate the most is that my 40 years in the industry allows me to relate the course materials to my learners’ real world.

For decades I present at international conferences. My decades-long diverse business experience and passions allows me to share real-life stories and illustrations when I motivate, educate, and entertain audiences at these events. Furthermore, I blog, post, present at webinars, and conduct roundtable discussions. For decades, I volunteer for non-profit organizations and own one. The Arizona ITSM Professionals Association.

And, I have authored the “ISO/IEC 20000 – A Pocket Guide”, I have co-authored nearly two dozen books in the field of service and quality management, and I frequently publish free white papers.

Roy is a creative and energetic problem solver, strategist, and innovative thinker. Throughout his long career as both a management consultant, enterprise architect, and technology officer, he has built and run capabilities like business relationship management, knowledge management, and project portfolio management. He has an exceptional background with building value-add systems, both in terms of the technology they require and the human changes required to use them effectively.

At BRM Institute, Roy is the architect of the BRM Body of Knowledge and researcher and author of several cornerstone articles of BRM-related knowledge. He wrote “The Infinite Value Potential of Relationship-Centered Organizations” document that lays out the Theory of Relationshipism. He compiled the “Now-to-New” set of articles which make a case for the BRM Capability to be a cornerstone of every organization. As a key member of the BRM Institute Knowledge Team, Roy has written or had a hand in the development and enhancement of many other articles throughout the BRM Body of Knowledge.

Session Title: Build a unique Value Proposition for your BRM Team 

This storyteller session will equip BRM professionals with the tools to effectively communication the value of their BRM team to stakeholders. Attendees of this session can expect the following take aways

1. Understanding the importance of a Value Proposition
2. Identifying the unique value of the BRM team
3. Understanding the needs and expectations of Business Partners
4. Crafting a compelling Value Proposition
5. Putting the Value Proposition into practice

As CEO of IT Chapter, an Apside Group company, I put my 30 years of professional experience in IT consulting, recruiting and training to help my clients, consultants and trainees to mature their IT practices. IT Chapter, in business since 2003, strives to be the point of reference and a partner of choice for corporations while being a knowledge hub for Information and Technology Professionals. We value trust, integrity, excellence, accountability, integrity and progress.

Session Title: Unwritten Rules & Lessons of Fools: A practical guide through the BRM journey

During this session, we’ll open the conversation around becoming a BRM and discover some of the obstacles you may encounter on your path to maturity. Through sharing personal experience as a BRM and leading BRM teams, this session will bring awareness to some “unwritten rules” of BRM and provide practical guidance to help you on your journey. 

Pez Kooner is currently the Global Head of IT for Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace and is based in the UK. During his career, Pez has taken on a variety of different BRM roles and has built a reputation of building high performing business engagement teams by using a blend of theoretical and practical BRM best practice.

As an advocate of the profession, he is currently serving as a leader for the UK BRM community and has published variety of materials online to promote the business relationship management capability. Pez holds MBRM, ITIL and Prince2 certifications as well as a Masters in Business Administration.

Session Title: Three Critical Obstacles to Executing Your Strategy

Nothing derails success quite like failing to execute, yet an estimated 60% to 90% of businesses annually fail to execute strategies ranging from the most complex to the very simple. You’ve experienced it yourself. You’ve felt it. You’ve been left frustrated, wondering why you can’t execute despite having some of the smartest, most dedicated people on your team.

Patrick Lyons is a professional speaker, writer, executive coach, and strategy execution consultant. His podcast, The Frustrated CEO, addresses issues keeping CEOs awake at night and offers practical solutions to resolve them. 

With expertise in strategic alignment, execution, leadership development, and creating world-class culture, Patrick teaches companies the art and science of executing strategy. He owns 25 years of experience helping individuals, teams and organizations get unstuck to reach their goals. 

Session Title:Is the United States ready for the game of Cricket …and is the rest of the world ready for BRMs?

Come and share, come and listen, come and participate, come and tell us what has worked for you, what were your challenges and what were the dumb-assed things you did that others should know about? This is a fully interactive session. We want to learn from your experiences (good and bad), we want hints, tips and advice as we take the message and benefits of a BRM discipline further across the world.

A very experienced manager, trainer and consultant, One of the first few in the world to be awarded the ITIL 4 Managing Professional qualification, an ITIL expert and Prince2 practitioner. A highly skilled, motivated and trustworthy professional. Currently responsible for the Business Skills team at QA – Service management, Leadership, Management and Behavioural skills and Business systems.

An extensive managerial experience, travelling the world helping and advising organisations in the delivery ITIL based customer services and assisting organisations in engaging with customers, account management and maximising value for all stakeholders. Able to manage difficult situations adapting quickly to new and challenging opportunities and is an excellent and an intuitive personnel manager – enabling people to maximise their potential by supporting, mentoring and inspiring teamwork and creativity. Key experience is in managing large IT support teams, empowering change; he would consider himself to be a customer services and change management specialist. Providing guidance and expertise to a wide variety of customers including global market leaders. Has excellent communication skills easily communicating with all levels of business.

Experience in devising, and improving internal processes for service delivery, continual service improvement and is experienced in engaging and fostering excellent customer relationships. Experienced in managing contracts, supplier selection and supplier management.
An exceptional presenter, with a good standard of English and effective report writing abilities.
As a natural leader and trainer his passion is fostering an environment that maximises the potential of the internal teams to deliver outstanding customer services.

Paul is also a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist and uses this experience and knowledge to help private clients wishing to address issues and move forward and corporate clients seeking to maximise the potential of their employees.

Session Title: Demonstrating Value and Impact: Using the Impact Canvas to Drive Organizational Results

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations are under constant pressure to demonstrate the value and impact of their initiatives. Yet, too often, initiatives fail to meet their objectives, leaving stakeholders frustrated and disillusioned. The key to success is a structured approach that enables organizations to clearly define value and impact, and communicate it effectively to all partners.

This presentation provides a structured way to demonstrate the value and impact of initiatives within an organization. We introduce the Impact Canvas, a technique that provides a foundation for dialogues around value and impact in an organization. We explore how to use the Impact Canvas to facilitate conversations around value and impact, and to drive collaboration between different teams.

We will share examples and case studies from organizations that have successfully used the Impact Canvas to demonstrate value and impact.
This presentation is not just for business relationship managers but for anyone who wants to demonstrate value and impact. We believe that this is a critical leadership competency that is required to succeed in today’s business environment. Join us to learn how to use the Impact Canvas to drive organizational success.

Peter is an experienced Business Relationship Management (BRM) leadership coach, speaker and facilitator. He helps organizations to develop a BRM capability and coaches BRM Teams on how to get the most out of their BRM Capability.

Peter has worked in various industries and is a sought after speaker on Business Relationship Management.

Peter has received the Trailblazer award from BRM Institute in 2015 and 2016. In 2017 he received the BRM Excellence award for the impact he has made in the BRM community through the Knowledge team, weekly videos, BRM Cafe podcast and presentations around the globe.
In 2021 he won the prestigious Arnie award for global excellence from the BRM Institute.

Session Title: Purple Cow Leadership: Stand Out as An Effective Leader 

Energetic … engaging … lively … enthusiastic … inspiring … words that are often used to describe Saby. A speaker with the uncanny ability to look at the normal and see something quite different, Saby shares his life stories and has a fun way to look at life as well as live life. You are guaranteed to learn a thing or two on your journey from his unique perspective. He is an Angel Investor, Mentor, Coach, Project & Program Management Expert, Change and Volunteer Leader with a diverse experience of over 20 years in both the public and private sector.

Session Title: The VA Way – Lessons learned and applied over a decade of Business Relationship Management

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest civilian department in the United States federal government supporting a diverse and geographically dispersed customer-base. Business Relationship Management is a crucial factor in ensuring Veterans receive the quality services they are due.

First put into practice in 2013, the VA has learned many lessons over the past decade on how to apply Business Relationship Management. This session shall dive into both lessons learned and what solutions the VA has put into practice to enhance the role and its reputation of Business Relationship Managers as a key part of IT success.

I provide the communications solutions and timely strategy needed for organizational success through leadership, negotiation, and collaboration. I am a communications professional with extensive experience in public relations, strategic communication, project management, outreach, and common sense problem solving.

Over the course of my career I have repeatedly demonstrated ability to apply both new and traditional communication methodologies to analyze, evaluate, and enhance communication with a wide array of stakeholders and audiences. Most important, I get results that matter.

Specialties: Public Relations, Community Involvement, Strategic Communication, Internal Communication, Outreach, Strategic Planning, Strategic Measurement, Facilitation, Project Management, Contract Management

Session Title: Advancing Strategic Partnerships

BRM Capability is going to be the key to deliver business value and this workshop fosters practical tips and strategies to advance the strategic partnerships with the business partners throughout the organization. This workshop has been tested with clients world wide and has been appreciated across the globe

M-Tech is currently the Founder & Managing Director at TaUB Solutions Pte Ltd (Singapore) . He has more than 20 Years of IT experience He has wealth of experience in different facets of IT Service Management, IT Governance, Business Relationship Management, Agile, DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering. Over the years, he has performed diversified roles that included ITSM Consultant/Solution Architect/ Program Manager/Business Consultant, Architecture & Standards Governance Manager. Suresh GP as a Principal Consultant does Consulting, Training, Simulations and Implementation services for ITSM, Agile, DevOps, SRE, BRM to Fortune 2000 organisation.

With ideal blend of experience in Infrastructure Management domain and Managed Services, he continues to be a trusted advisor for Clients World Wide. To complement his extensive experience, he has earned wide range of certifications that include ITIL V3 Expert, CGEIT, Business Relationship Management Professional, PMP, DevOps Foundation, Certified Agile Service Manager, ISO 20000 Practitioner and ISO/IEC 20000 & 27001 Lead Auditor. He is a regular blogger and speaker in National &International Forums and some of the Publications and blogs are available at ISACA, PMI, HDI Connect and ITSM Portal.

Suresh is also the Regional Leader for Business Relationship Management Institute for APAC and Global Ambassador of DevOps Institute

Title: Influencing With Clarity – How Presence & Emotional Self-Awareness Impact How We Lead

 Description: In our fast-paced, data-driven world, it can be difficult to be still and present. To notice what is happening within us and around us. To gain vital information required for clarity.

In this session, Shannon will invite you into your Red Chair as she guides you through a process of self-discovery and awareness to help you further increase your effectiveness as a BRM. She will share her story from the C-Suite to Red Chair Ranch and how being present enabled a rapid climb up the corporate ladder and then a decision to walk away.

This workshop provides participants with unique insights they can use to create positive change now.

3 Key Takeaways:

• What it means to be present and what it requires of you, with a simple and powerful exercise to use anytime.

• Some common emotions and how understanding the information they provide can help you understand yourself and others.

• How horses help humans be present.

Shannon facilitates powerful learning experiences for leaders and teams that generate trust, clarity, and results. Whether it is online, at a client site, or at Red Chair Ranch where she partners with her horses as co-coaches, individuals experience transformational shifts as they explore the head and the heart of leadership.

Previously, as the Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of Product of a large Crown Corporation, Shannon facilitated people strategies that established the foundation for a corporate-wide culture shift and successfully enabled the delivery of over 75M in business transformation programs. She is a leadership coach who has led.

Shannon’s coaching certifications include Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and a Certification in Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching (EFLC). She holds a Master of Education (Adult Education), from University of Manitoba, and the Executive Certificate in Management from the Smith School of Business, Queen’s University.

Join the Centene Team as they guide you to what many BRM teams need, share best-in-class results to reach Strategic Partnership. This Fortune 26 organization is leading the way and changing the health of the community for the better, one person at a time.

Please join the Centene executive BRM team as they share recipes for success for engaging c-suites from over thirty markets (subsidiaries).  

1. Creating the Menu:  How the team divides and conquers to produce a buffet of tasty topics to tantalize the senses. 

2. Killing Roaches while Serving Steak: How account management structure to isolate tactical distractions from your main course (strategy). 

3. Forget Yelp: Chill out with the surveys and serve delectable insights that uplevel discussions. 

4. Bring in the celebrity chef: The importance of actively engaging the CIO and why they will thank you for it. 

5. Show and tell of the monthly cadence of engaging the c-suite: -Presentation is everything: how we preparing to engage -Seats at the Chef’s table: how we tailor engagement -Building Buzz: How we keep the c-suite interested and informed 6. Would you like that to go? – Q&A 

Coming soon!

It’s safe to say that storytelling is a matter of life and death.

Since the earliest days of human civilization, people have told stories. Stories to inspire, to play, to stir emotion, and to move hearts and minds. From simple traveling bards during medieval times, to the most powerful orators moving entire nations to war, to modern speakers who sell entire auditoriums for people who are searching for meaning and motivation. Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools humans possess.

And every single one of us is a storyteller who has the power to move hearts and minds.

As BRMs, we communicate and build relationships everyday with the purpose of connecting these relationships to results. Playing in the intangible, it can be difficult to communicate value to people who don’t understand what we do. And yet, that doesn’t stop the best BRMs from communicating in a way the creates emotion and builds space for logical decision-making.

This session will inspire you to look into yourself and identify your unique perspective and empower you to move the hearts and minds of even the toughest leaders. How? Through storytelling

Coming soon!

Session Title: The Resilience Revolution: The Importance of Cultivating Business Resilience Through the Strategic Role of a BRM.

BRM Capability is going to be the key to deliver business value and this workshop fosters practical tips and strategies to advance the strategic partnerships with the business partners throughout the organization. This workshop has been tested with clients world wide and has been appreciated across the globe

As a founder and President of IT Chapter, I have helped IT Departments to meet their technology goals and to digitize or optimize their business processes, applying my profound experience in IT Processes, Governance, Best Practices, business systems selection and implementation.Over past 16 years I was helping Global enterprises/virtual teams, as well as in major Quebec corporations.

John Molson School of Business graduate MSc (Admin) in MIS, my experience is in management and governance of IT. Over the years, I led teams towards full Service Management and IT Governance implementation in various organizations, participated in numerous Business Transformation initiatives, and implementations of processes improvements, including building organizational structures (PMO, SMO, BRMO, QMO, AMO), and balanced scorecards. As an accredited instructor, I have trained hundreds of students in my client’s organizations and in public courses in ITIL, CobiT, TIPA, Business Relationship Management, ISO 20000, Project Management and other disciplines.

I have an experience in various industries, such as Pharmaceutical, Airports and Airlines, Public sector, Telecom, Insurance, Loyalty Industry, High Education, Consulting and Technology sector, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing, and other.
 
I am always available to my clients, students and extended IT Community for guidance, help and reference within the domains of my expertise to address strategic aspects of IT and find the right solution to save the cost of IT operations, to improve it’s agility and quality, to enable the robust decision-making mechanisms, and to converge IT and Business.

Session Title: Charting a Path to Tomorrow: BRM and Scenario Planning

BRM Institute co-founder Vaughan Merlyn, thought-leaders, Kip Fanta and Roy Youngman will use the Scenario Planning Technique to examine four possible BRM Capability futures using the Key Focal Issue, “How, over the next 10 years, can BRM Capabilities influence a shift towards Relationship-Centered Organizations (RCO) while delivering improved business results?” 

3 Key Takeways from this session

1. You will be familiarized with the Scenario Planning technique, its components and stages, and when and why it is useful.

2. You will review likely driving forces acting on BRM capabilities, critical uncertainties going forward, and implications for developing the BRM role and capability.

3. You will engage with other Institute members to collaboratively explore BRM future scenarios 10 years out to inform your organization’s approach to developing the BRM role and capability.

Vaughan, now retired, was a successful business leader, management consultant, author, and educator for over 40+ years. He was a popular public speaker and trainer, lecturing around the world to business and IT audiences. As the co-founder of BRM Institute, Vaughan has worked extensively with business executives to accelerate and strengthen value realized through investments in information and Information Technology.

Session Title: The BRM Engagement Strategy – Identifying and Maturing Critical Relationships

Growing the BRM skillset from Ad Hoc to Strategic Partner can be quite the challenge, particularly when the BRM role is not yet understood. Where does one start? Lean how to get your BRM team off the ground through this working session where you will learn tools to help you with drafting an engagement strategy for your organization.

Kim Schaefer joined the National Interstate IT PMO as the Business Analyst Manager in 2021.  Kim has 20+ years of insurance industry experience in a variety of roles supporting and leading implementations of IT solutions, including policy management, finance, underwriting, claims, actuarial, and risk management system projects and the development of a proprietary management information data warehouse with business intelligence reporting. 

In her role with National Interstate, Kim is focused on providing value to our Business and IT stakeholders as the BRM for our Enterprise Information Management (EIM) Center of Excellence, the manager of the Business Analyst team, and the lead for introducing and implementing Organizational Change Management (OCM) as an enterprise discipline. 

Kim has held her certified Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute since 2005.  She is a member of the International Institute of Business Analysis and a member of BRM Institute.

Session Title: Engagement at It’s Finest

In this session, Victoria will help attendees set top-level goals with leadership, attract and retain talent by sharing stories with emotional impact to increase buy-in. Attendees will learn how to engage and keep motivation, tell a story and get your point across (creating buy-in) and how to increase specificifically, leadership buy in.

I am currently serving as Acting Director, Customer Strategy, under the Chief Experience Officer, with Virginia IT Agency (VITA) .  Previously, I was Manager of the Customer Account Management (CAM) team.  My current role involves responsibility for supporting VITA-wide mandates and initiatives, to include improving the customer experience across 65 Executive branch agencies, localities within the judicial, legislative and Higher Education space, as well as connecting value with business processes across multiple lines of business, process and projects across VITA and our suppliers.  

I developed and led a team of 11 strategic Customer Account Managers (CAM, aka strategic Business Relationship Managers [BRM]), that have portfolios of customer agencies within the Commonwealth of Virginia, and was a CAM & BRM for a combination of 15+ years.  I received my B.A in Communications from Virginia Tech, am a green belt in Six Sigma Lean, and presented a webinar for After BRMConnect in Nov, 2022 on building a thriving BRM team.

A native of Richmond, I enjoy spending time with my husband and daughter, as well as many outdoor sports, including marathon running & waterskiing.