Major Women's Business Conference Comes to Novi Sept. 23 & 24

The Great Lakes Women’s Business Council 19th Annual Women's Business Conference will take place Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 23 and 24, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. Open to all women in business and featuring world-class speakers, the event also offers a meet-the-buyers session for large, certified Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs) looking to do business with smaller WBEs, as well as a pitch competition worth $2,500 for the winning WBE.

Keynote speaker Libby Gill, the “branding brain” behind the launch of the Dr. Phil Show, is the former head of communications for Sony, Universal and Turner Broadcasting. An expert in leading through change, challenge and chaos, Gill has been featured by national media and has authored five books, including the award-winning “You Unstuck” and her latest, “The Hope-Driven Leader: Harness the Power of Positivity at Work.”

Chala Dincoy, CEO and founder of The Repositioning Expert (a division of Coachtactics), will present ways for business owners to break through the competitive landscape and get to corporate decision-makers. Several other presenters will lead sessions on leadership, networking ROI, capability statements, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, public speaking, multigenerational workforces, succession planning and more; the full agenda can be found at greatlakeswbc.org/conference-home.

According to Michelle Richards, founding executive director of Great Lakes Women’s Business Council, “There will be executive-level workshops, power networking and excellent opportunities for women business owners to connect with major corporations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, DTE Energy, General Motors, Toyota and other businesses to acquire new clients.”

“After hosting more than 5,000 attendees at the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council’s national conference in Detroit last year, Great Lakes WBC is poised to break another attendance record by attracting more than 1,000 women business owners from Michigan to Indiana this year,” she continued. “It will be the largest women’s business conference in the Midwest.”

For details and to register, visit greatlakeswbc.org or call 734-677-1400.