Behind the Scenes: November 2018

"Behind the Scenes" is our monthly effort to give our members and friends some insight to what and how the EACC operates beyond just our numerous activities and programs.  We'd love your feedback!

From Executive Director Todd Schwartz

Next month I plan to look back over 2018 and provide a recap of some of our accomplishments, but for this month I want to share with you some of the projects and activities I have in mind for 2019 and beyond.  Note that none of this is written in stone; lots of factors will impact which of these programs may move forward, including availability of resources and most importantly whether these proposals add value to our members.  So I encourage you to let me know whether any of the items below pique your interest, or if you have other things you'd like to see the EACC undertake...

I'd also note that some of this thinking is influenced by the outcomes of our recent "Voice of the Customer" study with Start Something Bold, and in particular the comments regarding Programs & Services; EACC Relationships; and Membership Types.  (Click here for a summary of the VOC Report I shared earlier.)

Some things are fairly basic:  Our website and our newsletter can use a refresh, so look for that in the next few months.  With the newsletter refresh, I'd like to add new monthly feature, briefly profiling one of our member companies; let me know if your firm would like to be an early participant!

On programming, our Annual Gala will take place on Tuesday, May 7 and feature Ambassador Henne Schuwer of the Netherlands Embassy to the United States, and our annual Beaujolais Nouveau Premiere falls on Thursday, November 21 (please mark your calendars now!).  And our Stammtisch continues the first Thursday of every month (l'Aperitíf is on hold pending a new venue). 

Beyond this we're looking to revive the Transatlantic Business Outlook in October 2019 to give members the opportunity to look forward to 2020 and beyond.  I'd also like to put together a seminar on how "Industry 4.0" is not just about manufacturing, but will impact banks and accountants and educational institutions in the years to come.  We're planning a session for C-Suite Executives at the new 1819 Innovation Center on UC's International Coop Program and how it helps prepare students for international careers by giving them professional language skills.  And I'm working on a proposal to revive the "Welcome to Cincinnati" program for top executives that the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber used to operate.

One concern raised in the Voice of the Customer report was that some members aren't sure how to get involved and share their knowledge with the EACC and its members.  In that vein, I'm hoping to revise our committee structure and establish more ad hoc committees to plan specific events and programs.  So we'd have an Annual Gala Committee and a Transatlantic Business Outlook committee and so forth that would focus on the content and structure of events like this, with EACC staff providing logistical support. And I'm also hping to create some new standing committees, such as making our current YP group a formal committee of the EACC as well as launching a Women's Committee (in addition to our new Finance Committee).   

At the Annual General Meeting on November 15, incoming Board President Yannick Schilly also pointed out that the EACC should do more to generate value for members across the network, working with our sister chapters in Paris, Lyon, New York, Greenville, and so on to share information and programming ideas.  I'd point out that one thing we heard from members in the VOC study was a lack of awareness of other EACC chapters -- so that's a good place to start.

I could go on with other ideas, or go more deeply into each of these ideas, but what's more important to me is to hear your feedback. Do some of the ideas I've raised here spark your interest?  Is there a programming idea that you'd like to share?  Let me hear from you!