General Sessions (2021)

Mon↓ Tues↓ Wed↓

1:00-1:45pm ET
COVID’s Lasting Impacts On Healthcare Market Dynamics: CEO Perspectives

How will the pandemic aftermath impact healthcare? In this session, hear from a panel of industry CEOs on what they’ve faced and how their experiences will reshape customer needs, business strategies, and supply chain relationships. Topics will include:

• What customers want and need post-COVID
• How organizations are diversifying their supply chain to add resiliency
• Why healthcare leaders are optimistic about 2021 and beyond

2:00-2:45pm ET
Is The Next Pandemic Around The Corner – And Are We Ready?

COVID hasn't inoculated the world against the new potential pandemic - which could be a flu virus, a hemorrhagic virus like Ebola, or something completely new - but it has brought many lessons about preparedness. We’re inviting top experts to participate in a conversation about what the next challenge might be, and how the country and world are preparing. 

• What's been learned, worldwide, from the COVID crisis
• How those lessons are being applied to monitor for and respond to the next threat
• What this means for healthcare supply chain

3:00-3:30pm ET
Stockpiles: Right-Sizing Reserves At Every Level

The pandemic has made it clear that stockpiles have an important role – but changes are critical. Hear from federal, state, and health system leaders on what they’ve learned about stockpiles, what changes they are making, and how they can better work with the rest of the supply chain on pandemic coordination. 

• Understand the role of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and how it is evolving
• Hear what federal and state agencies and doing to increase both preparedness and coordination

3:45-4:15pm ET
Supply And Demand Forecasting: 2021 And Beyond

Michael Darling, VP, Supply Chain,
St. Luke's Health System

With the peaks and valleys of product demand experienced during the pandemic, healthcare companies are scratching their heads over how to forecast for the months and years ahead. In this session, get expert insights on:

• Procedural and product categories likely to remain in high demand
• Indicators for product categories that may be heading for surpluses, and what to do about it
• Factors to consider in your supply-and-demand forecast

    Tuesday • March 30

1:00-1:45pm ET
Beyond COVID: Leveraging The Economic Upturn 
Alan Beaulieu, President, Institute for Trend Research

• HIDA’s favorite economist and top-rated speaker
• Forecast accuracy rate of 94.7% at one year out
• Co-author, Prosperity in the Age of Decline

The economy will continue to recover from the pandemic, says HIDA’s favorite economist Alan Beaulieu. His annual presentation is a can’t-miss event of the Executive Conference. He’ll offer a clear forecast for key economic metrics including growth, inflation, employment, and interest rates, along with strategic advice for growing your business amid uncertainty.

2:00-2:45pm ET
The Sales Force Of The Future: How Lockdown Experiences Will Reshape Healthcare Sales Strategy


Tobi Laczkowski, Principal,
ZS Associates

How are leading-edge manufacturers, distributors, and other healthcare companies reinventing their sales strategy based on learnings from the COVID-19 experience? Gain insights on:

• How to leverage the advantages of virtual selling long after the pandemic ends
• What medtech experts recommend as you rethink and reorganize your sales team for the post-COVID healthcare landscape
• Why it’s critical to tie your sales strategy to your customer’s financial challenges and emerging

    Wednesday • March 31

1:00-1:45pm ET
Leveraging Diversity And Inclusion To Build A Stronger Organization


Wanda Hope, Chief Diversity Officer,
Johnson & Johnson

Don’t embrace diversity to be politically correct – do it to build a more powerful, creative, and resilient organization.

• Why effective diversity strategies create stronger leadership
• What research has taught us about implicit bias, and what steps leaders can take to overcome it
• Where to start, and who should be engaged in your company's diversity efforts
• How to build a more successful organization by embracing quality and inclusion