SITE Academy for Young Leaders Looks to the Future of Incentives August 11, 2008
By Alex Palmer
Those concerned about the future of the incentive industry might be heartened by this year's SITE Academy for Young Leaders. The program brought together planners and others under the age of 35 who are involved in the performance improvement sector for a three-day program in New York City. Participants exchanged ideas, took part in seminars conducted by industry veterans and toured the city.
Now in its third year, the Young Leaders Program had the highest number of participants (88 total) in its history with 23 countries represented. But despite this diverse crowd, the conference maintained a sense of intimacy, according to the participants.
Cosimo Bruzzese, director of sales for New York–based Briggs Inc. and committee chair for the conference points to its ability to develop a "niche within a niche" for the young leaders. "Because we limit it to about 100 people, it allows the guests to be more open, and by the end of the conference you meet all of the guests," says Bruzzesse. "This group is very interactive, and we do a lot of panel sessions because we noticed that people like to engage a lot."
The program included a number of networking breaks and activities at well-known New York destinations including Tavern on the Green, the Rainbow Room, and a tour of the United Nations building that included the rare opportunity of a photo op on the floor of the general assembly. But while participants described feeling excitement about these activities, just as often they commended the educational lectures and interactive town hall meetings for covering relevant and compelling topics.
Look for more coverage on this topic in Incentive's upcoming September issue.
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