NACS Unveils Speaker Lineup for 2019 NACS Show General Sessions
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NACS has announced the general speaker lineup for the 2019 NACS Show, taking place Oct. 1-4 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
This year's agenda will include presentations from training and development veteran Jim Knight; Project Athena Foundation Founder and CEO Robyn Benincasa; NACS President and CEO Henry Armour; and fashion industry pioneer and ABC's "Shark Tank" shark, Daymond John.
Jim Knight
Knight will kick off the show on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The 30-plus-year training and development veteran will highlight how team members' behavior makes all the difference.
Knight — who ran global training for Hard Rock International for two decades and whose experience spans organizational culture, world-class service, building rock star teams, employee branding and engagement, performance management, philanthropy and facilitation training — will leave attendees with key learnings on how to help their team members read the customer, strive beyond mediocrity, become guest-obsessed, and turn a customer into a fan.
Robyn Benincasa
On Wednesday, Oct. 2, Benincasa will take attendees on a fast-paced multimedia adventure that visually and viscerally imparts the mindset that allows teams to adapt, overcome and win as one entity against all odds, according to NACS.
Benincasa is founder and CEO of Project Athena Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps survivors live an adventurous dream as part of their recovery. She is a World Champion Adventure Racer, an award-winning motivational speaker, a three-time Guinness World Record kayaker, a San Diego firefighter, a 10-time Ironman triathlete, a New York Times bestselling author, and the proud owner of two bionic metal hips.
Henry Armour
NACS President and CEO Henry Armour will take the stage to present the 2019 NACS Ideas 2 Go program, which annually showcases the best practices and emerging concepts that redefine convenience, on Thursday, Oct. 3.
Daymond John
The 2019 NACS Show will come to a close on Friday, Oct. 4 with a presentation by Daymond John, who is recognizable not only as a shark on ABC's "Shark Tank" and a pioneer in the fashion industry, but also as a multiple New York Times bestselling author and branding guru.
In 2013, President Barack Obama appointed John a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, a position focused on promoting the power and importance of entrepreneurship on a global scale. His presentation will reinforce the positive culture and "can-do" attitude necessary for continued success in the c-store and fuel retailing industry.