More than 140 members of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and their guests gathered for the 2018 Summer General Membership Meeting in Seattle, WA on June 6-9. ELC members and leadership engaged in a content-rich agenda at Seattle’s historic Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Board members met for a daylong strategic retreat before holding a regularly scheduled board meeting to chart The ELC’s course over the next several years.

ELC Membership Committee Co-Chairs and members of the ELC Board with the 20 new ELC Members inducted and pinned during the 2018 Summer General Membership Meeting in Seattle.

Wednesday, June 6

A beautiful sunset and comfortable temperatures set the stage for a Welcome Reception and Dinner attended by nearly 20 new and an equal number of legacy ELC members at Seattle’s Marjorie Restaurant. Located in one of the city’s residential neighborhoods, it created a casual setting for new members to meet with experienced ELC members, including two Founding Members, Jim Kaiser and Milton Irvin, the day before their induction and pinning.

Thursday, June 7

The ELC Board and committees met before joining new members for their afternoon Induction and Pinning Ceremony. ELC President and CEO Skip Spriggs and Board Chair Orlando Ashford welcomed the new members before a Fireside Chat with Founding ELC Member Milton Irvin about the origins and evolution of the organization since 1986. Spriggs invited ELC member Telisa Toliver to join him and Irvin for a Q&A session. They made it clear that many of the opportunities and challenges facing black corporate leaders remain, and that the mission of The ELC and its members is just as relevant today as ever.

ELC President & CEO Skip Spriggs welcomed the membership during an opening session at The Amazon Meeting Center in Seattle, WA.

The Summer Meeting officially kicked-off with a Welcome Reception and Opening Session at The Amazon Meeting Center where ELC Members and Amazon executives Ken Knight and David Bozeman welcomed The ELC. Skip Spriggs and Orlando Ashford also brought greetings and welcomed the evening’s Keynote Speaker, Shawn Rochester, who presented a compelling case documenting the financial cost of current and past discrimination on African American households. It created an enlightening and sobering start for the next day’s Business Meeting and Breakout Sessions.

ELC Board Chair Orlando Ashford moderated a thought-provoking Q&A session with keynote speaker Shawn D. Rochester during the Summer Meeting Opening Session and Welcome Reception hosted by Amazon at its headquarters in Seattle.

Friday, June 8

ELC leadership and committee chairs brought members up-to-date on the state of the organization and plans for upcoming activities and events during the morning Business Meeting. Members heard about ways to support each other and the work of The ELC by registering mid-level managers for Leadership Development Week East and West in August and September, and the Mid-Level Managers’ Symposium in October. The ELC Institute for Leadership Development & Research organizes the programs. Members were also briefed on the Women’s Leadership Forum in July and the Annual Recognition Gala in October, both taking place in Washington, DC. More than 55 ELC scholarship recipients will be recognized at this year’s Gala.

Following the Business Meeting, Starbucks executive Sena Kwawu provided a valuable perspective on his company’s response to the recent incident that took place in Philadelphia on April 12^th. Kwawu also introduced the day’s three concurrent breakout sessions covering the importance of wealth creation, planning for career transitions and two CBI sessions, one a board-readiness session designed for aspiring board directors and a second session focused on corporate social responsibility and board governance. The breakout sessions were followed by a confidential Executive Conversation with ELC members, facilitated by Dr. Nat Irvin and Dr. Janet Taylor.

On Friday evening, members were able to relax and unwind at the Closing Reception and Dinner held at the extraordinary Chihuly Garden and Glass, nestled just beneath Seattle’s landmark Space Needle. Hosted by Microsoft Corporation, Melvin Flowers brought greetings on behalf of his company and his colleague and fellow ELC member Fred Humphries.

A small group of ELC members participated in an excursion on Saturday morning to Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop) before heading home. Details on the meeting, events and speakers are available exclusively on the ELC 365 mobile app. On social media, members posted photos and followed the action live from Summer Meeting @elcinfo on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and Instagram using the hashtag #ELCSGMM18.

Click here to view the photo gallery from the 2018 Summer General Membership Meeting.

ELC Member Lynton Scotland (l.) of W.L. Gore & Associates and ELC Board Secretary Jeffrey Webster (r.) welcomed new member Erwin Raphael, Executive Director and General Manager of Genesis Motors America.