Opening General Session

September 18, 2024
8:30 a.m. — 11:45 a.m. MDT

Opening Remarks

Featured Supplier Presentation

State of the Industry Reports

Key dealers and manufacturers will deliver updates on progress being made in the industry and the challenges channel partners face.

Keynote Presentation

Karl Rove, an iconic political strategist and one of the most sought-after political pundits of our time, is best known for his provocative and robust knowledge of major political issues.

Rove served as senior adviser to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and deputy chief of staff from 2004–2007. At the White House, he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was deputy chief of staff for policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process. He was the architect of President Bush’s 2008 and 2004 White House victories.

Before the White House, he ran Rove + Co., a Texas-based public affairs firm that consulted on more than 75 GOP campaigns for senator, governor, Congress and statewide offices in 24 states.

Rove was described by author and columnist Michael Barone as “…unique…no Presidential appointee has ever had such a strong influence on politics and policy, and none is likely to do so again anytime soon.” Washington Post Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Broder wrote that Rove was a master political strategist whose “game has always been long term…and he plays it with an intensity and attention to detail that few can match. Conservative editor and columnist Fred Barnes, called him “the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation… He knows history, understands the moods of the public and is a visionary on matters of public policy.”

Rove writes a weekly op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, appears frequently on the Fox News Channel and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Courage and Consequence. His latest book is The Triumph of William McKinley. A Colorado native, Rove lives in Austin, Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas and serves on the Texas State History Museum and McDonald Observatory boards.

Dealer Focus: Integrated Supply Chains of the Future

Chad W. Autry is the Daniel and Karen Myers Distinguished Professor at the University of Tennessee. He holds a doctorate in business administration with a focus on supply chain management from the University of Oklahoma, an MBA with a focus on international business from Oklahoma City University and a bachelor’s in marketing from the University of Oklahoma.

Autry’s business background includes experience in retail and restaurant operations management and information technology consulting. During his academic career, he has worked with and for numerous professional and civic organizations related to supply chain process improvement, including American Airlines, IBM, Goodwill Industries and multiple U.S. Department of Defense agencies. He has assumed active leadership roles at local and national levels for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, the Warehousing Education and Research Council, the Production and Operations Management Society, the Institute for Supply Management, the National Association of Purchasing Managers and the Supply Chain Management and Industrial Distribution Symposium.

Autry’s current research focuses on supply chain network design and strategy, with specific attention to relationship integration and technological connectivity across multiple firms simultaneously. He is the author of more than 70 peer-reviewed studies in academic outlets and is a past editor-in-chief of the Journal of Supply Chain Management. A frequent speaker, he is a regular source for media on emerging supply chain issues and has been characterized as a “supply chain futurist” in professional publications and conferences.

Advocacy Council Presentation

Trade, Digital Markets, Taxes, Environment and Labor: Evolving Public Policies and Regulations Impacting the Distribution Industry

A former U.S. Senate, House and White House staffer, including service as advisor to House congressional leadership and Vice President Dick Cheney, Wild is a political strategist, who has helped businesses and trade associations advance their policy priorities amid the complex and competing interests on Capitol Hill. Known as a coalition builder, he has a track record of unifying third-party groups to create political momentum and achieve policy success. 

Wild is a tremendous advocate for the wholesale distribution industry in Washington, D.C.,  advancing the causes of small, medium, and large distributors to policymakers in Congress, the White House and federal agencies. His work to build consensus among third-party validators, including think tanks, advocacy groups, other trade associations and corporations, helps amplify and echo the voices of NAW’s member companies and associations. Wild also leads NAW’s PAC and grassroots programs, helping get good candidates elected and ensuring the voice of the wholesale industry is widely listened to.