SAVANNAH, Ga. — Morris Multimedia, the parent company of the Coastal Courier, is proud to announce the inaugural Southeast Georgia Leadership Forum in Savannah has been rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 28–Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at the Kehoe Iron Works at Trustees’ Garden. The Forum, originally scheduled for September 2021, was delayed due to the delta variant of COVID-19.

The 2022 Southeast Leadership Forum idea grew from passionate business leader discussions about how to best cultivate talent and leadership skills in our region. The Forum is designed to bring established and emerging leaders together in an innovative environment promoting leadership development, networking and collaborative teamwork for the betterment of our growing Coastal Georgia Region. 

This immersive leadership experience will feature world-class presenters to include: 

• STEDMAN GRAHAM — Chairman and CEO of S. Graham and Associates, Graham is the author of 12 books, including two New York Times bestsellers and one Wall Street Journal bestseller. As a businessman, educator and speaker, Graham lectures and conducts training programs worldwide on the topic of Identity Leadership, based on the philosophy that one cannot lead anyone else until you first lead yourself. He has delivered Identity Leadership programs in The Netherlands, Germany, China, Canada, the UK, Bermuda and South Africa. His proven Nine Step Success Process® drives his powerful message. This success process is based on the principle that it doesn’t matter how the world defines you, it only matters how you define yourself. Graham’s clients include Gulfstream, Aerospace, Microsoft, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, Lenovo, General Dynamics and the US Department of Labor and Education.

• HORST SCHULZE — A legend and leader in luxury hotels, Horst Schulze's professional life began more than 65 years ago as a server's assistant in a German resort town. Throughout the years he worked for both Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company in 1983. There Mr. Schulze created the operating and service standards that have become world-famous. During his tenure at The Ritz Carlton, Schulze served as President and COO responsible for the $2 billion operations worldwide. It was under his leadership that The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company became the first service-based company to be awarded the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award — twice. Most recently, Schulze has been honored as a “Leader in Luxury” by Travel Agent magazine and its sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor.

• ERICA DHAWAN — Erica Dhawan is the world’s leading authority on 21st-century Collaboration and Connectional Intelligence. She challenges audiences and organizations to innovate faster and further, together. Her newest book — “Digital Body Language” — decodes the new signals and cues of effective collaboration and teamwork in a digital-first human workplace. Dhawan is the Founder & CEO of Cotential, a global organization that helps companies, leaders, and managers leverage 21st-century collaboration skills and behaviors to improve game-changing performance. She is also the co-author of the bestselling book “Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence,” named #1 on What Corporate America is Reading. Dhawan speaks on global stages ranging from the World Economic Forum at Davos to TED and for companies such as Coca-Cola, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, SAP, and Cisco. She writes for Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Fast Company. 

• MICHAEL THURMOND — Michael Thurmond has served as chief executive officer of Dekalb County, one of the largest and most diverse counties in the Southeast. As CEO, Thurmond’s primary mission has been in restoring trust in county government. Thurmond is widely regarded as a “turnaround expert” after fundamentally transforming the culture and enhancing operations of complex organizations such as the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, the Georgia Department of Labor and the Dekalb County School District. The three-term past Georgia Labor Commissioner is an accomplished author with his latest book being “Freedom: Georgia’s Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865,” which received the Georgia Historical Society’s Lilla Hawes Award. Thurmond plans to speak at the Forum on how unity jumpstarts a community. 

In addition to these four renowned presenters, participants can expect to learn thought-provoking content from statewide CEOs, business futurists, and regional community leaders, as well as have the opportunity to connect with more than 400 participants expected to attend. 

Sponsoring this inaugural event with Morris Multimedia are Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Power, Georgia Southern University and Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. The Forum fee is $395/person. Limited scholarships are available for community leaders who may need financial assistance to attend the Forum.

For more information and to register, please visit www.southeastleadershipforum.com.