Why Attend a SAMA
Annual Conference?
A Trusted Source
For almost 60 years SAMA has been the undisputed knowledge leader on managing large, complex customers. Because we are non-profit, we can afford to be both non-commercial and non-biased in our unrelenting focus on the challenges of strategic customer management. We make it our business to identify new issues and leading-edge ideas and translate that into food for thought for our customers.
Know-How Based on Know Who
It has been said that “it’s more important WHO you know that WHAT you know.” In SAMA’s case, our “know-who” leads to your “know-how.” The SAMA Knowledge Network is a community of practitioner and subject experts that is unparalleled. Engaging with SAMA provides you an instant personal network. Many attendees create lasting relationships that last for decades that are truly valued personally and professionally. We believe in the power of connection and community and after so many months being virtual, we look forward to seeing you in person.
One Great Idea
The business of managing strategic customers is a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. SAMA’s community is a busy one, and we recognize that it’s difficult to find the time to step back and take advantage of an opportunity to learn, brainstorm and validate. But consider the power of just one great idea that can deliver true value to you, your company and your most important customers. The ROI is undeniable.
Fast Paced, Practical Learning
SAMA’s learning environment provides an exhilarating educational experience that is anything but boring. Our conference offers breadth, depth and a sharp focus on real-world challenges that cross all industries. Sessions are led by practitioners and subjects experts who have proven experience and a true desire to share ideas. SAMA’s culture of open exchange gives participants more than just an education – it provides a think tank of peers.
Competitive Advantage
With hundreds of companies from an array of industries in attendance, can you afford to stay home if even one competitor is gaining exposure to best practices? Chances are, your customers will be there too, providing opportunities for meeting counterparts who can offer a unique perspective, new information or even assistance in gaining access to key stakeholders in their firm. Companies that want the competitive advantage come to the SAMA conference.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Keynote Speakers
Kick-off Keynote Address
Sierra Towers
Vice President, Go to Market & Operations, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Kick Off Keynote Address
Kick Off Keynote Address
Sierra Towers
Vice President, Go to Market & Operations, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker bio
Sierra Towers, Vice President of Go to Market & Operations at Boehringer Ingelheim, has over 13 years of experience in the healthcare/pharmaceutical industry. Sierra spent most of her time in pharma in the US — in leadership roles in brand marketing, with a focus on enhancing digital engagement opportunities. For three years, however, Sierra worked out of BI’s corporate office in Germany as the Global Head of Omnichannel Excellence, leading the team responsible for identifying and building platforms and technologies to support omnichannel orchestration across all customer groups and markets.
Sierra has contributed to the customer-focused development and training of her teams across the organization by promoting initiatives within her scope of influence at Boehringer Ingelheim. These include extended business trips (EBTs), in which employee participants can increase their responsibility in the company by developing skills for specific, special projects. In pursuit of employee enrichment and focusing on the next generation of leaders, Sierra has also led experiments with job-swap/project programs. These differ from traditional rotation plans because she puts a specific focus on developing and empowering her teams to bring their authentic self to work, which helps to fuel diversity of thought, break down silos, and accelerate solutions.
Combat Leadership: Build High Performance, Winning Teams
Dave Berke
Chief Officer of Development & Curriculum, Echelon Front
Combat Leadership: Build High Performance, Winning Teams
Combat Leadership: Build High Performance, Winning Teams
Dave Berke
Chief Officer of Development and Curriculum, Echelon Front
Speaker bio
Dave Berke is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, fighter pilot, ground combat leader, and now a leadership instructor and speaker with Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Officer of Development and Curriculum. As a F/A-18 pilot, he deployed twice from the USS John C Stennis in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spent three years as an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN where he served as the Training Officer, the senior staff pilot responsible for the conduct of the TOPGUN course.
He then served as an ANGLICO Forward Air Controller supporting the Army’s 1st Armored Division during extensive urban combat operations on the ground in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006. Dave led his supporting arms liaison team on scores of combat missions into the most dangerous neighborhoods and accompanied SEAL Task Unit Bruiser on virtually every major operation in the Battle of Ramadi. He was the only Marine selected to fly the F-22 Raptor having served as an exchange officer at the Air Force’s 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron as the Division Commander. He became the first operational pilot ever to fly and be qualified in the F-35B, serving as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron from 2012-2014.
Upon his retirement from the Marine Corps, Dave joined Echelon Front providing unmatched experience and a unique perspective on combat leadership, analytical decision making, risk mitigation, and creating winning teams. He serves as Echelon Front’s Chief Officer of Development and Curriculum, as well as a leadership instructor, speaker, and strategic advisor.
The Experience Mindset
Tiffani Bova
Global Customer Growth and Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce
The Experience Mindset
The Experience Mindset
Tiffani Bova
Global Customer Growth and Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce
Speaker bio
Tiffani Bova is the global growth evangelist at Salesforce and the author of the new book The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think About Growth.
Her previous book Growth IQ was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and has been translated into 10 languages. Bova is ranked on the current Thinkers 50’s list of the world’s top management thinkers and has appeared on MSNBC, Bloomberg, BNN Bloomberg, Cheddar News and Yahoo! Finance. She also contributes her thoughts to publications including Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Diginomica, Quora, Thrive, Rotman Journal and Duke Dialogue Review.
As host of the podcast What’s Next! with Tiffani Bova, top ranked by Top Sales Magazine and in Management by iTunes, Bova has interviewed thought leaders including Arianna Huffington, Dan Pink, Seth Godin Tom Peters, Marshall Goldsmith, Roger Martin, Keith Ferrazzi, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly, Ritz Carlton CEO Horst Schulze, Square co-founder Jim McKelvey, and Medtronic CEO Bill George, among others.
Bova is a top Twitter influencer in the categories Business Growth, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, the Future of Work, and Sales. On LinkedIn, she has over 43,000 followers, and was identified as a LinkedIn Top Sales Expert to follow in 2018-2022.
She was named one of Inc. Magazine’s 37 Sales Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter, a Top 100 Women in Tech, a Brand Quarterly Magazine Top 50 Marketing Thought Leader, and one of the most Powerful and Influential Women in California according to the National Diversity Council.
Additionally, she was ranked as one of the top 25 B2B women influencers by Top Rank Marketing, and one of the top 10 influencers in the future of work, customer experience, digital transformation, and women in tech by Onalytica in 2022. Growth IQ was one of Porchlight’s top 5 recommended strategy and leadership books of 2018 and continues to be on their bestseller list. The book was also featured in best of lists from Inc and Thrive Global.
Having delivered over 750 keynote presentations on sales transformation and business model innovation to over 550,000 people on six continents, Bova is a highly sought-after keynote speaker. Prior to working with Salesforce, she was a sales, marketing and customer service executive for startups and Fortune 500 companies, where she was recognized as one of the first to develop a robust go-to-market model for cloud-based solutions, and indirect channel strategies to accommodate changes in buying behavior. She left the corporate world and joined Gartner becoming a Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow where she won the Thought Leadership award and earned accolades from the best leaders in the technology world for her cutting-edge analysis and her skill in architecting bold new strategies for sales and growth.
Bova’s experience on the front lines of sales, marketing, customer service and innovation, combined with her insightful candor, has resulted in a unique perspective that continues to inspire businesses and individuals to get smarter about the choices they make, think forward and increase their Growth IQ and now their Experience Mindset too.
Conference Sessions
We search far and wide for new speakers bringing fresh, innovative ideas from companies who are pushing the envelope with their key customers. As for returning speakers, we only bring back the best of the best. Expect a full slate of new speakers, new companies and new topics to bring you insights and tools to inform your decision making and enhance your most critical customer relationships. SAMA's Annual Conference offers three parallel tracks to help guide your journey and ensure maximum ROI.
Conference Venue
Hotel del Coronado, Curio Collection by Hilton
A living legend for more than 130 years, The Del celebrates its rich history as the proud host to celebrities, royalty, U.S. Presidents, and beach-loving guests for generations. Built in 1888 by Elisha Babcock, Jr., and Hampton L. Story and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977, this historic beach resort is a San Diego icon.
Venue address: 1500 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA 92118 https://hoteldel.com
Conference Dates: May 23-25, 2023
Questions? Contact Rhodonna Espinosa at espinosa@strategicaccounts.org.
Conference Agenda*
Monday, May 22
4:00pm-7:30pm – Registration & Check-in
5:00pm-6:00pm – Pre-Conference Bonus Sessions
6:00pm-7:30pm – Opening SAMA Conference Happy Hour
Tuesday, May 23
7:00am-5:30pm – Registration & Check-in
7:00am-8:00am – Breakfast
8:00am-5:00pm – Keynote and Breakout Sessions
4:00pm-5:00pm – Peer Exchange and Technology Showcase
5:00pm-6:30pm – Reception
*Conference agenda is subject to change
Wednesday, May 24
7:00am-6:00pm – Registration & Check-in
7:00am-8:00am – Breakfast
8:00am-5:30pm – Keynote and Breakout Sessions
6:00pm-7:00pm – Transportation to USS Midway Museum
6:30pm-9:30pm – Reception and Dinner at USS Midway Museum
9:00pm-10:00pm – Transportation to Hotel Del Coronado
Thursday, May 25
7:00am-1:00pm – Registration & Check-in
7:00am-8:00am – Breakfast
8:00am-1:00pm – Keynote and Breakout Sessions
1:00pm – Conference Adjourns
2023 CONFERENCE PRICING
| INDIVIDUAL | Corporate Member |
Individual Member |
Non- Member |
| Price | $2,595.00 | $2,795.00 | $2,995.00 |
| TEAMS* (View our Teams Brochure) | Corporate Member |
Individual Member |
Non- Member |
| Price | $2,395.00 | $2,595.00 | $2,795.00 |
| *A team is considered 8 or more paid registrants. | |||
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED |
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“Great sessions and discussions, as usual for a SAMA experience. The collaborative culture, shown by SAMA and the attendees, is much appreciated!”
– 2020 Annual Conference attendee
Thank you to our sponsors:
For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Harvey Dunham, Managing Director, Strategy and Marketing at +1 312-662-2971 or dunham@strategicaccounts.org.