TAUC Summer Summit: A Home Run in Baltimore

September 5 2018

TAUC brought its annual Summer Summit to Baltimore on August 15-16 for a lively two-day mix of presentations, committee meetings and, of course, baseball. Here's a quick recap.

TAUC's committee meetings took place on Wednesday, August 15 at DEWALT's worldwide headquarters in Towson, Maryland. DEWALT graciously provided meeting space for the day and also gave an informative presentation on the company's history as well as its commitment to innovation and partnering with its customers to create the best (and safest) products possible.

We followed up the meetings with a get-together at Orioles Park at Camden Yards, where we watched the Orioles square off against the Mets. It was a great time for members to network and discuss the latest industry issues in a relaxed atmosphere. Special thanks go to TAUC Legacy Partners Procore and DEWALT for sponsoring the event.  

The Summit kicked off the next morning with a full slate of informative presentations. Eric Bernstein, President of the U.S. commercial division of Stanley Black & Decker, along with other representatives from Stanley and DEWALT brought us up to speed on their organization's latest strategies and vision going forward. 

David Brenner and David Dean from Segal Consulting gave members an update on the effort to pass commonsense multiemployer pension plan reform on Capitol Hill. They discussed the various ideas being batted around by Congress' Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans, and explained in detail how certain proposals could irreparably harm the existing multemployer system. You can download their PowerPoint presentation here. 

The Summit wrapped up with a pair of riveting keynote presentations. Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in Baltimore, provided an in-depth overview of the current economic landscape, both currently and in the years ahead. His take? In a nutshell, Basu said the next couple of years look very positive in terms of economic growth, but the eventual repricing of assets on a global scale will likely lead to a downturn in 2020. Download Mr. Basu's presentation here. 

The final speaker of the 2018 TAUC Summer Summit was Sam Walker, editor for The Wall Street Journal and author of the bestselling book The Captain Class: The Hidden Force that Creates the World's Greatest Teams. Each attendee received a complimentary copy of the book, which profiles the greatest sports teams in history and identifies the counterintuitive leadership qualities of the unconventional men and women who drove them to succeed. As he dug into their stories, a distinct pattern emerged: Each team had the same type of captain–a singular leader with an unconventional skill set who drove it to achieve sustained, historic greatness. Walker kept the crowd riveted with stories and anecdotes involving some of the biggest sports names of the last century. 

All in all, the 2018 TAUC Summer Summit was a great success. If you couldn't make it, we hope to see you next year — details will be announced soon!

THANK YOU TO THIS YEAR'S SUMMER SUMMIT SPONSORS