My attempt to crash the I C 2 Corporate Governance Conference was very successful.
I was tipped off about the conference by “Bob” on Wednesday night.
Thursday morning I whipped out my suit and headed over to the Barton Creek Resort and found the conference. Every single person in the room was either a CEO or member of a corporate board….and often times many boards at once. EVERYONE. In fact, “Regular” people weren’t even invited.
I purposely showed up 5 minutes late so I could rush in past the registration people. It worked. Everyone had huge nametags around their necks except me…..but it didn’t really cause any problems. I was spotted talking to some prominent figures, so no one questioned me after that.
I met tons of people there….and not ordinary people. When I asked “What do you do”…the typical response would begin with :
“I own…(insert big company here)“
or
“I founded…(insert big company here)”
or
“I am the director of…(insert big company here)”
There were LOTS of very prominent figures present, but the most well known was Herb Kelleher, the famous founder of Southwest Airlines. I got to meet, talk and sit next to Herb Kelleher.
Not a very clear picture, but that’s Herb speaking.
Here is me (with the goofiest smile ever) with Herb Kelleher:
After he was done speaking, he sat down at a mostly empty table. I left my table and went to sit closer to Herb. I snapped this quick video to prove how close I was to him!
The rest of the speakers were great, but Herb was the BEST.
“Bob” and “Vinny” were both present at the conference. They are also both board members/CEO’s of very successful companies. I can’t give too much information about them, but both of them have companies undergoing extremely rapid growth. They are both very photogeneic:
The conference went from 10:00am till about 7:30pm. It was good food, good drinks, lots of mingling, learning and fun.
When I left, I couldn’t tell which car was mine. The Camry or the Mercedes SL500???
Well it’s Friday now. ‘Tis time to party!
-Nev