Leaders whose headquarters may be on the other side of the country or the planet sometimes have no choice but to rely on seat-of-the-pants reactions when called upon to make the hard local decisions that, in turn, may impact the entire organization. Help is here, thanks to the Arizona Technology Council.
Formerly known as the Phoenix CEO Network, the Phoenix – Executive Leadership Network is debuting in 2026 to target “the local leadership who run a large profit center but they’re not CEO,” says Eric Miller, principal and co-owner of PADT, who chairs the network and uses himself as an example of someone in authority without the CEO title. He also serves on the Council’s board of directors.
Besides being members of the Council, network participants need to be from technology-focused companies involved in manufacturing, research and development, or similar functional departments, Miller says.
To help in network members’ development, new activities for the group will include monthly challenges in which questions must be answered with positive and negative examples to serve as catalysts for discussions. “A good example,” he says, “is, ‘How are you going to increase revenue in the second half of the year?’”
Another activity will be picking a topic that interests members, then bringing in an expert to lead a discussion and a question-and-answer period.
To add to the depth of knowledge, monthly meetings will be held at participants’ work locations “so we get a chance to see everybody’s workplace,” Miller says.
For more information about the Phoenix – Executive Leadership Network, please visit https://www.aztechcouncil.org/CEO-network/.
