Real Leaders UNITE is where lasting connections are made
ABOUT UNITE
Unite with the top impact leaders on the planet whose challenges are as unique as yours.
UNITE is new way to collaborate with Impact CEOs, Investors, Coaches, and Speakers over a 3-day, retreat-style experience.
In order to qualify for UNITE, your CEO must apply and rank on the upcoming 2025 Real Leaders Top Impact Companies list.
Add your name to the shortlist to be notified when applications open.
Real Leaders
Some of our favorite moments
WHO WILL ATTEND
Leading Impact CEOs, including members and winners on the 2024 Top Impact Companies list.
WHERE:
San Diego, CA at the Kona Kai Resort February 5-7, 2024
DEADLINES
Hotel group rate: Monday, January 15. UNITE Pass Registration: Wednesday, January 31.
WHAT WILL I WALK AWAY WITH?
New values-aligned CEO connections, capital sources, challenged thinking, and a personal peer group of CEOs to help you navigate 2024.
UNITE With the TOP IMPACT COMPANIES
MEET THE SPEAKERS
DAYMOND JOHN
Daymond John, Founder of FUBU and star of ABC's Shark Tank, turned $40 into an Iconic Fashion Brand with billions in product sales worldwide. John ranks among the Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the world. John will share his thoughts on "How to Get Impact Capital Now."
Peggy Shell
Peggy Shell is the founder and CEO of Creative Alignments (CA) and the creator of Time-Based Recruiting®. CA partners with quickly-scaling companies that are using their business as a force for good. For more than a decade, entrepreneurs in technology, natural products/CPG, and climate/sustainability, and more have come to rely on CA to help them find top talent and build successful teams for greater impact.
Stedman Graham
Stedman Graham is a business advisor, chairman and CEO of S. Graham and Associates, a management and marketing consulting firm. He is the author of 12 books, including two New York Times best sellers and one Wall Street Journal bestseller.
LISA BODELL
FutureThink CEO Lisa Bodell ranks among the Top 50 Speakers Worldwide and is the best-selling author of Kill the Company and Why Simple Wins.
FELECIA HATCHER
As a High-Impact Speaker, Felecia Hatcher will share "How to Get Impact Capital Now" with her experience as Founder and CEO of Pharrell Williams' Black Ambition.
SCOT CHISHOLM
Founder of San Diegos, Classy (acquired by GoFundMe) who has grown a portfolio of companies well over $1B. Scott has now started his own community of Founders to help them scale.
MATTHEW WEATHERLY-WHITE
Currently, CIO at Align Impact, also co-founded Caprock (acquired in 2018), Restwise (acquired in 2021), and iPAR (acquired in 2019). Contracted to write a book on capitalism for Penguin Random House. Competed in 5 international sports. Owns a sustainable guest estate on the Pacific coast of Mexico.
CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS
Chris is the Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and the author of the award-winning books Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism and Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise.
Simon Mainwaring
Simon is the Founder & CEO of We First, a respected consultancy. His bestselling books and We First's impactful work have earned them top honors, and he's a sought-after keynote speaker worldwide.
Tamara Loehr
Tamara is a globally recognised impact investor and growth advisor to $100M+ privately owned companies. With $5B+ funds under mentoring, Tamara helps fellow entrepreneurs, CEOs and family offices scale their companies and portfolios through effective growth strategies that are committed to ‘profit and purpose’.
Shadi Bakour
Shadi Bakour is the CEO and Co-Founder of PATH, a sustainability-focused bottled water brand that forged the path in the refillable packaging revolution with their 100% refillable BPA-free aluminum water bottles made in the USA.
Brad Stevens
Brad, based in Atlanta, GA, is a lifelong entrepreneur and family man, living with his wife Cindy, a dedicated former teacher, and their two children. He excels in coaching their sports activities. Professionally, he founded and leads Outsource Access (OA), a rapidly growing offshore virtual services firm, expanding to over 500 employees in four years.
Michael Whelchel
Michael is Founder and CEO of Big Path Capital. In addition to being CEO, Michael heads the investment banking activities for the firm.
Allie Burns
Allie joined Village Capital in 2016, and was named CEO in January of 2019. In this role, she’s responsible for overseeing a team dedicated to unlocking capital for entrepreneurs solving major social, economic and environmental challenges.
Keren Eldad
Keren Eldad is an acclaimed motivational speaker, leadership psychology expert, and founder of With Enthusiasm, where she provides world-class personal and professional coaching.
Our UNITED PARTNERS
Real Leaders
Purchase your pass
ANNUAL UNITE PASS
- UNITE Ticket ($3,000)
- CEO Peer Group with monthly events ($9,800)
- Media Day Photoshoot ($3,000+)
- Build Relationships with Real Leaders Editors
- Top 100 U.S. Business News Podcast Appearance
- Conference Partner Discounts
$15,800 OF VALUE, $12,800 OF SAVINGS
UNITE 3-DAY AGENDA
Registration today will begin at 2 pm PST
Day 1: FUSION - Group Forming Monday, February 5 2024
Day 1 lays the foundation for cosmic connections, insights, and the exploration of impactful leadership within the stellar community of leaders.
| TIME | Session Name | Room | Description | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:00PM – 4:00PM | Registration today will begin at 2 pm PST | Collab Room | Welcome to the Kona Kai Resort. Check-in and follow the signs to the courtyard where the opening keynote will be. | |
| 4:00PM – 4:30PM | Opening Remarks and Networking Session | Main Stage | Join us under the night sky at Kona Kai Resort as we ignite the spark of collaboration. Enjoy a glass of wine, munch on hors d’oeuvres, and mingle with fellow members. | Kevin Edwards |
| 4:30PM – 5:30PM | Opening Keynote | Main Stage | Marquis’ keynote address will embody a collective dedication to catalyzing change, fostering collaboration, and reshaping paradigms to usher in a more equitable and sustainable future. | Chris Marquis |
| 5:30PM – 6:30PM | UNITE Group Forums | Main Stage | Led by our esteemed UNITERS (professional moderator), join a curated group of 4-5 peers into groups for in-person forum. | |
| UNITE Group #1 | Coaches Corner | Breakout to your private room and join your pre-assigned UNITE Group on Day 1 in a facilitated 60-minute micro-forum to get help with your most timely challenges as a business leader. | ||
| UNITE Groups #2-4 | Vision Room | |||
| UNITE Group #5 | Media Room | |||
| UNITE Group #6-9 | Capital Stage | |||
| UNITE Group #10-12 | Courtyard | |||
| 6:30PM – 7:00PM | Mapping the Impact Universe | Collab Room | Reunite with the other impact leaders and have our Chief Impact Officer, Mike Brown help you visualize where you want to be known as in the impact universe. Each member will share that on our 2024 canvas, manifesting their impact in the years to come. | Mike Brown |
| 7:00PM – 9:00PM | Under the stars | “Under the Stars” conversations for those who would like to keep talking. |
Day 2: EXPLOSIONTuesday, February 6 2024
On Day 2, attendees can expect a dynamic lineup of events designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and growth. Engage in interactive workshops, thought-provoking panel discussions, and networking sessions among the top Impact CEOs, investors, speakers, and coaches. Day 2 will also include the impact awards celebration for the Top impact CEOs.
| TIME | Session Name | Room | Description | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00AM – 8:00AM | Morning Activity | Surfing, Meditation, Group Run | ||
| 8:00AM – 9:00AM | Registration | Collab Room | Welcome to the Kona Kai Resort. Register and make your way to breakfast or the Opening Pitch Event | |
| 7:30AM – 9:00AM | Breakfest Buffet | Collab Room & Terrace | ||
| 9:00AM – 10:15AM | Opening Pitch Event: How to Get Impact Capital Now | Main Stage | Stars of Impact Investing, Felicia Hatcher, Daymond John, and Allie Burns, take the stage to share best practices on how to prime your business to raise capital and what they each look for when investing. This event will feature three guests to pitch their business and receive feedback from the panelists and audience. The first-place winner will receive $15,000, and the second-place winner will receive $10,000. | Daymond John, CEO of FUBU Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Black Ambition Allie Burns, CEO of Village Capital |
| 10:15AM – 10:30AM | Coffee Break | Terrace | Grab a coffee to go before the next session | |
| STARSHIP SEMINARS | Please select a seminar below. | Format: 30-minute speech 30-minute CEO breakthrough groups 15-minute group sharing | ||
| 10:30AM – 11:45AM | Kill Complexity | Main Stage | This session features Lisa Bodell, a globally recognized expert in simplification and innovation. She’ll empower attendees with practical strategies to eradicate complexity, inspiring them to realize the key to growing their impact is through radical simplification. | Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink |
| Identity Leadership | Capital Stage | Stedman Graham, a renowned authority on Identity Leadership, will deliver an engaging session. Drawing from his expertise, outlined in “Identity Leadership: To Lead Others, You Must First Lead Yourself,” Stedman empowers leaders to leverage their authentic identities, fostering impactful and purpose-driven leadership within their organizations. | Stedman Graham, Chairman & CEO of S. Graham & Associates | |
| 12:00PM – 01:00PM | LUNCH | Collab Room | Enjoy lunch on the bay. Listen for the 10-minute bell to indicate that sessions will start back up again soon! | |
| 1:00PM – 2:15PM | CEO Breakthrough Rooms Pt. 1 | Choose from one of the sessions below. | Format: 30-minute speech 30-minute CEO breakthrough groups 15-minute group sharing | |
| 1:00PM – 2:15PM | Fueling the Energy that Runs our World: People. | Main Stage | Harness the full potential of your team to make an even greater impact and elevate people’s lives through your work. Join Peggy Shell, founder and CEO of the leading Time-Based Recruiting company, Creative Alignments, as she shares her visionary approach and insights from making thousands of hires for hundreds of companies over the past 14 years. | Peggy Shell, Founder & CEO of Creative Alignments |
| 1:00PM – 2:15PM | Redefining Capital for CEOs: Impactful Transitions, Raises, and Exits | Capital Stage | Join Michael Whelchel, Founder and CEO of Big Path Capital and Darya Allen-Attar Alternative Investments Director at Morgan Stanley, at the Capital Stage. Discover how their pioneering approach to investments reshape capitalism, integrating natural, social, and financial capital. Gain insights into maximizing impact and returns, redefining success in CEO transitions, raises, and exits, and revolutionizing the business landscape. | Michael Whelchel, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Big Path Capital and Darya Allen-Attar, Alternative Investments Director at Morgan Stanley Speaker |
| 1:00PM – 2:15PM | How to Blast Past Impostor Syndrome And Truly Lead | Coaches Corner | Join Keren Eldad at the “Film Room” of Real Leaders UNITE for transformative insights that will help you overcome any feelings of “impostor syndrome,” and the limiting behaviors associated with the phenomenon, such as defensiveness, reactivity and people-pleasing.. As the founder of With Enthusiasm Executive Coaching, Keren will share the secrets to overcoming self doubt in an illustrious career, so you can live and lead a purpose-driven, joyful life. Discover her unique perspective on holistic success, empowering a fulfilling journey at this cosmic collaboration. | Keren Eldad, CEO of With Enthusiasm Coaching |
| 2:15PM – 2:30PM | Coffee Break | Collab Room | Grab your coffee, water, and refreshments and network before the next explosive session. | |
| 2:30PM – 3:45PM | CEO Breakthrough Rooms Pt. 2 | Choose from one of the sessions below. | Format: 30-minute speech 30-minute CEO breakthrough groups 15-minute group sharing | |
| 2:30PM – 3:45PM | An Ironic Talent Solution: How to Retain and Attract Internal Talent by Outsourcing | Main Stage | Join Brad Stevens, CEO of Outsource Access, in the “Main Stage” at Real Leaders UNITE. With over 500 employees in 3.5 years and a vision for 1,000 by 2023, Brad shares his expertise in scaling, automation, and nurturing high-performing teams. As a global speaker, he champions agility and people-centric strategies for growth, inspiring leaders to harness the power of their workforce for accelerated success amidst change. | Brad Stevens, Founder & CEO of Outsource Access |
| 2:30PM – 3:45PM | Shaping the Future of Capitalism | vision room | Matthew Weatherley-White, Align Impact’s CIO, shares insights on impactful investing and the future of capitalism at Real Leaders UNITE’s “Capital Stage” Join his visionary talk, exploring strategies to drive positive change through investments, empowering leaders to redefine profit with purpose for a brighter future. | Matthew Weatherly-White, Chief Investment Officer of Align Impact |
| 2:30PM – 3:45PM | Essentials for a Regret-Free Exit | Capital Stage | Join Mackey McNeill in the Vision Room for expert insights on selling your business. Founder of MACKEY, a B Corp, Mackey’s wisdom promises invaluable strategies gleaned from coaching countless entrepreneurs before the make a transformative decision. | Mackey McNeill, Founder of MACKEY |
| 2:30PM – 3:45PM | How to Blast Past Impostor Syndrome And Truly Lead | Coaches Corner | Join Keren Eldad at the “Film Room” of Real Leaders UNITE for transformative insights that will help you overcome any feelings of “impostor syndrome,” and the limiting behaviors associated with the phenomenon, such as defensiveness, reactivity and people-pleasing.. As the founder of With Enthusiasm Executive Coaching, Keren will share the secrets to overcoming self doubt in an illustrious career, so you can live and lead a purpose-driven, joyful life. Discover her unique perspective on holistic success, empowering a fulfilling journey at this cosmic collaboration. | Keren Eldad, CEO of With Enthusiasm Coaching |
| 4:00PM – 5:00PM | Networking in the Collab Room | Collab Room | Enjoy an hour of networking in the Collab Room. Feel free to use this time to set up meetings with other members, as well. | |
| 5:00PM – 5:30PM | Rest/Freshen Up | Please use this time to rest and freshen up for the Impact Awards Gala Dinner and Celebration. We look forward to seeing you on the red carpet. | ||
| 5:30PM – 6:00PM | Cocktail Reception + Red Carpet event | Foyer/Point Loma Circle Patio | Come in your cocktail attire, ready to enjoy a night of celebrating the impact award community. | |
| 6:00PM – 9:00PM | Real Leaders Impact Awards Celebration Dinner | Main Stage | We’ll kick the night off with an inspiring keynote from Impact Award Winning CEO, Geoff Davis of Sorenson Impact, followed by an evening of dinner, music, and celebrating. | Geoff Davis, CEO of Sorenson Impact |
Day 3: SHINEWednesday, February 7 2024
| TIME | Session Name | Room | Descriptiomn | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00AM – 8:00AM | Morning Activity | Surfing, Meditation, Group Run | ||
| 7:30AM – 8:55AM | Breakfast Buffet | Collab Room & Terrace | ||
| 9:00AM – 10:00AM | Personal Branding: Uncover Your Impact Narrative Workshop | Main Stage | Tamara Loehr is the co-founder of Beusail Academy and Concertina focused on providing growth strategies and ethical offshoring to $10M+ privately owned companies focused on profit and purpose. With $6B+ revenue under mentoring, Tamara helps fellow entrepreneurs and CEOs scale and exit their companies through net-positive business models, scalable lead gen and sales processes, and digital transformation. | Tamara Loehr, Co-Founder of Beusail Academy and Concertina Team |
| 10:00AM – 10:45AM | Time to Shine Pt. 1 | Please select from the below sessions. You can select as many as you can fit in. | ||
| 10:00AM – 10:30AM | Turn Your Mission Into A Movement Through Storytelling | Vision Room | Richard Yelland is an Emmy® nominated director and award-winning filmmaker. Powerful visuals and strong performances are a trademark of his projects for Outside Television, NIKE and HISTORY, to name a few. | Richard Yelland, Founder & Director of Curtis Birch, Inc. |
| 10:00AM – 10:45AM | Lead With Impact: How to elevate your business growth | Main Stage | Leadership today demands that CEOs do more than lead a company. They must rally all stakeholders around the positive role their company plays in the world and why that matters. To do this, leaders must be unique, authentic, and inspiring so they can create and sustain impact within their company and out in the world. So where must you focus your energies? How do you show up? And how should you communicate that so your integrity and intentions are clear? In this session, global thought leader and CEO of We First, Simon Mainwaring, will reveal a roadmap for how to elevate your reputation, role, and results as a CEO and impact leader. | Simon Mainwaring, Founder & CEO of We First Inc. |
| 10:00AM – 11:00AM | Media Day – Photo shoot | Collab Room | ||
| 10:00AM – 11:00AM | Media Day – Interviews | Media Room & Collab Room | Carla and Kathryn | |
| 11:00AM – 11:45AM | Time to Shine Pt. 2 | Please select from the below sessions. You can select as many as you can fit in. | ||
| 11:00AM – 11:45AM | Be Your Own Media Company | Main Stage | Kevin Edwards, the host of the Real Leaders Podcast, stands as a prominent voice in podcasting. Covering over 1000 interviews with impact CEOs, he dedicates himself to educating the mainstream on the burgeoning impact movement and the evolving landscape of leadership. Join Kevin as he shares insights on becoming the influential voice of your movement through the powerful medium of podcasting. | Kevin Edwards, President of Real Leaders |
| 11:00AM – 11:45AM | Turn Your Mission Into A Movement Through Storytelling | Vision Room | Richard Yelland, founder of Curtis Birch, is a transformative storyteller. Believing “Being a good human is good business,” he crafts impact stories for brands like NIKE, driving growth and high ROI. Renowned for award-winning work, including the 2020 film “Seeding Change,” Yelland is dedicated to turning missions into powerful movements through compelling narratives. | Richard Yelland, Founder & Director of Curtis Birch, Inc. |
| 11:00AM – 11:45AM | Media Day – Photo shoot | Collab Room | Come update your member photo for future magazine features! | Professional Photographer |
| 11:00AM – 11:45AM | Media Day – Interviews | Media Room | Bring your story to life in an exclusive interview with Real Leaders | Carla Kalogeridis and Kathryn Dean |
| 11:50AM – 12:00PM | Break & refreshments. Lunch will not be served. | |||
| 12:00PM – 12:45PM | The New Age of Business: The Power of Collaboration and Making a Larger Impact (And A Biggger Business) Together | Main Stage | Shadi Bakour, the visionary founder of PATH, brings unparalleled expertise to the intersection of technology and humanitarian efforts. With a profound commitment to leveraging innovation for social impact, Shadi has pioneered transformative solutions. His leadership at PATH reflects a dedication to creating positive change and empowering communities globally. | Shadi Bakour, Co-Founder & CEO of PATH |
| 12:45PM – 01:00PM | COSMIC COLLABORATION | Main Stage | Close out and highlight the impact universe and the cosmic collaboration that will transcend the galaxy. | Kevin Edwards, President & Tiffany Saunders, Director of Member Impact of Real Leaders |
FEB 5
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Feb 7
KONA KAI RESORT
SAN DIEGO
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