Synergy Wrap-Up
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who participated in the 2008 Synergy Conference and express my gratitude for taking the time to complete our survey. I hope that the following addresses most of your comments:
· Location/Timing: I know that many of you expressed concern about the location and timing of the event. My Executive Advisory Board and I are working to get ahead of contractual commitments to help preclude this from being an issue in the future. Additionally, we will be restructuring some aspects of the Synergy Series and hope to secure more permanent sponsorship for the series overall. We believe this will provide more stability in the Series and greater opportunity to select where and when the events will be held.
· Unclassified/Classified Sessions: More permanent sponsorship will also give us the ability to plan and execute classified sessions as part of the agenda. We discussed the possibility of holding classified sessions this year, but we could not plan and execute everything required for secure sessions in time. However, we are committed to providing such venues in the future should agendas warrant. We will also be able to better manage the security challenges and related costs.
· Theme/Substantive Agenda: Synergy will stay focused on the Ops/Intel theme, even through restructuring. However, we have heard your concerns and intend to pursue agendas and formats that provide more substantively engaging sessions. Part of this will be to provide both unclassified and classified venues. While I believe the speaker roster this year was excellent in spite of some fairly significant last minute changes, I encourage you to help shape the list for future events. Once we set the objective for the 09 Series, we will be asking for suggestions making this event more powerful and rewarding.