OPI European Forum 2012

Congratulations and many thanks to you and your staff for the best OPI Conference yet.
 
The first Global Forum was interesting, informative and very helpful. Everything from the blue chip attendance to the well thought through topics for discussion and presentation as well as the impeccable service and venue made it a delight.
 
I learned a lot, felt privileged to be invited and had a great time to boot.
 
Thanks again to you and Steve and I look forward to next year's gathering.
Mark Baccash, President/CEO, Office 1 Superstore

I was exceptionally pleased to have been invited to attend the OPI Global Forum. The open and collaborative nature of the group talking about the industry and how we all grow and prosper was very pleasing. The forum also gave me some very valuable insights and ideas about how Officeworks can serve customers better and develop stronger partnerships with suppliers
Mark Ward, Managing Director, Officeworks

The 2009 OPI Global Forum was an extremely valuable event for me both from a time and financial investment standpoint.
Every single presentation was informative and thought provoking.  Having the added benefit of participating with only a small group of industry leaders was invaluable from a networking perspective.
I look forward to attending again in 2010.
David Schenker, Founder and President, Innovative Storage Designs

 

The OPI global forum provided an outstanding opportunity to meet with the leaders of the industry.  The formal presentations and breakouts were excellent with very timely content. And the interaction, both during questions and answer after the formal presentations and in the informal networking time, was the best part of the conference.
Mike Miles, President/COO, Staples

 

While I will admit that I was a bit skeptical and wondering if this conference would be a good return on the time and investment, I must say that both from a networking and information sharing standpoint I am very pleased I attended. The group that gathered was all key industry players and the mix of industry specific and broad based business topics were relevant and well presented.
Wayne Beacham, Chairman/CEO, SP Richards

 

I think the conference was terrific. I hope you continue to conduct this conference annually and I promise Office Depot support. I think it's very important that the industry get together in this type of neutral forum. It positions OPI as a true opinion leader in the industry.
Steve Odland, Chairman/CEO, Office Depot

 

Having attended a wide range of industry specific events, the Global Forum was truly unique and beneficial.   The content and format of the speakers, panel discussion and break-our sessions were very insightful and helped spark new ideas and initiatives.  In addition, the quality interaction and camaraderie between all of the top leaders in the industry from around the world will have me attending next year along with my business partner.  I recommend the Global Forum for any leader wishing to gain a competitive advantage and engage with some of the movers and shakers in the industry.
Steve C. Kahle, CEO, Red Cheetah

This event had an informative agenda with a great chance to network. I feel it was beneficial in attending.
Mike Pickles, Director, Really useful Products

 

I recently attended the OPI conference for CEO’s in Chicago and found it to be outstanding quality and value. The mix of suppliers, wholesalers and dealers; domestic and foreign; office products and other sectors made the presentations and networking opportunities to be first rate. I will undoubtedly return to future conferences using this format.
Jim Preston, CEO, BPGI

 

I think the conference in Chicago was by far the best OPI conference I have ever been. You had a choice of excellent speakers talking about relevant issues. The subjects were also well-balanced for American and European attendees. The choice of the moderator was of course a lucky punch! This woman was really brilliant and an extremely fast thinker. Her interactive style has substantially enhanced the value of the various presentations. I also appreciated the size of the event which gave very good opportunities for networking. Furthermore, I was very pleased that the role of independent players in our industry has regained a relevant position. For some time it looked as if we were a dying species. Last but not least, the hotel was very good.

A good event is always a challenge because the next one has to be even better !
Peter Basci, Chairman, EOSA

 

Kudos and thanks for the recent OPI Global Forum. I can't think of any day and a half program where I experienced more substance and relevance to operating a company on the OP space. The networking was invaluable and the programming was both forward looking, in a macro economic sense, and industry centric. You promised a senior level management focus and you delivered! I hope OPI found the event to be financially viable and will therefore consider a program of similar ilk in the future.
David Guernsey, President/CEO, Guernsey Office Products

 

I was very pleased to attend the OPI Forum in Chicago on May this year. I found it the most interesting and concrete event I have ever attended since 14 years ago when I joined the OP industry. The reasons are pretty clear to explain:
1          A properly limited number of Top level attendees showing  a real high quality and competence.
2          A unique opportunity to pick up fresh ideas and share strategic visions about our Industry future worldwide with the market leaders.
3          I’ve been exposed to very high quality speakers dealing with some of the most interesting topics that will affect our business in the next 5 years (new technologies, new consumers, new legal requirements).
4          Timing and location of the event have been very well organised to exploit at the best time and energy dedicated by attendees to the event.
5          I seriously think I will attend again the event next year.
Francesco Villa, Vice General Manager, Gruppo Buffetti

 

I truly enjoyed the event and even with a busy schedule felt that the time spent was extremely valuable.  You all did a great job organizing the event and I walked away with several great ideas and strategies.  The networking time was also valuable.
Thanks again for having us.  Barring any scheduling conflicts, we will participate in the future as well.
Ron Books, President/COO, ECi2

 

Please accept my heartiest congratulations on the OPI Global Forum 2009.
The speakers were all extremely interesting and the topics were very well presented. The Forum was a great opportunity for networking.

Personally it was a great honour to be invited for such an outstanding event, all was extremely well organised and I am sure you all worked exceptionally hard to make it the success it was.

I will be looking forward to participate in the forthcoming editions of OPI Global forums.
António Redondo, Executive Director, grupo Portucel Soporcel

 

I don’t think I have ever been to such a stimulating meeting. Yes there is a lot of doom around which came through but I think we all agreed that the future holds some very challenging times for every channel.
But I came away from there with a high level of optimism for the future of the OP Industry.
The key was the small focussed group – enabled everyone to chat and the speakers who were new to us had something different to offer.
Doug Skeggs, Division Sales & Marketing Director

 

I found the conference to be terrific. I learned a great deal. I met a number of people who will become friends and perhaps customers. I also had a chance to think about some scary futurist views, which I do not believe for a second.
Many thanks for organizing such a strong event. I can not even imagine how you do it.
Walter Johnsen, Chairman/CEO, Acme United Corporation

I talked to some of the participants after the Global Forum and we all agreed that this was first of all a fantastic idea to get together in such a smaller group of excecutives. It was one the best events ever taken place with OPI. Apart from the concrete and open presentations and discussions which have given a lot of new insights and know how to me, it was very valuable to talk to old friends and to meet new friends and build up new relationships. I am looking forward to join your next event.
Arno Alberty, Executive Vice President, Pelikan Europe

 

I think this was easily one of the best OPI conferences I have attended. The participants were top decision makers, it was a truly international audience and the topics were all relevant.
Tom Schinkel, Managing Partner, Thomas Schinkel and Associates

 

The program was world class .The time and investement t was well worth it. I was able  to network with many industry leaders that  proved to be extremly valuable.
Mike Gentile, President/CEO, is.group