Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce has launched a new peer network for business leaders, with a focus on executive leadership and growth strategies.
The group yesterday announced the Wisconsin Executive Forum, which will initially have three cohorts in Madison, Milwaukee and the Green Bay-Fox Cities area. The experience will include monthly meetings and exclusive content featuring subject matter experts.
“Our goal is to convene, equip and educate C-suite executives from across the state, different industries and different geographies to sharpen their leadership swords,” WMC Chief Operating Officer Wade Goodsell said in a recent interview. “It’s our belief … that the ceiling of the organization is often dictated by the ceiling of the lead executive.”
He described the effort as a “curated and confidential peer-to-peer network” that will help participants advance in organizational strategy, change management and business growth.
Each of the cohorts are launching in January with up to 14 participants, selected from among a pool of applicants. It’s open to WMC members and non-members as well, though Goodsell said it’s targeting senior leadership at middle market to upper-middle market businesses in Wisconsin. The forum will also ask participants to agree to a non-solicitation clause.
“Our goal isn’t to get business from these groups; our goal is to learn from each other within these groups,” he said. “Of course, business will probably happen downstream as relationships are built.”
Goodsell said cohort members will get access to an on-demand speaker library, featuring insights from current CEOs on how they’ve scaled up their companies, navigated mergers and acquisitions and other experiences.
Members will be asked to commit to 12 months of participation, but they can remain in the cohort longer than that if they find value, according to Goodsell. It’s envisioned as an “evergreen” program to convene executives for the foreseeable future.
He touted the forum’s “unique value proposition,” arguing it will enable networking on a level that other organizations aren’t able to within the three largest population hubs in Wisconsin.
“As we launch in 2026, that’s our focus,” he said. “And as we move into 2027, I expect that we’ll expand and add cohorts within those regions and new geographies across the state.”
The Milwaukee cohort will be facilitated by Corey Chambas, CEO of First Business Bank, while the Madison cohort will be led by Larry McManis, former global strategis at Kraft Foods. And Barb LaMue, former CEO of the New North, will lead the Green Bay-Fox Cities cohort.
See more in the release.
