Inaugural business conference to focus on Christian values

Subiaco monk, headmaster, start up advisor to lead Catholic business retreat, discussion

Published: March 1, 2022

By Chris Price
Arkansas Catholic Staff

Photos courtesy Greg Foss

Father Jerome Kodell, OSB; Dr. David Wright, headmaster of Subiaco Academy; and Greg Foss, principal of The Compass Business Group, will lead a retreat and business conference which will focus on the vocation of business, the reclamation of the Christian witness and the promotion of virtue-based leadership within the workplace.

Photos courtesy Greg Foss

Catholic business leaders are invited to attend the inaugural Catholic Business 360 Conference (CB360) set for March 13-16 at Subiaco Abbey.

The two-and-a-half day conference, co-founded by Father Jerome Kodell, OSB; Greg Foss, principal of The Compass Business Group; and Dr. David Wright, headmaster of Subiaco Academy, is a faith-based response to the cultural and national conditions impacting families, communities and businesses. In addition to traditional business conference topics, like workforce development, problem-solving, planning, strategy, investing and entrepreneurialism, CB360 will focus on the vocation of business, the reclamation of the Christian witness and the promotion of virtue-based leadership within the workplace.

“What we’ve put together is a combination spiritual retreat, led by Father Jerome, and business conference,” said Foss, a Denver resident. “It really came out of what I felt was an opportunity for businesspeople to really get together and talk about what’s going on in the world, our culture and, maybe most importantly to them, their business.

“Father Jerome will lead one of his more traditional retreats, “Lost in the Wilderness,” and in the other half we’re going to talk about business and faith. We have talks lined up to give business leaders the opportunity to visit about what’s going on in their business and, hopefully, form some new friendships, alliances and a support network of other businesspeople.”

Foss said the plan is to use the conference as a jumping off point to offer other programs and launch a series of faith and business conferences to emerging and next-generation leaders, women in business and Business 101 workshops called “The Business Side of The Parish” for priests and seminarians who are in the business of saving souls and saving dollars and cents when operating a parish.

“This first one we’re trying to run it as a kind of a trial balloon,” he said. “We’ve received a lot of really positive responses. What I hope is that they get enough out of it to say, ‘Hey, we’d like to come back and do it again.’”

Based on the logistics of the Coury House Retreat Center during a pandemic, the conference will be limited to 20 people. The cost is $395 per person and includes lodging Sunday through Tuesday nights and all meals.

“It’s a nice small group — I don’t believe they can hold much more than that — but it makes it more of an intimate setting where people will share, get to know each other through the retreat and when it comes down to talking about business and ideas and ethics, they’ll be a little bit more open and willing to share.”

Wright, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on leadership development, will lead some of the sessions. He and Foss have been discussing the need and concept for the conference for about a year.

“We felt there was a void and an opportunity for people to gather together in like-mindedness and try to figure out how to navigate through a crazy world we live in today,” he said. “I might have the same faith background or desires and might work in different industries, and I may be challenged with something that is similar that you’ve experienced at one time in your life. And if you have a strategy, tactic or an operational game plan that you figured out going through it, you can help me to figure that out. That’s what it’s really about.”

Wright said hosting the conference at the abbey will be a perfect fit.

“People want to go to a place where it’s OK to slow down, be quiet, get away, reflect, pray and think about what means the most in their lives,” he said. “A monastery like Subiaco will provide that backdrop.”

Foss, a strategic planning consultant for startup businesses, agreed.

“I think it’s a great place for people to get away from the world, recharge their batteries, make some friends and go back into the business world knowing that, ultimately, our faith is at the core of how we operate, in our ethics and who we are,” he said. “This is a conference on all aspects of life that will challenge you, deepen your faith and inspire you to become the Christian leader that God desires you to be within your family, your workplace and the community.”

For more information or to register, visit cb360.org.

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