Building a Business That Can Adapt, Grow & Thrive
What happens when the environment around your business changes in ways you never anticipated?
Markets shift. Costs rise. Customers change. People leave. Unexpected challenges disrupt even the best-laid plans.
While we can’t control everything that happens around us, we can control how prepared we are to respond.
Join us for an engaging and practical session with Marlene Gay, CEO of CFET and one of its founding members, as she shares her journey of building and leading CFET and the lessons she has learned about creating an organization that can adapt, remain resilient, and continue to grow—even when circumstances are uncertain.
Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in leadership, capacity building, organizational development, and strategic planning, Marlene brings a unique perspective shaped by her journey building and leading CFET in Haiti, an environment where political, economic, and natural disruptions can create extraordinary challenges.
Her experience has taught her an important lesson: resilience isn’t something you discover when a crisis arrives. It is something you build before you need it.
During this session, Marlene will share her journey at CFET—what she has learned from more than three decades of building, leading, and growing an organization in a complex and constantly changing environment.
Through stories and practical insights from her own experience, she will explore the role of leadership, people, processes, systems, and strategic decision-making in building an organization that can adapt and thrive.
She will also share the approach CFET has developed through its own experience and the lessons behind it—offering an inside look at how an organization evolves, responds to challenges, builds capacity, and continues moving forward.
And while Marlene’s experience comes from a uniquely challenging environment, the lessons are relevant to all of us. Whether you are building a business in Costa Rica, leading a team, managing growth, or navigating change, there is much to learn from her experience about what it takes to build something that can withstand uncertainty and continue to grow.
What You’ll Explore
During this event, you will:
- Explore what business resilience really means—and how it develops over time.
- Hear lessons from Marlene’s 30+ year journey at CFET and her experience leading an organization through challenging and changing circumstances.
- Discover how leadership, people, processes, and systems contribute to organizational strength and sustainable growth.
- Consider how organizations can identify and respond to capacity gaps and vulnerabilities.
- Explore the importance of adaptability and strategic decision-making when you don’t have all the answers.
- Gain insight into the approach CFET has developed through its own experience and the lessons behind it.
- Reflect on what your own business or organization could do differently today to become stronger and more adaptable tomorrow.
- Leave with practical ideas and perspectives you can apply to your own leadership and business journey.
Who Should Attend?
This event is ideal for:
Women who own or are building their own businesses
Entrepreneurs and business leaders
Women managing growing companies or teams
Professionals preparing to take their business to the next level
Women navigating change, uncertainty, or organizational growth
Women interested in leadership, resilience, and building sustainable organizations
Whether you’re a solopreneur, leading a small team, or managing an established organization, this session will offer perspectives and practical insights you can apply to your own situation.
Why This Conversation Matters
Many of us think about resilience only after something goes wrong.
But what if we thought about it differently?
What if resilience became part of how we design our businesses from the beginning?
Marlene’s journey at CFET offers a powerful reminder that resilience isn’t only about responding to adversity. It is about building the capacity, systems, relationships, leadership, and flexibilitythat allow an organization to keep moving forward when circumstances change.
Her story gives us an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day running of our businesses and ask a bigger question:
Is my business built to adapt?
And perhaps just as importantly:
What can I learn from someone who has spent more than three decades building and leading an organization through extraordinary uncertainty?
Come Ready to Connect
As always, this PWNCR event is about more than learning.
It’s an opportunity to connect with a community of accomplished and inspiring women, exchange experiences, share challenges and ideas, and build relationships that can support you personally and professionally.
Come ready to learn from Marlene, but also come ready to learn from one another.
You may discover that the woman sitting next to you has faced a challenge remarkably similar to your own—or has an idea that could change the way you approach your business or leadership journey.
Registration
Reserve your spot and join us for a morning of learning, reflection, practical ideas, and connection.
Come ready to hear Marlene’s story, look at your own business or organization through a different lens, and consider what you can do today to make it more resilient, adaptable, and ready for growth.
And, as always, come ready to meet and connect with an inspiring community of women.
