Meet our speakers

Doing the Little Things and Executing Vision

Join us for an inspiring keynote from Coach Herm Edwards, where he will explore how focusing on the little things can lead to executing big visions, both on and off the field. His powerful insights and compelling stories will leave you motivated to elevate your own game—no matter what field you’re playing on!

Coach Edwards is one of football’s most dynamic leaders, with a career spanning decades as a coach, player, and now ESPN football analyst. His leadership and passion for achieving greatness through the details have been a hallmark of his success.

At ESPN, Coach Edwards appears on shows like SportsCenter, Get Up, and Good Morning America, sharing his expertise on both football and life. As head coach at Arizona State, he led the Sun Devils to three bowl games in four seasons and also served as a Professor of Practice at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, mentoring future sports media professionals.

Coach Edwards’ NFL coaching legacy includes leading both the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs to postseason success in his first season with each team. As a player, he was a cornerstone of the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense, starting every game for nine seasons and recording 33 career interceptions—still among the best in franchise history.

A champion of teamwork and community, Coach Edwards has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Walter Camp Foundation Man of the Year, Team ESPN Commentator of the Year, and the Shell Legacy Award. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from one of football’s most respected and inspiring figures!

Challenges and Opportunities in 2025–2026–2027

2025 and beyond will present opportunities and challenges to business leaders. Inflation and interest rates will return on the wings of government spending, a tightening labor market, global demand, and higher-cost production inputs from raw materials to electricity. Navigating the twin challenges of inflation and interest rates will require immediate action. We will discuss the timing and the actions to take to get your company ready for the next few years and the rest of the decade.

Manufacturing and the economy in general are in recovery, but the rate of rise will vary by industry and even geographic region. The information we present on the various domestic and global landscapes will allow decision-makers to position their companies for maximum return through the coming years.

A IMPORTANT UPDATE ON OUR CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

While we were all looking forward to hearing from Alan Beaulieu one last time before his retirement, Alan has made the difficult but necessary decision to step away from speaking earlier than planned to prioritize his health and well-being.

We’re incredibly grateful for Alan’s contributions to our industry—his insights have challenged us, made us think, and yes, sometimes even terrified us (in the best way). Please join us in congratulating him on a well-earned retirement.

That said, we are in great hands.

Alan has personally assured us that his successor, Taylor St. Germain, will continue delivering the trusted ITR economic report we all know and rely on. Taylor brings deep expertise and a dynamic approach to forecasting, ensuring we receive the same high-value insights to help navigate the road ahead.

Please join us in congratulating Alan on his retirement and wishing him all the best, while also giving a warm welcome to Taylor as he takes the stage at ISA25!

HEAR ALAN’S FAREWELL MESSAGE TO ISA:

ABOUT TAYLOR ST. GERMAIN

As an experienced economist, Taylor St. Germain provides consulting services for small businesses, trade associations, and Fortune 500 companies across a spectrum of industries. Taylor specializes in forecasting at both the market and company levels and is a key contributor to maintaining ITR Economics’ forecast accuracy rating of 94.7%.

His dynamic personality and extensive knowledge of economic trends and their business relevance are highly valued by clients and colleagues alike.

Taylor spent time in the tech industry providing market intelligence to electronics OEMs, semiconductor companies, and component manufacturers. In his five years with ITR Economics, he has worked with various distributors, manufacturers, and producers, helping each client navigate the business cycle and optimize their corporate planning strategy. Taylor has also spent several years in Texas furthering his research in the industrial sector, with a specific focus on oil and gas.

Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree in statistics from the University of Vermont and is finishing a master’s degree in applied economics at Southern New Hampshire University. He has been featured in OEM Magazine, NALP, Lawn and Landscape, and on the Fab Lab and Wealth Formula podcasts.