With the increasing challenge to find quality talent in Central Texas, HireBetter’s CEO, Kurt Wilkin, will be the featured speaker to discuss feasible ways businesses can attract and retain talent in Austin at PowerUp Austin! on September 14.

“Attracting and retaining game-changing talent is the single best way to take your business to the next level,” said Kurt Wilkin, CEO of HireBetter. “But planning for talent is usually put on the back burner and hiring becomes very reactive. We want to show business leaders how to be proactive about talent, and how to integrate talent planning into their business strategy.”

Created by the Austin Chamber, the PowerUp Austin! series is a monthly conversation designed to keep the busy professional informed of the many ways they can navigate their company in the Central Texas business climate. The networking gathering will discuss why strategic talent planning is critical to business success, how to avoid reactive hiring, and the steps that can turn your talent blueprint into reality.

In addition to the featured speaker, the Austin Chamber unveiled the complete list of roundtable hosts including Crista Bailey of Andrew Harper; James Patton of FairPrice Healthcare, LLC; John McAlonan of Falcon Structures; Mike Aviles of GROW2DAY; Richard Hojel of Corporacion Frigus Therme & Algas Industries; Ryan Robinson of OnRamp; and Sam Goodner of FlashParking, Inc.

Sponsors of the event include the City of Austin’s Economic Development Small Business department, Austin American-Statesman, and the Austin Technology Incubator at the University of Texas at Austin.

The event will be held at Bazaarvoice. Tickets are on sale for $25 for members and $35 for non-members.

To register for the event, click here.

Featured speaker and roundtable hosts include:

Featured Speaker

Kurt Wilkin’s success as an entrepreneur stems from his ability to build long-term relationships with clients, attract a loyal team of dedicated leaders and associates, and consistently deliver on commitments. As the CEO of HireBetter, Wilkin devotes his time to helping business leaders unlock their own success. His responsibilities include strategic client consultation, client satisfaction, recruiting, and practice development. Prior to founding HireBetter, Kurt founded and led The Controller Group (TCG), a professional services firm focused on accounting, technology and recruiting, acquired by Tatum in 2006. Post-acquisition Kurt led the doubling of the firm’s revenues over a three-year period.

Kurt began his career with Ernst & Young, where he worked with early stage and high-growth middle market clients, and later served as Controller and VP of Finance for eFANshop, a Dallas-based internet retailer.

Roundtable Hosts

Crista Bailey recently joined Andrew Harper, the standard-bearer for inspiring high-end travel content, as the CEO to lead them through a business model transformation and growth plans. Bailey serves on the Board of Mission Capital, Austin’s social sector leader for mission-driven organizations and people, as well as a Social Ventures Partner, a network of Austin business leaders and investors caring deeply about social impact and playing an active role in solving our community’s biggest problems. Bailey mentors entrepreneurs at Capital Factory and is a founding steering committee member of Women@Austin, advancing women entrepreneurs in Austin.

James Patton serves as the CEO of FairPrice Healthcare, a company that builds market efficient price points for medical plans, saving 30 percent and more on healthcare plans for Americans. Prior to this role, Patton spent nearly twenty years with The Boon Group, a nationally recognized employee benefit third-party administrator.

John McAlonan is passionate about leading teams to their fullest potential. His work experience ranges from serving as US Army officer to more than 23 years working in the software and manufacturing side of the defense industry in engineering, marketing, and executive leadership roles. McAlonan serves as President and COO of Falcon Structures to ensure the company continues to scale its modified shipping container operations in the rapidly evolving shipping container structures market.

Mike Aviles is a versatile CEO with a track record of success across several different industries. Aviles runs his own consulting and advisory business, Grow2Day as the CEO. He was CEO of Vignette; CEO of Activant Solutions; CEO of Foster Grant; and General Manager of FOOTACTION USA.

Richard Hojel is the President and CEO of Corporacion Frigus Therme. Hojel began his career Andersen Consulting and has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Additionally, he serves as a Board Member of Corporación Zapata and Monte Xanic, and as the Chairman of the Institute of the Americas Board of Directors.

Ryan Robinson is Chairman and President of OnRamp, a leading data center services company focused on high security, compliance and hybrid hosting. Robinson is responsible for OnRamp’s operations, finance and customer service. Prior to this role, Robinson worked for Aero Logistics, where he managed a wide variety of operational areas. He also worked as an investment professional at Farallon Capital Management where he managed $250 million of public and private investments in the energy and business services sectors.

Sam Goodner is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and business coach. He serves as President of FlashParking, Inc, a parking management system that operates in more than 800 nationwide locations and allows parking owners to manage their valet, surface lot, and parking operations. Prior to joining FlashParking, Goodner was the founder and CEO of Catapult Systems, a Microsoft-focused information technology consulting firm with over 450 employees. During his 20 years at the helm of Catapult Systems, Sam also founded and sold two successful software product companies (PowerDOC and Inquisite), started a mobile application development firm (Mobile Alchemy), and launched an interactive, design, and marketing agency (Slingrock).