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Kate Vitasek

Award-winning expert Kate Vitasek helps organizations achieve true win-win relationships through collaborative strategies.

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We wanted a presentation on collaboration that would be both engaging and insightful for a mixed group of business, education and elected officials. Kate delivered!

John Grueling

President & CEO for Will County Center for Economic Development

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Why you should book Kate Vitasek for your next event

International authority on creating highly collaborative cultures.
Author of seven books and over 300 articles including HBR, Forbes, and Leadership Excellence.
Featured on Fox Business News, CNN International, NPR and Bloomberg.

With her expertise in highly collaborative win-win relationships, Kate Vitasek is a motivational speaker who will ignite the passion within your organization. Engage Kate for your next event and witness firsthand the transformative impact she brings. Harnessing her award-winning research, Kate Vitasek will empower your team to create an engaged and collaborative culture, driving innovation, profitability, and sustainable growth. Don't miss out on this opportunity to elevate your organization's performance.

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Keynotes

Keynote by speaker Kate Vitasek: The Vested Way: Redefining Winning in Business Relationships

“Nothing personal—it’s just business.”

This outdated attitude is the foundation that most business relationships are built on—a zero-sum game where one party wins at the expense of the other. Organizations say things like “valued employee,” “strategic partnership,” and “healthcare system,” but the reality is they are stuck on a transactional treadmill focusing on this task, this time, this deal, and under these terms. The relationships they create are static and the results are status quo.

Author, educator, and business consultant Kate Vitasek has cracked the code on how to truly create successful win-win relationships. Kate’s evocative and edutaining Vested Way® keynote unpacks Five Rules that turn transactional relationships into transformational relationships. Her keynote takes attendees beyond the theory of “win-win” and is packed with real stories from real
organizations getting real results by applying the Five Rules.

You can trust Kate for her expertise. Kate Vitasek is an international authority on how to build better business relationships. Her award-winning research is the subject of seven books and she has been featured as an international authority on how to build better business relationships on CNN International, NPR, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News. Kate regularly shares her insights as a Forbes contributor in her column on the art, science, and practice of highly collaborative relationships.

Attendees walk away:

Challenging the game they are playing in their existing relationships.

Armed with the Vested Five Rules to help them transform their relationships.

Inspired by real-world examples of how the Vested Way has worked in practice, creating value far beyond traditional us-vs-them transactional approaches.

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Keynote by speaker Kate Vitasek: Five Steps for Creating an Engaged, Collaborative Culture

The vast majority of business relationships operate with an “us vs. them” mindset: management vs. union, buyer vs. supplier, health care providers vs. payers, boss vs. employee and functional silo vs. functional silo.

Organizations say things like “valued employee,” “strategic partnership,” and “healthcare system,” but the reality is they are often stuck with policies and practices and functional metrics that pit organizations, departments, and even team members against each other. The result is a culture that feels like a virtual tug-of-war with team members pulling against each other rather than collaborating for mutual success.

Kate’s Getting to We ® keynote shares five proven steps for creating an engaged, collaborative culture. Her keynote inspires audiences with behind-the-scenes stories of how organizations such as Island Health and their hospitalists transformed their culture from a tense, troubled, and toxic relationship to one team members proudly call trusting, collaborative, and innovative. Kate will leave you with tangible advice, tips, and tools for making the shift from a What’s-in-it-for-Me culture to a What’s-in-it-for-We culture.

You can trust Kate for her expertise. Kate Vitasek is an international authority for her award-winning work on how to build better business relationships. She has been featured on CNN International, NPR, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News. She is the author of seven books. Kate regularly shares her insights as a Forbes contributor in her column on the art, science, and practice of highly collaborative relationships.

Attendees walk away:

Understanding why “getting to yes” is no longer enough

Learning a proven five-step approach for creating a highly engaged and collaborative culture

Inspired by real-world examples of how organizations such as Island Health and their hospitalists transformed their culture

Gaining access to proven tools to facilitate teams in transitioning from a “Me” to “We” mindset.

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Keynote by speaker Kate Vitasek: Choosing Transparency & Trust to Enable High-Performing Teams

In our fast-paced and interconnected world, the success of any organization hinges on the strength and productivity of its teams. High-performing teams are not merely a result of chance or luck; they are cultivated by fostering an environment built on transparency and trust. But all too often individuals and organizations have a mantra that trust must be earned. What if we shifted our mindset and chose to lead by trusting?

Join Kate in her evocative and edutaining Power of T keynote speech as she shares profound insights from her groundbreaking research. Kate’s inspiring and interactive presentation will help you challenge traditional notions of how to build trust and demonstrate how viewing transparency and trust through a new lens can unleash the full potential of teams.

You can trust Kate for her expertise. University of Tennessee supply chain professor Kate Vitasek has been researching the power of choosing to lead with transparency and trust for over 20 years. Her work has led to seven books and she has been featured as an international authority on how to build better business relationships on CNN International, NPR, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News.

Attendees walk away:

Valuable insights that will empower their organization to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

Five pillars for building trust and transparency in teams.

Real-world examples of real organizations getting real results by choosing to lead with transparency and trust.

Tangible tips and tools to foster a culture of trust and boost team performance.

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Keynote by speaker Kate Vitasek: Five Rules that Transform Outsourcing Relationships

Many outsourcing deals are structured with fundamental flaws in the business model that prevent transformational results. The problem is not outsourcing itself, but rather the outsourcing business model. The vast majority of outsourcing deals are structured using a conventional transactional business model. This buy-sell transactional mindset pits buyers and suppliers across the table in a virtual tug-of-war when business needs change.

Join Kate in her evocative and edutaining Vested Outsourcing keynote where she will share how to flip the conventional outsourcing approach on its head with her award-winning Vested Outsourcing business model. You will learn how to align the interest between a buyer and supplier with Five Rules. The result? A highly collaborative win-win outsourcing relationship where the parties are vested in each other’s success. Walk away inspired by the art of the possible when outsourcing and learn from real case studies from those making the switch to Vested Outsourcing

You can trust Kate for her expertise. University of Tennessee supply chain professor Kate Vitasek—lauded by World Trade Magazine as one of the Fabulous 50+1 most influential people impacting global commerce—is an international authority on outsourcing. Her pioneering research on Vested Outsourcing has sparked a movement to flip conventional outsourcing on its head with over 10,000 people from over 500 companies taking her Executive Education courses with dozens who have gone on to achieve award-winning results from their outsourcing partners.

Attendees walk away:

Knowing what Vested Outsourcing is—and why outsourcing does not have to be a dirty word.

Understanding the Five Rules of Vested Outsourcing and how they help organizations shift from transactional to transformational outsourcing.

Inspired by real stories from real companies with real results.

Motivated to rethink how they are working with outsourcing partners.

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Customer Reviews

We wanted a presentation on collaboration that would be both engaging and insightful for a mixed group of business, education and elected officials. Kate delivered!

John Grueling President & CEO for Will County Center for Economic Development

Kate’s message is a home run. Her depth of practical experience and academic knowledge blended perfectly for our association.

Phil Arbuckle Executive Director, Utility Supply Management Alliance

Kate has the unique talent to make difficult concepts simple for the audience. After her session, the team was energized and enthusiastic about incorporating her methods into their work.

Patricia Moser Chief Procurement Officer/Director, United Nations Operations (UNOPS)

Kate is the cutting-edge thinking behind big deal making.

Magnus Kuchler Markets Leader, Nordics and Country Managing Partner EY Sweden

Kate Vitasek has an exciting message that she conveys in a dramatically interactive way - not only does everyone 'get it' but they remember her key points for a long time - a very unique result. She cleverly wove our conference theme and other speakers' topics into her presentation, helping to make our Spring Conference a wonderfully connected and mission- driven event!

Louise O’Sullivan CEO, Prime Advantage

Kate’s RealPlay workshops really delivered! We created an amazing foundation for a new strategic partnership – 100% virtually.

Todd Walthall EVP & Chief Operating Officer, Blue Shield California

Kate’s message is a must-hear for today’s supply chain and commercial managers who are struggling to crack the code on creating more value through their supply chain partners.

Lisa Higgins President and CEO, APQC

When I need a speaker that will impress and inspire, I know who to call.

Katharine O’Reilly Executive Director, eyefortransport

Kate, the recent Logistics & Supply Chain Forum received excellent reviews from its attendees, thanks in huge part to your hard work providing the Forum with an enlightening and provocative conference session.

Chyai Mulberg Conference Producer, Richmond Events

Kate’s insights on fostering win-win relationships by shifting from a WIIFMe to a WIIFWe mindset – along with her five rules for strategic partnerships – offered our participants practical tools for long-term success.

Sanjay Vasudeven Head of Key Client Management, Maersk

Kate Vitasek

Empowering Organizations: Harnessing the Power of Collaboration

Lauded by World Trade Magazine as one of the “Fabulous 50+1” most influential people impacting global commerce, Kate Vitasek is an international authority for her award- winning research and Vested® business model for highly-collaborative relationships. Vitasek, an author, educator, and business consultant, offers practical and research-based advice for driving transformation and innovation through highly-collaborative and strategic partnerships. She has written seven books, including: V
ested: How P&G, McDonald’s and Microsoft Are Redefining Winning in Business Relationships
,
Contracting in the New Economy
,
Vested Outsourcing: Five Rules that Transform Outsourcing
and
Getting to We: Negotiating Agreements for Highly Collaborative Relationships
.

Vitasek has been featured on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, Fox Business News, and Forbes. She also has been featured in over 300 articles in publications including Harvard Business Review, Chief Executive Magazine, Information Week, CIO Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Journal of Commerce, and World Financial Review. She is the lead faculty and researcher for Vested and has launched the University of Tennessee’s Certified Deal Architect program.

Kate is passionate in her quest to help companies transform their business relationships. She inspires and motivates business leaders in University courses (both onsite and virtually), and gives her popular keynote addresses at major industry events and conferences around the world.

Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Vitasek’s storied career includes positions with P&G, Microsoft, Accenture, Stream International and Supply Chain Visions—a boutique-consulting firm she founded, which was recognized by ARC Advisory Group as one of the “10 Coolest” boutique- consulting firms.