Eighteen local CEOs and business owners meet monthly as a confidential sounding board on decisions facing their businesses. The Board is affiliated with mastermind groups around the world through Vistage Worldwide (vistage.com). Dunn & Bradstreet analysis reported that companies led by Vistage members grow at more than double the rate of their peers (on average).
Following the departures of members who successfully sold their firms, four local business leaders joined the Board:
Josh Watts is the CEO of MedTrust Medical Transport, LLC (ridemedtrust.com) — the provider of choice for hospitals and their partners with a passion for for solutions! After beginning his career in recruiting and sales, Josh built the firm he co-founded in 2012 to one of the region's fastest growing private EMS companies. Centered on improving patient outcomes through excellence in mobile healthcare, MedTrust's serves 4 SC health systems in the Lowcountry and Grand Strand regions, with 6 base locations. Emergent and non-emergent medical transport services include: Specialty Care Transport, Advanced and Basic Life Support transport, Disaster Response, Special Event Coverage, & wheelchair transport.
Amy Dodrill is the General Manager of Trumpf Medical USA (trumpfmedical.com/us), a division of of Hill-Rom. The firm helps people get better care faster — inside and outside of the hospital. Trumpf is distinguished by high-quality German engineering standards and offers innovative products to improve efficiency and safety in the OR, ICU, and in other clinical environments throughout the care sector. Trumpf Medical delivers total solutions to fit clinical care needs.
Jim Daly, CEO of Walterboro-based Floralife (floralife.com), is a research chemist by training, who developed a talent for identifying and solving customer needs across the spectrum of ornamental flower lifecycles — and across the world. He manages a portfolio of businesses ranging from research and chemical packaging to growth media and international distribution. Floralife and it’s parent Smithers-Oasis have been solving the post-harvest care and handling needs of the cut flower industry for 75 years.
Kirk Chastain is President of recently launched Ardent Industrial Equipment. Ardent is a dealer for Clark Forklifts, providing a seamless, painless solution that ensures maximum uptime for material handling equipment. His team offers expanded services so that inefficiency and downtime become a thing of the past. With an inventory of new equipment, used equipment and parts, they are experts in service, fleet management, leasing, rentals, and new & used sales.
The Board helps members drive better results and become better leaders by refining instincts, improving judgment, broadening perspectives and optimizing decision making. The group launched in early 2014 and is comprised of firms ranging from a few million to $1B in revenues, and 10-500 employees. Industries range from manufacturing, distribution and R&D to cyber security and staffing.
The Board Chair, Rick Self, remarked that “CEOs are in the business of making decisions. These members lead vibrant, highly-successful businesses. When Board seats open, we look for leaders with values, skills, experience, business models, and markets that complement our membership.”
