SIBF

Leadership is not meant to be practiced alone.

The further you move into responsibility, the fewer opportunities you may have to step outside your daily demands, speak honestly with peers, and encounter perspectives shaped by different industries, cultures, and countries.

That is why NALA was created.

The North America Leadership Alliance (NALA) brings together a small group of leaders from Canada, Mexico, and the United States for five days in Atlanta. We learn together, challenge one another’s thinking, share our experiences, and build enduring relationships.

Leadership grows through openness, curiosity, meaningful conversation, and relationships grounded in trust.

If this sounds like the kind of community you have been looking for, we invite you to learn more: https://www.nalanetwork.org

Globalization delivered lower costs, greater choice, and highly efficient supply chains. But recent disruptions have exposed the risks of optimizing for cost alone.

In a conversation with Harvard Business School Professor, W***y Shih, SIBF members explored why resilience must now be built into supply-chain strategy. While leaders remain committed to their long-term vision, the ability to diversify resources and respond quickly to tariffs, extreme weather, and geopolitical shifts will increasingly shape the more tactical, short-term decisions.

Engaging broadly and understanding diverse global perspectives are essential practices for navigating this complexity. By providing opportunities for learning and fostering cross-border dialogue, SIBF helps members gain the insight, relationships, and perspective they need to make better decisions in a rapidly changing world.

Special thanks to Bill Starnes (TX, '98) for moderating this exceptional and timely webinar.

SIBF’s strength as a trusted network comes from the depth of experience, curiosity, and insight each member brings to the community.

Roundtables are short-term, dynamic, topic-focused discussion groups that bring together members and spouses to share experiences, explore challenges, and exchange innovative strategies. Whether you’re navigating market shifts, scaling operations globally, or exploring transformative technologies, SIBF Roundtables offer a trusted circle where you can find insights that go beyond surface-level conversations.

Whether you want to deepen your knowledge, contribute your perspective, or build relationships with members you might not otherwise meet, there is a place for you at the table.

Something worth making room for in January 2027.

We’re bringing our Global Network together in Bali, welcoming friends from across the SEALA, CELA, MELA and SIBF networks.

We’re putting the finishing touches on the program and will share more soon.

For now - save the dates. Start planning.

We’ll see you in Bali. 💙

South East Asia Leadership Academy
Central Eurasia Leadership Alliance - CELA
MELA Network
SIBF

A professional community is only as strong as our willingness to show up for it.

Membership opens the door. But it is through participation, joining the conversation, attending the program, sharing what we know, and remaining open to what others can teach us, that the real value of a network emerges.

When we show up consistently, familiar faces become trusted relationships. A presentation becomes a new way of thinking. A casual conversation becomes an unexpected opportunity. And a collection of accomplished individuals becomes a community invested in one another’s growth.

At SIBF, our programs create space for leaders to learn together, exchange ideas across industries and cultures, and develop the kind of relationships that can only be built when we accept the invitation.

SIBF in the News: England Entertained, Educated Students

Read the full article:

England entertained, educated students Local foundation provided one-of-a-kind experience for area students

Legacies are Built Over Time.

The leaders who make the greatest impact understand that leadership is an act of stewardship, recognizing that the choices they make today influence the people, organizations, and communities of tomorrow.

They share what they've learned. They invest in relationships. They broaden perspectives. They intentionally prepare the next generation to carry the work forward.

That same view of legacy recently took shape in Cambridge at the SIBF Cambridge Young Adults Summer Program: Money and Responsibility.

As young adults gathered to explore the ideas that shape society, they engaged in the kind of conversations that develop thoughtful leaders, learning from distinguished scholars, wrestling with enduring questions, and gaining perspectives that will shape the course of their professional and personal lives for years to come.

At SIBF, we believe leadership is about investing in others, cultivating character, and building strong relationships that carry across generations.

The greatest legacy is what continues because we invested and cared for those who come next.

There is a lot you can learn about leadership from someone willing to tell you not only what worked, but what didn’t.

This week, SIBF members had the opportunity to visit Jeff Ackel's (GA, '14) company, Sigma Thermal, Inc., and hear directly from Jeff about nearly two decades of building the company from the ground up.

What began in 2007 with a handful of people, borrowed space, and a $3,000 forklift has grown into a global operation with more than 2,000 installations worldwide.

But the most interesting part of the story was everything required to make that growth sustainable.

There were years when business came faster than the organization was ready for it. There were mistakes, growing pains, an international expansion, and then the disruption of 2020, and through each chapter, the company learned.

Today, Sigma Thermal points back to a few fundamentals that have remained remarkably consistent: deep engineering knowledge, applied field experience, real customer service, product quality, impeccable safety, culture, and the systems needed to support all of them. Jeff pointed out that all of these components are necessary for success and without just one the company and teams suffer.

One reflection in particular stayed with us: entrepreneurs often begin by carrying everything themselves. "But," Jeff went on to say, "building something that lasts eventually requires finding capable people, trusting them to lead, and getting out of their way."

Jeff's ability to build teams that can do the jobs required to keep Sigma Thermal competitive has enabled him to step down as CEO and spend his time focusing on "special projects" and other passions that will ensure Sigma Thermal's significance in the years ahead.

Thank you to Jeff and the entire Sigma Thermal team for opening your doors, sharing the story behind the business, and giving fellow members an inside look at what it really takes to build, scale, stumble, adapt, and keep going.