Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation

If stepping away from your business feels impossible, it’s time to rethink how you operate.

Next-Level Operations is a hands-on workshop designed for business owners who want to build a company that thrives without them. Whether you’re drowning in daily tasks or struggling to scale, this event will give you the frameworks, strategies, and real-world examples to help you move from operator to true business leader.

📅 Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
🕢 Time: 7:30 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Location: Bayside at The Party Space Place, 5010 Wildcat Way
🎟️ Cost: Free Admission – Advanced Registration Required

What You’ll Learn

✅ Work ON Your Business, Not IN It – Shift from reactive to strategic leadership
✅ Find Your North Star – Define your vision and long-term goals
✅ Identify Your Leadership Style – Technician, Manager, Visionary, or Integrator?
✅ Build Scalable Systems – De-risk your business with processes that work
✅ Create a High-Performing Team – Put the right people in the right seats

What to Expect

The Next-Level Operations training kicks off with networking, an interactive enrollment activity, and an opening session to set the stage. Throughout the day, participants will engage in hands-on exercises covering leadership styles, scalable systems, and building self-sufficient teams, with expert-led discussions on working on vs. in the business and defining a long-term vision. The event wraps up with a complimentary lunch provided by the GOEDC and SBDC, a live Q&A session, and actionable next steps to help attendees implement what they’ve learned.

Who Should Attend?

🔹 Business owners looking to scale and systemize their operations
🔹 Entrepreneurs eager to create a sustainable, profitable company
🔹 Leaders who want to build self-sufficient teams
🔹 Anyone ready to stop being stuck in the day-to-day grind

Registration

Spots are limited—reserve your seat today!

For questions, contact Jamie Johnson at 270-926-4339 or JJohnson@owensboro.com.

More About The Experts

David Hasler

David Hasler is the Founder & President of Breakthrough Solutions Consulting, LLC (BSC) – a successful consulting firm focused on helping growing businesses tell their economic story and providing c-suite level support in both finance and strategy.

David is an active member of the startup community in Kentucky and a frequent instructor/presenter at various events and helps startups prepare for pitch competitions. In 2022, David was named the startup coach of the year in Central Kentucky. This was followed in 2023 by being awarded startup mentor of the year for the state of Kentucky.

Over David’s career he has held steadily increasing finance and strategy leadership roles in prominent companies such as Walmart, Procter & Gamble and Limited Brands. In addition to his consulting business, David is the Co-CEO of a SaaS startup and the CFO of a medical device startup.

David has experience working in consumer products, retail and the restaurant industries including roles in manufacturing, R&D, brand management, investor relations, corporate finance, treasury and M&A. Most recently, David has developed an expertise around how cash is handled by retailers and used by consumers in the US and around the world.

David holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. David has also held a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) certification for a portion of his career.

David is also passionate about Business Ethics. He’s co-authored a journal article with a faculty member at NC State University. In addition, David also developed an upper-level ethics course for UK’s Gatton College of Business and taught the first offering of that course.

Drew Sutton

Executive Coach | Speaker and Trainer | Fractional COO | Best-selling author | 32 x Inventor
Drew Sutton is an executive coach specializing in helping executives and business owners create high-performance cultures that thrive without them – allowing leaders to step back, take a vacation, and work on the business instead of in it. His coaching is built around three proprietary frameworks: Business Made Simple, Culture Scripting, and The Focus Control Method. These frameworks equip teams with the Mindsets, Skillsets, and Toolsets they need to create organizational flow and eliminate friction.

To ensure lasting change, Drew works closely with his clients to clarify their vision and strategy and design “cultural inflection points” – like workshops, live events, and corporate retreats – where team members are given a chance to be inspired, foster deep connections, and rally around the compelling mission.

Drew led a distinguished engineering career before transitioning to coaching full-time. As Research Lead at Bell Helicopter, he earned 30 patents in rotor system design. As Chief Engineer at Lockheed Martin, Drew led mission-critical teams, including a $31 million software project, scaling a division from 2 to 41 team members across 10 engineering disciplines, including cybersecurity, flight safety, contracts, negotiations, and financial management.

After leaving Lockheed, Drew converted his experience into M.E.Q., a system designed to integrate human performance data into military simulations reliably. This spawned a joint project he led for the Air Force Research Laboratory and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. N ow, Drew brings his decades of operational experience and innovation to leaders who are frustrated by friction and ready to achieve the results they know they’re capable of.

Beyond corporate leadership, Drew has been mentoring high-potential entrepreneurs since 2005. As a co-founder of a local angel investing firm, he has helped startups scale to market dominance. His work is centered on Momentum Mastery—guiding leaders to develop self-sufficient teams that drive market-leading profitability without requiring constant oversight.