40 Strategy’s Phoenix Growth Workshop Sells Out; Nine-Expert Speaker Lineup Announced

November 2–3 event brings experts together with business owners for strategic planning, individual guidance and peer collaboration; waiting list now available.

PHOENIX, AZ, UNITED STATES, October 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Carl J. Cox’s 40 Strategy has announced that its second annual 40 Strategy Growth Workshop™ has sold out. The November 2–3, 2026, event at Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort will feature nine experts addressing business growth and execution. A waiting list is now available on the workshop website.

The program’s emphasis on outside guidance reflects a common practice among leaders of America’s fastest-growing companies: 76% of Inc. 5000 CEOs report having a mentor, according to Inc.’s annual CEO survey.

The two-day program combines business education, individual expert meetings and peer collaboration to help owners develop their 2027 growth plans. Research from SCORE supports the value of sustained engagement: its 2018 survey found that 43% of owners with five or more mentoring interactions reported business growth, compared with 30% with one interaction. Those interactions included both individual mentoring and educational workshops.

“Owners benefit from having experienced people around them who ask better questions, challenge assumptions and help them make decisions,” said Cox, founder of 40 Strategy and 40 Accounting. “We’ve built this workshop to give them that access and time to turn those conversations into a plan that will actually get done.”

Featured speakers are:

· Trent Gillespie, CEO of Stellis AI and former Amazon global strategy executive. AI expert and professional speaker Trent Gillespie will address how business owners can move from experimenting with AI to developing a practical AI strategy for adoption, helping leaders identify opportunities and translate them into action.

· Tommy Breedlove, founder of Legendary and Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. Breedlove will focus on leadership and the value of surrounding

oneself with trusted peers who challenge assumptions, reveal blind spots and support better decisions in business and life.

· Adam Gelhausen, managing partner of Palindrome LLP. A private equity investor and business owner focused on lower middle market companies, Gelhausen will bring an acquirer’s perspective to strategic growth, operational improvement and ownership transitions.

· Adi Klevit, founder of Business Success Consulting Group. With more than 30 years of experience as a process consultant, executive and entrepreneur, Klevit will address how documenting and implementing business systems can improve efficiency, strengthen teams and support sustainable growth.

· George Sandmann, founder and CEO of Growth Drive and author of The Growth-Driving Advisor. Sandmann will discuss Strategic Capacity, his framework for assessing a company’s ability to grow profits, cash flow and transferable equity value, helping owners identify constraints and prioritize improvements.

· Jimi Gibson, vice president of brand communication at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency. Gibson will explore how AI is changing the way customers discover and evaluate businesses, and how owners can strengthen their visibility and credibility in that environment.

· Mark Grubbs, partner at WestPac Wealth Partners. Grubbs will address how owners can increase their company’s value and begin distributing wealth from the business before a sale. He is also offering attendees a complimentary business valuation, with advance submission of financial documents required to participate.

· Mike Garrison, business coach and author of Can I Borrow Your Car?. Drawing on more than 25 years in sales training, coaching and strategic planning, Garrison will discuss how owners can build trust and turn client and professional relationships into consistent sources of qualified referrals.

· Steve Caton, founder of Altezza. Caton brings more than 30 years of sales and revenue growth experience and will address how entrepreneurs can strengthen sales strategy and scale through fractional sales leadership.

Participants will work through annual goals, identify measurable priorities and develop a 90-day execution sprint. Scheduled one-on-one meetings with the speakers will provide guidance specific to each business.

The workshop’s focus on implementation reflects 40 Strategy’s broader work with small and midsize businesses. In a recent company case study, family-owned venue group The

Yes™ Weddings reported doubling revenue year over year and achieving a 5.4-times return on its strategic engagement. Another case study documented Valley Pacific Construction’s move from double-digit losses to double-digit profitability within 12 months.

These consulting engagements illustrate the firm’s emphasis on clear priorities, stronger leadership capacity and consistent accountability, the same principles that guide the workshop.

“A growth plan has to survive the demands of running a business,” Cox said. “That means deciding what matters most, assigning ownership and establishing a rhythm that keeps the work moving after everyone goes home.”

Now in its second year, the workshop builds on the inaugural Phoenix gathering’s focus on candid conversation, purposeful leadership and practical follow-through. Last year’s event earned a Net Promoter Score of 100, the highest possible score. NPS measures willingness to recommend an experience; a score of 100 means every survey respondent rated their likelihood of recommending it a nine or ten on a ten-point scale.

The 2026 workshop is sold out. Business owners interested in joining the waiting list can visit 40strategy.com/growth-workshop.

About 40 Strategy

40 Strategy helps CEOs and business owners turn strategic goals into measurable results through structured planning and ongoing accountability. Founded by Carl J. Cox, the firm works with leadership teams to improve execution, profitability and growth. Cox is also the founder of 40 Accounting, author of Lost at CEO: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Strategy and host of the Measure Success podcast.

Anna Kubicki
Angles Communications
+1 480-277-9245