CEO
Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization™
2009 CEO Annual Conference
The 2009 National CEO Conference will be held on October 22 – October 24 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
About the National Conference
The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ OrganizationSM (CEO), on 165 university campuses across North America, provides young entrepreneurs with networking opportunities, chapter activities, and the national conference to help them start their own businesses. The mission of CEO is to inform, support and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial and seek opportunity through enterprise creation. The conference speakers help solidify entrepreneurship into the fabric of universities nationally.
Each year, more than 1,600 students, faculty, and others interested in entrepreneurship attend the 2 ½ day CEO Conference. Over 80 outstanding entrepreneurs and business leaders share their ideas and expertise with students on how they launched their businesses, the lessons they've learned, and where they are today. The Annual CEO Conference also offers students the opportunity to network with peers nationwide.
To begin registering for the 2009 National CEO Conference, please click on the Register button below.
Following please find additional information on the 2009 conference:
- General Conference Information
- Important Conference Dates and Deadlines
- Hotel, Transportation and City Information
- Student Competitions
- 2009 Coleman Scholarships
- Sponsorship/Exhibiting Opportunities
- Call for Moderators
- Call for Speakers
- Call for Chapter Development Workshops
If you have any questions about the 2009 CEO National Conference, please contact CEO Headquarters.
General Conference Information
Early Rate registration fee is valid only for registrations received and paid in full on or before October 1, 2009. Advanced Rate registration fee will apply to any registration received after October 1 until October 21. A minimum number of walk-in registrations will be allowed. An additional 10% fee will be added to the registration fee for onsite registrations. The 2009 Conference is expected to SELL OUT and onsite registration will be limited. Don't wait, register now! All payments must be made in US dollars.
Conference Check In – Information Desk
Upon arrival at the conference, please check in at the conference registration desk to pick up
conference materials and your name badge.
The CEO registration / information desk will be open during the conference on:
Thursday, October 22 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Located in the Prairie Center of the Hyatt Hotel Conference Center
(2nd Floor in the Hotel conference center)
Friday, October 23 from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday, October 24 from 7:00am to 1:00pm
Located in the McCormick Place Convention Center, S100 South Ballroom (South Building, 1st Floor)
Facility Maps
Facility Map for Hyatt McCormick Place Hotel
Facility Map for McCormick Place Convention Center
Following please find links for additional information about the 2009 CEO National Conference.
- Conference Agenda and Session
- Conference Attendee Information
- 2009 Conference Registration Fees
- Cancellations, Changes or Refunds
- Fundraising Creative Enterprise Ideas
Important Conference Dates and Deadlines
For registration questions contact CEO at ceoconferenceregistration@c-e-o.org.
Click here for pdf of the important CEO Conference Dates and Deadlines.
Elevator Pitch Applications due by midnight
Scholarship Recipients Notification
*Applicants will be notified via e-mail if approved for a scholarship
Elevator Pitch Applicants Notification
*Applicants will be notified via e-mail if accepted to participate
Early Conference Registration last day to receive discounted rate
Last day to hold Campus E-Pitch Competition to qualify for Automatic E-Pitch Campus Entry
Scholarship Applications due by midnight
Chapter Awards Competition Application last day to submit with supportingbackup
CEO E2: Entrepreneurship Experiences Awards Application last day to submit with supporting backup
Hotel Reservation last day to recieve discounted group rate
Scholarship Recipients Notification
*Applicants will be notified via e-mail if approved for a scholarship
Conference Registration last day to submit cancellation
Online Conference Registration Closes at 6pm, on-site registrations will be limited
CEO Conference at the Hyatt McCormick Place
Coleman Scholarship Post Conference Reports and Expense Form last day to submit to be eligible for reimbursement
Hotel, Transportation and City Information
The 2009 National CEO Conference will be October 22 – October 24 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
- Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
- McCormick Place Convention Center
- 2233 S. Martin L. King Drive
- Chicago, Illinois
- Telephone: (312) 567-1234
Please note: The conference registration does not include hotel accommodations. To keep the conference affordable, please reserve your hotel sleeping rooms by the October 7th deadline.
Sleeping Room Rate- $183 plus tax single/double/triple/quad
Additional hotel and transportation information:
- Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
- Additional information about Hyatt Room Reservations
- Ground Transportation, Driving Directions to Hyatt
What to Do in Chicago
Student Competitions
CEO Best Chapter Awards and
CEO E2: Entrepreneurship Experiences Awards
Sponsored by Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
The work of CEO Chapters and that of individual members contribute to the success of CEO. The purpose of the Chapter and Entrepreneurship Experiences Awards is to recognize individuals and chapters who have succeeded in providing their members with outstanding tools and hands-on learning activities.
Following please find documents for the various award applications:
- Awards Application.doc
- Awards Application.pdf
- Best Overall Chapter Award Application.doc
- Best Overall Chapter Award Application.pdf
CEO Elevator Pitch Competition
Sponsored by The Coleman Foundation and The John E. and Jeanne T. Hughes Foundation
The CEO Elevator Pitch Competition presents students with a great opportunity to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges and a chance to win cash prizes. Elevator pitch is a frequently used term, which literally means "tell me about your business within the time that it would take to ride up an elevator." Presenting yourself effectively is an essential tool in the business arena. A well-planned elevator pitch can open the doors to success in your future endeavors. Please note that ideas may be at any stage of development from creation of concepts or ideas to an established business.
Who should participate?
- Students with an idea to start a business
- Students who have started a company
- Students interested in enhancing their presentation skills
- Students who want to explore the idea of starting a company
- Students who want to demonstrate their ability to clearly communicate an idea to a group
Following please find more information on the Elevator Pitch Competition hyperlink to respective forms:
- Elevator Pitch Competition Awards and Prizes
- Elevator Pitch Objectives, Format and Scoring
- Elevator Pitch Application (doc)
For more info on the CEO Elevator Pitch Competition, contact CEO at ceoelevatorpitchcompetition@c-e-o.org".
CEO Elevator Pitch Competition Automatic Campus Entry
We are pleased to announce that CEO Chapter Colleges now have an opportunity to secure an automatic entry to the National CEO Elevator Pitch Contest to be held in Fall 2009 in Chicago.
Over 125 applications were received for the 2008 contest with 60 students selected to compete for the grand prize of $2500. In recognition of the many Elevator Pitch College contests hosted each year, we would like to support those efforts by guaranteeing a place in the National competition for the winner of the college contest.
To apply complete and submit "Automatic Campus Entry" application form application by using the link below:
- Elevator Pitch Auto Entry more info (pdf)
- Elevator Pitch Auto Campus Application (doc)
- Elevator Pitch Auto Campus Application (pdf)
For more info on the CEO Elevator Pitch Competition Automatic Campus Entry, contact CEO at ceoelevatorpitchcompetition@c-e-o.org.
GSEA
The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards has an amazing prize package available to the student entrepreneurs who can impress the judges and win the competition! The total prize package for the 2009 GSEA is over $100,000 in cash and business products and services donated by Entrepreneurs' Organization members. To learn more about GSEA, please visit http://gsea.org/Pages/Default.aspx
2009 Coleman Scholarship
The Coleman Scholarship deadline has been extended to October 1, 2009.
As entrepreneurs, our members are great at creatively finding the money they need to pursue their goals, but we do not want conference related expenses to keep students from attending the 2009 National CEO Conference. With this in mind and through the generosity of The Coleman Foundation, CEO is able to offer college students financial assistance to help with the conference registration and travel costs.
Students interested in receiving a 2009 CEO Conference Coleman Scholarship must complete the scholarship application form and submit it to CEO prior to the deadline date of September 16 to be considered. Preference will be given to CEO leaders, members and/or to those who will definitely become a CEO member.
As scholarship support is highly requested and very limited, CEO encourages students and chapters to be entrepreneurial and find as much support as possible from your own business, chapter businesses, university and other sources. We know you can do it!
Following please find the Coleman Scholarship forms:
- Scholarships Overview
- Scholarship Post Conference Evaluation Guidelines
- Scholarship Article Submission Guidelines
- Scholarship Activity Volunteer Guidelines
- Scholarship Fund-Raising Creating Enterprise Guidelines
- Scholarship Application Form – CLUB (doc)
- Scholarship Application Form – CLUB (pdf)
- Scholarship Application Form – Individual (doc)
- Scholarship Application Form - Individual(pdf)
- Scholarship Application Form - School(doc)
- Scholarship Application Form – School (pdf)
- Scholarship Expense Form(doc)
- Scholarship Expense Form(pdf)
For more info on the Coleman Scholarship, contact CEO at ceocolemanscholarships@c-e-o.org.
Sponsorship/Exhibiting Opportunities
CEO tries to keep the registration fees low to make the conference accessible to all interested students. In order to provide the best quality conference and keep the registration fees low, we rely on our various generous sponsors for financial support.
As sponsor of the National CEO Conference, your organization will be exposed to over 5,000 potential attendees, college students, faculty and administrators.
CEO is committed to meeting your organization’s sponsorship needs and we are willing to work with you to customize promotional package. CEO also offers the opportunity to sponsor special organization events throughout the year.
For sponsorship questions or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Dr. Gerry Hills.
Please click here to see a list of current CEO Sponsors.
As an exhibitor at the CEO National Conference, your company/organization will be associated with the program from now through the entire event. This opportunity offers exposure to over 5,000 potential attendees.
- Chapter Exhibit Application (doc)
- Chapter Exhibit Application (pdf)
- School Exhibit Application (doc)
- School Exhibit Application (pdf)
- Corporate Exhibit Application (doc)
- Corporate Exhibit Application (pdf)
- Utility Guide Request Form
If you are interested in exhibiting, contact please contact Dan Micic atceoexhibits@c-e-o.org.
Call for Session Moderators
CEO is looking for volunteers to serve in the role of moderators. Of the many who will volunteer, only the best students will be asked to take this leadership position.
To learn more about the role of CEO moderators, please download the CEO Moderator form.
If interested, please be sure to mark on your online registration "YES" please consider me for a moderator or for more information contact CEO at ceomoderators@c-e-o.org.
Call for Speakers
CEO offers its speakers tremendous opportunities for exposure and recognition. Sessions will attract college students and business professionals interested in learning from your expertise and experience. Speakers who are already well established can continue to build their reputation, sharing new expertise and strengthening their already popular presentations.
Who We are Looking For
We are looking for successful entrepreneurs and active business leaders who are experts in their respective fields to share entrepreneurial experiences, wisdom and specific content that the attendees will be able take to away and immediately apply to their entrepreneurial lives and futures.
Given our conference scope and audience size, many individuals are seeking speaking opportunities with CEO and speaking slots are expected to fill in advance. We are also looking to highlight our members, chapters and sponsors. Consideration will be given to individuals with a demonstrated commitment to entrepreneurship. Please be aware that all submissions will be considered carefully for inclusion in the conference program, but this does not guarantee acceptance. Because speakers are confirmed on a continuous basis, we encourage prospective speakers to submit their proposals as soon as possible.
Following please find more information on CEO Speaking Opportunities:
Submit Your Proposal via Email to: ceospeakers@c-e-o.org
Still have proposal submission questions?
Email:
ceospeakers@c-e-o.org;
Call for Chapter Development Workshops
Our goal is to provide chapters (whether they are established, new just starting out, or potiential chapters) with the tools necessary to make their chapter one of the best entrepreneurs club in the country. If you feel your CEO Chapter is a model chapter, we would like your assistance in guiding newer chapters at the Annual Conference, October 22-24.
Please let us know of any faculty advisors and Chapter leader students who would like to participate in CEO Chapter Development panel sessions on Thursday October 22, from 1pm - 5:00pm and possibly repeat the session throughout the weekend.
Click here to find out more about the Call for Chapter Development Information.
For more quetsions, contact CEO at ceospeaker@c-e-o.org.