ATLANTA, Ga. – StandPoint, Inc. has announced the open application process for the third year of the Executive Academy for Growth & Leadership (EAGL) – a one year horticultural business certificate program conducted in partnership with Texas A&M University for nursery & greenhouse growers, culminating in a continuing education Certificate in Applied Horticultural Business Management from Texas A&M University.
Applications can be submitted online at www.eaglpro.com, only 14 seats are available. The first module for this year’s curriculum begins in February 2015. Direct competitors are not accepted in the program during the same year.
EAGL program principals Kip Creel of StandPoint and Dr. Charlie Hall of Texas A&M University worked with Kellee Magee O’Reilly of MonkeyBar Management to develop this innovative program specifically for business leaders in the nursery & greenhouse production industry. Current and past program participants have high praise for the intensity of the program and the effect it has had on their businesses.
Now in its third year, the EAGL program offers a proven process for delivering insights and tools to address the contemporary challenges of wholesale nursery & greenhouse production businesses. The intense year-long curriculum features Strategy, Marketing, Finance and Capstone modules designed to allow participants to create personalized plans to enhance their companies’ competitive position and profitability. One of the first graduates of the program, Tom Demaline, president of Willoway Nursery (OH) says, “the big question facing the industry is ‘how do you transition from a growth industry to a mature one and stay profitable?’ Working with industry experts in a collaborative group environment, the EAGL Program provided the road map and actual tools to help us develop and implement a strategy for the journey into the future.”
EAGL is practical, not theoretical, and built with highly-interactive adult learning principles in mind. Each class has a maximum size of 15 executives, and meets four times in a year (in person), supplemented with significant webinar, preparation coursework, and 1:1 sessions with the faculty. Guest practitioners from outside commercial horticulture (representing industries like finance/banking, manufactured consumer goods, fashion, food production and distribution) make resources available to the participants. Executives who complete the EAGL program will receive a Certificate in Applied Horticultural Business Management from Texas A&M University at the program graduation ceremony (annually in February).
Applications for the 2015 “Gamma” class are now being accepted. To download a free whitepaper on business strategy, learn more about the curriculum, or submit an application for 2015, visit www.eaglpro.com