VetForumUSA 2023

Bruce is a pet technology business executive with expertise in emerging digital technologies, virtual care, and business development. 

His advisory board positions include: Basepaws - a leader in feline health, providing at-home genetics and biome testing;  NAVC Retriever - a leading recruiting app for veterinary practices; and 2 PetTech startups in stealth mode. 

His volunteer work includes his role as a founding board member of the Veterinary Virtual Care Association (VVCA), along with ten other industry leaders. Bruce is a past president of VetPartners.org - the non-profit association of veterinary business experts, and a strategic advisor to CATalyst Council.

It’s never been as difficult as it is right now to recruit and hire within the Veterinary profession. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the degree of difficulty is only going to increase. So, what can employers do, both now and in the future?

In this information-packed but quick 20 session for the VET Forum, Stacy Pursell, founder and CEO of The VET Recruiter, will explain why traditional recruiting approaches will not hire today’s top talent. She’ll also address why and how the C-suite must take a bigger role in ensuring that their organization is branded properly and the best candidates are effectively recruited. Among the topics Stacy will address include: 

• Why the margin for error in terms of hiring may be less than zero
• The many obvious (and hidden) costs of leaving a position vacant
• The importance of stellar employer branding and becoming an “employer of choice”
• Why talent acquisition is a strategic business investment
• Why talent acquisition should not fall under HR
• Why and when using a recruiting firm makes business sense

The dynamics have changed within the job market overall and Veterinary profession specifically during the past several years. Join Stacy Pursell for this insightful session and discover why “Either Recruiting Top Talent is #1 at Your Organization . . . or It’s Not.”

Candise will be presenting on 'Epic Fails: lessons I have learned from both sides of the table!'

In the rapidly evolving pet health market, it seems every company is scrambling to change their customer experience to play catch up to what the modern pet parent demands. What this means is that organizations are going through an unprecedented rate of change. Change that can range from complex digital transformation to something as seemingly simple as adding a new service or product offering. Change today almost always involves partnerships, as ecosystems are the future. Last year 82% of B2B Business leaders planned to grow their business by increasing their partnerships and 57% said they used these partnerships to acquire new customers.

Throughout her 12+ years in the pet health industry, Candise has led numerous high profile growth initiatives from both sides of the table - as the customer and vendor. Her experience working with and for some of the most exciting companies in Animal Health includes leading multi-million-dollar digital transformation projects, winning and awarding large global vendor contracts, and dramatically changing the GTM approach for Veterinary service providers. This presentation will walk through real word examples of the most common mistakes Candise has experienced & seen in her years bringing innovative solutions to market- both as a customer and vendor. You will leave with a better understanding of how to improve your odds of success for your growth initiatives and partnerships and hopefully feel a little better about the “mistakes” you have made in your career!

Proper and advanced utilization of Veterinary technicians has been an ongoing conversation in veterinary medicine. With new emerging technologies, utilizing these professionals and their training to advance our profession has become more critical than ever. In this lecture, we will discuss Ideas and theories to support the advancement of veterinary technology and the veterinary technician's role.