Key Highlights from Catalyze 2025

Catalyze 2025 brought together trailblazing leaders, innovators, and industry experts to explore how technology, leadership, and collaboration are shaping business growth in today’s volatile markets. Across two thought-provoking days, attendees engaged in discussions about the transformative power of AI, rebates, data, and innovative commercial strategies.

Here's a recap of the thought-provoking insights and best practices shared at the event:

Day 1

Redefining What’s Possible in Rebates and Pricing

The conference kicked off with Andrew Butt, CEO of Enable, delivering an inspiring keynote, "Revenue, Reimagined: The New Era of Commercial Management." He emphasized how the integration of real-time pricing, intelligent rebate management, and AI is redefining what’s possible and empowering businesses to turn complexity into growth. Here’s how he envisions it:

“Imagine a world where pricing teams can roll out thousands of SKUs across dozens of markets instantly. Imagine walking into a negotiation already knowing every possible commercial deal structure and how each of those will impact your bottom line before you even walk in… That’s what happens when you combine pricing and rebates and then supercharge that with AI: one source of truth, real-time visibility, and real-time action.”

By aligning these tools, Butt explains that organizations can move faster, make smarter decisions, and take a forward-looking approach to their commercial strategy.

Agility as an Essential Profit Driver

Agility was a recurring theme across day 1, with speakers like Gabe Smith, Omar Nashashibi, and Dr. Robert Eyler highlighting the importance of adaptability in uncertain times. From the challenges of tariffs and trade wars to unpredictable market conditions, flexibility has become an essential profit driver. Businesses that fail to pivot quickly risk falling behind in today’s volatile economic climate.

As for whether or not we’re heading for a recession, Dr. Eyler explains that “We need to see whether or not we are going to see some change in tariff policy… But we should not expect it to be a structural change for the positive as being advertised… The outcomes are going to be mixed for at least the next two quarters, and as we get closer to the end of 2025, depending on what happens over summer, we'll really tell the tale of whether or not we're going to get closer to recession.”

The conversation then shifted to the importance of data readiness in rebate strategies. During the session, “Future-Proofing Your Rebate Strategy with Data Readiness,” a panel of experts, including Kris Burgoon, Ted Dometita, Kelley Balewick, and Nick Rose, shared insights into how organizations can secure a competitive edge by ensuring their data is actionable and reliable. A strong data foundation empowers businesses to craft effective rebate programs that stand the test of time.

Driving Sustainable Growth: Collaboration, Strategy, and Contract Structure

Collaboration emerged as another major topic for day 1. Ian Heller led a thought-provoking session on “Unlocking Manufacturer-Distributor Collaboration for Sustainable Growth,” explaining how long-term success depends on building partnerships that go beyond simple incentives to foster deeper strategic alignment. Vigan Shabani added to the discussion with his insights on “Getting Your Contract Structure Right,” stressing that well-thought-out contractual frameworks are key to driving better commercial outcomes.

Sustainability also took center stage as Mark Gilham posed the question, “What is the Cost of Growth?” He cautioned against pursuing growth for its own sake, urging businesses to instead make sure their expansion strategies are fully aligned with a sustainable long-term vision.  

When crafting a growth-oriented rebate strategy, Mark explains that it’s important to “Break down the titles. Forget that it is called a growth rebate, a loyalty rebate, a channel rebate. Be true to yourself. What is it truly trying to do? Put it in that bucket and then say, now can I measure it? And is it delivering value for me? We turn our rebates into investments. We stop worrying about the cost of growth. Why? Because we understand the value of growth and we start to invest for the future.”  

Day 2

Embracing Emerging Technologies to Elevate the Customer Experience

Day 2 opened with fascinating discussions on the role of AI and emerging technologies in reshaping customer experiences. In a truly insightful joint session, “Delivering Next-Level Customer Excellence by Embracing Emerging Tech,” Andrew Butt and Aamir Paul discussed how these technologies are empowering businesses to stay competitive.  

What does it mean to be customer-centric? According to Aamir Paul, “Customer-centricity is really about being obsessed about what problem are they trying to solve and how can you understand that at every possible level… Who are you solving for and what is the persona? And do you understand the tensions between the persona of your customers?” In an era defined by rapid and often unpredictable change, companies must ask the right questions and embrace innovation to maintain customer-centric strategies and thrive.

Strategic Pricing, Channel Partnerships, and Competitive Advantage

Bart Schwartz followed with a session on channel partner programs, advising businesses to design programs that drive meaningful engagement and empower partners to feel more connected to their brand. Meanwhile, Flintfox by Enable experts James Lett and Steve Peppler joined Scott Luton to explore the importance of speed and channel diversification in pricing strategies, especially in an era plagued by tariffs, trade disruptions, and supply chain challenges.  

Their session, “Strategic Pricing in a Shifting Global Landscape,” showed how these methods help companies protect their margins and maintain a competitive edge. As James Letts explains, “Essentially pricing and rebates are your most effective tools to respond to tariffs, but of course you need systems and processes in place to be able to have that visibility of margins and costs and which products are changing. Your costs are changing by how much and you need to be able to change pricing quickly because […] each time you wait, you are incurring those costs but not perhaps passing them on.”  

How Visionary Leaders Navigate Disruption and Build Relationships

Leadership also played a central role in the Day 2 discussions. Dirk Beveridge led a discussion between two inspiring CEOs, Katie Poehling Seymour and Jennifer Murphy, as they challenged outdated leadership models in their session, "Trailblazing Leadership: How Visionary CEOs are Reshaping Distribution." Modern leaders must adopt bold, transformative approaches to guide their organizations through periods of change and disruption.

Amelia Kittson, President of KIE Supply, spoke to the pivotal intersection of relationships and data during her thought-provoking session, “Leveraging Relationships & Data to Drive Improved Program Benefits.” As Kittson pointed out, companies that harness meaningful relationships and actionable data can create rebate programs that deliver real, measurable results. Similarly, Scott Luton joined former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to discuss the foresight and agility required to navigate the challenges of a changing, tech-driven economy in their session, “The Next Era of Tech, Commerce & Leadership in a Shifting Economy.”  

Penny explained that while advancements in tech are impacting the workforce, leaders can step up to help. “So there's an impact on workers, whether it's from automation, digitization, AI—it's affecting a lot of roles,” she says. “But if we as leaders can say, I've got the right kind of people in my team that are lifelong learners and adapting and we develop training systems that are flexible… And so I think we need to embrace the change more and recognize that part of that is a responsibility and frankly a necessity that we help our workforce stay current.”

Strengthening Relationships Through Collaboration

Day 2 closed with invaluable discussions on the importance of aligning commercial and procurement teams and maximizing contract value for stronger partnerships. Laurent Dosogne and Juan Echeverri outlined “The Power of Commercial-Procurement Alignment,” showcasing how collaboration between these teams can unlock powerful growth opportunities. Jonathan Scofield wrapped up the conference with his session, “Maximizing Contract Value for Both Sides of the Equation.” He underscored that win-win contractual agreements create stronger, more resilient business relationships.

The Future of Rebates and Pricing is Now

Catalyze 2025 provided a wealth of actionable strategies, thought leadership, and future-focused insights for businesses looking to stay ahead in an ever-changing marketplace. From leveraging data and AI to fostering collaboration and redefining leadership, attendees left equipped with the tools to drive sustainable growth and innovation. Whether you're navigating new technologies, evolving rebate programs, or managing amid uncertainty, the lessons from Catalyze 2025 offer essential insights for success.

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