NACS Show 2025
  • Conference: October 14-17, 2025
  • Expo: October 15-17, 2025
  • Chicago | McCormick Place
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Laura Varn

Founder
Laura Varn and Associates

Laura Varn has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in the energy industry, focused on Human Relations and Corporate Communications.

As the former VP of People & Culture and Communicatins and as a member of the Parkland USA executive leadership team, she helped grow the US division tenfold, growing the employee base from 300 to 3000 via 20 acquisitions and organic growth, while building the US HR and Communications divisions from scratch and shaping the culture and systems.

Previously, she served as an executive with South Carolina's largest electric utility and also served in leadership roles with Delta Air Lines and Southern Company. She served as a spokesperson for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta with MARTA.

Varn is a Past Chairman of the Board of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. She is an Aspen Institude Liberty Fellow, a Leadership South Carolina alumnus, a 40 Under 40 award winner and serves on several community boards.

She retired from Parkland USA and formed Laura Varn & Associates to help energy companies solve their HR and communications challenges.

Format: Awards Awards
Awards announcements and presentation.
Format: Case Study Case Study
General topic presenting lessons learned start to finish.
Format: Expert-Expert Interview Expert-Expert Interview
Replaces fireside chat or single presenter format. Must be known industry expert or presentation of robust data.
Format: Ignite Ignite
Slides run automatically keeping speaker pacing. Keeps session moving.
Format: Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope
One topic through the eyes of different functional teams (e.g. supply chain, store ops, frontline, finance, etc.)
Format: Lightning Lightning
Moderated Q&A with small panel with efforts to drive diverse perspective; after 3 minutes on question, buzzer sounds and move to next question; forces people to be brief and clear on answers.
Format: Masterclass Masterclass
Single topic session which is a solo presenter and acts more like an university lecture. Must include multiple media, audience interaction, etc.
Format: Panel Panel
Multiple presenters, experts in a certain field discussing and sharing expertise and experience with one another.
Format: Great Debate: Point Counterpoint Great Debate: Point Counterpoint
Facilitator stimulates point/counterpoint debate on key industry topic.
Format: Roundtables Roundtables
Facilitated discussion. Limited use of slides or video to set-up topic.
Format: Think You Know Me? Think You Know Me?
One group is polled on a topic, and then the other has to guess the outcomes, as a stimulant for discussion.
Format: Workshop Workshop
Traditional small group classroom style format.

Speaking at:

From High Potential to High Impact

This session dives into the strategies that help you level up your people, turning high-potential talent into tomorrow’s leaders. From structured career pathways to mentorship and training...
People
Format: Case Study Case Study
 
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