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HORNE Construction
Forum 2025

The HORNE Construction Forum is back – with sharper focus, deeper conversations and curated insights for construction business owners serious about long-term value. This experience is designed to help you walk away with actionable strategies you can put to work immediately.

This year’s forum is intentionally smaller, designed to spark sharper insights and more meaningful dialogue. From workforce strategy to leadership, to market shifts and building long-term value, we’ll tackle the issues shaping your business now and in the years ahead.

HORNE Event Center

Thursday, October 16

8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

661 Sunnybrook Road, Suite 100,
Ridgeland, MS

Anirban Basu

Featured Speaker

Anirban Basu, MPP, MA, JD, Ph.D.

Anirban Basu is Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with an office in Indonesia. The firm provides strategic analytical services to energy suppliers, law firms, medical systems, government agencies, and real estate developers among others.

In 2014, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed him Chair of the Maryland Economic Development Commission (2014-2021). Dr. Basu has written several high-profile economic development strategies on behalf of government agencies and non-profit organizations, including co-authoring economic development strategies for Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland. Among other things, Anirban serves as the chief economist to Associated Builders and Contractors (national) and as chief economic advisor to the Construction Financial Management Association.

In recent years, he has also focused upon health economics, the economics of education, and economic development. He has lectured at Johns Hopkins University, most recently in global strategy.

Forum Agenda

8:30 – 8:45 a.m.

Welcome + Opening Remarks

8:45 – 9:15 a.m.

3 Secrets to Magnetic Energy in Workplace Culture | Joey Havens

Culture isn’t soft—it’s strategic. In this energizing session, Joey Havens explores why culture is the foundation of performance, retention, and long-term business value. Discover how investing in magnetic culture can help you attract the right people, drive clarity, and differentiate your business in a tight market.

9:15 – 10:00 a.m.

The People Factor: Solving the Workforce Puzzle | Courtney Taylor, Brian Robinson, Nic Parish, and Brent Bean

Finding and keeping the right people is one of the most urgent challenges facing construction companies today. In this panel, industry leaders share how they’re developing talent pipelines, investing in education, and rethinking how to build the next generation of workers at the state, local and individual level. Expect candid insights and actionable takeaways.

10:00 – 10:20 a.m.

Break

10:20 – 11:00 a.m.

Policy at Work: Tariffs, Labor Rules, and the Hidden Forces Shaping Your Business | Scott Keller

Policy doesn’t feel like a boardroom issue until it is. From tariffs squeezing material margins to labor laws reshaping your workforce strategy, policy changes aren’t abstract and may already be on your jobsite. HORNE Partner and DC insider Scott Keller gets straight to the point on how federal and state decisions around trade, regulation, and infrastructure influence the construction landscape. Keller will connect the dots on how it hits your bottom line and walk through how you can adapt, respond, and get ahead of coming shifts.

11:00 – Noon

Monetary Masala | Dr. Anirban Basu

With the presidential and congressional elections of 2024 in the rearview, our eyes turn to 2025. Has the Federal Reserve engineered a soft landing, or is stagflation on the way? Can America continue to pace the advanced world, or will expanding indebtedness, policy uncertainty, and over-extended asset values prove our collective undoing? This presentation focuses on US and regional economic performance with an eye toward discussing emerging risks to what has thus far been an economy that has surprised to the upside.

Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch

1:00 – 1:45 p.m.

Build a Business They’d Fight to Buy | Neal Stephens

Most owners don’t wake up one day and decide to sell, but many wish they had prepared years earlier. In this session, Neal Stephens will pull back the curtain on what buyers really look for and how to start increasing your business’s value now, whether you’re planning to sell or just want the option. You’ll leave with a practical playbook to make your business more attractive, more transferable, and more profitable.

1:45 – 2:15 p.m.

Breakout Discussions: From Action to Insight

2:15 – 2:30 p.m.

Wrap-Up with Q&A | Wes Winborne

The Speakers

Anirban Basu
Joey Havens

Author & Speaker  

Scott Keller headshot
Courtney Taylor

Executive Director, AccelerateMS

Scott Keller headshot
Brian Robinson

President & CEO, Robinson Electric

Bruce Walt headshot
Brent bean

President, Build Mississippi

Ashley Swain headshot
Nic Parish

CEO, Burns Dirt

Scott Keller headshot
Scott keller

Partner, HORNE

Anirban Basu
Dr. Anirban Basu

CEO, Sage Policy Group

Bruce Walt headshot
Neal Stephens

Director, HORNE Capital

Joel Bobo headshot
Wes Winborne

Managing Partner, HORNE

RSVP
Today

Forum

Thursday, October 16
8:30 a.m. — 2:30 p.m.

HORNE Event Center
661 Sunnybrook Road
Suite 100
Ridgeland, MS

Reception

Wednesday, October 15
5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

Two Mississippi Museums
222 North St #1206
Jackson, MS