NECA Now 2025: A Transformative Leadership Experience
NECA Now 2025 brought together nearly 800 electrical industry leaders for an immersive leadership and personal development conference from April 7-9, 2025, at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida. Designed for professionals of all levels—from mid-level managers to C-suite executives—the event provided an unparalleled opportunity to refine leadership skills, enhance communication strategies, and build strong industry connections.
Attendees had the chance to engage in 31 breakout sessions spanning four key educational tracks, each designed to address critical challenges and opportunities within the electrical construction industry: Mentoring, Recruiting & Retaining, Personal & Professional Development, Culture & Growth, and Communications & Change Management.
With workforce shortages continuing to impact the skilled trades, the Mentoring, Recruiting & Retaining track explored innovative ways to attract and develop top talent. Key takeaways from these sessions included how to create structured mentorship programs that boost retention and employee satisfaction as well as strategies to attract younger generations by focusing on career growth, work-life balance, and purpose-driven work.
Leadership isn’t just about technical skills—it’s about fostering resilience, adaptability, and vision. The Personal & Professional Development track helped attendees refine their leadership styles through ways to recognize burnout, setting boundaries, and fostering a culture of well-being within teams. An impactful message was the general session presentation on "Leading with Emotional Intelligence" by keynote speaker Dr. Travis Bradberry. Dr Bradberry left NECA Now attendees with practical tools to improve self-awareness, decision-making, and interpersonal effectiveness through proven neurological processing.
A company’s culture is a major driver of success, therefore the Culture & Growth sessions helped leaders create environments where employees thrive. Key takeaways included how top-performing companies cultivate accountability, innovation and trust, along with strategies for maintaining core values and engagement as businesses expand.
Effective communication is the foundation of strong leadership, especially in times of transition. Attendees of the Communications & Change Management sessions gained insights into techniques for navigating tough discussions with employees, clients, and partners. Attendees also valued the deep dive into why 70% of change initiatives fail and how leaders can proactively manage transitions.
The conference also featured a general session presentation by David Meade about the science of persuasion and how that understanding can help to achieve certain goals. NECA Now 2025 also witnessed a high-impact general sessions from keynote speaker John Foley, who delivered compelling insights into leadership, teamwork, and emotional intelligence from his years as a Blue Angels lead pilot.
Beyond the sessions, NECA Now 2025 offered vibrant networking opportunities, ensuring that attendees could connect in both professional and relaxed settings. A Margaritaville-themed beach bash kicked off the conference, while a carnival-inspired closing reception—featuring the Milwaukee Toolshed Band at the Carousel Club—capped off the event.
Reflecting on the success of NECA Now 2025, Pete Mastrorocco, Senior Vice President, Education, Events and Partnerships at NECA, emphasized the event’s lasting impact, "NECA Now is more than just a conference—it’s a catalyst for growth. This event brings together some of the best minds in the industry to collaborate, challenge one another, and leave with actionable insights and leadership goals that drive real change within their companies."
NECA Now would not have been possible without the participation of NECA’s Premier Partners who were the staple of many educational sessions, receptions and interactive breaks. During these breaks, attendees were able to network with industry partners and learn about their tools and services. Being able to connect electrical contractors with possible solutions to improve workflow efficiency, supply issues or any other business obstacles, is an important offering that NECA is proud to provide.
In conjunction with NECA Now, the Women in NECA (WIN) Leadership Conference took place one day prior on April 6-7, 2025. This event focused on empowering women in the electrical construction industry through targeted workshops and roundtables on leadership, negotiation, and career advancement. Discussion from all sectors or the electrical field was welcomed and networking opportunities flourished professional relationships and awareness.
"At this conference of women, we don’t gather like-minded individuals; we come together as different thinkers, each offering a unique perspective to challenge and inspire one another,” said Melissa West, Executive Director of Field Service & Strategic Leadership Initiatives at NECA.
With a focus on innovation, leadership, and industry growth, NECA Now 2025 reaffirmed its role as a premier event for developing the next generation of electrical contracting leaders. While NECA Now takes place every other year, NECA is excited to announce the second NECA EMERGE: A Specialty Work & Emerging Opportunities Conference will be held in Atlanta, GA April 13-15, 2026. For more information on previous NECA EMERGE conferences, please visit our NECA EMERGE webpage.
If you attended NECA Now 2025 and would like to access session PowerPoints, please click on the link below. Feedback is always appreciated in order to perfect our offerings at future NECA meetings and event! Please fill out the survey below so we can better serve you and your companies.