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2026 CFO Retreat: Ignite Your Leadership

Sunday, April 26, 2026 to Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Welcome to ThinqShift x MISBO: The Fabulous Leader Retreat

January 2026 | A 3.5-Day Transformational Experience for Independent School CFOs

The World Needs Fabulous Leaders

Your operating environment is VUCA—volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. AI is reshaping finance and operations. Expectations from boards, audit partners, employees, and families are shifting faster than policies can update.

In this context, technical finance expertise is necessary—but not sufficient. This is not Finance 101. The CFOs who will thrive are those who can:

Redefine success on their own terms and for their institutions

Lead with personal power, not just positional authority

Stay cognitively adaptable and whole-brain in how they analyze, decide, and influence

This retreat is designed to grow those leaders.

This experience is a strategic win for both you & your school:

Why it matters for you?

Elevate from financial expert to institutional strategist—with a sharper leadership narrative, board-level influence, and cross-functional credibility.

Gain advanced tools and frameworks (Thinq360, Fabulous Leadership, 4 Voice Model) to navigate scenario planning, trade-offs, and change with more confidence and less burnout.

Why it matters for your school?

Positions the finance office as a driver of sustainability and culture, not just compliance and reporting.

Translates megatrends (AI, enrollment volatility, workforce shifts, VUCA dynamics) into actionable financial strategy—multi-year modeling, risk mitigation, and decisions that improve employee experience and student outcomes.

What Is ThinqShift?

We help fabulous people do the hard stuff—creating focus, then shifting mindsets, behaviors, and culture across teams and organizations. We specialize in accelerating your top 10%—because identifying high performers isn’t enough; you have to invest in them.

We deliver a performance acceleration experience tailored for senior finance leaders and rising controllers/operations executives—and now we’re partnering with MISBO to bring this work to you.

About the Retreat

An immersive experience built for independent school CFOs and finance leaders. Step out of the day-to-day to reflect, reset, and rewire your leadership for the future of work and the future of school finance.

This goes beyond traditional finance training. You’ll apply whole-brain leadership models like Thinq360 and the Fabulous Leadership Framework to CFO realities: multi-year forecasting, tuition strategy and affordability, compensation and total rewards, capital planning and facilities, auxiliary revenue, risk and controls, technology ROI, and board engagement.

Speaker

Vipul Kapadia -- As ThinqShift's CEO, Vipul Kapadia is the driving force behind their leadership experiences. A visionary speaker, creator, and facilitator, Vips is dedicated to empowering exceptional leaders and high-performing executives to reach their next level of greatness.

REGISTER NOW


CPE CREDIT

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MISBO is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.


Get Social

Join the buzz for this event! #MISBOCFORetreat #MISBOIgniteYourLeadership


Event Policies

Click here to read the Event Registration and Cancellation Policies. 

Credits Price
Early - Members
Log in to get member pricing!  Registration Ends 12/1/25 at 11:59 PM EDT
$1,295.00
Regular - Members
Registration Opens 12/2/25 at 12:00 AM EDT
$1,795.00
Credits Price
Early Non-Members
Registration Ends 12/1/25 at 11:59 PM EDT
$1,995.00
Regular Non-Members
Registration Opens 12/2/25 at 12:00 AM EDT
$2,495.00

Join us at the renowned Ponte Vedra Inn & Club for a retreat designed to refresh your perspective, deepen your network, and ignite your leadership. Nestled along Florida’s Atlantic coastline, this AAA Five-Diamond resort offers a luxurious yet energizing backdrop for finance leaders ready to lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

From oceanview rooms to championship golf, spa treatments to fireside conversations, every element of this retreat is curated to help you step back from the day-to-day and lean into strategic vision. The historic charm of Ponte Vedra Inn & Club—combined with modern amenities and exceptional service—sets the stage for reflection, insight, and inspiration.

This is your opportunity to connect with fellow CFOs, challenge assumptions, and spark new ideas in a setting designed to elevate both thought and well-being. Come ready to reignite your passion for leadership—and return ready to drive impact.

Ponte Vedra Inn & Club

200 Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082

Book your room here

Discounted Rate:  $369.00

Cutoff date: March 27, 2026

Check in: 4:00 pm

Check out:  11:00 am

Cancellation policy:  7 days prior to arrival

Agenda

April 26
3:00 PM Registration Arrival & Registration – Check in, get settled, and get ready for this high-impact leadership retreat for independent school CFOs and finance leaders.
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Welcome & Opening Reception Two Misunderstood Words: Success and Leadership Interactive exploration of what “success” and “leadership” mean for a CFO in an independent school context—beyond balanced budgets and clean audits. Recognition of internal vs. external definitions of success. A thought-provoking setup for the rest of the program as you prepare to ShiftUp your mindset for leading finance in a VUCA world.
6:30 PM Dinner
April 27
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Morning Leadership Session Whole-Brain Leadership for Strategic Finance Dive into whole-brain leadership frameworks, your personal leadership style, and how these show up in finance and operations. Explore where Fabulous Leadership fits in—and what it looks like for an independent school CFO as a strategic partner to the Head, board, and leadership team. Connect your leadership style to key CFO responsibilities.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM It’s Time to ShiftUp: On Leadership & On Success A deep dive into the history of leadership from Sun-Tzu to modern integrated leadership theories—and how these inform the role of today’s CFO. How the VUCA era favors adaptability, learning agility, and whole-brain leadership over tenure and “we’ve always done it this way.” Applying these concepts to leading through enrollment uncertainty, cost pressures, capital needs, and shifting stakeholder expectations.
4:00 PM - 4:00 PM Evening on Your Own Participants are free to choose their own dining and evening activities.
April 28
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Interactive Strategy Session From Insight to Action: CFO Strategy Lab Apply the leadership concepts to real-world independent school finance scenarios. Work through case-based exercises on topics such as: Multi-year financial modeling and scenario planning Tuition, aid, and affordability strategy Compensation, benefits, and talent investments Capital planning, facilities, and debt.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Thinq360: Fabulous Leaders Master Thinking Voices Introduction to the Thinq360™ 4 Voice Model and why it’s essential to staying cognitively adaptable as a CFO. Your personalized Thinq360 results (completed before the program). Guided reflection on your own default Thinking Voices—how you prefer to think, communicate, solve problems, and make decisions in high-stakes financial and strategic conversations. 
6:30 PM Dinner
April 29
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Final Integration Session: The Fabulous Leader & Your 5-Year Goals The Fabulous Person Non-negotiables—what must be true for you to live and lead well in a demanding CFO role. The Fabulous Person Success Model for Life, integrating leadership, purpose, wellbeing, and long-term career sustainability. 
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Closing Lunch & Discussion

For More Information:

Damian Kavanagh
Damian Kavanagh
Ed.D., CAE President & CEO MISBO (404)921-3811