When the exclusive 2025 NextGen speaker series kicks off in Naples this month, the next generation of young professionals invited to attend can look forward to being inspired, motivated and challenged by the trio of business leaders who will be sharing stories of their successes and failures this season.

Started in 2013 by Michael Benson, CEO of Naples-based financial services firm Benson Blackburn, the invitation-only series of speaking events — think of it as Naples’ version of TED Talks — features luminaries from a wide variety of arenas covering leadership, mentorship, empowerment, philanthropy and similar topics.

The 2025 series features New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and executive coach Joe Sweeney in February; former U.S. Congressman for Florida and Chairman of Rooney Holdings Francis Rooney in March; and former Cargill Inc. CEO and executive board chair David MacLennan in April.

Invitees include Southwest Florida professionals, along with educators and students from area colleges and universities, all of whom have the opportunity to mix and mingle with the guest speaker and fellow attendees.

The speakers are candid about not just their successes, but their less-than-stellar moments and “career, business and life disruptions.” Benson has previously said that he wants NextGen speakers to share their life stories “from where they were at age 20 to how they got where they are today. We want to hear their successes, their failures, what they’ve learned.”

Each event starts with a networking opportunity and always concludes in a Q&A session with that month’s speaker facilitated by Benson, a skillful host and interviewer who keeps things moving briskly. Previous speakers have included Ginni Rometty, former CEO of IBM; Jan Fields, former president of McDonald’s USA; Richard M. Schulze, founder and former chairman and CEO of Best Buy; Ralph Stayer, former CEO of Johnsonville Sausage; Michael Duke, retired president and CEO of Walmart Stores Inc.; Jerri and David Hoffmann, founders of Hoffmann Family of Companies; and Shelley Broader, former president and CEO of Chico’s FAS Inc.

Speaking of networking, high-powered executive coach Sweeney, who kicks off the 2025 series, sees it as “a contact sport” and said it’s really about the power of connection and building deeper relationships.

His first New York Times bestselling book, in fact, put that concept right in the title: Networking Is a Contact Sport: How Staying Connected and Serving Others Will Help You Grow Your Business, Expand Your Influence — or Even Land Your Next Job.

Sweeney is also a serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, professional board member and active private equity investor who said he has used the fields of sports, business, the military and the government as his “laboratory” for the study of human behavior, and how to build those connections that lead to success.

“Networking is really about connection, and I think this is the most important topic all of us can deal with: the power of connection and the value of human relationships,” Sweeney says.

He said his executive coaching “is really based on studying human behavior for 45 years” because of his fascination with “what makes people tick.”

“I think it’s made me delve into why some people outperform others,” he says, “and in business, understanding why people buy your product, why people buy a company, why people sell a company.”

Sweeney says his NextGen talk will include his take on “the number-one success tool in business” and on the importance of true connection, especially in the age of smart phones and social media.

The NextGen series has a built-in philanthropic aspect, as well: At each event, an area nonprofit receives a $5,000 grant in honor of the guest speaker. Previous grant recipients include the David Lawrence Centers; The Shelter for Abused Women and Children; the Immokalee Foundation; American Cancer Society; Naples Comprehensive Health; Naples Children and Education Foundation; and Leadership Collier Foundation.

Those wishing to be considered for an invitation can request tickets at nextgennaples.com and follow up with the organizers to see if they have qualified for access. It’s an application worth making if you’re interested in lessons from some of the best leaders in business, right here in Southwest Florida.