In the spirit of innovation and community stewardship that has defined Aleron since 1957, our CEO Scott Stenclik has spearheaded a significant collaboration with The Buffalo News to address a crucial challenge facing our region: developing the next generation of community leaders in Buffalo.
The Birth of Voices of Vision
Scott brought a compelling vision to The Buffalo News: to create a platform where current and future leaders could collaborate, share insights, and prepare to guide Buffalo through its next chapter of growth. This vision manifested as “Voices of Vision,” a series of events focused on cultivating leadership and fostering innovation across our community.
The inaugural event, held at the Burchfield Penney Art Center on March 20, brought together more than 100 community stakeholders, business leaders, and young professionals for an engaging panel discussion on the future of leadership in Buffalo.
Aleron’s Leadership in Action
As the presenting sponsor, Aleron—an organization that provides companies worldwide with expertise in talent acquisition and workforce management—demonstrated its deep commitment to Buffalo’s prosperity.
The panel featured invaluable perspectives from:
- Scott Stenclik, President and CEO of Aleron
- Peter Petrella, President of TalentRise (a member of Aleron Group)
- Erich Reich, past 43North board chair
- Nick Kosinski, Managing Director of US East at Odoo
Tom Wiley, publisher of The Buffalo News, moderated this dynamic conversation, which marks the first of several forums planned throughout 2025.
Why This Matters Now
“There’s a generational change occurring with community leadership and business ownership,” Scott explained. “I fear that there will not be a seamless handoff to the next class of leadership. As leaders, I feel we need to instill a sense of responsibility in others to serve as community stewards.”
This sentiment reflects Aleron’s core mission to transform and strengthen workplaces—a mission that extends beyond our business operations to our community involvement.
Building on Buffalo’s Unique Strengths
During the panel, Pete Petrella highlighted what makes Buffalo special: “We have architectural beauty; we have a rich history of industry and entrepreneurship. Then there’s the people of Buffalo. There are generations of people with grit and determination that you don’t see anywhere else. We need to find ways to leverage that uniqueness. If we do that, we’ve created a competitive advantage other cities don’t have.”
These advantages have already attracted businesses like Odoo, which plans to add 1,000 jobs in the Buffalo Niagara region over the next four years.
A Call for Inclusive Leadership
Scott emphasized the importance of diversity in shaping Buffalo’s future: “We’re a much more diverse and international community now. We need bold leaders who understand addressing this broad constituency, including those who are traditionally underrepresented and left out of the conversation. We need to have leaders who will fight for this city’s rightful relevance in the future.”
He later expanded on this vision: “One thing that my generation has not done a good job of is creating an inclusive and accessible forum for sharing ideas. Thinking big requires looking at all possibilities and creating opportunities for people’s voices to be heard.”
Looking Forward: From Possibility to Action
Scott’s message for emerging leaders is both optimistic and action-oriented: “I think that if we can inspire individuals to abandon this mindset of, ‘The probability that we can’t,’ but rather, adopt a mindset of, ‘The possibility that we can,’ our big and moderate ideas will naturally be better supported.”
As Aleron continues its 67-year legacy of community investment, Scott sees this initiative as a catalyst for change: “I can’t rewrite the history, but I can change the trajectory. People who feel the same way I do need to get involved and better engage the next generation of leadership through meaningful discussion, mentorship and – yes – action.”
The conversation will continue at the second Voices of Vision event, planned for May 1 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. The community is invited to share feedback, questions, or ideas at the Voices of Vision website.
