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Conference Program

Conference Programme

Our 2026 Theme - Innovation in Action

Reimagining Connection, Engagement, and Growth in the Events Industry

In an era where audiences expect more than show floors and sessions, Innovation in Action is about bringing bold ideas to life across the B2B events landscape. It’s where creative thinking meets operational excellence, and where technology, data, and design converge to create unforgettable experiences that drive real business outcomes.

This theme celebrates the doers and disruptors who are reinventing what events can achieve. It’s about turning innovation from a buzzword into a blueprint for growth. 

At the 2026 SISO CEO Summit, Innovation in Action will explore how:

  • Customer success - how face-to-face events are the leading trusted medium for our customers and how we are integral in helping them grow their business.
  • Visionary organizers are using AI, data, and design thinking to elevate attendee and exhibitor value.
  • Leading brands are activating their communities year-round through content, connection, and technology.
  • Collaborative ecosystems — venues, suppliers, tech partners, and stakeholders — are redefining the event experience together.

Through keynotes, case studies, and engaging discussions, attendees will see innovation in motion — and leave with actionable insights to turn creative ideas into scalable, repeatable success and be inspired to apply it immediately in their own events and organizations.

Because in the B2B events world, the future doesn’t just belong to the most creative — it belongs to those who put innovation into action.

View the Schedule

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11:00 AM
  1. 240 mins

    Scaling a business takes more than hard work — it takes clear strategy, smarter systems, and the ability to adapt as markets change. This four-hour working session is designed for growth-focused founders who are expanding revenue, strengthening operations, and pushing their organizations to the next stage. Through focused presentations and structured peer exchange, participants will share practical tactics, test ideas, and learn from peers navigating similar scaling challenges.

    This is an active, self-educative room. Attendees are encouraged to arrive with a real objective or obstacle and use the session to workshop solutions with fellow founders. The emphasis is on execution —actionable strategies, emerging tools, and shared insights that can be applied immediately.

    Session topics include:

    • Revenue diversification & new growth channels that support sustainable expansion

    • Global research insights to help founders prepare for emerging market shifts

    • Tech stack & AI resources enabling small teams to operate more efficiently

    • Exit and succession strategies that protect long-term value and founder optionality

    • Founder-to-founder problem solving around real operational challenges

    • SISO member resources, including legal, HR, and advocacy support, are available to accelerate growth

    The goal is growth, collaboration, shared insights, and actionable ideas. Participants leave with clearer priorities, practical next steps, and a stronger peer network committed to helping each other scale.

    Lunch is included!

    - Only for Attendees already registered for the CEO Summit
    - Participants are from member companies with less than $12m in revenue
     

1:00 PM
  1. 60 mins
    • Women's Leadership

    Networking Lunch exclusively for registrants to the Executive Women's Forum.

2:15 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    60 mins
    • Women's Leadership

    What if you knew that "something" was a significant factor in accounting for 26% of what it takes to get promoted to a higher-level leadership position? Wouldn't you be curious about what that "something" was and how to "get" it?

    That's precisely what we'll be learning, discussing, and practicing in this interactive session on Executive Presence. You'll walk away with a clearer understanding of what it is, why and how it matters, and how to inventory and improve your executive presence in ways that will make a difference.

    Whether you're looking for your next promotion, want to position yourself for a Board seat, or need to step into a negotiation, executive presence will help you embody the confidence and gravitas required. You'll learn how those with executive presence communicate, lead with clarity, purpose, and poise, command attention, and inspire others. We'll also practice transforming negative self-talk into positive self-awareness and learn how to redirect energy from anxiety or fear into self-assured action.

3:15 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    30 mins
    • Women's Leadership

    'Three CEOs walk into a bar,' and the audience will get to 'listen in' to the intimate, provocative, and exciting conversation that these dynamic and thought-provoking leaders in our industry will be having. 

     

3:45 PM
  1. 15 mins
    • Women's Leadership
4:00 PM
  1. 30 mins
    • Women's Leadership

    In the last decade, more corporate board seats have been filled by women – up from 20% in 2010 to more than 30% currently. There is still room for improvement – but both the corporations and women themselves need to be more proactive to make it happen.

    This panel will discuss:

    What is the main purpose of a board? What qualifications do you need to be on a board? What are the advantages of being on a board? Commitments? How can you position yourself to be invited onto the board? And more …!

     

5:30 PM
  1. 60 mins
    For All Sponsors, First-Time Attendees, and their "Buddies". 
6:30 PM
  1. 180 mins

     

    Furnishings - Sponsored by

    afr     

    Decor - Sponsored by   
     
    expo COnvention Contracto

     

8:00 AM
  1. 55 mins


     

9:45 AM
  1. 30 mins

    Back by popular demand, Freeman’s Ken Holsinger and Kimberly Hardcastle will reveal the hidden math shaping event growth. It’s a simple equation, but one with significant consequences. Most shows must replace a substantial portion of their audience each cycle, yet few stop to examine what that reality means for strategy, experience design and long-term performance.

    Drawing on the latest Freeman research and candid conversations with leading independent organizers, Ken and Kimberly will explore the relationship between retention, replacement and the leadership decisions that determine whether annual growth compounds or resets, for both attendees and the exhibitors who invest in reaching them. 

    Known for their dynamic blend of data and storytelling, they will challenge assumptions about what truly drives repeat participation, how connection and experience influence loyalty and how innovation becomes most powerful when applied across the full attendee lifecycle. Expect an executive-level perspective that moves beyond trends and into outcomes and clarifies what the numbers reveal, where innovation has the greatest leverage and what must shift for growth to become scalable and repeatable.

10:20 AM
  1. 25 mins
    As the event industry evolves beyond traditional metrics of attendance, square footage and NPS scores, CEOs and investors are shifting focus toward value creation that’s measurable, predictable, and defensible. This session explores the new generation of performance indicators that define excellence, signal investor confidence, and drive higher valuations across live, digital, and data-enabled portfolios.
11:20 AM
  1. 30 mins

    If you could ask an expert what effect will AI have on the event industry, what would you ask?  Maybe questions like: How do we harness AI's raw power for our events? What seismic shifts does hyper-personalization at scale unleash on our business models?  Will AI help or hurt the value placed on the in-person interaction?  And finally, could technology crack open hidden value streams that skyrocket enterprise valuations?

    These aren't rhetorical riddles—they're battle cries for the trade show industry, and this electrifying session delivers razor-sharp answers. Join AWS's Ben Schreiner, Head of AI and Modern Data Strategy Business Development as he challenges you to seize this transformative moment. With AWS's frontline insights into generative AI's real-world deployment, Ben will provide examples of how cloud-native tools are already reshaping events.

11:50 AM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    25 mins
    Innovation and Reinvention as a constant.
12:15 PM
  1. West Beach Conference Center
    95 mins

    Annual Report to the Members and the presentation of the Krakoff Award.

    Sponsored by
    Freeman

    A brief 5‑minute bus ride from the hotel lobby brings you to the West Beach Conference Center.

2:00 PM
  1. 30 mins

    Organic growth means expanding revenue, reach, or impact without acquisitions.  Geoff Dickinson has built (and continues to build) companies via launch success.  Geoff will lead this session sharing insights and perspectives about what the CEO needs to do to create the culture needed to grow via launching.  You may also hear what not to do!
     

2:30 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    20 mins

    AI is no longer a future conversation. It’s already changing how independent show organizers operate, scale, and compete. But most leaders don’t need another framework or keynote on “what AI could be.” They want to know what’s actually working right now. In this candid panel, organizers will share real, in-production examples of how they are using AI across their businesses from marketing and sales to operations, content, and customer experience. Panelists won’t just talk about what worked, they’ll also share what failed, what took longer than expected, and what they’d never do again. If you’re wondering whether AI is worth your time, where it delivers real ROI, or how far behind (or ahead) you are, this session will give you the answers you are looking for.

     

2:50 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    40 mins

    This session features top global heads of events from some of the world’s largest brands, alongside Nicola Kastner, CEO of Event Leaders Exchange (ELX) and former Global VP of Event Marketing Strategy at SAP.

    In a candid, facilitated conversation, the speakers will share how they think about third-party events within a broader event ecosystem, including the language they use internally and how they determine where to lean in versus where to step back.

    We will also explore the realities behind those decisions, from how strategies are shaped to how success is defined, and what brands most need from show organizers today to deliver value for both the business and the attendee.

    Attendees will leave with a clearer view into how leading brands make choices and what organizers can do to strengthen relevance, retention, and long-term partnerships.

3:30 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    30 mins
4:00 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    35 mins
    B2B event budgets continue to outpace marketing spend - is this the new normal? This panel explores the extent to which marketing budgets have historically been under-penetrated by events, and how richer customer data has enabled organizers to redress that balance by tailoring their offering to customer need.
4:35 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    35 mins
    40+ years of innovation in trade shows and so much more.
5:10 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    20 mins
    In 2021, SISO helped establish the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) to be the voice of SISO members in Washington, D.C. After five successful years, ECA leaders are charting a new growth trajectory to expand the alliance's impact on behalf of the industry. Join Fernando Fischer, ECA’s new board chair, and other ECA leaders from the SISO community as they preview what’s next for ECA and share how you can get involved.
7:00 PM
  1. Mingo Point
    150 mins

    sponsored by
    Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

    Shuttles will run from the Sanctuary lobby to Mingo Point on Monday evening, March 9. The ride is only a few minutes. You can also call Island Transportation from the Villas to pick you up and take you directly to Mingo Point.

8:00 AM
  1. 55 mins
9:00 AM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    10 mins

    Host of the 2026 SISO Leadership Conference

    Seattle Convention Center

9:10 AM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    50 mins
    In his unique and engaging style, Economist Anirban Basu will help you make sense of the past year's economic developments, look ahead, and offer guidance on how this affects our industry in 2026.  You need to listen intently to capture Anirban’s wisdom fully!
10:30 AM
  1. 30 mins
     
11:20 AM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    25 mins

    With an acceleration in new business models and formats, and an increasingly sophisticated and ROI-focused customer base, innovation is a key lever that business/events leaders need to pull to stay ahead. For many, that means rethinking how best to serve evolving needs of customers, and innovating with new formats, products, and revenue models.

    Shareholder value is shifting in event-led companies: new monetization models, multi-year membership offerings, community building, experiential value propositions, and the proliferation of data are reshaping the sector.

    Join Collingwood for a candid deconstruction of innovation in events, membership, and data ecosystems with founders who have created and scaled a differentiated and valuable customer proposition, creating a high-value and defensible market position.

12:25 PM
  1. Grand Oaks Ballroom
    5 mins
12:30 PM
  1. 60 mins

    Lunch for those not playing golf.

     

     

  2. Turtle Point
    270 mins

    The SISO Golf Tournament will be held at Turtle Point Golf Course. Transportation will be provided from the hotel to the course, which is a short drive away. Golfers will get boxed lunches at the golf club near the carts.

    Appropriate Attire: Men – shirts with collars and sleeves, slacks, Bermuda or walking shorts are considered appropriate attire.  Tank tops, T-shirts, cut-offs, bathing suits, jogging shorts, and jeans are not permitted.  Women- Golf dresses, skirts, slacks, mid-length shorts, and blouses are considered appropriate attire. Halter-tops, T-shirts, bathing suits, tennis dresses, cut-offs, or extremely short shorts are not acceptable. Softspikes are mandatory. 

    Sponsored by:

    Visit Dallas

     

1:30 PM
  1. 180 mins

    Networking poolside.

  2. 180 mins
  3. 180 mins
     
7:00 PM
  1. 150 mins
7:00 AM
  1. 180 mins
    Breakfast Buffet and To-Go Boxes