24 More Speakers Announced for GAI World 2026

Momentum continues to build for our annual enterprise conference, GAI World 2026, in Boston, Sep. 28-30. We recently confirmed 24 additional speakers. Total speakers now top 60. This is an unparalleled opportunity to learn from and network with AI leaders on the front line of driving competitive advantage with AI.

The conference focuses on 6 learning objectives

1. Demonstrating ROI

• How do you measure ROI, benchmark against peers, and prove value to the board?

• How are you managing the exploding cost of tokens and AI while proving ROI to your board?

• Where are PE firms investing in AI, and how are they enforcing ROI accountability on portfolio companies?

2. Refining 2027 strategy and budget

• How do you build an AI strategy and roadmap without proven playbooks?

• How are you adjusting AI budgets in 2027 without cannibalizing core operations?

• What is the right mix of employee salary expense to AI and token expense in your 2027 budget?

3. Change management

• How do you overcome internal resistance, upskill teams, and evolve culture?

• How do you move teams from AI anxiety to ownership and productivity in 90 days?

• How are PE firms improving portfolio company operations faster through AI?

4. Avoid vendor lock-in and Own Your Own Intelligence (OYOI) strategies

• How do you navigate dependence on major cloud and AI providers?

• How are you structuring AI vendor relationships to avoid lock-in while maintaining competitiveness?

5. Learn more how to use Claude

• How can I accelerate my learning of this amazing Claude feature for due diligence, on-brand PowerPoint creation, Excel financial modeling, and quarterly book closing and more? [we offer 12 hours of 101 and 201 level, hands-on Claude workshops at the conference]

6. Staying current with blistering pace of AI innovation

• How do you handle the overwhelming pace of AI change and the fear of falling behind competitors?

• What dimensions of sustained competitive advantage can you build with AI before competitors catch up?

• What findings from Harvard and MIT research are shaping how executives build their AI strategies?

New speakers added:

• Todd Alcock, VP Technology Strategy, Pellera Technologies

• Naveed Asem, CTO, Oaktree Capital

• Neil Bansal, Managing Director, OMERS Private Equity

• Steve Beard, CEO, Covista

• Christopher Boone, Group VP of Life Sciences, Oracle

• Pat Condo, CEO, Seekr

• Alden Do Rosario, CEO, CustomGPT.ai

• Justin Fanelli, CTO, U.S. Department of Navy

• Len Grossi, MD Human Resources, Oaktree Capital

• Anjana Harve, CDO, Astellas Pharma

• Nirmal Jingar, Director Engineering, Wayfair

• Abbie Lundberg, Editor, MIT Sloan Management Review

• Nathan McBride, SVP, IT and CIO, Xilio Therapeutics

• Jacqui Nevils, Global CIO, Fresenius Medical Care

• Kevin O’Brien, CEO, Invoice Cloud

• Nicholas Pariso, AI Team Lead, General Atlantic

• Jim Piazza, Chief AI Officer, Ensono

• Ramesh Razdan, Global CIO and CTO, Bain & Company

• Adam Starr, CIO, U.S. Office of Personnel Management

• Jaap van Riel, CTO, KnitWell Group

• Liz Vanzura, Board Member, Solo Brands

• Venkat Vedam, Head of Generative AI, Manulife Financial

• Thor Wallace, SVP and CIO, NETSCOUT

• Barbara Widholm, VP of AI, State Street Bank

See full list of speakers here.
Note that ticket prices go up this weekend. Tables of 8 from one company are also available (6 companies have already invested in a team table).

Onward,
Paul

Resources and Media:

LinkedIn: Calendar: Learning Lab: HBR Article; Daily AI Show: GAI World 2026: TEDx: X/Twitter: TikTok

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