Opening Sessions: Setting the Direction. Attendees check in, enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and explore visual installations and early‑stage demos that frame the North American AI landscape.
A clear overview of the Summit’s mission and what attendees can expect over two days. Networking events, special breakout sessions. Investor lounge, 5 minute lightning demo contest. Indigenous-owned Salishan Catering providing lunches and coffee station and a land acknowledgement. Michael introduces Tiffani Bova our headline keynote speaker to kick off the event.
Every organization is racing to deploy AI. Very few are asking the harder question: what happens to the people inside the machine? Tiffani Bova opens the TruNorth AI Leadership Summit with a data-driven, no-nonsense look at why the companies winning with AI aren't the ones deploying the most technology — they're the ones investing in people alongside it.
This session explores what trustworthy enterprise AI truly means for highly regulated sectors such as finance, insurance, critical infrastructure, and public services. As organizations accelerate AI adoption, the stakes rise — and so does the need for rigorous governance, safety, and compliance frameworks. Daniel will host the panel featuring senior title AI leaders and founders from regulated industries alongside a senior AI policymaker, guiding a discussion on how to deploy AI responsibly when the margin for error is effectively zero.
Panel host: Daniel Escott, LLM, JD, BBA — CEO, Formic AI; Ontario‑licensed lawyer; Research Fellow at the Artificial Intelligence Risk & Regulation Lab; leading voice in Canadian AI law and regulation.
Panelist: TBA
We are currently seeking potential AI Leaders from leading Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Insurance, Critical Infrastructure, and Public Services to participate on the panel.
The CEOs of every major AI lab now agree on one thing: AGI is arriving this decade — possibly within the next 18 months. Benchmarks designed to be "AGI-hard" are being cleared faster than the researchers who built them predicted. Agentic systems are already operating autonomously across enterprise workflows. And the definition of what AGI actually means depends entirely on who you ask. This keynote cuts through the noise to answer the only question that matters for every leader in this room: what do you need to do about it — right now?
For Fortune 500 leaders, the conversation has moved far beyond automation. The mandate now is AI that drives measurable business value, strengthens competitive positioning, and integrates seamlessly across complex, global organizations. In this executive‑level session, Dr. Nargess Heydari Beni outlines how bespoke AI systems are architected to meet the realities of enterprise scale — from legacy infrastructure and fragmented data ecosystems to governance, risk, and long‑term ROI.
Key insights for enterprise leaders:
✅ How to identify high‑leverage AI opportunities that align with corporate strategy, not just operational efficiency
✅ Why custom AI models outperform generic solutions in regulated, high‑stakes, or data‑sensitive environments
✅ The R&D frameworks Lemay.ai uses to design systems that integrate with existing workflows, governance structures, and security requirements
✅ How to evaluate AI investments through the lens of risk reduction, resilience, and measurable business outcomes
✅ Real‑world examples of tailored AI driving transformation across large, complex organizations
This session is built for decision‑makers who need AI that is not only technically sophisticated — but strategically essential.
North American Lab & Startup Showcase, Fast‑paced lightning demos highlighting emerging technologies and founders:
1. 11:20am - 11:25am:
2. 11:35am - 11:40am:
3. 11:45am - 11:50am:
4. 11:55am - 12:00pm:
5. 12:05pm - 12:10pm:
6. 12:15pm - 12:20pm:
7. 12:25pm - 12:30pm:
8. 12:35pm - 12:40pm:
10 mins closing remarks and poll results powered by Mentimeter
Buffet Lunch catered by Salishan Catering + Demo Pods, Exhibits. Attendees meet startups, research labs, and solution providers showcasing live prototypes.
At GTC 2026, Jensen Huang declared "proprietary versus open is not a thing" and assembled 11 open-AI CEOs to make the case. That's nearly six months ago. The enterprise response to that declaration — do the CIOs in the room agree? Do the investors? Do the policymakers? A high‑energy session where experts challenge assumptions and explore tradeoffs.
Most companies talk about AI transformation. Very few actually pull it off. This keynote cuts through the noise and exposes the real mechanics behind enterprise‑scale AI deployment — the messy middle that never makes it into case studies or conference slides.
You’ll get a front‑row look at how leading organizations move beyond pilots and prototypes to build AI systems that actually ship, scale, and deliver measurable business impact. Expect candid insights on data readiness, governance, cross‑functional alignment, workforce transformation, and the organizational rewiring required to make AI stick.
If you want the unfiltered truth about what separates AI‑driven enterprises from everyone else, this is the session you don’t want to miss.
This keynote argues that the future of work is not AI versus humans but AI with humans. Hema Dey lays out a practical, ethics‑first playbook for designing large‑scale AI deployments that amplify human capability, create richer career pathways, and preserve dignity and agency at work. The talk blends strategic frameworks, real‑world examples, and concrete actions leaders can take to ensure AI becomes a career accelerator rather than a threat.
Core Themes and Framing:
✅ Human‑Centered Augmentation — shift from automation as cost‑cutting to augmentation as capability‑building.
✅ Ethics as Strategy — embed ethical guardrails that protect livelihoods and build trust while unlocking scale.
✅ Operational Frameworks — translate principles into governance, measurement, and org design that deliver measurable business and human outcomes.
Three Key Takeaways for the Audience:
✅ A 3‑part deployment framework leaders can apply immediately: Augment, Elevate, Safeguard.
✅Two governance rules that preserve worker agency while enabling personalization and efficiency.
✅ A 90‑day pilot checklist that proves uplift in productivity, employee engagement, and career mobility metrics.
AI can generate images, compose music, and write code. But can it dream? Kris Krüg — photographer, technologist, and one of Vancouver's most influential voices at the intersection of art and AI — explores what remains irreplaceably human in a world of machine intelligence, and why creativity, cultural identity, and consciousness are the assets no algorithm can replicate.
Join us for an exclusive evening reception inside one of Vancouver’s most iconic venues. Set among softly lit galleries and vibrant marine exhibits, the Aquarium offers a stunning backdrop for premium networking and cross‑sector connection. This is a high‑prestige, high‑intent environment designed to spark meaningful conversations between enterprise leaders, founders, academics, policymakers, and investors.
Evening Flow:
⏱️7:00pm — Arrival & Welcome Drinks
Guests are welcomed with refreshments and invited to explore select galleries, creating early, organic opportunities for sponsors and attendees to connect as they move through the space.
⏱️7:30pm–9:30pm — Networking & Micro‑Tours
Free‑flow networking continues throughout the Aquarium’s immersive exhibits. Optional micro‑tours led by Aquarium staff help facilitate high‑value introductions and deeper conversations across sectors.
⏱️9:30pm–10:00pm — Closing Conversations
The evening winds down in the central gallery, offering a relaxed final touchpoint for sponsors and attendees to strengthen new relationships.
A Sponsor‑Aligned Experience
This reception is intentionally designed to maximize engagement. The layout encourages natural movement, the atmosphere is calm and visually striking, and coastal‑inspired hors d’oeuvres with roaming service keep conversations flowing. It’s a signature moment of the Summit — a shared experience that reinforces our commitment to responsible, future‑focused innovation.
Artificial intelligence isn’t just improving work—it’s redefining how work gets done. Most companies are adding AI tools. The smartest ones are rebuilding their organizations around AI. A new class of AI-first companies is emerging, where agents and robots run workflows at machine speed while people focus on creativity, judgment, and leadership. These organizations amplify human impact, collapse constraints, and outperform larger rivals with a fraction of the resources.
In this keynote, Steve Brown shows leaders how to move beyond pilots and make AI the core engine of performance—redesigning work so technology handles execution and people do what humans do best.
By attending this talk, you will:
• Distinguish between adding AI tools and becoming truly AI-first
• See how agents and robots can own workflows while amplifying human talent
• Identify where AI can collapse cost, time, and capacity constraints
• Explore AI-enhanced, AI-first, and AI-native organizations
• Leave with a clear roadmap to reinvent work and build lasting competitive advantage
A candid, practical conversation about what’s actually blocking AI adoption — culture, workflows, governance, and leadership — not just technology. Expert Panelist: Michael Ashley, AI Forbes Columnist
North American Lab & Startup Showcase, Fast‑paced lightning demos highlighting emerging technologies and founders:
1. 10:35am - 10:40am:
2. 10:45am - 10:50am:
3. 10:55am - 11:00am:
4. 11:05am - 11:10am:
5. 11:15am - 11:20am:
6. 11:25am - 11:30am:
7. 11:35am - 11:40am:
8. 11:45am - 11:50am:
Closing remarks and poll results
Buffet Lunch catered by Salishan Catering + Demo Pods, Exhibits. Attendees meet startups, research labs, and solution providers showcasing live prototypes.
The CEO of ORKA AI introduces a practical framework for embedding digital employees into real operations and designing hybrid human + AI teams. Attendees gain clear steps for workflow redesign, adoption readiness, and unlocking measurable productivity gains.
Attendees learn how to structure cross‑functional teams for safety and impact.
AI regulation is accelerating worldwide — and the rules are changing faster than most organizations can track. This keynote breaks down the global policy shifts reshaping how AI is built, deployed, governed, and audited across industries. From the EU AI Act and U.S. executive actions to Canada’s evolving framework and emerging international standards, this session clarifies what leaders need to know right now.
Attendees will learn how regulatory momentum is converging, where it’s diverging, and what this means for enterprise risk, compliance, innovation velocity, and competitive advantage. If your organization is scaling AI, this is your roadmap to staying ahead of the policy curve rather than reacting to it.
Seat 1 — The Big Tech Voice
Seat 2 — The Open-Source / Decentralization Advocate
Seat 3 — The Civil Society / Human Rights Voice
Seat 4 — The Founder / Builder
Seat 5 — The Academic / Researcher
Seat 6 — Government - Honorable Rick Glumac, MLA — BC's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies
Special Guest Host: Michael Ashley, AI Forbes Columnist
This is the summit's marquee provocation — a 40-minute, multi-stakeholder debate on power, governance, and global responsibility in AI. It's deliberately positioned as the penultimate main-stage session on Day 2, landing immediately after the "Policy for a Rapidly Evolving AI Landscape" keynote (3:20–4:00 PM). That sequencing is intentional: the keynote sets the policy context, then the Grand Debate tears into the harder question — who actually gets to decide?
This isn't a panel where everyone politely agrees. The format demands tension, disagreement, and competing worldviews. The central question — who should control AI — has no consensus answer, and every stakeholder group (government, big tech, open-source community, civil society, academia, the market) believes the answer is them.
Jeff speaks on the core themes of The Last Book Written by a Human, drawing from his experience as a business leader, entrepreneur, and storyteller. He addresses the intersection of AI and human creativity, the evolving role of wisdom in a machine-driven world, the ethical challenges shaping our technological future, and how we can lead, create, and live more meaningfully in the age of AI.
A look at what’s next for TruNorth and the global AI community.
Unwind and enjoy a beverage on us.
This is your final chance to mingle, forge new relationships, and talk shop in a relaxed, peer‑to‑peer setting. Settle in with a live pianist, passed hors d’oeuvres, and beautifully curated charcuterie boards as we close out the day in style.