Conference 2026 Agenda
This agenda is tentative and subject to change.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Noon - 5:30 pm
Benson & Edith Ford Conference Center
College for Creative Studies, Detroit
11:00 AM - Noon Registration / Networking
Noon - 12:15 PM Welcome
12:15 - 5:30 PM Hackathon
12:15 - 5:30 PM Workshops / Demonstrations
More details to come!
Saturday, October 17, 2026
8:00 am - 5:30 pm
Benson & Edith Ford Conference Center
College for Creative Studies, Detroit
8:00 AM - Registration / Networking
9:00 AM - Welcome
9:30 AM - Break
9:45 AM - Session 1
10:30 AM - Break
10:45 AM - Session 2
11:30 AM - Hackathon winners announced / General announcements
12:00 PM - Lunch
1:00 PM - Session 3
1:45 PM - Break
2:00 PM - Session 4
2:45 PM - Break
3:00 PM - Session 5
3:45 PM - Break
4:00 PM - Town Hall
5:30 PM - Conference Ends
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Happy Hour
Session 1
9:45 - 10:30 AM
TRACK 1 - Leadership, Culture & Innovation
Team Management in the Era of AI
All “Learn more” buttons will be live soon. Thanks for your patience!
TRACK 2 - Semantics, Governance & Trust
Data Governance as Socio-Technical Infrastructure
TRACK 4 - Data Engineering & Infrastructure
Data Engineering Panel
TRACK 3 - Analytics, BI & Decision Design
Your Adoption Problems are Actually People Problems (Panel Discussion)
TRACK 5 - AI Systems
Inside Corewell Health’s AI Modernization: Foundations as a Feature
Session 2
10:45 - 11:30 AM
TRACK 1 - Leadership, Culture & Innovation
Culture Eats AI for Breakfast: Building Teams That Actually Use the Tools
TRACK 2 - Semantics, Governance & Trust
Data Governance & Trustworthy AI Panel
TRACK 4 - Data Engineering & Infrastructure
From Iceberg to Intelligence: Your First
Lakehouse Data Pipeline for AI Agents
TRACK 3 - Analytics, BI & Decision Design
Measure What Matters
TRACK 5 - AI Systems
The Small Revolution: Economics and Implementation of Small Language Models (SLMs)
Session 3
1:00 - 1:45 PM
TRACK 1 - Leadership, Culture & Innovation
Follow the White Rabbit: Launching a New Data-Based Startup Venture
TRACK 2 - Semantics, Governance & Trust
Responsible AI in Practice: What it Takes to Govern Well
TRACK 4 - Data Engineering & Infrastructure
Thoughts on the Future of Data
TRACK 3 - Analytics, BI & Decision Design
To be announced
TRACK 5 - AI Systems
Panel - To be announced
Session 4
2:00 - 2:45 PM
TRACK 1 - Leadership, Culture & Innovation
Panel - To Be Announced
TRACK 2 - Semantics, Governance & Trust
Semantic Layers: The Missing Foundation for Agentic AI in Enterprise
TRACK 4 - Data Engineering & Infrastructure
Bringing Optionality to Python Dataframes
TRACK 3 - Analytics, BI & Decision Design
Panel - To Be Announced
TRACK 5 - AI Systems
4 Months of Work in 6 Weeks: Spec-Driven Development on an Agile Team
Session 5
3:00 - 3:45 PM
TRACK 1 - Leadership, Culture & Innovation
There is No Single Path in Data: Three Dimensions of a Durable Data Career (an Ensemble Approach)
TRACK 2 - Semantics, Governance & Trust
Stop Rebuilding: Data Contracts for the Mess You Already Have
TRACK 4 - Data Engineering & Infrastructure
Designing Data Pipelines That You Don’t
Hate Six Months Later
TRACK 3 - Analytics, BI & Decision Design
The Analyst Role is Being Reborn. Here’s What the New One Looks Like.
TRACK 5 - AI Systems
Iceberg for Agents: Elevate Data to Context for Modern AI Systems