Orange County Executive Summit
Thursday, September 10, 2026 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. PDT
Event Overview
Every Decision, Obstacle, and Success Has Shaped the Leader You Are Today
The Vistage Executive Summit is your day to build on that experience through expert insights, meaningful peer connection, and practical tools that drive growth.
My biggest takeaway from the Vistage Executive Summit is the importance of aligning long-term planning with both business goals and personal well-being. Success isn’t just about short-term wins—it’s about building something sustainable over time. When both areas are nurtured, they reinforce each other, leading to more consistent progress and a better quality of life.
— Davinder Harcharan Singh, Vistage member and 2025 Executive Summit attendee
Event Speakers
Taylor St. Germain
Economist, ITR EconomicsSetting Expectations for 2027 and Beyond
Navigating inflation, interest rate changes, labor challenges, and geopolitical uncertainty will be critical for leaders preparing for what's ahead in 2027. While many markets improved this year, others experienced only muted growth and are at risk of hard landings in 2027. In this presentation, ITR Economics will delve into the key macroeconomic drivers that will take hold next year or carry over from 2026.
With a long and proven track record of “seeing the future first,” ITR Economics will provide their latest forecasts as well as the top economic forces impacting your business and their implications for overall cost structure, workforce strategy, the risk of profitless prosperity, and the timing of resource allocation. You’ll gain a broad view of business cycle changes and sector-level drivers that will help you identify risks and opportunities, align your strategy, budgeting, and investments with forward-looking economic insight — ensuring your organization remains resilient in the ever-changing market landscape.
Rajeev Kapur
CEO, 1105 Media & AuthorLeading Digital Transformation: 6 Key Takeaways for AI Success
The AI revolution is here—but adoption doesn’t happen by inspiration; it happens by execution that starts with you as a leader. In this presentation, Rajeev Kapur, author of AI Made Simple and CEO of 1105 Media, shares the specific steps leaders must take to implement AI successfully, and what they should be worried about. This presentation, tailored to the CEO audience, will include the tools you should use to turn your AI adoption into measurable productivity gains.
Dr. Jeffrey Boone
Founder & Medical Director, Boone Heart InstituteA World Without Heart Attacks
Heart disease has been the world’s leading cause of death for the past century—and it’s only getting worse. Our health care system incentivizes the wrong things, allowing this epidemic to continue to spread. 70% of heart attack victims are considered ‘low-risk’ by traditional measures.
Jeffrey L. Boone, MD, offers a better approach. Using tools that are readily available, he will demonstrate how to find the disease, identify the root cause, and eliminate your risk, so you can become a success story instead of a statistic.
You'll learn the steps you can take now to improve your cardiovascular health and help prevent heart disease before symptoms arise.
Anne Petrik
VP of Research, Vistage Worldwide, Inc. | Summit EmceeAs emcee for this Summit, VP of Research Anne Petrik will share the latest data from the Vistage CEO Confidence Index, adding context about peer sentiment and CEO priorities to the program throughout the day.
Discover the exact AI tools and tactics top CEOs are using right now to drive productivity and what pitfalls to avoid.
Learn how to uncover hidden heart disease risk that traditional screenings miss.
Details to be announced soon!
See below for a full listing of expert-led breakouts.
See below for a full listing of expert-led breakouts.
A deep dive into the economic forecast facing your market.
Celebrate with your community, connect with fellow peers, and raise a glass to the Vistage Member Excellence Award winners and finalists.
Breakout sessions
11:25 - 12:25 PM
Your Sales Team Isn’t the Problem – Your System Is
Presenter: Steve Heroux, Founder | The Sales Collective
Most CEOs, owners, and visionaries assume sales performance is a people problem. When results are inconsistent or growth stalls, the default response is to hire “better” salespeople, apply more pressure, or raise goals. But these fixes rarely create lasting change because they ignore the real issue. Sales organizations manage to outcomes instead of performance drivers like process clarity, coaching, skill development, and support systems. Most sales teams don’t have a people problem. They have a system design problem.
Topic: Customer Engagement – Sales
11:25 - 12:25 PM
From Chatbot to Co-Worker: AI Agents in Your Business
Presenter: Ross Hartmann, CEO | Kiingo AI
Your competitors have access to the same AI tools you do. The difference is whether they're using them. In this session, you'll see real case studies of companies using AI agents to cut costs, reclaim capacity, and gain a competitive edge. You'll walk away with a framework for your own AI strategy, including how to identify your first high-impact use case and avoid the most common mistakes.
Topic: Business Operations – Technology
11:25 - 12:25 PM
The Growth Playbook: Scaling Smarter With Remote Teams + AI
Presenter: Pranav Dalal, CEO and Founder | Office Beacon
Discover how an AI plus human hybrid model is redefining workforce productivity. With 25 years of operational insight, Office Beacon shows how to remove workflow bottlenecks through targeted AI tools and high-performance remote teams. Learn how AI-assisted executive support, Prospectly’s AI-driven network expansion, and optimized hybrid workflows unlock immediate gains in efficiency and scale. This session gives leaders clear, actionable steps to integrate AI into daily operations in a way that empowers teams and accelerates scale.
Topic: Business Operations - Productivity & Execution
11:25 - 12:25 PM
Same Models, Different Outcomes: Why AI Widens the Performance Gap
Presenter: Biren Shukla, Founder and CEO | Forum Info‑Tech
You've heard AI will change everything. What no one tells you is that it's already revealing how your company actually runs beneath the org chart. Two businesses buy the same tools and get completely different results — and it's rarely the technology. It's the groundwork: how your data, your guardrails, and your people are set up to work alongside AI. This session is about that groundwork — the real divide between pulling ahead and just staying busy.
Topic: Business Operations - Risk Management
11:25 - 12:25 PM
The Heart of Transition: The Personal Side of Selling Your Business
Presenter: Andrea Steinbrenner, CEO & Partner | Exit Consulting Group
An exit isn't just a financial event; it's a personal transformation. Behind every deal are questions of legacy, relevancy, and what comes next. This session helps you navigate both the head and heart of transition, exploring the Business, Market, and Owner dimensions that shape every exit. Walk away with a clearer picture of:
- What you're really deciding
- What you need to prepare for transition
- What a meaningful transition looks like for you.
Topic: Personal Development - Exit Planning
1:20 - 2:20 PM
Activating Purpose In Your Brand, Marketing and Culture
Presenter: Aaron McClung, Founder & CEO | AM Agency
Is your purpose a powerful idea, or a powerful force? The disconnect between your brand and culture erodes growth and talent. Most leaders know purpose drives growth, but few know how to activate it. This session provides the blueprint to operationalize purpose across your business.
Learn to:
- Pinpoint your unique purpose
- Transform your brand into a magnet for talent and clients
- Shorten the sales cycle, increase valuations, unify your workforce
Topic: Customer Engagement - Marketing Development
1:20 - 2:20 PM
Make Meetings Matter: A Competitive Advantage for Leaders
Presenter: Kris Snyder, Chief Advocate Officer | Ninety
Most leadership teams spend hours each week in meetings that feel necessary—but deliver far less value than they should. In this session, we’ll explore how to transform meetings from a routine obligation into a strategic advantage by improving focus with pre-set agendas, surfacing and solving the right issues, and creating clearer accountability.
Topic: Business Operations - Infrastructure
1:20 - 2:20 PM
The Value Creation Formula: Build the Company Everyone Wants to Buy
Presenter: Jim Canfield, VP of Strategic Relationships | Class VI Partners
For most company owners the value of their business is the most significant asset they hold. In fact, recent research showed that for most business owners their ownership in the company represented 85-95% of their net worth. So, the question we face as owners is how we accomplish three objectives:
- Creating a growing and scalable business
- Increasing the value of the business
- Making the business easier and more fun to run and lead
Jim will present a formulaic approach to address these three objectives and will explore concepts and tools that when applied produce results.
Topic: Financials - Mergers & Acquisitions
1:20 - 2:20 PM
Your Digital North Star in the World of AI and Intelligent Automation
Presenter: Mark Shivers, Founder & CEO | Ignite IPA
Overwhelmed by AI and automation? Unsure where to start or which tools matter? This session simplifies AI and automation and aligns them to your business goals using real-world case studies with financial impact.
You’ll walk away with:
- Clarity on AI and automation that drives results
- Strategies to cut costs, scale efficiently, and improve customer experience
- A clear digital path to boost margins and navigate the future confidently
Topic: Business Operations – Technology
1:20 - 2:20 PM
From Chatbot to Co-Worker: AI Agents in Your Business
Presenter: Ross Hartmann, CEO | Kiingo AI
Your competitors have access to the same AI tools you do. The difference is whether they're using them. In this session, you'll see real case studies of companies using AI agents to cut costs, reclaim capacity, and gain a competitive edge. You'll walk away with a framework for your own AI strategy, including how to identify your first high-impact use case and avoid the most common mistakes.
Topic: Business Operations – Technology
1:20 - 2:20 PM
Prepping Your Business for an Exit: Things to Consider Years Before the Sale
Presenter: Tom Singh, Managing Director | Private Wealth Advisor, Merrill Lynch
50% of all business exits are unplanned, yet many leaders are unprepared for the challenges and opportunities that come with an unexpected transition. In this session, you'll learn the key do's and don'ts of exit readiness, practical strategies to protect and enhance business value, and how to position your company for a successful outcome—even if an exit isn't currently on your radar..
Topic: Personal Development - Exit Planning
Sponsors
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