San Diego Executive Summit
Thursday, October 29, 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
Michael Feuz
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, 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.
A deep dive into the economic forecast facing your market.
Learn how to uncover hidden heart disease risk that traditional screenings miss.
See below for a full listing of breakouts
See below for a full listing of breakouts
Discover the exact AI tools and tactics top CEOs are using right now to drive productivity and what pitfalls to avoid.
Celebrate your community's Vistage Member Excellence Award winners and finalists and connect with fellow peers. Refreshments to be served in the Marketplace.
Breakout sessions
11:40 - 12:40 PM
The Dark Side of Private Equity: Missteps that Could Cost You Millions
Presenter: Brian Daley, Director of Strategic Partnerships | Founders Advisors
With more Private Equity (PE) firms targeting private companies, business owners must be equipped to navigate this complex world successfully. Using case studies, data-driven insights, and over two decades of M&A experience, we’ll discuss the PE investor ecosystem, how they exploit inexperienced business owners, and strategies to help you protect your equity.
You’ll learn:
- 7 reasons your business is not qualified for PE investment (and what to do)
- Essential questions to answer before engaging PE
- The truth about “Minority Investors” and “Founder Aligned” PE
- Why 90% of founders lose in PE negotiations
- Enterprise Value Coaching through Industry Driven Valuation Scorecards
Topic: Financials - Mergers & Acquisitions
11:30 - 12:30 PM
Predictable Marketing ROI: A Framework for Guaranteed Outcomes
Presenter: Lori Turner-Wilson, CEO/Founder | RedRover Marketing
Marketing shouldn’t be a black box. In this workshop, Lori shares her 12 Battles™ Framework—a proven system that reveals hidden gaps costing you growth and replaces gut instinct with data-backed decision-making. Learn how to uncover true customer drivers, conduct perfectly legal competitive surveillance, identify the touchpoints most responsible for a customer's decision to purchase, pressure-test strategies before spending, and build a pay-for-performance team.
Topic: Customer Engagement – Marketing
11:30 - 12:30 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.
You’ll walk away with tools to:
- Assess and grow the value of your business
- Align personal wealth goals with business strategy
- Identify and enhance key value drivers
- Evaluate potential exit options
- Build a business that’s ready to sell—even if you're not ready to exit yet
Topic: Financials - Financial Management
11:30 - 12:30 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
11:30 - 12:30 PM
How to Expand Market Share and Outsell Your Competition
Presenter: Alex Goldfayn, Founder | Outgrow
Based on tens of millions of tracked behaviors across 400+ companies, Alex Goldfayn reveals a proven system for consistent revenue growth. This talk shows how to implement proactive outreach, expand wallet share with existing customers, and track simple behaviors that predict results. Learn how to shift from selling to helping, and apply practical tools including scripts, scorecards, and action plans to drive measurable, sustainable, and repeatable growth in your business.
Topic: Business Operations - Productivity & Execution
1:25-2:25 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
1:25-2:25 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
1:25-2:25 PM
Securing Your Future: From Business Value to Wealth & Legacy
Presenter: Kelly J. Carter, CEO and Joe DeMeo, Vice President | Beacon Retirement Planning Group, Inc.
Building business value is only part of creating financial security. This session shows owners how to grow transferable value, protect the wealth they have created, & prepare for a future transition. Learn how proprietary tax strategies incorporated today may reduce or potentially eliminate future tax burdens while transforming business success into lasting personal wealth, greater choice & a meaningful legacy.
Topic: Financials - Financial Management
1:25-2:25 PM
Great Boss: Great Leadership + Great Management = Accountability
Presenter: Ron Harrell, Certified EOS Implementer
Accountability isn't something you do to people—it's something you build.
Most leaders understand the importance of leadership and management, but few can clearly explain the difference. In this interactive workshop, you'll discover what Great Leadership and Great Management look like, assess your own strengths and opportunities, and explore five essential practices for each. You'll leave with a framework for becoming a better boss—and developing better bosses throughout your management team.
Topic: Business Operations - Productivity & Execution
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