Vistage on the Hill 2026: Question. Challenge. Contribute.

The 8th annual “Vistage on the Hill” brought Vistage Member Excellence Award winners to Washington, D.C., for a day built on three objectives: question, challenge, and contribute.

Across 4 briefings with policy experts from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, CEOs spoke candidly about the challenges they face — from tariffs and tax policy to AI and small business policy — and how those issues affect hiring decisions, capital investments, and long-term growth strategies.

This event has never been a one-way briefing. Chamber experts update members on the policy shifts affecting hiring, investment and operations. Members, in turn, hand those experts something they can’t get from a spreadsheet: what the policy actually feels like inside a company with 50, 150, or 500 employees.

This year, Vistage CEO members brought questions about tariffs, AI, and trade straight to Washington. See what they learned and where they pushed back. Download Vistage on the Hill 2026. (My Vistage login required)

Question: Does the Data Match Your Reality?

Small business confidence data tells one story. Running a small or midsize business tells another. Wages, health care costs, housing, and access to capital all showed up in the room as day-to-day margin pressure rather than abstractions, and members questioned whether resilience is being mistaken for “fine.”

For CEOs weighing whether to reinvest cash from recent tax changes, increase headcount, or hold steady, one key question stands out: What is actually happening in my industry, my state, and my supply chain? Members got to talk through what’s driving current pressures and its sources.

“I’ve been so focused on only talking to people in our state that I didn’t realize the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was there to help,” says Eric Williams, CEO of Unified Defense. “Moving forward, I would spend more time filling in the Chamber of Commerce at the U.S. level on what the state is doing, and then going to them and saying, ‘Hey, let’s not reinvent the wheel. What are other states doing that Georgia could benefit from?’”

Challenge: Push Back on the Easy Narrative

AI is supposed to be the great equalizer for small businesses — and for many members, it already is, reducing hours spent on marketing and production work. But CEOs in the room challenged the idea that adoption is the hard part. Regulation, liability, and a growing patchwork of state privacy laws are.

“I loved that someone mentioned AI is an incredible first draft but not a last draft,” says Beth Hahn, CEO and president of Berkshire Systems Group, Inc., in Reading, Pennsylvania. “We cannot depend solely on AI. It can impact us not just in a positive way, but with frivolous lawsuits, issues with websites, and issues with legal battles.”

Trade policy drew the same pushback. The conventional wisdom says businesses now have to choose between resilience and efficiency — more suppliers and more inventory, or lower costs. Members directly challenged that framing, arguing that the two can reinforce each other when supply chains are built deliberately.

“It’s clear to me that the U.S. Chamber is very engaged, and they leverage a lot of the country,” says Rob Grady, CEO and president of the Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Mulcahy Company. “And the partnership with Vistage promotes that. That’s what was great about today. It opened my eyes to the opportunities to be a voice in that conversation by reaching out to this experienced team advocating for small businesses.”

Contribute: Turn Frustration Into Advocacy

Ask any CEO in the room what makes long-term investment hard, and the answer isn’t usually the policy itself — it’s not knowing whether the policy will still be there in 3 years. Members described legally authorized workers suddenly losing eligibility, among other issues, and pressed for a straight answer: What can a CEO actually plan around when making a 5- or 10-year investment?

The clearest answer they left with: Discount any benefit tied to executive action, and keep telling Congress why durable legislation — even an imperfect version — beats a policy that can be undone by the next election or the next court ruling.

“I’m walking away feeling better knowing that the uncertainty is going to be there,” says Matt Attebery, CEO of HighRoad Pavement Services in Sumner, Washington. “It’s not a question of ‘is it or isn’t it’ anymore. Our job as leaders is to acknowledge that, make the best decisions that we can, and keep moving forward.”

That’s where the voices of Vistage members matter most — not just in the room in D.C., but back home with local chambers and lawmakers, turning a shared frustration into the kind of specific, on-the-ground input that actually moves policy.

The Impact Doesn’t End in D.C.

Tariffs, AI liability, health care costs, immigration and workforce policy, growth strategy — none of it stays in Washington. It shows up in next quarter’s hiring plan, this year’s capital budget, and the 5-year strategy every CEO in the room is trying to build on solid ground. That’s what made this year’s Vistage on the Hill different: less a briefing to sit through, and more a set of questions every SMB CEO should be asking about their own business right now.

Our exclusive report for the Vistage community breaks down what’s changing in small business policy, AI, trade, and the broader legislative agenda — and what it means for members making decisions this year. It’s worth the read before your next planning session.

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