Session recaps Industry Insider Summit 2026

Jenn Drummond

BreakProof: What the World's Most Dangerous Mountains Taught Me About Business

Fear doesn't go away. You just learn to climb with it. World-record mountaineer Jenn Drummond has stood on summits most people only read about: Everest, K2, and seven others and lived through the moments that didn't go according to plan. Lost gear. Failed summits. Decisions that had nothing to do with the mountain and everything to do with what kind of person you want to be. In this keynote, Jenn translates those experiences into a framework every business leader can use on acclimatizing through failure instead of being buried by it, building the team that gets you to the top, and knowing when the thing you've been dreading most was never the real threat to begin with.

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Mitch Henderson

State of the Industry Insights

A high-level look at where the industry stands today—and where it’s heading next. Mitch Henderson will break down key trends, shifts in consumer behavior, and the macro forces shaping growth in 2026 and beyond.

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Jeffrey Harmon, Daniel Scarpino, Megan Crossland, Greg Weeks

No Playbook. No Safety Net. Just What Actually Works.

A founder who helped invent the skip-ad button and then built a studio that out-grossed Hollywood on a crowdfunded model. A brand builder who scaled global marketing across 42 markets. An executive who took a protein bar from DTC darling to Costco shelf. Three leaders, three completely different playbooks and one honest conversation about what growth actually costs, what AI is changing right now, and the decisions that don't show up in the case studies.

Devin Deaton

Meet DAiM: The Next Generation in Digital Campaign Management

AI isn’t just analyzing your campaigns anymore: it’s running them. Devin Deaton introduces DAiM, Max Connect Digital’s agentic AI platform built to execute campaigns exactly the way Max Connect would: the same strategy, the same architecture, the same attention to detail, just running autonomously, in real time, around the clock. The result: managers who are strategists, clients who get more, and campaigns that optimize themselves while you sleep.

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Greg Economou, Phil Case

Strategies For 2026: What It Takes To Stay In The Game

Greg Economou has built his career at the crossroads of brand strategy, data, and storytelling: from repositioning the NBA under David Stern to scaling agency services inside Ticketmaster, and leading marketing innovation for the Phoenix Suns. In this fireside chat, Greg and Phil discuss how sports organizations are rethinking their entire marketing approach, from first-party data, performance media, and sponsor integration to fan acquisition and what separates the teams winning in 2026 from those still playing catch-up.

Derek Hartman

Google Presents: The Future of Search Is Already Here

Most brands are still fishing where the fish already are. Google's Derek Hartman makes the case for what comes next how AI is rewiring search, why the brands winning in 2026 are thinking well beyond keywords and PMAX, and what Google is building right now that changes how customers find you before they even know they're looking. Expect real demos, real data, and a clear answer to the question every marketer in the room is asking: where should my dollars actually go?

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Andrew Howlett

Brand Equity: The Most Underrated Asset In Business

Brand equity isn’t just a marketing metric—it’s a business advantage. In this breakout session, Andrew Howlett explores why the most valuable brands invest beyond short-term performance, and how building trust, relevance, and emotional connection drives long-term growth and differentiation.

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Mitch Henderson

AI at Scale, Human at the Core: How to Scale Smarter While Staying Authentic

Scale faster. Stay real. Mitch Henderson shares how leading brands are using AI to amplify performance without sacrificing the human touch that builds trust, differentiation, and long-term value.

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Phil Case, Mike Anderson

You Forgot to Build Your Brand

A session for business leaders who keep investing in marketing and keep wondering why growth is getting harder to sustain. Most companies are spending 90% of their budget chasing the 5% of customers who are ready to buy right now and completely ignoring the 95% who will be. In this session, we'll show you why that's the real reason your customer acquisition costs keep climbing, and what it looks like to build a brand that earns customers before your competitors even know they exist.

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