poweredUP Tampa Bay Tech Fest presented by A-LIGN Sessions

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TBT x High Tech Connect: Hiring Event

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Location
Second Floor Ballroom

Geek Row Exhibition Hall

11:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Location
First Floor Attrium
Summary
Check out live demos all day long!

Lunch (Food Trucks)

11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Location
Bayshore Drive Walkway
Summary
A variety of food options will be available outside. Guests are welcome to bring food in from the food trucks and eat inside the venue, upstairs in the ballroom!

Opening Remarks

Opening Remarks (12:00 - 12:10 PM)

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Meghan O'Keefe - Executive Director, Tampa Bay Tech

Tampa Bay’s Innovation Economy: Industries, Investments & Companies Moving Here

12:12 - 12:42 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Jennifer Burrington - VP Research & Strategy, Tampa Bay EDC
  • Ryan Gessman - Business Development Manager, Pasco EDC
  • Kurt Forster - Business Assistance Manager, Pinellas County Economic Development
  • Paul Sohl - (Moderator) FL High Tech Corridor
Summary
This discussion explores the growth of Tampa Bay’s technology economy, including investment trends, industries gaining traction, and companies choosing to relocate or expand here.

Workforce in the Age of AI: Workforce & Talent Presentation

12:44 - 1:04 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Jason Dunham - SVP, Hays
Summary
This session presents data and trends around the evolving workforce, focusing on how artificial intelligence is reshaping hiring, skills demand, and career paths.

Why Innovation Matters: How Tampa Bay Startups Fuel Local Growth—and Your Business

1:06 - 1:36 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Becca Brown - CEO, spARK Labs
  • Tim Holcomb - CEO, Embarc Collective
  • Saxon Baum - Partner, Florida Funders
  • Rachel Feinman - TGH (Moderator)
Summary
Tampa Bay's startup ecosystem isn't a sideshow to the region's economy—it's a driver of it. But for enterprise leaders, the connection between local innovation and business performance often goes unexamined. This panel changes that. Featuring founders, corporate executives, and ecosystem builders who have been in the room where it actually happens, this conversation will ground the innovation discussion in something more useful than buzzwords: real outcomes. We'll look at the capital being raised, the jobs being created, and the companies quietly scaling in our own backyard—and what that means for the enterprises operating alongside them. The panel will explore where startups and corporations genuinely connect—from talent pipelines and procurement to pilots and partnerships—and get honest about what makes those relationships work and what causes them to fall apart. Because collaboration between startups and enterprises sounds good in every slide deck, but the reality is messier, and more interesting, than the theory. Tampa Bay isn't trying to become the next Silicon Valley or Austin. The region is building something distinct—an ecosystem shaped by its own industries, institutions, and community. This session will examine what that means for local businesses and why paying attention to it isn't optional for leaders who want to stay competitive.

Building Billion-Dollar Companies in Tampa Bay

1:38 - 2:08 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Steve Simmons - President, A-LIGN
  • Carlos Questell - Chief of Staff, Webull
  • Eric Foster - CEO, TENEX.AI
  • Amanda Dugger - (Moderator) DGR Systems
Summary
This discussion features local technology leaders who have built companies to significant scale, sharing insights on why Tampa Bay is an attractive place to grow technology businesses and what the region needs to reach its full potential.

Intermission

Intermission (2:08 - 2:28 PM)

Location
Bayfront Theater

ARK Invest Keynote Presentation

2:30 - 3:10 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Brett Winton - Chief Futurist, ARK Invest
Summary
Brett joined ARK in January 2014 and has worked alongside Cathie for almost 15 years since their time at AllianceBernstein. As Chief Futurist, Brett drives ARK’s long-term forecasts across convergent technologies, economies, and asset classes, helping ARK dimension the impact of disruptive innovation as it transforms public equities, private equities, cryptoassets, fixed income, and the global economy. Brett also serves on the ARK Venture Investment Committee. Brett joined ARK as Director of Research, guiding and managing the proprietary research of ARK’s investment team. Prior to ARK, Brett served as a Vice President and Senior Analyst on the Research on Strategic Change team at AllianceBernstein. In that role, Brett conducted thematic research, served on the thematic portfolio’s strategy committee under Cathie Wood’s stewardship, and advised portfolio managers across asset classes. His research topics included Global Energy in the Face of Carbon Dioxide Regulation; Social Media and the Rise of Facebook; the Reformation of the Financial Services Landscape; and the Emergence of Electric Vehicles. Brett earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

From Pilot to Production: Scaling AI in the Enterprise

3:12 - 3:42 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Brian Beesley - Sr. Director, Slalom
  • Marianne Kirkland - Director of AI & Digital Transformation, TD SYNNEX
  • Vladimir Voyuts - Head of Engineering, Dynasty Financial Partners
  • Kim Anstett - (Moderator) Epiq
Summary
This session explores how organizations move beyond experimentation and deploy artificial intelligence across enterprise systems.

AI & Cybersecurity: Autonomous Defense

3:44 - 4:04 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Matt Sickles - Industry Strategist, CDW
Summary
This session explores how artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity and enabling automated threat detection and response.

Making Marketing Even More Dysfunctional: A Near-Realtime Experiment in Outsourcing an Entire Department to AI

4:06 - 4:25 PM

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Justin Davis - SVP of AI + UX
Summary
AI is quickly moving from simple questions in ChatGPT to entire teams of autonomous agents working together to run full departments or businesses...or so social media would have you believe. Come along as we walk you through putting this experiment to the test in a hilarious walkthrough of what it's really like to have a team of AI agents at your beck and call. You'll learn about what's really possible with AI agents today, where it fails spectacularly, and get a glimpse at what the future of work might look like.

Closing Remarks

Closing Remarks (4:25 - 4:30 PM)

Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
  • Meghan O'Keefe - Executive Director, Tampa Bay Tech

Radically Connected Happy Hour, Sponsored by JupiterOne

4:30 - 6:00 PM

Location
First Floor Lobby
Summary
Network with your peers and make new connections during the peak networking time of the day. Bars will be open so use your comp drink tickets to have a beverage or 2, and cheers to a great day! Music featured by local DJ and TBT member AJ Johnson aka SLAYJ
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