2026 Event Agenda
Rewriting the Rules of Partnership in a World of AI
Agenda Is In Pacific Time
Tuesday, October 20th
Women’s Leadership Council In-Person Meeting
The Future is Human
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
Networking and Breakfast
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Roundtables – Speed Networking
4 rotations – Your chance to meet your fellow attendees – and learn a little about them everyone shares
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Break
11:20 AM – 11:50 AM
Quick tips – our 3 speakers take 7 minutes each to share their key tips on the following
The practical AI habits every person should develop this year
Jessie Shipman
Senior Manager of Partner Experience
Stop Waiting to Be Noticed – add confidence gap
Gretchen O’Hara
Channel Chief; EVP Strategic Partnerships, Professional Services & Business Development
11:50 AM – 12:50 PM
Power Networking Lunch
12:50 PM – 2:00 PM
Speed Mentoring:
Get one-on-one advice from some of the most powerful Women Channel Leaders
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Closing Remarks
6:00 PM
Channel Focus Welcome Reception
Check-in for the event will take place outside the welcome reception on the Ocean Blue Lawn
Wednesday, October 21st
7:30-8:15 AM
Breakfast
9:20-10:20 AM
It’s Not Just the Big Guns – Four mid-sized companies show jaw dropping AI use cases you have to see
Gretchen O’Hara
Channel Chief; EVP Strategic Partnerships, Professional Services & Business Development
10:20-10:40 AM
Networking Break
Track 1
The Channel Executive Council Track
Sessions chosen and managed by the CEC– The Industry’s most powerful Group of Channel leaders
Track 2
Program Design Track
Track 3
Channel Strategy and Tactics
10:40-11:20 AM
Session 01
AI: Redefining Your Partner Roles, Coverage Models and Partner Economics
Session 02
The Keys to Success: Moving From Transaction to Outcome-based Incentives
Session 03
Hyperscaler Dominance and ‘Private offers’: How to win inside the AWS/Azure/GCP ecosystems
11:25 – 12:25 PM
Breakout Sessions – Series 01
Ask the experts: In these small group sessions a panel of 3 expert practitioners answer your questions and share their expertise to help you build industry leading programs
1.What does it take to embed AI across your partner program (not just pilot it)?
2.What does it take to build a co-sell engine that consistently produces pipeline?
3.What does it take to move from partner engagement to partner-driven revenue?
4.What does it take to design incentives that actually change partner behaviour?
5.What does it take to build a high-performing ecosystem (not just a partner program)?
The Discussion Workshops: A Real Opportunity to Debate These Issues How do you selectively recruit partners to tackle specific markets?
6.How do you prioritise which partners to invest in (and which to deprioritise)?
7.How do you use AI to fundamentally change partner engagement at scale?
8.How do you win in a hyperscaler-first world (AWS, Azure, GCP)?
9.How do you prove the ROI of your channel to the CFO?
10.How do you become the “easiest vendor to do business with”?
2:05-2:45 PM
Session 04
Defining, Measuring and Increasing Partner Sourced Revenue
Session 05
Stop Automating, Start Orchestrating: How AI is Revolutionizing Channel Marketing
2:45-3:05 PM
Networking Break
3:05-4:05 PM
Breakout Sessions – Series 02
Ask the experts: In these small group sessions a panel of 3 expert practitioners answer your questions and share their expertise to help you build industry leading programs
1.What does it take to embed AI across your partner program (not just pilot it)?
2.What does it take to build a co-sell engine that consistently produces pipeline?
3.What does it take to move from partner engagement to partner-driven revenue?
4.What does it take to design incentives that actually change partner behaviour?
5.What does it take to build a high-performing ecosystem (not just a partner program)?
The Discussion Workshops: A Real Opportunity to Debate These Issues How do you selectively recruit partners to tackle specific markets?
6.How do you prioritise which partners to invest in (and which to deprioritise)?
7.How do you use AI to fundamentally change partner engagement at scale?
8.How do you win in a hyperscaler-first world (AWS, Azure, GCP)?
9.How do you prove the ROI of your channel to the CFO?
10.How do you become the “easiest vendor to do business with”?
4:10-4:50 PM
Session 07
Building a CFO-Level Channel Narrative: What really matters to them?
Session 08
How Do You Build a Co-sell Engine That Really Works?
6:00-7:00 PM
Club Next Meeting – For Club Next Members Only
7:00-Onwards
Channel Focus Awards
A combination of The Channel Leadership Awards and The Women’s Leadership Council awards, this event honors the outstanding individuals driving innovation, leadership, and success in the channel partner ecosystem.
Open to all Channel Focus Attendees- cocktail attire preferred
Thursday, October 22nd
7:30-8:15 AM
Breakfast
Track 1
The Channel Executive Council Track
Sessions chosen and managed by the CEC– The Industry’s most powerful Group of Channel leaders
Track 2
Program Design Track
Track 3
Channel Strategy and Tactics
9:25-10:05 AM
Session 10
Picking The Winners: Understanding and enabling the partners who can compete in an AI driven world
Session 11
Partner Enablement at Scale: How do you effectively enable the long-tail?
10:10-10:30 AM
Networking Break
10:35-11:15 AM
Session 13
Proving The Case For The Channel: A deep dive into direct vs Indirect sales economics
Session 14
How do you build a partner segmentation strategy that will drive the outcomes you need?
Session 15
Building a Channel to Effectively Compete in the Enterprise Market
11:20-12:20 PM
Breakout Sessions – Series 03
Ask the experts: In these small group sessions a panel of 3 expert practitioners answer your questions and share their expertise to help you build industry leading programs
1.What does it take to embed AI across your partner program (not just pilot it)?
2.What does it take to build a co-sell engine that consistently produces pipeline?
3.What does it take to move from partner engagement to partner-driven revenue?
4.What does it take to design incentives that actually change partner behaviour?
5.What does it take to build a high-performing ecosystem (not just a partner program)?
The Discussion Workshops: A Real Opportunity to Debate These Issues How do you selectively recruit partners to tackle specific markets?
6.How do you prioritise which partners to invest in (and which to deprioritise)?
7.How do you use AI to fundamentally change partner engagement at scale?
8.How do you win in a hyperscaler-first world (AWS, Azure, GCP)?
9.How do you prove the ROI of your channel to the CFO?
10.How do you become the “easiest vendor to do business with”?
12:20-12:50 PM
Meet The Sponsors
12:50-1:50 PM
CEC and Club Next Report
1:50-2:30 PM
Session 16
New Skills, New Roles, New Goals: Designing a Channel team for the AI era
2:30-3:35 PM
Breakout Sessions – Series 04
Ask the experts: In these small group sessions a panel of 3 expert practitioners answer your questions and share their expertise to help you build industry leading programs
1.What does it take to embed AI across your partner program (not just pilot it)?
2.What does it take to build a co-sell engine that consistently produces pipeline?
3.What does it take to move from partner engagement to partner-driven revenue?
4.What does it take to design incentives that actually change partner behaviour?
5.What does it take to build a high-performing ecosystem (not just a partner program)?
The Discussion Workshops: A Real Opportunity to Debate These Issues How do you selectively recruit partners to tackle specific markets?
6.How do you prioritise which partners to invest in (and which to deprioritise)?
7.How do you use AI to fundamentally change partner engagement at scale?
8.How do you win in a hyperscaler-first world (AWS, Azure, GCP)?
9.How do you prove the ROI of your channel to the CFO?
10.How do you become the “easiest vendor to do business with”?
3:40-4:05 PM
Benchmark Survey & Concluding Remarks: The Channel Focus Benchmark Survey – The Results – What Really Matters to Vendors and Partners?
Please note that all agenda items, speakers, and session times are subject to change as we continue to finalize event details.
Vendors keep pulling the same levers — richer rebates, bigger MDF, another program redesign — and partners still don’t move at the speed or scale they expect. New Channelnomics research explains why: partners report high satisfaction while conceding the economics are stacked against them. They haven’t found balance; they’ve adapted to imbalance, quietly moving capital and talent to wherever the return is better. Programs influence behavior. Economics determine what’s sustainable. Drawing on his forthcoming book Channel Equilibrium, Larry Walsh shows where channel economics break, why no program fixes it, and how to build partnerships where both sides profit and growth compounds.
No coding background required. In this 30 minute hands on session, you will build a working app using Lovable, an AI powered tool that turns plain English instructions into a real, working piece of software, no syntax, no setup, no computer science degree. You will choose one of two starter projects to build live: a weekly dinner meal planner that takes dietary needs, budget, allergies, and prep time and turns them into a plan and grocery list, or a household management app that keeps cleaning, maintenance, finances, and family responsibilities on one shared calendar. Pick whichever problem is more real for you right now; both teach the exact same skill. You will leave with a working app you built yourself and the confidence to keep going on your own.
In 30 minutes, you will learn:
By the end, you will have an app on your screen that you built, and a repeatable process you can use to build the next one.
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