Organized & Presented By
Charlotte's Largest
AI Conference
October 27-28, 2025
The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City
A Look Back at AI//FORWARD 2025
HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
Immersive strategy sessions and technical deep dives for business leaders, focused on Al strategy, readiness tools, workforce/change strategy, and peer-driven insights.
EXPERT TALKS & PANELS
Insights and expertise from Al thought leaders, engineers, and researchers on cutting-edge topics like open-source AI, LLM deployment, and real-world Al applications.
COMMUNITY & NETWORKING
Connections with Al-forward business leaders, change-makers, entrepreneurs, and practitioners in a collaborative environment to share insights and discover opportunities.
PRACTITIONER-ONLY ACCESS
An exclusive event designed for AI practitioners and business leaders—attendance is limited to non-sales roles to preserve the depth and focus of the content.
KEY PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
250
Attendees
30
Speakers
20
Sessions
Conference Agenda
Monday, October 27
7:30 AM – 8:00 AM
Atrium
Vendor Check-In & Setup
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Atrium
Attendee Check-In & Networking
With coffee & light breakfast refreshments
9:00 PM – 12:00 PM
Auditorium
Mark Hinkle
The Artificially Intelligent Operating System for Executives (AIOS for Executives)
Workshop Session 1: Clarity on AI Strategy That Works
Gain clarity on what makes an enterprise AI strategy succeed—and what pitfalls to avoid. This session helps you prioritize the right investments across infrastructure, talent, governance, and use cases to align AI with real business impact.
Workshop Session 2: Playbooks for Moving from Pilot to Production
Learn how to move from AI pilots to full-scale deployment by addressing common rollout pitfalls. This session offers practical frameworks to help you integrate LLMs and automation into core workflows—focusing on high-impact use cases like customer support and productivity tools.
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Lobby/Garden
Lunch
Pick up box lunches down in Lobby or Garden (depending on weather)
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Auditorium
Mark Hinkle
The Artificially Intelligent Operating System for Executives (AIOS for Executives)
Workshop Session 3: Readiness Tools for Executives
Evaluate your organization’s readiness to scale AI with tools tailored for executive decision-makers. This session helps you benchmark AI maturity across architecture, compliance, and culture—so you can confidently decide when to build, buy, or partner.
Workshop Session 4: Workforce & Change Strategy
Learn how to prepare your workforce for AI adoption through tailored, role-specific training and thoughtful change management. This session focuses on building cross-functional alignment and delivering hands-on education for non-technical teams in sales, HR, operations, and beyond.
Workshop Session 5: Peer-Driven Insight & Executive Benchmarking
Gain firsthand insights from peers leading real-world AI deployments and learn which strategies are driving results—and which aren’t. This closing session helps you benchmark your approach, refine your roadmap, and strengthen alignment with key stakeholders.
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Atrium
Open Networking
Tuesday, October 28
7:30 AM – 8:00 AM
Atrium
Vendor Check-In & Setup
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Atrium
Attendee Check-In & Networking
With coffee & light breakfast refreshments
9:00 AM – 9:10 AM
Auditorium
9:20 AM – 9:40 AM
Auditorium
9:40 AM – 10:05 AM
Auditorium
Keynote: Confidential AI: How to Keep Your Data Private in the Age of AI
CEO, OPAQUE
Moderator
Co-Founder & Producer, All Things AI
10:05 AM – 10:15 AM
Break
10:15 AM – 10:40 AM
Auditorium
Executive Track
Panel Discussion: AI Beyond Business
Panelist
Deputy Director, Center for Digital Equity (CDE)
Panelist
Founder & CEO, Center for Practical AI
Panelist
CEO & Lead Consultant, The Katalyst HQ
Moderator
Co-Founder & Producer, All Things AI
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Building Practical AI Systems for Non-Tech Organizations
Chief Operations Officer, Pinno Marketing & Business Development
10:45 AM – 11:10 AM
Auditorium
Executive Track
AI and the Hidden Trillion-Dollar Market
Deputy Director, Center for Digital Equity (CDE)
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Model Context Protocol: Essential Infrastructure For Your Agentic AI Strategy
Founder & CEO, CrossComm
11:15 AM – 11:40 AM
Auditorium
Executive Track
The Center of Excellence Playbook: How to Scale Fast with AI
Chief AI Architect, Allventa
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Culture Before Code: Enabling Every Mind in the Age of AI
Senior Manager of Data Enablement, Enact Mortgage Insurance
11:40 AM – 12:50 PM
Lobby/Garden
Lunch
Pick up box lunches down in Lobby or Garden (depending on weather)
12:20 PM – 12:50 PM
Auditorium
Lunch Hour Q&A: An Ecosystem of Support: Connecting AI Startups in the Charlotte Community
Speaker
CEO & Co-Founder, Fastbreak.ai
Moderator
Co-Founder, All Things AI (Charlotte)
1:00 PM – 1:25 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
Artificial Intelligence: 2025 and Beyond - What's Your Strategy?
Executive Partner, Gartner
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
An Executive Overview of the State of AI in 2025
Director of AI Engineering, Lenovo
1:30 PM – 1:55 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
Panel Discussion: "AI: The Talent Opportunity and Challenge"
Panelist
Global Director of Delivery, Axiom Path
Panelist
Former Global Talent Acquisition Director, Snap One
Panelist
Founder in Residence, AI Fund
Moderator
Managing Partner, Axiom Path
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Validated, Scalable, Usable: What It Takes to Build AI Products in Healthcare & Life Science
Senior Product Manager, Kythera Labs
2:00 PM – 2:25 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
From Add-On to All-In: +AI is Dead. Long Live AI+
Founder in Residence, AI Fund
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Building AI Agents on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
Master Principal Cloud Architect, Oracle
2:30 PM – 2:55 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
AI With a Soul: How to Lead Boldly Without Leaving People Behind
CEO, Walk West
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
A Leader's Guide to Understanding AI
President & Founder, Tech Skills Transformations
3:00 PM – 3:25 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
Community-Driven Innovation
Deputy Director of Innovation & Technology, City of Charlotte
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Beyond the API Call: Building a Competitive Moat With Proprietary AI
Principal Architect, Strategic Industries, Google
3:30 PM – 3:55 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
The Human Unlock: How Leaders Drive AI Success
AI Strategic Advisor, Strata AI
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Engineering Intelligence: Transforming Teams for the AI-First Era
CTO, Rev.io
4:00 PM – 4:25 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
Leading From Within: The Power of Self-Leadership in Driving Change in the Digital Age
CEO & Lead Consultant, The Katalyst HQ
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
Trust, But Verify: A Practical Path to the 5% of AI Pilots That Make It To Production
Senior AI/ML Engineer, Office of the CTO, NetApp
4:30 PM – 5:15 PM
Auditorium
Closing Keynote: East Coast AI OG: From Alexa to Agents
Speaker
Founder & CEO, Pryon
Moderator
Dean, College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) at UNC Charlotte
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
CO-LAB Grand Hall
Networking Social
Drinks, food, and open networking across the street at CO-LAB at UNCC Center City
Featured Speakers
Igor Jablokov
AI Pioneer & Innovator
(Alexa, Siri, IBM's Watson),
Founder & CEO
Pryon
Bojan Cukic
Dean of College of Computing and Informatics
UNC Charlotte
David Nalley
Director, Developer Experience
Amazon Web Services
Natali Betancur
Deputy Director
Center for Digital Equity
Mark Hinkle
Co-Founder & Producer
All Things AI
Charlitta Hatch
Deputy Director of
Innovation & Technology
City of Charlotte
Celestine Pressley
Executive Partner
Gartner
Joseph Hanna
Founder in Residence
AI Fund
Sakib Kadak
Co-Founder
All Things AI (Charlotte)
DeShon Clark
Chief AI Architect
Allventa
Greg Boone
Chief Executive Officer
Walk West
Gururaj Mohan
Master Principal Cloud Architect
Oracle
Don Shin
Founder & CEO
CrossComm
David vonThenen
Senior AI/ML Engineer,
Office of the CTO
NetApp
Sathya AG
Principal Architect, Retail
Google
David Ellison
Director of AI Engineering
Lenovo
Kyle Dukes
AI Strategic Advisor
Strata AI
Kenyetta Hall
CEO & Lead Consultant
The Katalyst HQ
John Stewart
CEO & Co-Founder
Fastbreak.ai
Una Stevenson
Chief Operations Officer
Pinno Marketing &
Business Development
Jason Oglesby
Chief Technology Officer
Rev.io
Aaron Fulkerson
Chief Executive Officer
OPAQUE
Aleksandra Petkova
Senior Product Manager
Kythera Labs
Brent Laster
President & Founder
Tech Skills
Transformations
Mark Zolkos
Technology & Professional Workforce Leader
Leah Knight
Former Global Talent Acquisition Director
Snap One
James Horne
Global Director of Delivery
Axiom Path
Jordan Crowther
Managing Partner
Axiom Path
Christopher Scott
Senior Manager of
Data Enablement
Enact Mortgage Insurance
Todd Quartiere
Founder & CEO
Center for Practical AI
SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSOR
SILVER SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSOR
ORGANIZING SPONSORS
Book Signing From Industry-Leading Authors
Mark Hinkle
Author of The Human Signal
Will You Work for AI—or Will AI Work for You?
The Human Signal is a technical novel intended to educate and entertain readers on the progression of AI and its effect on humanity.
This educational thriller depicts the fragile balance between human intention and automated decision-making. It exposes how governance, trust, and safety hang in the balance when algorithms run the world—and how quickly the future we’ve built can turn against us.
Mark Hinkle is an accomplished executive in high-growth technology companies, specializing in the strategic integration of AI to enhance enterprise infrastructure and productivity.
Joseph Hanna
Author of Pivoting as a Way of Life
Pivoting as a Way of Life: Stop Chasing Unicorns and Product-Market Fit by Joseph Hanna is a game-changing guide for entrepreneurs, product managers, and innovators who want to thrive in today’s fast-paced business environment.
This book challenges the conventional wisdom of product-market fit as a static, one-time milestone. It introduces a dynamic new framework-the Pivoting Life Operating Model (PLOM)-emphasizing continuous innovation and adaptability.
Joseph Hanna is a seasoned executive and AI/ML pioneer with 30+ years leading product and strategy at companies ranging from startups to large enterprises, including founding ENGAGE, an AI talent platform acquired by Carlyle/Workforce Logiq.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
MEDIA PARTNERS
Conference Organizers
Sakib Kadak
Co-Founder
All Things AI (Charlotte)
Mark Hinkle
Co-Founder & Producer
All Things AI
Todd Lewis
Creator & Chair
All Things Open
Caroline Nelson
Marketing & Event Lead
All Things AI (Charlotte)
Venue & Parking
The Dubois Center at
UNC Charlotte Center City
Visitor parking for events is not available through the University. Several pay-to-park options are available within walking distance.
Effective March 1, 2026, parking operations surrounding the Dubois Center have transitioned from Preferred Parking to Pivot Parking.
Visitors may pay to park by scanning the posted QR codes or by texting the number listed on the lot signage. License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology is used to track parking sessions.
Handicapped parking is available at 625 N. Brevard and requires a University permit with Dubois Center parking privileges and the appropriate placard.
For more detailed parking information and the appropriate permitting, please visit the PaTS website.