Speakers

AGENDA

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Registration & Networking Breakfast

Check-in | Breakfast and Networking Opportunity

9:15 AM – 9:30 AM: Welcome & Opening Remarks: The Evolution of Corporate Governance in the Digital Age

Julia Valentine | Founder, Digital Evolution Institute | Board Member, Apple Bank
Understanding how boards are evolving to meet the challenges of the digital era. The importance of embracing technology to drive business innovation, risk management, and long-term strategy.

9:30 AM – 10 AM: Inside the Threat Landscape: What Boards Must Understand from the Front Lines of U.S. Cyber Defense

A rare, inside-the-room perspective on how the United States defends its most critical systems against increasingly sophisticated global threats. From classified government networks to financial infrastructure and defense systems, the scale, speed, and coordination of modern cyber threats are redefining what resilience truly means. This session brings together leaders with direct experience at the highest levels of national security and board advisory to translate those realities for directors and investors. The discussion will explore emerging threats, including the implications of quantum-resistant encryption, the evolving tactics of nation-state actors, and the operational standards required to defend complex systems under constant pressure. For boards, the takeaway is clear: understanding the threat landscape is no longer optional. It is foundational to governance.

Moderated by: Missy Godfrey | Advisor, Ridgeback Network Defense
Rob Joyce | Former Director, Cybersecurity Directorate, NSA. Led NSA’s critical cybersecurity activities, heading an organization of thousands with yearly budgets of almost a billion dollars and served as a member of the NSA Board of Directors. Former Special Assistant to the President, Cyber Security Coordinator and Acting Homeland Security Advisor.
Chris Hetner | Cyber Risk Advisor to the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Former Senior Cybersecurity Advisor to the SEC Chair, Former Senior Member for the US Department of Treasury Financial Banking Information Infrastructure Committee and G-7 Cyber Expert

10 AM – 10:30 AM: When Governance Meets Reality: Boards in the Age of AI, Cyber Risk, and Speed

Boards today are no longer operating in environments defined by stability and predictability. Artificial intelligence, escalating cyber threats, and compressed decision timelines are exposing the limits of traditional governance structures and challenging long-held assumptions about oversight. This session brings together leading voices in board governance to explore what happens when frameworks meet real-world conditions. The discussion will examine how directors can move beyond static models toward more adaptive, integrated approaches that reflect the speed and interconnected nature of modern risk. Key themes include the gap between governance design and execution, the evolving relationship between boards and management, and the growing need for technological fluency at the board level. In this new environment, the question is no longer whether governance structures exist. It is whether they perform when it matters most.

Moderated by: David Hendrickson | CEO, DLH International and Board Director at NACD Connecticut
Byron Loflin | Global Head of Nasdaq Board Advisory & Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence
Peter Gleason | President and Chief Executive Officer at NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors)
Julia Valentine | Founder, Digital Evolution Institute | Board Member, Apple Bank

10:30 AM – 11 AM: Morning Break & Networking

11AM – 11:30 AM: The Quantum Horizon: Preparing for the Next Era of Security and Infrastructure

Quantum computing is no longer a distant concept. It is an emerging force that will reshape the foundations of security, encryption, and digital trust. As advances accelerate, the implications for governments, financial systems, and private institutions are profound. Existing cryptographic standards, long considered secure, may become vulnerable in a post-quantum world. This session brings together leaders at the forefront of quantum innovation and security to examine what lies ahead. The discussion will explore quantum-resistant encryption, timelines for disruption, and what organizations should be doing now to prepare. For boards and investors, the challenge is not predicting the exact moment of change, but understanding how to govern through uncertainty when the underlying infrastructure itself is evolving.

Moderated by: Missy Godfrey | Advisor, Ridgeback Network Defense
Kevin Chalker| Founder and CEO
Kenneth Taylor | Vice Chairman, Cyber Security Investment Banking | Cohen & Company

11:30 AM – 11:45 PM: Keynote: Executive Protection for Boards

Anthony Carter | Senior Advisor, Star Legend FO | Former NYPD Inspector

11:45 PM – 12:15 PM: From Insight to Action: How Leading Institutions Are Navigating Cyber and AI Risk

As cyber threats intensify and artificial intelligence reshapes the operating environment, institutions are being forced to respond in real time. This session brings together leaders from global technology, financial services, and critical infrastructure to examine how organizations are translating insight into action. From threat intelligence and risk management to operational resilience and decision-making under pressure, the discussion will focus on what is actually working inside complex enterprises today. The conversation will explore how institutions are integrating cyber and AI into core business strategy, how they are adapting governance and reporting structures, and how they are preparing for increasingly dynamic and interconnected risks. At a time when the gap between awareness and execution is narrowing, the question is no longer what organizations know. It is how effectively they act.

Moderated by:
Jeffrey W. Brown | Cybersecurity Advisor, Microsoft
Deneen DeFiore | Chief Information Security Officer at United Airlines
George Smirnoff | Managing Director, Bank of America

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Networking Lunch

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Women & Wealth: From Inheritance to Influence 

A new generation of women is reshaping how capital is deployed, governed, and sustained. Across family offices, investment platforms, and operating companies, women are increasingly influencing not only where capital flows, but how value is defined and legacy is built. This shift is not incremental. It is structural. This session brings together leading investors, operators, and advisors to explore how women are redefining wealth through a more integrated lens of performance, purpose, and long-term stewardship. The discussion will examine evolving approaches to governance, risk, and value creation, as well as the dynamics of leadership across generations. At its core, this is a conversation about influence, decision-making, and the future architecture of capital.

Moderated by: Devon Pendleton, Bloomberg
Consuelo Vanderbilt | Principal, House of Vanderbilt
Kirby Rosplock, PhD | CEO of Tamarind Partners and CEO and Founder at Tamarind Learning

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM: How AI Is Transforming Investment, Operations, and Advantage

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from experimentation to application. For those managing complex portfolios, operating businesses, and long-term capital, the question is no longer whether to engage with AI, but how to deploy it effectively across investment decision-making, operations, and risk management. This session brings together family office leaders and operators to explore how AI is being integrated into real-world environments. From sourcing and diligence to portfolio oversight and operational efficiency, the discussion will focus on where AI is delivering tangible advantage and where human judgment remains essential. As the capabilities of AI continue to evolve, the organizations that move early and thoughtfully may define a new standard for speed, insight, and execution.

Bruce Bendell | Co-Founder of Big Block Capital Group, Majorworld & CityWorld Auto, QCharge123, Empyrean Fund, Soteria Market Chairman

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM: AI, Infrastructure, and the Future of Cities

As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in the physical world, the definition of infrastructure is expanding. Buildings, transportation systems, and urban environments are increasingly operating as interconnected, data-driven platforms. This shift is redefining how assets are managed, how risk is understood, and how value is created across real estate and infrastructure. This session brings together leaders at the intersection of technology, capital, and the built environment to explore how AI is transforming large-scale physical systems. From smart buildings and predictive operations to resilience and security, the discussion will examine what it means to operate and invest in a world where physical and digital infrastructures are inseparable. For investors and operators alike, the opportunity is significant. So is the complexity.

Moderator:
Yael Urman | Chief Technology Officer at Silverstein Properties

3:30 PM – 3:45 PM: Culture Makers

3:45 PM – 4:00 PM: Closing Remarks & Key Takeaways

Speakers: Conference Chairs Julia Valentine and Chris Hetner | Digital Evolution Institute Board Member Brinkley Skye
Summarize key insights from the day’s sessions, and provide actionable takeaways for attendees to implement in their own boards.

RECEPTION

4:00 PM - 6PM: Networking Reception

• Cocktail hour and informal networking to conclude the day. Attendees can continue discussions, exchange contacts, and explore future collaboration opportunities