2026 Annual Conference: Agenda

Welcome: WDM×Madison and WMC: The State of Manufacturing

Hall of Ideas F

Oliver Schmitz, Jim Rink, Chelsy Cegielski, Scott Manley

UW–Madison

10:20-11:05am

Customer Experience by Design, Not by Chance

Lecture Hall

Blake Morgan

3X Author, Host of The Modern Customer Podcast

Purpose at the Speed of Change: Sustaining Trust, Engagement, and High Performance Through Transformation

Hall of Ideas E

Mindy Geisser
Savers

Pricing with Intelligence: Turning Market Signals into Better Decisions

Ballroom A

Sri Kantamneni
Schreiber Foods

International Trade and the Macroeconomic Environment: Staying Ahead of the Game

Ballroom B

Pete Mento
Baker Tilly

Leading Through the AI Era: Strategy, Workforce, and Technology in Financial Services

Ballroom C

Ralph Buelling
UW Credit Union

Hall of Ideas F

Building the Technical Workforce for What’s Next

Grant Emmel and Matthew Garcia
Madison College

11:20am-12:00pm

Cleaning the Organizational Junk Drawer

Lecture Hall

Patrice James
SunStrong Management

The Human Edge: Leading Your Workforce Through the Now and the Next

Hall of Ideas E

Becky Frankiewicz
ManpowerGroup

The New Promotional Mix: Balancing Competing Expectations

Ballroom A

Kikora Mason

Communications Leader & Cultural Strategist

Leadership, Partnership, and Solving Problems over Glorifying Solutions

Ballroom B

Sean Halligan

Inside the AI Super Factory: Datacenters, Myths, and the Workforce of the Future

Ballroom C

Christa Markgraff
Microsoft

Hall of Ideas F

The WDMxFramework & Where Engineering Meets Manufacturing

Oliver Schmitz, Lennon Rodgers
UW-Madison

12:15-1:30pm

Lunch
Luncheon Address by UW–Madison Women’s Hockey Coach Mark Johnson and UW–Madison Hockey Player Ava McNaughton
Exhibition Hall

SAP Luncheon – Sign up for this when you register!
Contact us if you missed it and want to sign up!
Community Terrace

1:30-2:00pm

Networking with Dessert and Coffee; Visit the Sponsor Expo

Grand Terrace

2:00-2:20pm

Finding the Strategic Choices Your Competitors Can’t See

Hall of Ideas F

Arik Johnson
AuroraWDC

2:35-3:15pm

Finding RHYTHM: Turning Purpose into Everyday Practice

Lecture Hall

Justin Robbins
Metric Sherpa

The Future Is Now: What America’s Top People Leaders Are Doing About AI, Learning, and Work

Hall of Ideas E

Anne Trumbore

Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning, UVA Darden School of Business

The Growth Imperative: Reinventing Brands for New Generations

Ballroom A

Allison Murn

Illuminiting; University of Minnesota

Leadership Lessons on Business Transformation

Ballroom B

Kari Mahaffey
Oracle

A Brief History of the Future

Ballroom C

Mike Bechtel

Inventor, Investor, Futurist & Professor

Hall of Ideas F

Test Before You Invest

Joe Hamann

UW-Milwaukee Connected Systems Institute

3:30-4:10pm

HumanX: Why Better AI Starts with Better Experiences

Lecture Hall

Bill Price
Intendra AI

Architecting Agility: Building Leadership Platforms that Actually Move the Needle

Hall of Ideas E

Antonia Turnquist
Zendesk

From Brand to Destination: When Place Becomes a Marketing Strategy

Ballroom A

Michael Belot
Milwaukee Bucks

Unlock Your Talent: Turning Supply Chain Capability Investment Into Business Results

Ballroom B

Craig Schaefer & Megan Turek

GE HealthCare

Deliberate Creative Teams: The Leadership Edge Behind Every Technology Win

Ballroom C

Amy Climer
Climer Consulting