Conference Overview

INNOVATEwest is a multi-sector tech and innovation conference, designed by industry for industry. The conference features six summits under one roof: AI & Applications, Data & Analytics; The Human Experience; Digital Business Economy; Cybersecurity, Privacy & Trust and Start-Up/Scale-Up. This two-day “business first” conference merges ideas and strategies with tactical solutions that will inspire business and technology leaders.

Conference Summits

INNOVATEwest (IW) features 6 key summits. Each summit is carefully curated to showcase relevant and revolutionary content for tech and business leaders.

AI &
Applications
Data &
Analytics
Cybersecurity, Privacy & Trust
The Human Experience
Start-Up/
Scale-Up
Digital Business Economy
AI &
Applications
Data &
Analytics
Cybersecurity, Privacy & Trust
The Human Experience
Start-Up/
Scale-Up
Digital Business Economy

AI & Technologies

AI is top of mind for every business leader. If you don’t embrace its power and opportunity, you won’t catch up. Determining how to navigate AI and incorporate it safely and ethically into business practices and alongside innovation is of the utmost importance for business leaders. This major theme will appear throughout INNOVATEwest as all business leaders are asking: What are the real-world applications of AI in my business?

Government in AI

What is the role of Government in AI? With more risk posed by recent advances, countries are grappling with ways to lead and ensure safety assessments are initiated, civil right guidelines are followed, and consumer privacy is top of mind – but as the tech expands so do the issues and opportunities.

Businesses & AI

How do large and small businesses alike use AI to find productivity? How do we weave it into products? What are the potential impact on ethics?  How do companies truly use it to accelerate growth and ultimately move fast enough to keep up?

Human Capital

How are we spending new human capital as autonomous vehicles and robotics start to take up space in and around us? We examine the change management needed to move into this new dimension.

Intellectual Property

Where does intellectual property (IP) intersect with creative content produced through AI? Who owns the copyright and the content?

AI Playbooks

Are there AI “playbooks” for the basic prompts and/or tools organizations can use to help them grow and excel safely?

View from the Top

Leaders in AI will provide a “View from the Top” – exploring AI, and their predictions on where it is truly headed.

Data & Analytics

Amassing large amounts of data is not enough – now more than ever companies need to understand what the data is actually saying versus what organizations want it to say. Gain insights from industry leaders, explore emerging trends, and learn how data tech advancements are shaping the future of businesses in the era of digital transformation.

Data Governance

With companies amassing huge amounts of data, learn how leadership and organizations can create powerful data governance that will help them make real time data driven decisions while staying competitive and driving growth. 

Organizational Hierarchies

We’ll examine the organizational hierarchies required internally to drive company technological transformation through data processes, optimized inventory of data, security and data quality.  

Using Data for Innovation

Data is not just about amassing it but what you do with it, and activating on what it actually says. Learn from key leaders on how they communicate this to other C-suite leaders to lead innovation and growth  

AI & Data

AI is changing the landscape when it comes to optimizing big data by helping us find patterns and make sense of the signal and noise. But how do we protect our data, ensure its un-biased, allow company members to work with the data, and ensure we have transparent data origins to satisfy stakeholders and investors? 

Decentralized vs. Centralized Data

We’ll look at the foundational building blocks of big data including examining the infrastructures and strategy needed to gather decentralized vs centralized data. 

GenAi

What foundations do all businesses need to unlock the opportunities of GenAi? 

Cybersecurity, Privacy & Trust

Cybersecurity is highly dynamic, and the pace of change is daily. There’s never a dull moment in this industry if you’re not afraid to lean into change and be highly collaborative with your peers, partners and even competitors. But how do you ensure you assess all the risks and plan for a breach?

Advanced Phishing Scams

Increased remote work, budget constraints and advanced phishing scams combine to make companies even more vulnerable to cyberattacks Learn how attackers are increasingly penetrating even the most secure systems and how innovation can help arm your workforce

Communicating Threats

Having technical workers on the cybersecurity outpost of your company is only half the battle. Now more than ever skilled workers are not only required to be proficient at handling risk but also be able to communicate at the board level so that risks are understood and acted upon.

Culture of Security

As AI and technology are developing faster than regulators and societies can adapt, cyber security complexity is becoming harder to manage. Investment in a ‘culture of safety and security’ around powerful AI systems is essential.

Anatomy of a Breach

All cyber threats are preventable, but you have to plan for them. Experts in cybersecurity take us through an “Anatomy of a Breach” and the necessary steps you need to do now to prepare.   

Fake Reviews

Fake news and fake reviews! How are we combating fake reviews and how can companies navigate this unique type of cyberattack.  

Remote Workforces

2023 saw big changes in remote workforces. We’ll discuss tools to manage growth without putting companies at risk. 

The Human Experience

How technology intersects with humans is at the heart of innovation. Human-centered design plays a pivotal role in elevating our business practices, processes, efficiencies and overall value. Thinking ‘human first’ serves as a powerful catalyst that can enhance growth capabilities and connect us to a world of endless possibilities.

Ethical Design

What is ethical design? What is the difference between human centered technology and human centered design? We’ll look at the good, the bad and the ugly of ethical design, how to harness it for innovation, and the human beings at the center of it all.

Metaverse/AR/VR for Business Growth

Leaders discuss and explore the potential of AR/VR and Metaverse for business growth and transformation. How can we successfully implement AR/VR and metaverse solutions in different sectors and contexts?

The Intersection of Creativity & Tech

The intersection of creativity and technology is reshaping human expression. How do we empower innovators within organizations and capitalize on this potential renaissance of innovation.

The Future of Work

With the challenge of a more remote work force, how are companies training the next generation of leaders when the workforce community is segmented? What is the new balance? What digital tools can be leveraged to connect team members in this physically disconnected world. With a shift inevitable what will new talent be doing and how will they be integrated?

Start-Up/Scale-Up

You’re only as strong as the foundation you build, and nothing is more true for early-stage and rapidly-scaling companies. We’ll dive into the challenges of funding, product fit, development and iteration, customer and talent acquisition, market expansion, leadership and more. We will uncover new ways to navigate the journey from start-up to scale-up – with the goal of sustainable growth.

Focus on Revenue & Growth

In the fast-paced world of technology and entrepreneurship, achieving sustainable growth is the ultimate goal. But what should business leaders prioritize to ensure revenue and growth? Hear invaluable insights on navigating challenges and growth opportunities to stay the course.

Insight from VCs

It’s not enough to have a cool product – it actually needs to solve problems for buyers and investors. We’ll hear what venture capitalists are investing in, what is hitting the mark, what isn’t, and the big questions start-ups need to ask themselves before they get too far.

Non-Tech Innovation

Just because a company is tech forward doesn’t mean it’s innovative. We examine non-tech sector enterprises and see how they leaned into innovative business practices and ultimately scaled up.

Successes & Failures

“If I knew then what I know now”. We’ll hear from tech titans on what worked for them back in the day, what wouldn’t work today, failures, and their ultimate road to success.

Bootstrapping

Canadian startups are struggling with structural challenges on their way to finding revenue and capital. But what happens when you choose to go it alone and grow a business without external capital. We’ll hear from successful companies who bootstrapped their way through, their learnings and advice.

Navigating Leadership

Strong leadership is crucial for growing companies especially at the scale up phase. Knowing when to say ‘yes’, and more importantly when to say ‘no’ can be markers for future success. We hear insights on navigating this intricate phase, how to manage growth, overcome challenges, and learn tactical takeaways for ensuring success.

Digital Business Economy

The digital economy explores strategies and disruptive innovations that are changing e-commerce and digital marketing. We’ll see how new and exciting technology combined with data-driven insights and customer-centric approaches are driving growth internally and externally. Discover how fellow industry leaders are leveraging digital technologies and business models to revolutionize their industries.

Content Creation

Explore how some enterprises have adapted and discovered fresh new markets online amidst the constant influx of new technology.

E-commerce Solutions

More than ever businesses need strategies for merging digital technologies within brick-and-mortar stores. But how do you know what modular components to use to be the most effective, and ensure your foundation is cloud-native and tech-agnostic?

Innovative Partnerships

Now more than ever interdisciplinary and corporate partnerships can increase innovation and shake things up. We’ll hear from collaborations that have done this and proven to be successful, how they aligned, the outcome of the collaboration and the future opportunities.

Metaversa/AR/VR/XR

With metaverse/AR/VR/XR technology more accessible, we learn how businesses have reinvented their products and services to keep offerings fresh, embraced the power of digital technology and ecommerce, and saw incredible results.

Conference Themes

The inaugural INNOVATEwest is heavily inspired by the following themes: Innovation, Growth, AI, and Sustainability. These key themes will impact all summits at the conference and serve as the north star for the content you’ll discover and the conversations you’ll engage in during your experience.

Innovation

Embracing Innovation

Innovation is not an indulgence for business and technology leaders. We hear from successful business leaders who embrace innovation in all forms to remain competitive globally.

How are we defining innovation?

Is it just tech or is it how businesses approach innovation? We hear first-hand from leaders as they share what innovation means to them.  

A Fourth Industrial Revolution

How will AI, Web3, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Quantum computing etc., bring about a Fourth Industrial Revolution? 

Environmental, Social and Governance

How forward-thinking business leaders can look at Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) opportunities to create positive impact while gaining a competitive edge.

Fostering Innovation

How do you foster a culture of innovation within your organization that is seen and respected as a priority offering? 

Creating Value

How can companies use emerging technology to create new or improved value for customers, employees and stakeholders? 

Growth

Structural Issues

Canadian companies are often plagued with structural issues hindering them from moving from start up to scale up and becoming the centaurs they aspire to be. We’ll hear the challenges, but more importantly the solutions for strengthening these phases, to ultimately be more attractive to investors. 

The Best of the West

The West has a long history of creating successful products, with many being acquired outside of the country. We’ll spotlight some of the most innovative in order to identify the traits that helped them excel.  

The Future of our Work

What does the future of our work look like when AI can do the jobs we don’t want to do? What does this mean for senior leaders as they try to keep workers engaged and connected while protecting their company’s privacy? 

Growth Mindset

Developing a growth mindset as a business leader is imperative to prioritize learning, development, innovation and improvement in business systems, company culture and the bottom line. We learn strategies to make this a company-wide priority.

Looking to the Past to Understand the Future

Take in opposing viewpoints of newly-minted unicorns and historical legacy global businesses as they discuss the universal strategies that foster growth. 

Scaling Up

How are successful companies growing and what tactics can they utilize to continue scaling up while not losing ground? 

AI & Applications

Addressing Bias in AI

If training AI data contains historical biases or reflects human prejudices, the AI can inadvertently learn and perpetuate those biases in its decision-making processes. How do we ensure AI algorithms are correctly implemented into design and development to ensure there is no discrimination or unfairness. How do we correct the past to be a more inclusive future.

Navigating AI Implementation

How do you budget effectively and create a team specifically nimble for AI implementation when you don’t actually know what it is you are budgeting for? With new work portfolios, new positions, new titles and new reporting structures – setting up company infrastructures correctly and knowing who to hire is crucial to embracing this new paradigm without losing ground.

Harnessing the Future

AI is incredibly creative. It can help us with efficiency. It can decipher the most complex data – saving millions of hours. It can enable us to be our better, more efficient productive selves. But what if AI becomes self-aware? What does the future hold for this powerful new world and how can we ensure it for good?

AI’s Fast Evolution

The pace in which AI technologies is moving is almost at warp speed. How do companies keep up the pace and stay current while incorporating this new technology and not become antiqued before they’ve even had a chance to onboard systems and processes?

Regulation and Enterprise Challenges

What does AI regulation look like? How would this be seen in company structures and testing? How do enterprises stay up to date as AI continually learns on itself? How do you manage what you can’t measure?

AI and the Human-Centric Workplace

What does change management look like with AI implementation? From Chat GPT to humanoid robotics – how do you ensure a transformational workplace where humans are still at the centre?

Sustainability

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are no longer buzzwords but fundamental pillars of a thriving and innovative workplace. We’ll hear from leaders on the importance of DEI as a fabric of their infrastructure and how this has shaped their organizations for the better.

Environmental, Social, and Governance

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), has rapidly become a cornerstone of responsible business practices. How do corporations infuse ESG initiatives across their organizations in a lasting and authentic way and not get the reputation of greenwashing?

 

Tackling Inequalities

Barriers to the tech industry for diverse individuals can include systemic biases, unequal access to educational opportunities, limited representation in leadership roles, and the persistence of stereotypes. Understanding and proactively solving diversity divides will only strengthen a company’s ecosystem.  

Clean Tech Initiatives

Learn how business leaders are leaning in to clean tech initiatives and elevating their customer base in the process.

Secure Your Super Early Bird Pass

Become a Sponsor/Exhibitor

As a sponsor, you will have direct access to C-level executives, investors, media, and the western tech ecosystem throughout this 2-day, high-impact event.

Learn More

Who Attends IW

If you’re founding, operating, or investing in the latest tech firms creating waves and disrupting the ecosystem, then INNOVATEwest is for you.

Learn More