Monday, May 4 - Pre-Summit
10:00 am -
4:00 pm
Next Gen Council Meeting
WPI Next Gen Council members only. Lunch provided.
6:30 -
10:30 pm
Basis Oasis Opening Reception
​Bangers Sausage House & Beer Garden
79 Rainey St, Austin, TX 78701 (map it)
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At Banger’s BBQ, it’s all about Texas-sized flavor and hospitality—smoked meats, craft beer, and a lively atmosphere on Rainey Street set the perfect stage for connection and celebration.​
Tuesday, May 5 - Day 1
Our general sessions will take place at the W Austin - 200 Lavaca St, Austin, TX 78701. (map it)
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6:00 -
7:00 am
Wake Up Yoga on the Wet Deck
Start the summit day with intention. Join your partners on the Wet Deck of the W Austin for a grounding, energizing flow designed to clear the mind, open the body, and spark creative clarity. No experience necessary—just step onto the mat, stretch into possibility, and begin the day centered, refreshed, and ready for the transformative conversations ahead.
7:00 -
9:00 am
Breakfast on the Terrace
Breakfast will be served on the Terrace from 7-9 am. Please be sure to grab a meal before heading to the General Sessions.
9:15 -
9:30 am
Welcome to TRANSFORM 26
Ann-Louise Rosen, WPI Board Chair + Co-CEO | Advance
9:30 -
10:15 am
WPI Next
John Harris, President + CEO | Worldwide Partners
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John Harris, President & CEO of Worldwide Partners, will provide an update on the network and outline the goals and strategies for the next year.
10:15 -
11:15 am
Break to Build: Hacking Business, Talent, and the Future of Transformation
Bonin Bough, Marking Guru, Investor & Author
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Transformation doesn’t happen by playing it safe — it happens when we’re willing to break what no longer serves us.
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In this high-energy opening keynote, Bonin Bough challenges how organizations and individuals create value in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on real-world examples from business, technology, culture, and his groundbreaking work launching the world’s first talent accelerator, Bonin discusses today’s new “hackonomy” and reframes “breaking things” as one of the most powerful catalysts for meaningful change.
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Audiences will explore how bold, hack-thinking — breaking from tradition, outdated processes, and “the way we’ve always done things” — is driving transformation across industries and redefining what success looks like today. But transformation doesn’t stop at systems and strategies; it starts with people. Bonin shows how unlocking individual strengths, embracing unconventional paths, and hacking your own career mindset can fuel extraordinary personal and organizational growth.
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This keynote is both a call to action and a roadmap: to rethink talent, redesign value creation, and boldly transform how we work, lead, and grow — in a world where those who adapt fastest win.
11:15 -
11:45 am
Networking Break
11:45 am -
12:45 pm
Sell Everything But Your Soul. The 2026 Agency Survival Guide
​Matt Weiss, SoulPurpose Advisory
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Sell Everything But Your Soul. The 2026 Agency Survival Guide is a fast, no‑nonsense session for agency leaders who want to protect margins, stay irreplaceable in an AI-obsessed market, and grow without selling out what makes their shop human, creative, and different. It focuses on how to clarify your agency’s true superpower, design offers that buyers actually pay for, and build a growth engine rooted in culture, purpose, and relationships, not panic discounts and race-to-the-bottom pitches.
Led by Matt Weiss, a former global agency president and founder of SoulPurpose Advisory, this talk brings hard-won lessons from decades in the New York agency game into a practical survival playbook for 2026. SoulPurpose Advisory is a partnership-oriented growth advisory that helps ambitious CEOs and founders sharpen their positioning, win more pitches, and sell their expertise at the highest margin.
12:45 -
2:00 pm
Lunch and shareholder meeting
2:00 -
3:00 pm
Transforming Talent Growth in a Shifting Work Landscape
Matt Moog, Founder + CEO, Careerbird.ai
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The modern workforce has made one truth clear: in an era of rapid transformation, vague roles and undefined paths no longer meet the expectations of today's talent. Younger generations in particular want clarity, mobility, and a sense of where their work can lead. If they can’t see a future, they’ll go find one elsewhere. But when the job market itself keeps evolving, what does a meaningful, modern career path even look like?
In this session, Matt Moog takes the stage to explore how AI, skills-based planning, and data-driven insights are reshaping the way independent agencies understand and support their people. He’ll examine the forces transforming today’s work environment, the changing needs and aspirations of emerging talent, and how skill-first approaches can create more adaptive, future-ready organizations.
Through real-world examples and forward-looking perspectives, Matt will show how agencies can rethink traditional career structures, build cultures of continuous learning, and empower teams to grow despite an unpredictable landscape. Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of how to transform talent development to meet the demands—and opportunities—of the next era of work.
3:00 -
3:15 pm
Networking Break
3:15 -
4:15 pm
The Transformation Sessions
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In this series of short, high-impact talks, your partners will showcase the innovative ways they are transforming their businesses, their capabilities, and the industry at large.
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Shaping an Agency for the Intelligence Age
Jeremy Heilpern, Founder & CEO, Ammunition
Renaye Edwards, Global COO & MD Europe, Ammunition
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As one of the fastest-growing independent agencies in the U.S., Ammunition recognized that sustaining momentum—and expanding globally—required rethinking how a modern creative company operates. In this session, the team shares how AI became a catalyst for transforming the agency from the ground up, not as an add-on but as a foundation for new ways of working. Rooted in experimentation and responsible adoption, they explore how reimagining roles, workflows, and team structures is helping Ammunition build a healthier, more flexible, and more scalable agency designed for the Intelligent Age.
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Journey Into the Unknown: Reinventing the Creative Agency Before It Disappears
Jan Urbanec, Creative Director, Proboston Creative
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As AI reshapes how agencies and marketers define their value, this session explores how embracing uncertainty—and deliberately balancing automation with human creativity—can strengthen, rather than erode, relevance. Through real-world examples, Proboston's Jan Urbanec shares how building a secure internal AI assistant, evolving hybrid production models, and collaborating transparently with clients positioned them as trusted AI competency partners. The result is deeper client relationships, broader mandates, and a creative role that has become more essential—not more replaceable—in the generative era.
6:30 -
10:30 pm
Group Dinner
Quince Lakehouse
3825 Lake Austin Blvd #201, Austin, TX 78703 (map it)
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Quince Lakehouse pairs sweeping views of Lake Austin with globally inspired cuisine, offering an elevated setting that’s equal parts vibrant and relaxed.
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Please make your way to Quince. Uber vouchers will be provided.
Wednesday, May 6 - Day 2
Our general sessions will take place at the W Austin - 200 Lavaca St, Austin, TX 78701. (map it)
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6:00 -
7:00 am
Wake Up Yoga on the Wet Deck
Start the summit day with intention. Join your partners on the Wet Deck of the W Austin for a grounding, energizing flow designed to clear the mind, open the body, and spark creative clarity. No experience necessary—just step onto the mat, stretch into possibility, and begin the day centered, refreshed, and ready for the transformative conversations ahead.
7:00 -
9:00 am
Breakfast on the Terrace
Breakfast will be served on the Terrace from 7-9 am. Please be sure to grab a meal before heading to the General Sessions.
9:00 -
9:30 am
Day 1 Recap
Ann-Louise Rosen, WPI Board Chair + Co-CEO | Advance
9:30 -
10:30 am
Transformation at the Edge: Where AI Meets Human Creativity
Rebeca Hwang, AI Visionary, Investor + Stanford Research
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As artificial intelligence reshapes how we work, build, and create, the next era of transformation will not be driven by technology alone—but by the powerful intersection of AI and human creativity. In this opening keynote for Day 2, global entrepreneur, investor, and thought leader Rebeca Hwang invites leaders to rethink what innovation looks like in a world where machines can scale intelligence, but humans still define meaning, vision, and values.
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Drawing on her experience building and investing in frontier-defining companies, Rebeca explores how AI is shifting the edges of possibility—automating the predictable while amplifying uniquely human strengths such as imagination, intuition, and ethical judgment. She challenges organizations to move beyond efficiency-driven adoption and instead design systems where technology expands creative capacity, unlocks new forms of value, and accelerates bold experimentation.
This keynote will inspire attendees to embrace transformation as a creative act—one that requires reimagining roles, redefining leadership, and intentionally pairing AI’s power with human insight. Rebeca sets the tone for Day 2 by showing how the future belongs to those who can harness technology not just to move faster, but to think differently, create bravely, and build what’s next.
10:30 -
11:30 am
Speaker and session details coming soon...
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11:30 am -
12:00 pm
Networking Break
12:00 -
1:00 pm
Confessions of a CMO Panel: A Candid Conversation on Marketing Transformation
Gabriel Cohen, CMO | Monigle
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What does transformation really look like from the CMO’s seat?
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In this panel discussion, senior marketing leaders will explore how the role of the CMO is evolving in response to rapid change—drawing on insights from our Confessions of a CMO research report. Moderated by Gabriel Cohen, CMO of Monigle, the session will translate research into real-world perspective through open dialogue and lived experience.
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Two CMO panelists will join the conversation to react to the findings and share their own “confessions” about leading through transformation. From redefining growth and value to navigating organizational change, shifting expectations, and increasing complexity, the discussion will examine how CMOs are adapting—and where transformation remains unfinished.
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Designed as an honest, peer-driven exchange, this session will move beyond theory to reveal how today’s marketing leaders are transforming not only their brands, but their teams, their influence, and their definition of success.
1:00 -
2:00 pm
Lunch
2:00 -
3:00 pm
The Six Traits of High-Performing Agencies
Majja Dennis, Global Consultant | Verity Relationship Intelligence
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Post-pandemic turbulence, talent “juniorization”, and relentless client expectations have reshaped the landscape. Yet, amidst uncertainty, regardless of size, independence or previous success, agencies have a unique opportunity to claim their superpower: the ability to build deep, resilient, and high-performing client relationships.
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Drawing on 20 years of data, consultancy expertise and informed by spending time with teams in thousands of agencies, we’ll explore the six critical traits that distinguish the highest-performing agencies and offer practical advice for leaders determined to thrive and grow.
3:00 -
4:00 pm
Hits and Misses
Jim Beavers, Country Music Songwriter
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Go behind the scenes of country music's creative engine with Grammy-nominated songwriter Jim Beavers, the mind behind chart-topping hits for some of country music’s biggest names. In this candid and engaging session, Jim pulls back the curtain on the art--and the heart——of songwriting, sharing how true collaboration happens in the writing room and on the road.
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Through stories from his career, Jim explores the full creative process: the spark of an idea, the push-and-pull of co-writing, and the delicate craft of shaping a song that resonates. He’ll also shine a light on the lesser-told side of the industry—the songs that never make the charts, or never make it out of the room at all—and why those “misses” often matter just as much as the hits.
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Blending conversation with live performance, Jim brings his process to life, offering an intimate look at how melodies, lyrics, and human connection come together to create music that moves millions.
4:00 -
4:15 pm
Closing Remarks
7:00 -
11:00 pm
WPI Awards Ceremony
Skybox on 6th 501 W 6th St 4th Floor, Austin, TX 78701 (map it)
Skybox on 6th delivers rooftop energy and sweeping downtown views—the perfect backdrop for our Grand Indies and Perfect Partner Awards Ceremony, where we’ll celebrate standout work and ideas under Austin’s skyline.