Charlotte's Largest AI Conference
Empowering Business & Community Leaders to Succeed With AI
October 27–28, 2025
The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City
HOSTED BY
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
What is AI//FORWARD?
Cognifyd and All Things AI have teamed up to host Charlotte’s largest AI conference:
AI//FORWARD is an exclusive two-day event for Enterprise/SMB business leaders, teams, and local community groups — focused on real-world AI applications, innovation, and impact.
HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
Attend 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
Gain 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
Network and connect with Al business leaders, change-makers, entrepreneurs, and practitioners in a collaborative environment to share insights and discover opportunities.
PRACTITIONER-ONLY ACCESS
Experience an exclusive event designed for AI practitioners and business leaders. To preserve the depth and focus of the content, attendance is limited to non-sales/marketing roles.
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
Note: Agenda for Day 2 (Conference Day) is subject to change.
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
Welcome
Mark Hinkle
Co-Founder & Producer, All Things AI
9:10 AM – 9:20 AM
Auditorium
Opening Remarks: "Building Charlotte’s AI Community"
Sakib Kadak
Co-Founder, All Things AI (Charlotte)
9:20 AM – 9:40 AM
Auditorium
Keynote 1
David Nalley
Director, Developer Experience, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
9:40 AM – 10:05 AM
Auditorium
Keynote 2: "Confidential AI: How to Keep Your Data Private in the Age of AI"
Speaker
Aaron Fulkerson
CEO, OPAQUE
Moderator
Mark Hinkle
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
Todd Quartiere
Founder & CEO, Center for Practical AI
Panelist
CEO & Lead Consultant, The Katalyst HQ
Moderator
Mark Hinkle
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"
DeShon Clark
Chief AI Architect, Allventa
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
"Culture Before Code: Enabling Every Mind in the Age of AI"
Christopher Scott
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 Discussion: "An Ecosystem of Support: Connecting AI Startups in the Charlotte Community"
Speaker
John Stewart
CEO & Co-Founder, Fastbreak.ai
Moderator
Sakib Kadak
Co-Founder, All Things AI (Charlotte)
1:00 PM – 1:25 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
"Artificial Intelligence: 2025 and Beyond - What's Your Strategy?"
Celestine Pressley
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
James Horne
Global Director of Delivery, Axiom Path
Panelist
Leah Knight
Former Global Talent Acquisition Director, Snap One
Panelist
Joseph Hanna
Founder in Residence, AI Fund
Panelist
Mark Zolkos
Technology & Professional Workforce Leader
Moderator
Jordan Crowther
Managing Partner, Axiom Path
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
"Validated, Scalable, Usable: What It Takes to Build AI Products in Healthcare & Life Science"
Aleksandra Petkova
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+"
Joseph Hanna
Founder in Residence, AI Fund
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
"Building AI Agents on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure"
Gururaj Mohan
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"
Brent Laster
President & Founder, Tech Skills Transformations
3:00 PM – 3:25 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
"Community-Driven Innovation"
Charlitta Hatch
Deputy Director of Innovation & Technology, City of Charlotte
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
"Beyond the API Call: Building a Competitive Moat With Proprietary AI"
Sathya Annamalai Geetha
Principal Architect, Strategic Industries, Google
3:30 PM – 3:55 PM
Auditorium
Executive Track
"The Human Unlock: How Leaders Drive AI Success"
Kyle Dukes
AI Strategic Advisor, Strata AI
Lecture Hall
Technical Track
"Engineering Intelligence: Transforming Teams for the AI-First Era"
Jason Oglesby
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"
David VonThenen
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
Igor Jablokov
Founder & CEO, Pryon
Moderator
Bojan Cukic
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
Founder & CEO, Pryon
Creator of Alexa
David Nalley
Director, Developer Experience
Amazon Web Services
Mark Hinkle
Co-Founder & Producer
All Things AI
Natali Betancur
Deputy Director
Center for Digital Equity
Bojan Cukic
Dean
College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) at UNCC
Aaron Fulkerson
Chief Executive Officer
OPAQUE
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
Todd Quartiere
Founder & CEO
Center for Practical AI
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
SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
ORGANIZING SPONSORS
MEDIA PARTNERS
Book Signing From Industry-Leading Author
The Human Signal
By Mark Hinkle
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 R. Hinkle is an accomplished executive in high-growth technology companies, specializing in the strategic integration of AI to enhance enterprise infrastructure and productivity.
Venue Information
The Dubois Center at
UNC Charlotte Center City
LOCATION
PARKING
Several pay-to-park options are available within walking distance. The closest is 422 E 9th Street. Use the ParkMobile app and select Zone #96422.
NOTE: Parking is no longer available at 319 E 9th Street.
For more options, view the downloadable parking map, or visit our FAQ page for full details.
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
