Optional Welcome Reception

Mix and mingle with your peers and select members of the M&IW team at this exclusive reception.

Continental Breakfast & Registration

Doors to the General Session open at 7:30 a.m.

Opening General Session

When it comes to the 2026 M&IW Summit, more is more! This session has it all: live entertainment to get you in the groove, a networking activity that’s anything but work, Customer Moxie Awards to start the celebration early, and of course, CEO Tina Madden’s annual kickoff speech. Don’t be late!

Breakout Session – From Vision to Value: How to Build a Strategic, Data‑Led Meetings Program

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Effective meetings and events programs are built with intention and scaled through data.  This session examines how successful organizations connect strategic roadmapping with a deliberate data strategy to align meetings programs with business goals and create measurable outcomes executives can see and champion.

Attendees will learn how a data-driven roadmap shapes priorities, informs decision‑making, and enables more confident investment in meetings initiatives by:

• Aligning initiatives to the right objectives.
• Supporting meaningful measurement.
• Adapting as business needs and maturity levels change.

Through discussion and real‑world examples, attendees will leave knowing how to elevate their meetings program to a strategic business driver at the executive level.

Breakout Session – Unleashing Visual Magic: How Graphic Design Integrates with Incentive Experiences to Create Award-winning Moments

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Unleashing Visual Magic: How Graphic Design Integrates with Incentive Experiences to Create Award-winning Moments

Immerse yourself in a session dedicated to the dynamic partnership between remarkable graphic design and authentic, moment-based incentive programs. Discover how captivating visuals serve as the connective tissue that brings incentive experiences to life, weaving together emotional resonance and strategic intent at every stage.

Learn how thoughtful design elements, localized patterns, and purposeful typography shape unforgettable moments. This session reveals how genuine visual storytelling celebrates cultural authenticity and amplifies the impact of each incentive, turning ordinary touchpoints into lasting memories.

By exploring real-world examples and actionable strategies, you’ll see how great graphic design and well-crafted incentives reinforce each other, inspiring engagement and fostering a sense of meaning. Whether you’re designing a high-impact event or crafting bespoke rewards, this session will empower you to harness the magic of graphic design and moment-based incentives for transformative, award-winning experiences.

Breakout Session – The Plan is a Draft: Designing Events for a World That Won’t Sit Still

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As health trends like GLP‑1s reshape attendee expectations and geopolitical flashpoints disrupt even the best‑laid plans, event design has entered a new era of constant adaptation. Featuring speakers from across M&IW with diverse expertise, this session explores how stakeholders can create flexible and secure events, respond quickly to change, and stay intentional to ensure participants’ excitement—even when the ground shifts beneath them.

Breakout Session – Strategic Sourcing in a Flat-Budget World

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What does “successful” sourcing look like when budgets aren’t growing, but expectations for experience, engagement, and impact continue to rise? In this interactive breakout, we’ll reframe sourcing success beyond simple cost savings and explore how value-driven decisions shape stronger event outcomes.

Together, we’ll unpack where trade-offs are unavoidable and how to make them thoughtfully. Through real-world examples and candid discussion, we’ll look at how market shifts have reset expectations, how sourcing teams can help stakeholders navigate constraints with confidence, and what effective planner–sourcing collaboration looks like in practice.

Attendees will leave with fresh perspectives on leveraging sourcing as a strategic lever—especially when resources are tight.

Partner Showcase

Network with and explore the latest offerings from M&IW’s top partners, including hotels, DMCs, CVBs, technology providers, and more. To support our sustainability efforts, please bring your own bag for the trade show.

Summit Walk

The Summit Walk features interactive displays, trending topics, and engaging conversation. At your own pace, explore a variety of services offered by M&IW and our partners. Showcases will include Incentives & Engagement, Intent Strategy Group, Flow Creative Services, Event Sourcing, Event Technology, and more.

Peer to Peer Exchange

Our industry is stronger when we work together! M&IW team members will moderate small group discussions with your peers as you collaborate on the trends, opportunities, and challenges in today’s marketplace.

The Why Behind AI

AI is one of the biggest buzzwords in events, but it’s more substantial than showy. That is, if there’s strategy behind it. In this panel discussion, event technology leaders go beyond features to break down the why behind AI:

• Why it’s important for meetings and events and what the future of M&E AI looks like.
• Why ethical use of AI should always be a top priority and what their approach is.
• Why AI is not just a cool tech trick but a strategic way to keep human connection at the center of events.

Across industries and event types, it’s clear that AI isn’t going away. Learn how to elevate your AI strategy for more innovative meetings, events, and incentives.