2026 Acetech Leadership Retreat
April 13–15, 2026 • Fairmont Chateau Whistler
For over 30 years, the Acetech Leadership Retreat has brought together Canada's most ambitious tech CEOs, senior leaders and world-renowned thinkers for an immersive experience designed to elevate strategy, leadership, and connection.
This year's retreat delivers Harvard case studies, live fundraising panels, product-led growth strategies, peer-to-peer unconference sessions, and the connections that turn into partnerships, advisors, and friends who get what you're building.
Step away to step ahead. Join the boldest founders and CEOs in Whistler. Three days that could redefine your next twelve months
Our Partners:
Full Agenda
Monday, April 13
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM - Retreat Welcome & Connection First Communication
Caleb Spitler, Frontenac Ballroom
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM - Lunch
Frontenac Foyer
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM - From LLM to Agent? Anthropic's Next Move
David Yoffie, Frontenac Ballroom
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM Coffee Break
Frontenac Foyer
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Under Pressure, On Purpose
Steven Langer, Well by Design, Frontenac Ballroom
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Break
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Cocktail Reception
Frontenac Foyer
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Gala & Awards Dinner
Torch the Playbooks: Entrepreneurial Resilience in Turbulent Times
Miranda Lievers, Thinkific , Frontenac Ballroom
Tuesday, April 14
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM - Coffee Break
Frontenac Foyer
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM - Inside the VC Mind: Trends, Models, and Your Questions
Heidi Roizen (Threshold Ventures) & Aidan Madigan-Curtis, Frontenac Ballroom
11:45 AM - 1:15 PM - Lunch
Wildflower Restaurant
1:15 PM - 3:30 PM - The Unconference
Empress A, B, C
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM Coffee Break
Frontenac Foyer
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
From Traditional SaaS to AI-Native in 5 Days: 3 Companies
Wes Bush, Frontenac Ballroom
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Break
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM - Cocktail Reception
Frontenac Foyer
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM - Dinner
Frontenac Ballroom
8:30 PM - 10:30 PM - Casino Night
Dessert • Macdonald Foyer
Wednesday, April 15
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM - Coffee Break
Frontenac Foyer
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Don't Leave with Notes. Leave with an Immediate Action Plan!
Shannon Susko • Frontenac Ballroom
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM - Wrap Up & Thank Yous
Frontenac Ballroom
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM - Lunch
Empress Foyer
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM - The Unconference
Empress A, B, C
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM - Informal Goodbyes
Mallard Bar
7:00 AM - 9:00 AM - Breakfast
Frontenac Foyer
7:00 AM - 9:00 AM - Breakfast
Frontenac Foyer
7:45 AM - 8:45 AM - Coffee Break
Frontenac Foyer
7:45 AM - 8:45 AM - Coffee Table Topics
Frontenac Ballroom
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM - The Invisible Engine of Growth: Growth Is a Relationship Problem
Sean Flaherty, Advanced Leadership • Frontenac Ballroom
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM - Joy Is Your Competitive Edge
Sandy Joy Weston, Frontenac Ballroom
Meet Your Speakers
Connection First Communication - Caleb Spitler
Monday, April 13 | 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Frontenac Ballroom
Year after year, communication is ranked as the number one skill organizations need to succeed. This engaging, interactive session is packed with actionable takeaways. Caleb teaches strategies for how to envision your team and provides real-time communication coaching with attendees, helping you strengthen leadership, collaboration, and influence.
About Caleb
Caleb Spitler is a communication expert and speaker who helps leaders and teams improve performance by strengthening human connection. He’s known for his “Connect First” approach grounded in the belief that most challenges in leadership, sales, and team dynamics are ultimately communication problems.
Interactive + Live coaching
From LLM to Agent? Anthropic's Next Move - David Yoffie, Harvard Business School
Monday, April 13 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM | Frontenac Ballroom
Renowned Harvard professor David Yoffie dissects one of his celebrated business cases in his signature, interactive style. This case examines Anthropic's strategic crossroads as the industry shifts from large language models to autonomous AI agents. You'll step into the boardroom with CEO Dario Amodei to debate whether Anthropic's cautious, principle-driven approach will provide a sustainable competitive advantage in the agent era.
About David
David is a leading authority on competitive strategy and technology, with nearly three decades on Intel’s board and dozens of influential books and case studies to his name. Returning to Acetech, he will deliver one of his signature interactive case studies on day one of the retreat, with a deeper dive to follow during the unconference sessions.
Interactive case study
Under Pressure, On Purpose - Steven Langer
Monday, April 13 | 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Frontenac Ballroom
Steven challenges leaders to rethink the relationship between pressure, performance, and innovation. Rather than trying to eliminate pressure, this keynote explores how high-performing organizations design for it to get results without breaking their people. You'll examine how to build culture by design and results on purpose, so teams can carry ambitious work without sacrificing clarity, momentum, or trust.
About Steven
Steven is a leading authority on organizational wellness and workplace culture, helping leaders build high-performing teams where well-being and productivity reinforce each other. With a track record of transforming workplace cultures across industries, he brings practical, proven frameworks that tech CEOs can implement immediately. At the retreat, Steven will guide an interactive session on creating the conditions for healthy, sustainable growth for your team and your business.
Organizational design
Inside the VC Mind: Trends, Models, and Your Questions Answered Live
Tuesday, April 14 | 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Frontenac Ballroom
Aidan and Heidi will pull back the curtain on venture capital - what’s getting funded, how VCs are making decision today, and what drives their incentives and business models across Canada and the U.S. This session is built around you, with most of the time dedicated to live Q&A so you can get direct, practical answers on raising capital and working with investors. Expect candid insights and real-world perspective from two experienced VCs.
About Aidan Madigan-Curtis
Partner at Eclipse investing in robotics, AI, defence tech, and IoT from seed to growth stage. Sits on 11 boards, including Verkada, Stand, and Bedrock Robotics. Former Samsara executive. Aidan will share the insider perspective on what VCs look for in 2026, how to build relationships that matter, and fundraising strategies that actually work right now.
About Heidi Roizen
Partner at Threshold Ventures, Stanford lecturer, and one of Silicon Valley's most respected voices on venture capital. Former founder who's been on both sides of the table, now invested in hundreds of companies.
Fireside chat
From Traditional SaaS to AI-Native in 5 Days - Wes Bush, ProductLed
Tuesday, April 14 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Frontenac Ballroom
AI is changing how software is built and experienced. Wes walks through three real examples of companies that transitioned from traditional SaaS products to AI-native experiences in just days. You'll see what changed in their product, onboarding, and go-to-market approach, along with practical lessons SaaS leaders can apply immediately.
About Wes
Wes Bush is the founder of ProductLed and a leading authority on product-led growth. He helps SaaS companies build products that drive acquisition, retention, and revenue, and has supported teams in generating $1B+ in self-serve revenue through practical, no-fluff growth strategies.
Live case studies
Wednesday, April 15 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Frontenac Ballroom
Every leadership team tracks revenue, margin, and pipeline. Yet the most powerful driver of long-term growth rarely appears on a dashboard: the strength of relationships inside and around your organization. Sean introduces a practical framework to make the invisible visible, showing how to identify and measure the behaviours that build trust, loyalty, and advocacy. When relationships become measurable, they become a competitive advantage.
About Sean
Sean is an award-winning leadership expert and Co-CEO at Advanced Leadership Concepts. With a background spanning Navy service on F-14 Tomcats, molecular genetics, and technology innovation, he brings 25+ years of shaping high-performing teams and software at ITX. A Vistage Top Speaker and creator of The Momentum Framework, Sean will challenge our CEOs to rethink innovation, culture, and trust as he takes the stage at the 2026 Retreat
Momentum Framework
The Invisible Engine of Growth - Sean Flaherty
Torch the Playbooks: Entrepreneurial Resilience in Turbulent Times - Miranda Lievers, Former CEO, Thinkific
Monday, April 13 | Gala & Awards Dinner | Frontenac Ballroom
The world is noisy, the playbooks are stale, and most advice was built for a version of business that no longer exists. Inspired by Miranda's experience scaling Thinkific to 500 people and a billion-dollar IPO, this talk explores decision-making in the dark, reigniting the spark that started your journey, and the patterns that separate founders who break through from those who just break. Expect real talk and honest stories.
About Miranda
Miranda is Canadian entrepreneur and a cofounder of Thinkific a leading platform that helps creators and businesses build, market and sell online courses. She played a key role in building Thinkific from an early-stage startup into a global SaaS company used by thousands of entrepreneurs and educators. She is known for her expertise in product development, creator economy strategy and scaling digital education platforms. Today, she continues to support founders and the startup ecosystem through mentorship, investing and community initiatives.
Founder resilience
Joy Is Your Competitive Edge - Sandy Joy Weston
Tuesday, April 14 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Frontenac Ballroom
In this high-energy interactive session, Sandy shares simple 1–3 minute micro-shifts that help leaders manage stress and anxiety and regain mental clarity under pressure. Using her signature framework of Movement, Words, and Laughter, you'll experience practical tools to quickly reset your nervous system, shift your mindset, and elevate how you show up each day.
About Sandy
Sandy is a TEDx speaker, mental fitness coach, and international speaker who empowers individuals and organizations to build positive, resilient mindsets through practical tools and strategies. She’s a former NBC10 fitness expert, the first female trainer for the Philadelphia Flyers, owner of a top Philadelphia gym, and author of mindset books like “Train Your Head & Your Body Will Follow.
High-energy + Interactive
Don't Leave with Notes. Leave with an Immediate Action Plan! - Shannon Byrne Susko
Wednesday, April 15 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Frontenac Ballroom
Join Shannon for a hands-on workshop designed to turn reflection into action. Using the Metronomics framework, you'll translate key learnings from the retreat into clear priorities your team can execute when you return to the office. Leave with a practical plan, not just inspiration.
About Shannon
Shannon is a business advisor, and the founder of Metronomics a strategic framework that helps leadership teams scale their companies with clarity, rhythm and accountability. She previously co-founded and scaled Subserveo, growing it to a successful exit. Today, Shannon works with CEOs and executive teams to implement scalable operating systems, align strategy and execution, and build high-performance organizations. She is also the author of the book The Metronome Effect.
Hands-on workshop
Ready to join us in Whistler?
Join the boldest founders in Whistler. Three days that could redefine your next twelve months