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

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Full Agenda

Tuesday, April 14

  • Breakfast
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Coffee Table Topics
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Joy Is Your Competitive Edge
    Sandy Joy Weston • Frontenac ABC

  • Coffee Break
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Funding Panel
    Heidi Roizen (Threshold Ventures) & Aidan Madigan-Curtis • Frontenac ABC

  • Lunch
    Wildflower

  • The Unconference
    Empress A, B, and C

  • From Traditional SaaS to AI-Native in 5 Days: 3 Companies
    Wes Bush
    Frontenac ABC

  • Break

  • Cocktail Reception
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Dinner
    Frontenac ABC

  • Casino Night
    Dessert • Macdonald Foyer

Wednesday, April 15

  • Breakfast
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Coffee Break
    Frontenac Foyer

  • The Invisible Engine of Growth: Growth Is a Relationship Problem
    Sean Flaherty, Advanced Leadership • Frontenac ABC

  • Coffee Break
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Don't Leave with Notes.  Leave with an Immediate Action Plan!
    Shannon Susko • Frontenac ABC

  • Wrap Up & Thank Yous
    Frontenac ABC

  • Lunch
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Informal Goodbyes
    Mallard Bar

Monday, April 13

  • Connection First Communication
    Caleb Spitler
    Frontenac ABC

  • Lunch
    Frontenac Foyer

  • From LLM to Agent? Anthropic's Next Move
    David Yoffie
    ​​Frontenac ABC

  • Coffee Break
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Under Pressure, On Purpose
    Steven Langer, Well by Design
    Frontenac ABC

  • Break

  • Cocktail Reception
    Frontenac Foyer

  • Gala & Awards Dinner

    Torch the Playbooks: Entrepreneurial Resilience in Turbulent Times - Miranda Lievers, Thinkific

    Frontenac ABC

Meet Your Speakers

Connection First
Communication

Monday, April 13 | 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Frontenac ABC

Caleb Spitler

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.

Interactive + Live coaching

Don't Leave with Notes.  Leave with an
Immediate Action Plan!

Wednesday, April 15 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Frontenac ABC

Shannon Byrne Susko

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.

Hands-on workshop

From LLM to Agent?
Anthropic's Next Move

David Yoffie, Harvard Business School

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.

Interactive case study

Monday, April 13 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM | Frontenac ABC

From Traditional SaaS to AI-Native in 5 Days

Tuesday, April 14 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Frontenac ABC

Wes Bush, ProductLed

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.

Live case studies

Under Pressure, On Purpose

Monday, April 13 | 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Frontenac ABC

Steven Langer

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.

Organizational design

Joy Is Your Competitive Edge

Tuesday, April 14 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Frontenac ABC

Sandy Joy Weston

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.

High-energy + Interactive

Fundraising in 2026: A Fireside Chat

Tuesday, April 14 | 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Frontenac ABC

Heidi Roizen & Aidan Madigan-Curtis

Pull up a seat for an intimate conversation with two of venture capital's most respected voices. Heidi Roizen (Threshold Ventures) and Aidan Madigan-Curtis (Eclipse) unpack the current fundraising landscape affecting tech companies from Silicon Valley and beyond. If you're raising capital in the next 12 months, this is the seat you won't want to miss.

Fireside chat

The Invisible Engine of Growth

Wednesday, April 15 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Frontenac ABC

Sean Flaherty

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.

Momentum Framework

Torch the Playbooks: Entrepreneurial
Resilience in Turbulent Times

Monday, April 13 | Gala & Awards Dinner | Frontenac ABC

Miranda Lievers, Former CEO, Thinkific

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.

Founder resilience

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Join the boldest founders in Whistler. Three days that could redefine your next twelve months

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