AIST 2026 Leadership Conference
11–13 November 2026 • The Broadmoor • Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Wednesday, 11 November | |
| 1–4 p.m. | Off-Site Activities (Optional) Activities include: Falconry Beginners Lesson, Wild West Experience, Garden of the Gods E-Bike Tour and Soaring Adventure Woods Course |
| 5:30–7 p.m. | Welcome Reception and Registration |
PREMIER SPONSOR
EVENT SPONSORS
Thursday, 12 November | |
| 7–8 a.m. | Breakfast and Registration |
| 8–8:45 a.m. | Welcome by AIST Executive Director, Agenda Review and Attendee Introductions |
| 8:45–9:45 a.m. | North American Steel Update |
| 9:45–10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15 a.m.–12 p.m. | Economic Perspectives Chris Kuehl, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Armada Corporate Intelligence |
| 12–1 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1–1:45 p.m. | AIST Strategic Plan & Program Updates |
| 1:45–2:30 p.m. | Rapid Fire “Air-It-Out” Discussion — Questions, Comments, Concerns |
| 2:30–3 p.m. | Break |
| 3–4:30 p.m. | Leading Through Uncertainty: Train Your Brain for What's Next Jamie Lewis Smith, PhD, Pixel Leadership Group Steel industry leaders operate in a sector defined by rapid technological change, market volatility, and workforce evolution. Navigating these challenges requires more than technical expertise, it demands adaptability, resilience, and the ability to lead teams confidently through uncertainty. In this science-backed keynote, Dr. Jamie Lewis Smith blends neuroscience, psychology, and practical leadership strategies to help you understand how the brain responds to change and why even the most experienced leaders can become reactive or overwhelmed when the environment keeps shifting. Discover the hidden mental habits that shape your decisions and learn how to train your brain to become more adaptable, resilient, and effective, no matter what comes next. |
| 4:30–5:15 p.m. | “Steel Pursuit” Trivia A Leadership tradition, this interactive trivia activity challenges attendees to a friendly competition testing their knowledge in a variety of categories including conference content, industry, and all things AIST. |
| 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Reception |
Friday, 13 November | |
| 8–9 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 9–9:15 a.m. | Opening Remarks |
| 9:15–10:15 a.m. | Beyond the Plant Floor: Turning Your Company's Expertise into an AI Advantage Trevor Sookraj, AI Educator and Founder, Trevor’s Tech Talk Steel has used AI and advanced digital tools on the plant floor for years. The finance, supply chain, HR and sales teams that keep a company profitable are often working out AI on their own, while IT is stretched too thin to handle requests from each department. Many leaders are also wary of data privacy and letting proprietary know-how leak into public AI tools. This session takes a 30,000-foot view of what AI now makes possible across a steel business, and how companies are getting there. Trevor walks through short case studies of both companies and employees at different stages of adoption and how they navigated AI implementation using their own expertise. The case studies were shaped by conversations with AIST members on both the producer and supplier side. You'll leave this session with a framework for leading AI adoption in your area of the business. It covers which data is safe to use with which tools, and how to bring IT a plan it can say yes to. |
| 10:15–10:45 a.m. | Break |
| 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m. | “The Furnace” |
| 10:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. | Executive Committee Meeting (private) |
| 12:15–1:15 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:15–2:30 p.m. | “The Furnace” (continued) |
| 2:30–2:45 p.m. | Conference Summary and Closing |
| 3–5 p.m. | AIST Board of Directors Meeting (private) |
| *All posted times are subject to change. | |