The AI Reality Check
Practical Strategies for Business Leaders Navigating the Opportunities, Risks, and Realities of AI
Clear strategies to prepare your business—and yourself—for the future.
Date
October 27, 2026
Time
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Venue
AMD
1 Commerce Valley Drive E Thornhill
Why Attend
Everyone is talking about AI. But knowing you need to pay attention and knowing what to actually do about it are two very different things.
The AI Reality Check is an afternoon designed to help business leaders separate opportunity from hype. Through candid conversations, real-world experiences, and practical insights, we'll explore what's changing, where businesses are finding value, what can go wrong, how to prepare your people, and what responsible AI adoption really looks like.
In just a few hours, you'll gain the perspective you need to make smarter decisions about AI and leave with practical ideas you can put to work in your organization tomorrow.
Cut Through the AI Hype
Separate fact from fiction and understand what really matters for your business.
Cut Through the AI Hype
Separate fact from fiction and understand what really matters for your business.
Cut Through the AI Hype
Separate fact from fiction and understand what really matters for your business.
Cut Through the AI Hype
Separate fact from fiction and understand what really matters for your business.
Who Should Attend
The AI Reality Check is for business leaders responsible for making decisions about how their organizations adapt, compete, and grow in an AI-enabled world. You don't need to be an AI expert—whether you're already experimenting with AI or still figuring out where it fits, come prepared to challenge assumptions, learn from others, and leave with a clearer understanding of what AI means for your business and what you can do next.
Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
CEOs and C-Suite Executives
Business and Functional Leaders
Technology and Innovation Leaders
Event Schedule
Click on each session to view full details
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Registration & Networking
Build valuable relationships that extend beyond the event, fostering opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and business growth.
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM | Welcome Address and Keynote:
The AI Reality Check: What’s Changing and What It Means for Business
Speaker: AMD Representative
AI continues to evolve at a rapid pace, creating new opportunities, questions, and challenges for businesses of every size. We’ll open the afternoon with a look at where AI is today, where it’s heading, and what business leaders should be paying attention to. Cut through the noise and gain perspective on the trends that matter, the practical implications for business, and what leaders should be thinking about as they prepare for what’s next.
Session Sponsored By:
2:15 PM – 2:45PM | Simple Steps to Real AI Business Value
Simple Steps to Real AI Business Value
Explore the key financial factors that impact business value, tax considerations, and how to get your financial house ready for a sale.
Speaker: Emily Tell, Partner, CEO, IdeaTilt Incorporated
Getting real business value from AI is possible, when you know how to do it. Learn the critical things to implement AI securely, effectively and sustainably in your business.
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM | Networking & Coffee Break
Enjoy light refreshments and an opportunity to connect with fellow business owners and advisors. Build valuable relationships that extend beyond the event, fostering opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and business growth.
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM | Why AI Initiatives Stall Before They Take Off
Why AI Initiatives Stall Before They Take Off
Do You Have a False Start or Never Had a Strategy?
Speaker: Chinkal Patel, Partner, MantraX
Sponsored by: MantraX
In most mid-market organizations, typically, IT is a single-digit share of the total budget, which means AI can't be justified as an IT project. It has to be justified cross-functionally, with a real ROI case for overall business productivity, or it stalls before it starts.
This session walks through the five points where mid-market AI initiatives actually get stuck: Get Educated, Build the Foundation, Prioritize with Discipline, Test Before You Trust, and Scale with Intent. Attendees complete a live diagnostic and leave knowing exactly which stage their own initiative is stuck at, a specific conversation to have with their team this week, not a generic score.
3:45 PM – 4:15 PM | Conscious Leadership in the Age of AI
Conscious Leadership in the Age of AI
Speaker: Sumit
Bhatia, ED of WestCliff University
4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Panel Discussion: The AI Reality Check: What Should We Actually Do?
It’s one thing to talk about the potential of AI. It’s another to figure out what actually makes sense for your business.
We’ll close the afternoon with a candid panel discussion on what’s working, what’s been overhyped, where businesses are seeing real value, and what they’ve learned along the way. From tools and investment to people, skills and lessons learned, our panelists will share practical perspectives on where to start, what to avoid, and what business leaders should be doing next.
Sponsors
Meet Our Speakers
Expert practitioners with real-world experience
Keynote Speaker
Session Speakers
Chinkal Patel
Partner
MantraX
Chinkal Patel is a Partner at MantraX, where she helps mid-market organizations move from technology lag to technology enablement. A Deloitte alumn and graduate of the University of Waterloo and the Rotman School of Management, Chinkal has spent her career leading large-scale transformation initiatives for mid-market businesses, driving the cross-functional alignment required at the intersection of business and technology change. She specializes in managing complex transformation and change while keeping the focus on measurable business outcomes.
Emily Tell
CEO
IdeaTilt Incorporated
Emily Tell is the CEO and founder of IdeaTilt Incorporated, a company dedicated simple, practical secure AI solutions, advice and support. Emily has over 20 years of business experience and years implementing and training on AI. She holds an Executive MBA, and certifications in project and change management, education, digital transformation and human centered design. She is passionate about making the complex simple, democratizing AI for small to medium businesses and helping individuals and companies to successfully navigate the AI era.
Sumit Bhatia
Executive Director
Westcliff University
Sumit Bhatia is Executive Director of Westcliff University Canada and a technology strategist whose career spans emerging technologies, cybersecurity, innovation, public policy and education.
Previously, Sumit served as Director of Innovation & Policy at the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he led initiatives at the intersection of cybersecurity, innovation and public policy. His areas of expertise include AI and emerging technology adoption, governance, cybersecurity and risk management, strategic foresight, and technology ethics.
An active voice in Canada's technology and innovation community, Sumit brings a people-centred perspective to the challenges created by rapid technological change, exploring how leaders can navigate uncertainty while maintaining the judgment, trust and human connection needed to lead effectively.
Secure Your Seat Today
Limited seats available. Join fellow business leaders for this essential one-day summit.