ScaleUP Summit | Calgary

What separates good companies from world-class ones isn’t luck, timing, or even capital — it’s how they operate. In this keynote, Mike Fata unpacks the operating system behind building and scaling enduring businesses. Drawing from decades of experience growing and exiting nine-figure companies, he reveals the rhythms, structures, and leadership disciplines that drive consistent performance.

The next wave of growth won’t come from hiring more people — it will come from enabling the people you already have to do exponentially more. While AI promises 10x potential, most organizations struggle to realize even a fraction of that value. The challenge isn’t simply the technology — it’s how leaders and teams adapt, redesign, and embed it into the way work gets done.

Following the technology keynote, this panel moves from possibility to priority. Bringing together leaders actively working with AI, the discussion will explore where AI is already delivering meaningful impact across the business — and where it is still more hype than reality.

Ambition sets the direction — but systems determine whether you get there. As organizations move beyond founder-led growth, the challenge shifts from closing deals to building a repeatable engine that can generate and convert opportunities at scale. In this workshop, Joseph Fung, 5x founder and investor, unpacks what it takes to design a growth engine that works across the business — not just through one individual.

For scaling companies, visibility isn’t a vanity project — it’s a growth lever most leaders have yet to fully deploy.

Drawing on experience as Global CEO of Hotwire Global and advising companies like Meta, Adobe, and LinkedIn, this session reframes visibility as a deliberate operating strategy for growth. We're in a world where buyers research before they buy, talent chooses culture before they apply, and investors back people before they fund. How leaders show up matters as much as what they build.

Following Heather Kernahan’s keynote, this panel brings the concept of strategic visibility into practice. Leaders will share how they have built brand, reputation, and market presence as deliberate growth levers — influencing customer acquisition, talent attraction, and investor confidence. Through real-world examples, the discussion will explore how scaling companies move from founder-led storytelling to a more structured and scalable brand strategy.