Conference Room

Agenda

8:00 AM — 9:00 AM

RECHARGE & CONNECT

Registration, Breakfast & Networking

📍 Room 3300 / 3301


9:00 AM — 9:30 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Start the day with a warm welcome from our event hosts and a celebration of the community spirit behind Health Innovation Day. Get ready for inspiring ideas and new connections as Charlotte takes its place as a rising hub for health innovation.

📍 The Auditorium


Master of Ceremonies:

Kristi Straw

Host & Executive Producer

Lighthouse Leadership Consultants

Opening Remarks

Olga Muller

CEO

Kepler Team

Shahid “Sha” Rana

Director of Economic Development

City of Charlotte

Business Attorney, Partner

DLA Piper

Brian Burke


Welcome to The Pearl: Where Innovation Comes to Life

Chief Innovation and Commercialization Officer, Executive Vice President

Advocate Health

Rasu Shrestha, MD, MBA


Conference Room

9:30 AM — 10:15 AM

PANEL

The 2026 AI Shift: Humans, Agents, Trust & the Next Care Models

2026 is shaping up to be a turning point — the year AI shifts from tools to decision-making systems. This session explores the generational impact of AI on care delivery, the new models it enables, and the critical question healthcare must answer: what stays human-led, and what becomes agent-led? We’ll dive into governance, ethics, trust, accountability, and what it means to build an AI-powered future without losing the human core of care.

📍 The Auditorium


Moderator:

Bryan Dennstedt

Chief AI Officer

AI with Bry, TechCXO

Panelists:

Julia Franklin

Chief Learning Officer

Cephable

David Jones

Co-Founder, Board Director & Executive Coach

Flexential / The RIVL Foundation

Managing Partner & Digital Transformation Strategist

IOTECH Consulting

Christopher Kunney

Physician-Scientist; Professor, Anesthesiology & Critical Care

Thomas Jefferson College of Population Health / Sheps Center of Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, J Bara Innovation

Paul Barach, MD, MPH


Conference Room

PANEL

10:15 AM — 10:45 AM

No Lies: How Health Systems Actually Buy Innovation

Meghan Huffman

Health systems say they want innovation, but most solutions never make it to or beyond a pilot. Why? In this unfiltered, no-fluff conversation, executives from leading organizations pull back the curtain on the complex web of considerations behind every deal. We’ll unpack the hidden dynamics that stall progress, the internal tradeoffs innovators rarely see, and the hard truths about what it takes to move from vendor to trusted partner. No theory. No buzzwords. Just a clear-eyed look at how decisions really happen, and what it takes to succeed.

📍 The Auditorium


Moderator:

Angela Lanning

COO, Informatics and Technology Services

Premier Inc.

Panelists:

Matthew Sullivan, MD

Sr. VP & Chief Medical Information Officer

Advocate Health

Meghan Huffman

VP Digital Health

Novant Health

Matthew Roman

Chief Digital Strategy Officer

Duke University Health System


10:45 AM — 11:00 AM

RECHARGE & CONNECT

Networking break


11:00 AM — 11:30 AM

WORKSHOP

Beyond Founder-Led Sales: A Masterclass in Building a Repeatable Healthcare Commercial Model

A practical discussion on the transition from founder-led sales to building a scalable commercial function in healthcare. Panelists will share lessons from making the first sales hire, adapting sales motions for providers, payers, health systems, and pharma, and avoiding common mistakes that slow growth.

📍 The Auditorium


Presenters:

Josh Pappas

Enterprise Account Executive

Ryan Paradis

Scott Hensley

President

IPIVX Growth Solutions


Conference Room

11:30 AM — 12:00 PM

PANEL

What Patients Want: Expectations in the Age of AI

The patient experience is important to healthcare systems for many reasons. At the same time, healthcare is being redefined by AI, expectations, and digital-first experiences. Patients now expect the speed, personalization, and transparency they experience in every other part of their lives. What does this mean for care delivery, trust, and the future role of clinicians?

📍 The Auditorium


Moderator:

Michelle Fritsch

Co-Founder

Propel Comprehensive Wellness / Medipreneurs

Panelists:

Janae Sharp

Founder

Sharp Index

Abdullah Birdsong

Managing Partner

BLJ Group

Licensed clinical mental health counselor

Huntley Counseling Group, PLLC

Kemi Huntley


Conference Room

Conference Room

12:00 PM — 01:00 PM

RECHARGE & CONNECT

Lunch & Networking

📍 Room 3300 / 3301


01:00 PM — 01:15 PM

Community announcements

📍 The Auditorium


01:15 PM — 01:55 PM

PANEL

Hacking Your Health with AI and Wearables: Parsing the Help from the Hype

Most of us collect health data every day—but few of us know what to do with it. And what about that ChatGPT Health thing? This panel brings together researchers, clinicians, athletes, and technologists to explore how wearables and AI can translate raw data into meaningful health insights. Expect real-world examples, practical tips, and a candid conversation about what actually works (and what doesn’t).

📍 The Auditorium


Moderator:

Aviva Stein, MD

Physician

Atrium Health

Chris Vasami

Speaker and Coach

Vasami Method

Director, Innovation and New Ventures

Advocate Health

Ben Tingey

Panelists:

Ajay Dharod, MD

Chief Technical Advisor

Advocate Health IT, Wake Forest University School of Medicine Faculty

Professor & Founding Director

Center for Remote Health Monitoring / Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Ryan McGinnis, PhD


Conference Room

01:55 PM — 02:35 PM

PANEL

The Founder’s Path: Real Startup Stories

Four startups share what it takes to start and grow a company, what what they learned along the way and take aways from their "success stories".

📍 The Auditorium


Moderator:

Olga Muller

CEO

Kepler Team

Panelists:

Becky Fox

Founder

VitalCircle

Christine Nicodemus

Founder

Wayhaven

Dr Dave Singh, DMD PhD DDSc

Founder and CEO

REMA Sleep

Ken Paulus

CEO & Founder

REACT Innovations


Conference Room

02:35 PM — 02:45 PM

RECHARGE & CONNECT

Networking break


02:45 PM — 03:30 PM

PANEL

Clinical Expertise: An Essential Piece of the Innovation Equation

What happens when those who have delivered care step into roles shaping the future of it? Hear from clinicians who have transitioned into innovation, sharing how their firsthand experience helps build, evaluate, and scale solutions that truly work in the real world.

📍 The Auditorium


Moderator:

Nisha Mehta, MD

Founder

Physician Side Gigs

Panelists:

Yele Aluko, MD

Founder and Principal

Aluko Advisors

Jaspal Singh, MD, MHS

Professor of Medicine, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Success

Advocate Health

Emergency Medicine Physician & Clinical Associate

Atrium Health

John Manning, MD

Emergency Medicine Service Line Leader

Advocate Health

Dave Pearson, MD


03:30 PM — 04:10 PM

PANEL

The Funding Playbook: How to Pitch ROI in an AI-Saturated Market

As AI becomes ubiquitous, investors are raising the bar on what defines real value. This discussion explores how founders can articulate ROI, navigate investor expectations, and position their solutions for funding success.

📍 The Auditorium


Moderator:

Emilie McKenna Pandullo

Managing Director

Advocate Strategic Fund, Advocate Health

Panelists:

Patrick Dunnigan

Partner

RC Capital

Andy Lutz

Principal

FCA Venture Partners

Lauren Pierce Flickinger

Partner

Hatteras Venture Partners


Conference Room

Conference Room

04:10 PM — 05:00 PM

RECHARGE & CONNECT

Networking & Cocktails

📍 Room 3300 / 3301


05:00 PM — 07:00 PM

PITCH PARTY

Pitch Party

📍 The Forum


Announcing the gBETA Charlotte Health Cohort

📍 The Forum

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Meet The Founders

📍 The Forum