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
Powered by:
Meet The Founders
📍 The Forum