October 7-8, 2026
Marriott Downtown, Knoxville
Where business leaders and academics come together to shape the future of work with AI.
Keynotes & Featured Speakers
World-Class Voices.
Practical Insights.
The Haslam AInnovation Summit brings together leading researchers, industry executives, and innovators who are actively shaping how AI is applied in business.
Featured Speakers
Ethan Mollick (Virtual)
Ralph J. Roberts Distinguished Faculty Scholar,
Rowan Fellow,
Associate Professor at the Wharton School
Closing Keynote – Day One
Ethan Mollick is the bestselling author of Co-Intelligence, a New York Times bestseller and a best book of the year from The Economist and Financial Times, and the forthcoming Co-Existence (on sale in October). He is the Ralph J. Roberts Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Rowan Fellow, and Associate Professor at the Wharton School, where he directs the Generative AI Lab and studies the effects of AI on work, entrepreneurship, and education. He was named one of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence.
In addition to his research and teaching, Ethan is the Co-Director of the Generative AI Labs at Wharton, which build prototypes and conduct research to discover how AI can help humans thrive while mitigating risks. Prior to his time in academia, Ethan co-founded a startup company, and he advises numerous organizations.
Mollick received his PhD and MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management,
Co-founder and Co-director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy,
Visiting Fellow, Google’s Technology and Society Group,
Co-founder, Workhelix
Closing Keynote – Day Two
Andrew McAfee (@amcafee) studies how technological progress changes the world. He is a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-founder and co-director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, the inaugural Visiting Fellow in Google’s Technology and Society group, and cofounder of the AI startup Workhelix. His most recent book is The Geek Way. His previous books include More from Less and, with Erik Brynjolfsson, The Second Machine Age. He and Brynjolfsson are the only people named to both the Thinkers50 list of the world’s top management thinkers and the Politico 50 group of people transforming American politics.
McAfee was educated at MIT and Harvard and lives in Cambridge Massachusetts.
Additional Speakers
Computer Scientist, Technology Executive and Builder
Opening Keynote – Day One
Denise Koessler Gosnell is a computer scientist, technology executive and builder who has spent her career turning hard technical problems into transformational products, including uncovering a $20M Medicare fraud case with a graph database and managing a nine-figure AWS cloud service used by Fortune 100 companies worldwide. She pioneered social fingerprinting, founded Systers (UT’s women-in-EECS organization) and authored two books, including the “The Practitioner’s Guide to Graph Data.” Today, Gosnell leads Data Driven Intuition, an AI education venture. She is also a 2026 UT 40 Under 40 awardee. Gosnell holds a Ph.D. in computer science from UT.
Partner and Head, Ara Energy
Opening Keynote – Day Two
Shameek Konar is a partner and head of Ara Energy, leading the firm’s strategy to acquire, optimize and decarbonize conventional energy assets. He has over 30 years of experience in the energy sector and previously served as CEO of Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of truck stops and supplier of transportation fuels in the U.S. During his time at Pilot, the company became the largest seller of renewable fuels to the transportation industry at 1.5 billion gallons a year. It also developed a nationwide network of DC fast chargers in partnership with GM to promote EV integration.
Before his tenure at Pilot, Konar served as chief investment officer at Castleton Commodities and Mercuria Energy Group. He also spent time at Goldman Sachs, where he was co-head of global commodities principal investing and part of the executive leadership team for Constellation Energy. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Vanderbilt University and spends some of his time teaching finance and climate change at UT.
President, University of Tennessee
Welcome Speaker – Day 1
Randy Boyd has served as UT’s 26th president since November 2018 and serves as the chief executive officer of the statewide UT System.
The UT System includes campuses in Chattanooga, Pulaski and Martin; the Health Science Center in Memphis; and the Institute of Public Service. Additionally, it includes the flagship campus in Knoxville, which is also comprised of the Space Institute in Tullahoma and the statewide Institute of Agriculture. The UT System also manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership, where Boyd serves as chairman.
In 1991, Boyd founded Knoxville-based Radio Systems Corporation (now PetSafe Brands), a company that produces over 4,000 pet-related products under the brand names PetSafe, Invisible Fence, ScoopFree and SportDOG. The company employs more than 1,400 people with offices in six countries around the world. Boyd also owns Boyd Sports, LLC, which owns six minor league baseball teams, including the Tennessee Smokies.
Dean, Haslam College of Business,
Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair, University of Tennessee
Welcome Speaker – Day 2
Stephen L. Mangum is the dean of the Haslam College of Business and the Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair at the University of Tennessee. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in human resource management from the University of Utah. He earned a doctorate in economics from George Washington University.
Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Mangum was senior associate dean of the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. He joined the faculty of Ohio State in 1983 and taught in the Department of Management and Human Resources for several years before managing the department. Before joining Ohio State, he taught and conducted research at George Washington University.
Mangum’s areas of research expertise include labor market analysis, social legislation, workforce development and international economic/ human resource development. His research addresses issues of national training policy, returns to post-school occupational training, international human resource development, contingent employment and poverty. He has published five books and more than 50 book chapters and articles in academic journals including the Industrial and Labor Relations Review, the Journal of Development Economics, Economic Development Quarterly and the Journal of Business Ethics. He has taught classes in labor economics, human resource policy, human resource planning and organizational economics, among others.
AInnovation Summit
Dean’s Message
We are living through one of the most consequential shifts in the history of business — artificial intelligence is reshaping how work happens across every industry, function, and level of organizations. That’s exactly why we’re launching the inaugural AInnovation Summit in October 2026.
The Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a unique role to play in this moment: bringing together the brightest minds from industry and academia to have honest, forward-looking conversations and create real-world insight sharing and meaningful collaboration about what AI means both for business and the next generation of leaders.
Not a typical academic conference, the summit is an intentionally curated, invitation-only gathering of 150 executives, thought-leaders, and decision-makers, and it is a key first step towards the founding of an Institute for the Future of Work in UT Haslam designed to continue in the future.
Why Attend?
What You’ll Gain
Learn from Top Experts
Hear directly from industry leaders and academic researchers at the forefront of AI in business. This is not just about theory, but practical applications you can put to work immediately.
Build Lasting Partnerships
Connect with executives, practitioners, and fellow academics across six focused tracks. These aren’t just conference contacts. They’re the beginning of working relationships.
Leave with a Shared Agenda
Walk away with practical frameworks, collaborative commitments, and a clear picture of where AI in business is heading and how your organization fits into that future.
AINnovation Summit
Agenda
Because of the fast-changing nature of this field, we are leaving our Emerging Topics on AI sessions flexible for now and will work with our subject matter experts and corporate participants to develop content, so it will address the most relevant and timely issues possible.
Day 1 – Wednesday, Oct 7, 2026
7:00 a.m.
Breakfast & Event Registration
8:30 a.m.
AInnovation Summit Welcome
Randy Boyd
8:50 a.m.
Keynote Introduction
Jeff Abbott
9:00 a.m.
Opening Keynote with Q&A
Denise Gosnell
10:00 a.m.
Morning Break
12:30 p.m.
Lunch
1:30 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
Afternoon Break
4:00 p.m.
Closing Keynote with Q&A
Ethan Mollick
(Will be delivered remotely)
5:00 p.m.
AInnovation Summit Day 1 Close
5:45 p.m.
Networking Departure from Marriott
6:00 p.m.
Networking Event at Neyland Stadium
Day 2 – Thursday, Oct 8, 2026
6:30 a.m.
Breakfast
8:00 a.m.
AInnovation Summit Day 2 Welcome
Steve Mangum
8:15 a.m.
Keynote Introduction
Steve Mangum
8:20 a.m.
Opening Keynote with Q&A
Shameek Konar
9:50 a.m.
Morning Break
10:10 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
Closing Keynote with Q&A
Andrew McAfee
12:00 p.m.
AInnovation Summit Day 2 Close
12:30 p.m.
Lunch
AInnovation Summit
Companies & Organizations
Companies
- AI Tennessee
- AllianceBernstein
- Amazon
- Aphena Pharma Solutions
- Authentrics.ai
- Boyd Center
- CGI
- Clayton Homes
- CNS/Y-12
- Cox Communications
- CRS Data
- EY
- FIS Global
- GEP Worldwide
- Gildan
- Greater Sum Ventures
- HF Capital
- Kenco
- KUB
- Leidos
- Lirio
- Nissan North America
- ORNL
- Panterra
- Pilot Flying J
- PwC
- PYA
- Revelyst
- ScoreLine Studios
- Shaw Industries (Berkshire Hathaway)
- State of Tennessee
- Surgical Review Corporation
- Tractor Supply
- Trimble Inc.
- TriNet
- Truist
Universities and Academic Institutions
- Indiana University
- Northeastern University
- University of Alabama
- University of Houston
- University of Iowa
- University of South Florida
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- University of Utah
- Vanderbilt University (Owen)
- Virginia Commonwealth University