LA TechConnect 2026
LA Tech Connect is a one-day conference for directors, VPs, and C-level leaders in product, engineering, and technology from Los Angeles and Orange County. Hear how practitioners are adopting AI, compare approaches with peers, and explore what those choices mean for your teams.
2026 theme: Evolved. AI agents, new operating models, and evolving expectations are changing how technology organizations build and lead.
Registration is limited to director level and above. Every session runs on a single track, so everyone shares the same sessions and the conversations between them.
Program
9:00 AM · Opening remarks
9:15 AM · Morning keynote "What a team a year ahead looks like" Dan Gill, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Carvana How Dan's team at Carvana works as AI practitioners: the processes they put in place, how they got there, and what to do if you're a year behind.
10:00 AM · Networking
10:30 AM · Presentation "Why software factories are failing" Hersh Tapadia, Co-Founder and CEO, Allstacks Why AI-powered software factories fail without product management, and how top companies use AI to bring every product manager to top-performer output.
11:15 AM · Panel "Beyond product: how organizations are evolving with AI" Byron Miller, EVP, Atlantic Music Group Michelle Serra, Senior Director, Product and Business Applications, Horizon Media Marina Kernes, Deputy Chief Technology Officer and Head of Fare Collections, Metrolink Leaders from music, media, and public transit share what they've learned, and what they've changed, as their organizations adopt AI.
12:00 PM · Lunch
1:00 PM · Afternoon keynote "Beyond the SDLC: Building the Business, Not Just the Software" Cassie Campbell, SVP, Product and Technology, Plug AI has collapsed the time it takes to build software, but the software isn't the whole business. Cassie shares what she's learning, in real time, while building an AI-native product and engineering organization at Plug: what's working, where we're extending the AI-native SDLC beyond engineering, and the experiments underway to bring ops, strategy, and brand into the loop. Expect honest debates, an audience exercise, and one thing leaders can try the next business day.
1:45 PM · Presentation "Accelerating the Future of Entertainment" Eric Girard, NVIDIA How the next wave of accelerated computing and AI infrastructure will expand creative possibilities, improve efficiency, and scale production.
2:15 PM · Networking
2:45 PM · Workshop Led by Travis Johnson, Claude Ambassador Everyone votes on the topic at the opening: spreading AI adoption across your org, building an agent live, or setting up a daily brief. All attendees take the workshop that wins.
3:45 PM · Closing remarks
Speaker bios and the full program: https://www.techconnect-la.com/?utm_source=luma&utm_medium=listing&utm_campaign=latc2026#program
Logistics
Thursday, November 12, 2026. Doors open at 8:15 AM with breakfast. The day ends at 5:00 PM. UCLA Faculty Club, 480 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Parking is in UCLA Parking Structure 2, next to the Faculty Club: $16 for the day, paid separately. Bring a laptop for the workshop. Dress is business casual.
Registration
Tickets are $199 and include breakfast, lunch, and every session. Register with your title and company. The hosts confirm you're director level or above and charge your card only after approving you. You get a receipt to submit for reimbursement.
You can send someone from your team if they're director level or above. Each person registers with their own title and company.
Earlier in your career? PMA.LA runs open community events all year at pma.la.
Hosted by PMA.LA, the Product Managers Association of Los Angeles.