ASV CEO Summit
Join us for our annual CEO Summit, sponsored by Stifel, Daversa Partners, and Pinckney Hugo Group. We're pleased to announce a speaker lineup including Chedy Hampson, former founder/CEO of TCG Player; Prabhdeep Singh, COO of Steno; Andre Yee, former founder/CEO of Triblio and SVP at Eloqua; and Laura Kinder, President of Daversa Partners, among other founders, investors, and operators.
Content will start at 2:30pm sharp, so we encourage you to arrive ahead of then. Doors open at 2:00pm.
AGENDA
2:00pm – Doors Open
2:30–2:40pm – Welcome & Opening Remarks
Framing the afternoon: how founders are navigating tighter capital markets, evolving team structures, and the growing influence of AI on every aspect of company-building.
2:40–3:15pm – Building Defensible Growth
How do you grow without overspending? This session brings together founders and operators to share practical lessons on go-to-market strategy. We’ll also tackle the big question: in a world where anyone can copy features, what truly makes a business defensible? From data advantages to deep workflow integration to customer stickiness, the panel will explore how today’s companies can protect margins and build lasting moats.
3:15–3:50pm – Team-Building in the Age of AI
What does team-building look like in 2025? As AI reshapes workflows, leaders are rethinking how they hire, level, and design organizations. Roles that once required large teams can now be handled by smaller, AI-augmented groups. Specialists are being asked to work alongside generalists who wield AI tools. And job descriptions often lag behind the actual scope of work. This session explores how founders can spot and recruit the highest-impact talent, structure lean but resilient teams, and build cultures that thrive amid rapid technological change.
4:00–4:55pm — Executive Presence: Leaning Into Leadership
Great companies don’t just have capital-efficient GTM strategies and well-designed teams—they also know how to tell their story persuasively. In this interactive workshop, Joann Maria Yarrow will guide founders through improv-based exercises in narrative, presence, body language, and pitch refinement.
4:55–5:25pm — Playbooks For Excellence
A fireside chat featuring Adrian Autry, Head Coach of Syracuse Basketball
5:30–Close – Dinner & Networking Reception
Brought to you by:
Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) is a global investment bank, wealth management, and commercial banking institution with $400B+ in AUM. Stifel Bank offers venture and fund banking solutions, including 100% free banking for fund clients, fully insured liquid ICS accounts (up to $250MM FDIC coverage), capital call and management company lines of credit, and venture lending.
Daversa Partners is a specialty firm that builds the executive teams for growth stage and venture backed companies.
Pinckney Hugo Group is a full-service integrated marketing communications firm providing strategic solutions for clients in a broad range of industries.
Armory Square Ventures (ASV) leads Seed and Series A rounds in B2B SaaS, marketplace, and vertical AI companies. We invest in emerging markets across the Northeast and Midwest, catalyzing growth in both established and burgeoning tech hubs.