Thrive Spotlight: Main Stage and Expo Hall Lineup

The countdown to Thrive is on and over the next two weeks, our team is pulling out all the stops to bring you an event brimming with insightful and transformative experiences. Empowerment and knowledge await you at Thrive in Chicago September 17-19, so go grab your ticket today.

In this article

Read on to learn about:

• Who’s appearing on the main stage—Thought-provoking keynote addresses and dynamic industry leader panels

• What we have lined up for the Expo Hall—52 companies exhibiting, providing demos, and lending you their expertise

• The Thrive awards ceremony—See details about the Digital Heroes and Provider awards

To catch up on the 30+ learning sessions available across six learning tracks, see our two previously published blogs—Your Thrive 2024 Preview Part 1—A Glimpse at 3 Learning Tracks and Your Thrive 2024 Preview to Explore Part 2—Three More Learning Tracks.

Who’s who on the Thrive main stage

Prepare to be captivated by our main stage keynotes and panel discussions. We've assembled 23 powerhouse speakers from leading companies including Microsoft, Vodafone, Lumen, Verizon, Cisco, Intermedia, Acronis, Rackspace, Zoom, and others, who will offer their unique perspectives on the evolving technology landscape. From insights on AI's transformative power to exploring significant shifts in tech spending, these keynotes promise to be a highlight of your Thrive experience.

Thrive keynote speakers

Nicolas Desmarais

CEO, AppDirect

Nick will offer his strategic insights on B2B commerce, along with key technology innovations and his vision for AppDirect's trajectory over the next five years. He will focus on what he believes are the four crucial digital success factors for any organization. He will also explore AI's pivotal role in humanizing IT and enriching all forms and levels of customer interactions.

“We’re excited to bring together the entire AppDirect ecosystem of advisors, providers, and industry experts in one place. This ecosystem doesn’t exist anywhere else. Thrive provides an ideal environment for attendees to build impactful business connections and find new ways to leverage technology and innovation.” —Nick Desmarais, CEO, AppDirect

Rob Shewchuk

General Manager SMB USA, Microsoft

Attendees will learn how AI is revolutionizing the SMB journey, unlocking enormous opportunities for growth and innovation. He'll showcase the significant cost-efficiencies and ROI achievable through Co-Pilot. You'll get a tour of how organizations are utilizing AI and the competitive edge it provides to SMBs. He will also share key tools for assessing a business for AI readiness.

Renée Bergeron

Chief Operating Officer, AppDirect 

In Renee’s keynote, attendees will discover how major shifts in tech spending, notably towards managed services and cloud, are diversifying the competitive landscape. She’ll illustrate the paramount importance of scaling through ecosystems over merely delivering point solutions, and why this strategy is being adopted among the fastest-growing tech providers worldwide. Renee will also highlight the necessity for partners to expand their reach and yield greater returns through customer acquisition, cross-selling, and upselling complex solutions like AI and IaaS.

Jonathan Nikols

Senior Vice President, Global Enterprise Americas, Verizon Business

Jonathan will offer details on how Verizon is driving the future of connectivity and innovating transformative solutions. He’ll share industry trends in the mobility and IoT space, focusing on the industry's shift from a transactional to a solution- and outcome-oriented approach, and what that means for providers and customers. He’ll also delve into Verizon's unique differentiators in the mobility and IoT space. His session will set the stage for the more hands-on Verizon workshop about winning IoT deals in the AI era.

AppDirect product keynote

Andy Sen, Chief Technology Officer, AppDirect

Peush Patel, VP Product Management, AppDirect

In this joint keynote, Andy and Peush will explore key facets of succeeding in the digital economy—the need for a digital platform, establishing a digital ecosystem, addressing challenges in the digital supply chain, and the shift towards recurring relationships through a digital hub. They'll delve into the role of indirect channels in driving digital growth, and discuss the value of understanding your customer’s journey in transforming data into a valuable asset.

Attendees will hear details about new products and features that will benefit all customers—for example, Dev Center 2.0 for an all-new developer experience and a signature URL feature. Providers will hear details about Disti integrations and product distribution flow updates. Advisors will learn about our Advisor Branded Store and SaaS quoting solutions. And anyone working with end customers will want to hear about our split billing and buyer-curated catalog initiatives.

Alex Honnold

Rock climber

Widely recognized as the most accomplished and daring rock climber of his generation, Alex gained national attention for his free solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Alex will captivate Thrive attendees with enthralling stories of his climbing adventures and his relentless pursuit of excellence. Whether he’s conquering towering rock faces or advocating for environmental causes, he pushes the boundaries of human potential, inspiring others to reach new heights in their own lives. You’re sure to leave this session inspired to venture into the unknown to make your own indelible mark.

Thrive main stage panels

Top executives from leading companies will share their insights on topics ranging from evolving market conditions to strategic business expansion, offering invaluable knowledge and fresh perspectives on the tech industry.

Channel chief panel

Moderator: Renée Bergeron, COO, AppDirect

Participants:

• Mark Tina—Channel Chief & VP Indirect Partner Sales, Verizon
  

• Mike Conlon—Head of Americas Channel, Zoom

• John Young—SVP Sales and Channel Chief, Airespring

This engaging panel, featuring top executives from Verizon, Zoom, and Airespring, will equip you with insights into the evolving market conditions and pivotal channel strategies affecting tech advisors, including the shifting mindset of the new generation of C-Suite decision-makers entering today's boardrooms. They’ll delve into the evolving role of tech advisors over the next 2-5 years as shifting buyer habits prompt customers to seek advisors with deeper expertise who can help them navigate the complex technology landscape. You'll come away with new ways to enhance your value as an advisor.

Marketplace panel

Moderator: Emanuel Bertolin, CRO. AppDirect

Participants:

• Khaled Chaar—VP eCommerce, Cancom

• Chris Woodin—Senior Vice President, Solutions & Alliances, Softchoice

• Stewart Hawker—Head of Business Platforms, Vodafone

• Sue Mindel—Senior Director, Global Alliances Operations,  UKG

Leading marketplace executives will share their wisdom in this enlightening discussion on topics ranging from expanding partner programs and monetizing strategic relationships to unlocking the full potential of your marketplace. Each speaker will provide a unique look into their marketplace journey, detailing pivotal challenges they met and choices they made along the way, and they’ll offer practical advice for companies setting out on their own marketplace journey.

Cloud CEO panel

Moderator: Renée Bergeron, COO, AppDirect

Participants:

• Ezequiel Steiner—CEO, Acronis

• Dr. Tianyi Jiang—CEO, AvePoint

• Michael Gold—Chairman & CEO, Intermedia

• Srini Koushik—President AI and Sustainability & CTO, Rackspace

This panel provides an exclusive opportunity to gain insights straight from the boardrooms of Acronis, AvePoint, Intermedia, and Rackspace. These visionary leaders will discuss the market conditions impacting tech consumption and procurement, alongside bold predictions for the next 12-24 months. Learn how marketplace distribution is reshaping the software industry and what strategies you could adopt to drive your business success. You'll gain an understanding of how these trends are influencing sales, marketing, and channel organizations, and how they will empower advisors.

Technology advisor panel

Moderator: Emanuel Bertolin, CRO, AppDirect

Participants:

• Steve Ancheta—Founder and Managing Partner, Endpoint.io

• Eric Ludwig—Co-Founder, Rise Technologies

• Robby Paul—EVP & Chief Strategy Officer, Elevate Advisor

Join Emanuel Bertolin and a panel of innovators and entrepreneurs for a dynamic panel discussion on business expansion, leveraging the channel, and strategic planning for future success. They’ll explore the nuances of building a multi-category sales strategy, share key considerations for expansion into adjacent technologies, and describe how marketplaces factor into their selling strategies. Hear first-hand accounts of successful deals and gain valuable advice from these seasoned pros. You’ll leave equipped with future predictions and practical takeaways.

Thrive Expo Hall—50 providers ready to share their latest innovations and expertise

We're excited to announce that we’ve got a full house in the Thrive Expo Hall. You’ll have the opportunity to meet and sit down with 50 of our 63 sponsoring providers, who cover the full breadth of solution categories offered by AppDirect. They’ll be waiting for you with their latest product developments, demos, and experts to answer all of your questions.

What's in store for you in the AppDirect booth

You’ll find more than 20 experts on hand to offer product demos, discuss specific topics, and answer your questions on everything including:

• The latest AppDirect platform developments, such as platform extensions, developer center improvements, storefront updates, creating a custom UI, the appdirect.AI marketplace and creation studio, ConnectWise integrations, and much more

• Physical product integrations

• Advisor-branded store, advisor tools, SaaS quoting, advisor AI tools, and the SaaS quoting tool

• VNOC and Builtfirst

• Unified billing, price books, procurement store, curated catalog

• And much more!

Digital Heroes and Provider awards

At AppDirect, we’re committed to supporting and recognizing excellence and innovation. This year at Thrive, we’ve set aside time in the agenda to recognize true industry pioneers who are not only visionary, but also masters at executing on their vision. Join us for these special awards ceremonies.

Digital Heroes

We’ve revamped our Digital Heroes awards program this year and at Thrive, we’ll unveil the names of individuals within the AppDirect advisor and platform monetization customer community who exemplify excellence and are making remarkable strides in their fields. Following are the categories for these awards:

For advisors:

• Best innovator

• Best growth strategy

• Best multi-category expansion

• Best community educator

For platform customers:

• Best partner ecosystem

• Best commerce experience

• Best innovator

• Best multi-category selling strategy

Provider awards

The AppDirect Provider Awards will honor the people and brands that make the channel shine, the ones who are moving the needle where technology is concerned, who are dedicated to a strong partnership, and who are committed to a more technologically accessible future. Following are the provider award categories:

• Top strategic provider

• Top national channel manager
  

• Top strategic growth
  

• Top channel leader
  

• Top field channel manager

Register for Thrive

There's still time to secure your spot for this standout gathering. Be part of the conversation, be inspired, and ignite new possibilities. Register today at appdirect.com/thrive.