Tech Giants Back 'Human Leadership' at New Executive Summit

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – November 10, 2026 — In an era where generative artificial intelligence is systematically dismantling traditional corporate hierarchies and automating vast swaths of knowledge work, a counterintuitive trend is emerging at the highest echelons of business: a massive premium on human emotional intelligence.

This paradox was brought into sharp relief today with the announcement of The JOURNEY Leadership Summit, scheduled for February 3–5, 2027, at The St. Regis San Francisco. Backed by a formidable roster of corporate heavyweights including PwC, Waymo, Silver Lake, and Fast Company, the event signals a strategic pivot in how the enterprise sector views executive development. Rather than focusing solely on technological integration, the summit’s stated mandate is the preservation and enhancement of human leadership amid widespread AI adoption.

The conference is the first major corporate-backed leadership event from Journey To Lead (JOURNEY), a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit. But beneath the surface of this philanthropic endeavor lies a sophisticated economic engine, one that reveals how deeply the anxieties surrounding AI have penetrated the C-suite, and how the business of executive networking is rapidly evolving to meet those fears.

The Next Chapter for Fortune’s Power Brokers

To understand the gravity of the JOURNEY Summit, one must look at its architects: Nina Easton and Pattie Sellers. For over two decades, the duo served as the driving force behind the Fortune Most Powerful Women (MPW) Summits. Sellers co-founded the MPW franchise in 1998, transforming it from a simple magazine list into a global conference series and an elite community of female executives. Easton, formerly Fortune’s Washington editor, chaired the international arm, producing CEO events across Asia and Europe.

Their departure from Fortune—Sellers officially stepped down in late 2020 after 36 years—left a vacuum in the executive convening space. While Fortune continues to operate its MPW summits, Easton and Sellers launched Journey To Lead in 2022 with a distinct mandate: fostering diversity and leadership development through fellowship programs.

The upcoming 2027 summit marks their aggressive return to the commercial-scale conference circuit, leveraging decades of accumulated social capital. "After 25 years building high-level conferences, we're creating a new Summit that zeroes in on what is invaluable and always important: human talent and leadership," says Pattie Sellers, JOURNEY Co-Founder and Co-President.

The competitive dynamics are notable. While legacy media conferences often cast a wide net across general business trends, JOURNEY is hyper-focusing on the intersection of human capital and automation. It is a calculated bet that the next generation of Fortune 500 CEOs will pay a premium not for networking alone, but for actionable frameworks on how to lead human workforces through unprecedented technological disruption.

The Human Counterweight to Generative AI

The roster of corporate partners underwriting the summit provides a revealing look at how the technology and finance sectors are hedging their bets on AI. Silver Lake has signed on as the VIP Partner, while Alphabet’s GV is also participating. Waymo serves as the Official Rideshare Partner, and PwC is the Presenting Partner of "AI Alley," an activation hosting artificial intelligence companies. Peloton rounds out the major sponsors as a partner on "Wellness Way."

Why are firms that are fundamentally driving the AI revolution investing heavily in a summit dedicated to human leadership? The answer lies in the economic realities of enterprise transformation.

As one industry observer noted privately, the deployment of AI is no longer a technological bottleneck; it is a cultural and managerial one. Companies are discovering that integrating autonomous systems requires leaders who possess high degrees of empathy, ethical judgment, and the ability to manage workforce anxiety. The sheer velocity of AI integration is forcing boards of directors to re-evaluate what constitutes a capable chief executive.

"Technology is changing how we work. Human leadership is becoming more important, not less," adds Co-Founder and Co-President Nina Easton.

PwC’s sponsorship of AI Alley is particularly telling. The consulting giant has built a massive advisory business around AI integration. By positioning itself at a summit focused on human leadership, PwC is signaling to its enterprise clients that it understands the human cost of digital transformation. Similarly, Waymo’s involvement—coupled with the speaking slot of its Co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana—highlights the autonomous vehicle company's need to navigate complex societal and regulatory landscapes, a task that requires nuanced human diplomacy rather than just algorithmic efficiency.

The Economics of the Modern Executive Summit

Beyond the thematic focus on AI, the JOURNEY Summit represents a fascinating evolution in the business model of executive conferences. Journey To Lead operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational foundation. Yet, it is structuring high-end corporate sponsorships and delegate packages that rival the most lucrative commercial summits.

This hybrid model effectively blends corporate philanthropy with B2B networking and executive training. Corporations are not merely buying sponsorship banners; they are purchasing delegate seats to send their rising stars for high-impact coaching in on-site workshops, followed by post-Summit virtual programming.

This structure allows companies to allocate funds from both their leadership development budgets and their corporate social responsibility or diversity, equity, and inclusion pools. The revenue generated from these corporate delegates in turn funds JOURNEY’s broader nonprofit mission of bringing more women and diverse leaders to the top of the private sector.

It is a highly efficient economic loop. The nonprofit status provides a halo effect for corporate sponsors, while the elite nature of the programming ensures that the event remains a must-attend for ambitious executives. As the executive conference market becomes increasingly saturated, this mission-driven, tax-exempt model may become the new gold standard for high-level conveners who need to justify premium pricing to corporate procurement departments.

Curating the Post-Automation C-Suite

Ultimately, the success of the JOURNEY Leadership Summit will hinge on its ability to deliver tangible return on investment for its attendees. The speaker lineup suggests a deliberate curation of leaders who have navigated severe industry disruptions and lived to tell the tale.

Former Best Buy CEO Corie Barry is slated to speak, bringing crucial perspectives on leading a massive retail workforce through digital transformation and intense e-commerce competition. Fintech founder Jenny Just will likely address the rapid scaling of ventures in heavily regulated, tech-driven environments. They are joined by prominent venture capitalists Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures, Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures, and Susan Lyne, all of whom are actively funding the technologies that are forcing this leadership reckoning.

The inclusion of JOURNEY Champions, Fellows, and Members alongside these marquee names indicates a multi-tiered engagement strategy designed to foster mentorship across different stages of the corporate pipeline. It is an acknowledgment that the skills required to lead in the AI era cannot simply be downloaded; they must be transferred through human connection and shared experience.

As the February 2027 summit approaches, the broader business community will be watching closely. The event is more than just a reunion of Fortune’s former power brokers; it is a real-time stress test of a new corporate thesis. In a global economy increasingly dictated by machine learning, predictive analytics, and automated efficiency, the ultimate competitive advantage may simply be the mastery of the human element.