Welcome by: Kath Easthope, Co-Founder & CEO, Boardwave and Phill Robinson Co-Founder & Chair, Boardwave.
Introduction to the week: Katy Wakefield, Director of Programme, Boardwave.
We open the Silicon Valley tour with an interactive breakfast to align the group around goals, strategy and execution. Kath Easthope will welcome participants and lead introductions, followed by a high-energy session from Bobby Napiltonia, Founder of The GTM Firm, focused on what it really takes to win, supercharging go-to-market execution, scaling at speed, and embedding AI into business strategy. Designed to set the mindset for the week and prime participants for the Anthropic session that follows.
This workshop, hosted by the Anthropic leadership team, explores how one of the world’s most influential AI companies is thinking about product, competitive advantage, and the future of tech and AI.
This behind-the-scenes session offers unparalleled product and technical insight, followed by an exclusive networking lunch with the Anthropic GTM team.
Meet at Deloitte at 15:00 for the next session. Deloitte is circa 15min walk from the hotel
Bruce Cleveland, author of Traversing the Traction Gap and Market Engineering and founding partner of Traction Gap Partners will lead an operator-grade masterclass on how real market leadership is built. Moving beyond generic scaling playbooks, this session equips CEOs with proven frameworks to reduce execution risk, engineer category and demand, and build durable, defensible market power. Attendees will leave with clear diagnostics, actionable next moves, and a practical roadmap to becoming the architect of their own market leadership.
~15 min walk
R. Marty Chavez, former Goldman CFO and Alphabet Board member, will explore the profound ways AI is transforming how organisations operate, make decisions, and innovate. From driving next-generation products and services to redefining strategic leadership, this conversation will illuminate the opportunities, challenges, and strategic imperatives for leaders navigating an AI-first world.
Frederic Kerrest, will share his firsthand experience of founding and scaling a global SaaS category leader, from zero, through hyper-growth, IPO, and beyond, to build a global leading business. Founded in 2009, OKTA had its NASDAQ IPO in 2017, and by 2025 had almost 6,000 employees globally, and $2.6bn of revenue.
Drawing on his Silicon Valley journey, he will highlight key takeaways for European tech founders and CEOs, including building global go-to-market strategies, scaling teams and operations internationally, leveraging AI as a growth driver, and navigating the challenges of rapid expansion from early scale to public company and beyond.
Marty W. Korman, is one of the leading dealmakers in Silicon Valley. He notably played a significant role in the sales of Twitter to Elon Musk, LinkedIn to Microsoft, and Pixar to Disney, among others. He will unpack how US tech M&A works, the difference with the European market and key factors in a successful US market entry strategy.
Meet at you.com at 15:00 for the next session. It is located very close to the hotel
Meet the European founder community in Silicon Valley for an evening of insight and connection. The session features a fireside chat led by Mark Charkin, Executive Director, GBx with Kathryn Parsons, Co-Founder & CEO of Decoded, exploring what it really takes to scale a European business in the US. Together they’ll discuss the growth journey, key challenges, and practical lessons learned along the way, followed by networking drinks with fellow founders, operators and investors.
Bag drop at hotel
A fireside conversation with George Roberts, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of KKR, one of the defining figures in modern private equity. From co-founding KKR in 1976 and pioneering the buyout industry to building a global alternative asset manager across multiple market cycles, George will reflect on long-term strategy, leadership, and organisational resilience. Moderated by Phill Robinson, the discussion will explore the evolution of technology investing, KKR’s approach to AI, and the enduring influence of mentorship and philanthropy on KKR’s culture.
Free time unitl 3pm at Wilson Sonsini offices
Join Anu Bharadwaj (President, Atlassian), Basil Shikin (CTO, AppLovin), and Jared Quincy Davis (Founder & CEO, Mithril) for a focused conversation on the AI breakthroughs defining this moment, and what comes next. From the most important technical advances of the past year to real-world customer deployments and enterprise-scale challenges, this session will explore how AI is transforming software development, monetisation models, and competitive dynamics between startups and incumbents like OpenAI, with clear, practical advice for European CEOs building global tech businesses.
At Wente Vineyards, we will be welcomed to explore the estate through a guided tour of the caves, followed by wine paired with appetisers, an intriguing “unknown pour” experience, and dinner. The evening offers a relaxed, immersive way to experience the vineyard, its wines, and the estate’s unique atmosphere.
Explore how top US founders think, act, and scale, with practical insights European CEOs can apply to drive innovation and growth in their own ventures in the birthplace of Silicon Valley innovation.
Exploration & Lunch on Stanford’s beautiful campus.
Free time from 2-3:15pm
AI’s true value isn't captured by deployment, but by adoption. We’ll dive into the drivers of workplace attitudes towards AI and address the friction points causing hesitation and hampering adoption speed. Learn how to transform your workforce from passive users into empowered "Superagents" who don't just use AI, but use it to drive the measurable results the $4.4T opportunity promises.
A focused wrap-up strategy session designed to convert the week’s insights into clear strategic shifts, execution priorities, and practical actions. Participants will align on what changes when they return, and what they will do differently on Monday morning to drive speed, focus, and results.
An exclusive evening in association with McKinsey and peers to reflect on the week’s insights, exchange perspectives, and explore the broader implications for leadership, strategy, and innovation.
An exclusive AI-focused session with Meta.
9-10am: Vishal Shah: Personal Superintelligence — Vishal will share an overview of Meta’s AI vision and how we believe this technology will impact our everyday lives and the future of human connection.
10-11am: Justin Osofsky: People Build the Business — Justin will share insights and stories from his 18-year journey at Meta that illustrate the importance of not just evolving processes and sound strategy, but also in building relationships and developing talent.
11-12pm: Product demo






















































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