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June 2026

Learning, Networking, and a Legendary Backdrop: Inside This Year’s Wisconsin Digital Symposium

Digital transformation continues to evolve from an emerging priority into a business imperative, and this year’s Wisconsin Digital Symposium made that clearer than ever. Held on June 1, 2026, the fifth annual event, held at the iconic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, brought together digital leaders, AI experts, operational change drivers, and UWEBC members from across industries to explore how organizations can unlock the power of emerging technologies, implement change effectively, and turn AI into measurable value.

From partner case studies on AI labor, AI FinOps, and supply chain resilience to keynote insights from Áine Denari and Phil Gilbert, the conversations throughout the day centered on one key theme: digital transformation is most effective when technology, people, and business outcomes move forward together. Attendees also took advantage of complimentary tickets to the first-ever Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing Summit the next day, which created a seamless, two-day experience to explore how digital strategy and manufacturing excellence intersect.

Read the full story and explore key takeaways from this year’s Wisconsin Digital Symposium. And, if you missed the event, a Digital Pass is now available for purchase to gain immediate access to event recordings.

Read the full story

A Great Conference Starts with Great Speakers. Meet the First Five.

We’re excited to share the first announced speakers for the 2026 UWEBC Annual Conference. Known for delivering more than inspiration, UWEBC Conference speakers provide practical perspectives on the trends shaping business and technology today, along with ideas attendees can bring back to their organizations.

Steve Jones, leadership coach, best-selling author, and consultant to organizations including the Green Bay Packers, will join us as our first keynote speaker. Steve helps leaders build stronger teams, lead with intention, and create cultures rooted in trust, unity, and resilience. In-person attendees will also receive a complimentary copy of his book, The Twin Thieves: How Great Leaders Build Great Teams.

Newly announced track speakers include Allison Murn, Brand Growth Consultant and Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota; Mindy Geisser, Chief People Services Officer at Savers Value Village; Kari Mahaffey, Senior Vice President – North America Applications at Oracle; Ralph Buelling, EVP/Chief Information Officer at UW Credit Union; and Justin Robbins of Metric Sherpa.

The conference will also feature Emmy Award-winning journalist and storyteller John Stofflet as Master of Ceremonies, along with live graphic recording by Sherrill Knezel of Meaningful Marks LLC, a signature element of the UWEBC Annual Conference experience.

Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks, so check back often as the 2026 Annual Conference lineup continues to grow.

Learn more and register now

Jennifer Anderson Brings Human-Centered Change Leadership Expertise to UWEBC

Jennifer Anderson is this year’s Change Leadership Practice Director in Residence, working with Doug Barton, our People Focus Area Practice Director. Jennifer has spent her career helping organizations and leaders navigate change. As a longtime consultant, her work has focused on transformation, change management, organizational design, and culture. While each situation is different, she has seen one common thread: lasting change depends on people.

Jennifer is most energized to work with UWEBC because of the opportunity to connect directly with member companies and learn alongside them. She values discussions that help leaders guide people through uncertainty, build trust, and create the conditions for teams to adapt. In her role, Jennifer plans to bring a strong sense of presence, positive energy, and a genuine commitment to listening to every interaction, creating space for open dialogue and meaningful connection.

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Welcome new member Zendesk!

We are pleased to welcome Zendesk as a new member of our community. Zendesk is an AI-powered service platform that helps organizations improve customer and employee experiences by connecting people, knowledge, and AI across channels. Their solutions support customer service, employee service, contact centers, ticketing, messaging, live chat, knowledge bases, reporting and analytics, and more. We’re excited to have Zendesk join the UWEBC community and look forward to the insights and perspective they’ll bring to future conversations.

Partner Offering Spotlight: Decision Making as a Competitive Advantage

UW–Madison has a wide breadth of professional development courses offered each year, diving into a variety of topics. Here is one upcoming event in particular that we thought may interest you.

Decision Making as a Competitive Advantage

June 16-17, 2026, In person in Madison, WI

This course provides a comprehensive exploration of the Choosing by Advantages (CBA) sound decision-making process, essential for professionals in capital-intensive industries. Participants will delve into foundational principles, models, and methods of CBA, learning to effectively describe differences, decide importance, and recognize unsound methods.

UWEBC members receive a 20% discount.

Learn more and register

Upcoming UWEBC Events

Note: Attending the events listed below requires UWEBC membership, unless otherwise specified. All are virtual unless otherwise specified.

June 18: Skills-Based Talent Strategy

Talent and Learning Peer Group

Learn how moving from degree-based to skills-based hiring, promotion, and development broadens talent pools and improves agility.

More information and register »

June 25: AI You Can Trust: Building Transparency and Explainability into Agent and Customer Interactions

Customer Service Peer Group

AI is becoming a bigger part of customer service, but without trust, adoption stalls. Join this session to explore how organizations are making AI more transparent, explainable, and usable for both customers and employees.

More information and register »

July 15: Modernizing the Tech Core

Technology Peer Group

Modern enterprises are under increasing pressure to deliver speed, flexibility, and resilience, yet many are still anchored by legacy systems. This session explores what it really means to modernize the “tech core” in a way that enables, not disrupts, business momentum.

More information and register »