San Francisco · 2026
250 of the most accomplished people you know. A day and a half. Single track. No spectators — everyone in the room is someone worth meeting.
The Inaugural OpenWater Summit
When
December 7–8, 2026
Monday & Tuesday
Where
The Pearl
San Francisco
Audience
250 members
Investors, operators, leaders
Your decades of expertise are more than a resume. Here, you take the stage and share what you know — and how you think — with your community.
250 people who’ve done what you’ve done. Same stage of life. Same accomplishments. Same ambition to keep building. No small talk required.
Corporate leaders, venture investors, and talent decision-makers are here to mix, not to observe. Meet them the way decisions actually get made — in conversation.
Every community has a founding moment. This is OpenWater’s. The people who show up for Year 1 will always have been here first.
The 2026 Theme
Hard-won knowledge. Live projects. Real outcomes.
Our members have done the work. You’ve built companies, led turnarounds, navigated transitions, deployed AI, sat on boards, coached executives, started over, and started again. You aren’t waiting to see what experience produces — you are what experience produces. And you’re just getting started.
The Summit is where that experience stops being theoretical and shows up in the world. Members on stage, sharing current projects, active ventures, and what they’re building next — in a room of investors, corporate decision-makers, and partners who came ready to act on what they hear.
If you’ve got a project worth showing, expertise the room can use, or a lesson you’ve earned the hard way — there’s a place for it on stage. Speaker details are coming.
What You’ll Hear
Single track, by design — every member hears every story. Across the day, the stage moves through three kinds of wisdom.
01
Wisdom Applied
The work, in the world.
Members who’ve recently built, shipped, or led — the real story of what worked, what broke, and what they’d do differently.
02
Wisdom Shared
Experience, deployed for others.
Advisors, fractional leaders, board members, and coaches on what it actually takes — the work the room wants to commission more of.
03
Wisdom Earned
What you learn getting through it.
The transitions, setbacks, and comebacks — the honest part most rooms leave out.
Not predictions. Proof.
This is not a conference. There are no paid speakers. No panels of strangers. Our members are the content — on stage, in breakout rooms, at every table.
Meet 10–12 people in the first hour. The room is warm before the first talk begins.
Solve real challenges with the room. Walk away ready for the next steps — what 250 sharp minds in one place makes possible.
Give what you know. Ask for what you need. The community’s most powerful dynamic, now live in the room.
Members working with AI tools in real time. Wherever you are in your journey, experience meets fluency.
Every member contributes what they know. By the end of the day, the collective intelligence of the community is captured.
Senior executives and talent decision-makers in the room — not just watching, but in an invitation-only working session.
Agenda
December 7–8, 2026 · The Pearl, San Francisco
Arrival & Opening Reception
An evening of connection, conversation, and fun. Start making connections.
The Summit
Full-day program. One room. Everyone together.
Community Celebration
Reception and afterparty to close it out.
Times and sessions are illustrative. Full agenda coming soon.
Think of the best dinner you’ve had with OpenWater members.
Now multiply it by 250.
Your peers from 20+ local chapters. Former executives from Google, Meta, The New York Times, Deloitte, and dozens of other organizations. People still building, advising, investing, and operating — at the level that matters. The conversation that starts over coffee turns into a collaboration by lunch and a real opportunity by dinner.
250 seats. When they’re gone, they’re gone.
Reserve your seat →OpenWater is bringing together experienced operators, founders, executives, and decision-makers in one room. If your organization wants to explore sponsorship, we'd love to show you what we're building.