Experience Palm Beach from an unforgettable vantage point aboard a 130’ yacht as you cruise the Intracoastal Waterway, where the island’s storied past and stunning shoreline reveal themselves through views of iconic estates and lush tropical landscapes. This serene sightseeing journey reflects the timeless elegance of The Breakers, a resort born from Henry Flagler’s Gilded Age vision for coastal grandeur. A relaxing lunch will be served on board, offering the perfect finish to this coastal experience.

Begin your experience at Connections with a stylish welcome reception on The Breakers’ ocean lawn, inspired by the timeless charm of classic Palm Beach. Set against sweeping ocean views and swaying palms, guests are invited to mix and mingle in an atmosphere that feels both effortlessly refined and unmistakably coastal. Enjoy an abundant selection of heavy hors d’oeuvres and signature cocktails, thoughtfully designed to encourage relaxed conversation and connection as the sun sets over the Atlantic Ocean.

Join us for an unforgettable evening of coastal elegance in the stunning Ponce de Leon Ballroom at The Breakers. Enjoy a refined plated dinner set within an atmosphere inspired by timeless seaside luxury. The evening takes center stage with an exclusive live performance by Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, delivering an iconic soundtrack and the perfect backdrop for a night of celebration, connection, and sophistication. Exquisite surroundings. Elevated cuisine. Legendary entertainment.

Join us for a fun and enriching day exploring Florida’s wildlife, culture and cuisine!

The adventure begins with an exciting Everglades wildlife presentation led by Ashley Lawrence—wildlife expert, rescuer, and cast member of Animal Planet’s Gator Boys. She’ll share firsthand stories from her work in the Everglades and introduce guests to live animals. Her energetic style makes learning about Florida’s ecosystem both fascinating and fun for all ages.

Next, guests will enjoy a relaxed, family‑friendly walking tour of historic Worth Avenue, known for its Mediterranean Revival architecture, charming courtyards and hidden passageways. Guides will highlight Addison Mizner’s influence, Old World design elements, and the iconic figures who shaped Palm Beach’s glamorous history.

Along the way, guests will sample bites from select Palm Beach restaurants, offering a delicious taste of the area’s refined culinary scene. Younger attendees can visit Pan’s Garden, where they’ll learn about butterfly gardening, native plants, and enjoy a hands‑on nature activity.

To finish the day, guests can unwind with free time to explore Worth Avenue’s renowned shopping district, filled with luxury boutiques, galleries, and timeless Palm Beach charm.

In this groundbreaking session, Stanford Adjunct Professor Jeremy Utley (a Thinkers50 Top Ten Innovation Leader for 2023) introduces audiences to AI as they have yet to know it: a relationship. Utley challenges the conventional AI-as-oracle mindset and encourages professionals to embrace AI as a collaborative thought partner. Drawing on groundbreaking research featured by Harvard Business Review, Utley demonstrates why AI-assisted teams often underperform – due to predictable and preventable human bias – and how teams can unlock AI's full potential for innovation. Leveraging interactive exercises, participants will gain personal realizations and build confidence to spearhead meaningful organizational change. Participants will be equipped with both strategic frameworks and the practical know-how and credibility to be a convincing changemaker in their organizations. Transform your understanding of AI from a mere tool to a catalyst for behavioral and cultural transformation in this deeply insightful and empowering session.

Moderator: Bill Cassidy, Sr. Editor - Trucking and Domestic Transportation | The Journal of Commerce
Speaker: Tim Denoyer, VP and Sr. Analyst | ACT Research

Step into a high impact arena where the most influential minds in logistics and supply chain reveal how they’re shaping the future. These conversations go beyond strategy to expose the bold decisions, innovative thinking, and real world leadership driving transformation across the industry. Experience the perspectives of executives who aren’t just reacting to change — they’re creating it. This series spotlights the leaders who deliver the clarity, conviction, and competitive insight leaders need to stay ahead of what’s next.

The rules of freight are being rewritten in real time—and Amazon is helping write them. This fast-paced discussion pulls back the curtain on how Amazon Freight is tackling volatility, scaling against complexity, and deploying technology to make faster, smarter decisions. Walk away with a clearer view of where the market is headed and what it takes to compete in the new supply chain reality.

Moderator: Brian Thompson, Chief Commercial Officer | SMC³
Speaker: Morgan Roberts, Principal, Supply Chain Manager | Amazon Freight LTL

Step into a high-impact arena where the most influential minds in logistics and supply chain reveal how they’re shaping the future. These conversations go beyond strategy to expose the bold decisions, innovative thinking, and real-world leadership driving transformation across the industry. Experience the perspectives of executives who aren’t just reacting to change — they’re creating it. This series spotlights the leaders who deliver the clarity, conviction, and competitive insight leaders need to stay ahead of what’s next.

Moderator: George Lauriat, Editor-in-Chief | The American Journal of Transportation
Speaker: Dave Bush, VP - LTL | J.B. Hunt

Step into a high-impact arena where the most influential minds in logistics and supply chain reveal how they’re shaping the future. These conversations go beyond strategy to expose the bold decisions, innovative thinking, and real-world leadership driving transformation across the industry. Experience the perspectives of executives who aren’t just reacting to change — they’re creating it. This series spotlights the leaders who deliver the clarity, conviction, and competitive insight leaders need to stay ahead of what’s next.

Moderator: Jeff Berman, Group News Editor | Peerless Media
Speaker: Chris Wyndham, President and CEO | Revenova

Prepare for an unflinching, data driven reveal of the emerging supply chain risks that ATRI’s latest research shows are reshaping safety performance, congestion hot spots, and workforce stability across the U.S. freight network. Drawing from ATRI’s deep analytics on bottlenecks, litigation pressure, rising operational costs, and workforce constraints, this session exposes the escalating challenges that LTL carriers and 3PLs must navigate as they balance service expectations with growing structural inefficiencies. Attendees will gain a powerful, forward looking understanding of the operational realities defining 2026 and the strategic actions needed to protect capacity, strengthen resilience, and stay ahead in an increasingly complex freight environment.

Moderator: Victoria Kickham, Sr. Editor | DC Velocity
Speaker: Rebecca Brewster, President and COO | ATRI

The Supreme Court just redrew the liability map for freight brokerage—changing how Truckload and LTL capacity will be sourced, vetted, priced, and defended. In a unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, the Court opened the door for state negligent-selection claims under the FAAAA’s safety exception, stripping away a long-relied-upon preemption shield and elevating carrier selection into a frontline risk issue. In this timely session—featuring leading 3PL and truckload carrier executives—we’ll unpack what it means in practice: how diligence standards could evolve, where liability and insurance costs may shift, how broker–carrier dynamics could change, and what leaders are doing now to protect networks without sacrificing service, capacity, or speed.

Moderator: Rebecca Brewster, President and COO | ATRI
Speakers: Daniel Hoff, VP - Government Affairs | Transportation Intermediaries Association
Matt Minton, VP - Carrier Experience | C.H. Robinson
Jim Mullen, President | TCA

Step into a high impact arena where the most influential minds in logistics and supply chain reveal how they’re shaping the future. These conversations go beyond strategy to expose the bold decisions, innovative thinking, and real world leadership driving transformation across the industry. Experience the perspectives of executives who aren’t just reacting to change — they’re creating it. This series spotlights the leaders who deliver the clarity, conviction, and competitive insight leaders need to stay ahead of what’s next.

Moderator: Elisabeth Barna, Founder and Principal | EAB Strategies
Speaker: John Smith, President and CEO | FedEx Freight

Immerse yourself in the legendary Breakers poolside experience and enjoy one of the exclusive bungalows reserved especially for CX26 attendees and guests. Soak up the scene–plush loungers, shade when you need it, and Palm Beach glamour in every direction. Step onto the private beach for uninterrupted ocean views or settle in poolside where the atmosphere is every bit as vibrant as it is relaxing. Soft drinks and curated snacks keep the day effortless as you unwind, connect, or simply take in the shoreline. This isn’t just a retreat–it’s a sun drenched, high style escape at The Breakers, where the beach and the pool are yours to enjoy at your pace.

Freight fraud has entered a new era—one defined by synthetic identities, AI-driven impersonation, and organized cargo theft networks that exploit blind spots between digital systems and physical reality. Drawing on intelligence-grade methods and a nationwide sensor network that captures real-world fleet behavior, GenLogs’ latest research exposes how deepfakes, chameleon carriers, and coordinated theft rings are evolving faster than traditional vetting, load board workflows, and legacy compliance tools can keep up. This session delivers the ground truth strategies LTL and 3PL leaders need now—real-time identity validation, lane-level anomaly detection, and visibility models built to stop fraud before it starts—arming the industry for the next phase of digital deception.

Moderator: Justin Hall, Augment.
Speaker: Ryan Joyce, Founder and CEO, GenLogs

Step into a high impact arena where the most influential minds in logistics and supply chain reveal how they’re shaping the future. These conversations go beyond strategy to expose the bold decisions, innovative thinking, and real world leadership driving transformation across the industry. Experience the perspectives of executives who aren’t just reacting to change — they’re creating it. This series spotlights the leaders who deliver the clarity, conviction, and competitive insight leaders need to stay ahead of what’s next.

Moderator: Jeff Berman, Group News Editor | Peerless Media
Speaker: Luke Martin, Enterprise Logistics Lead | Lockheed Martin

This panel brings together two sides of the same shipper decision: Mastio’s Kevin Huntsman on how LTL service performance drives loyalty and retention, and ArcBest’s Eddie Sorg on dynamic pricing reshaping cost expectations and buying behavior. Together, they explore the real trade-offs shippers make between price and service - and where pricing discipline can amplify - or undermine - the value carriers and 3PLs work hard to deliver. For leading LTL carriers and 3PLs. This conversation connects commercial strategy to the shipper experience in a market where both service credibility and pricing intelligence now determine who wins freight.

Moderator: Bill Cassidy, Sr. Editor - Trucking and Domestic Transportation | The Journal of Commerce
Speakers: Kevin Huntsman, President | Mastio & Company
Eddie Sorg, Chief Commercial Officer | ArcBest

Finish off the week at the annual SMC³ Rise and Shine! Enjoy a soothing chair massage before heading home. Relax, rejuvenate and recharge the mind, body and spirit.

AI systems are only as good as the data that feeds them—and as experts warn, hidden biases, opaque decision paths, and “black box” failures can quietly erode trust and drive bad decisions long before anyone notices. In this explosive session, we pull back the curtain on how corrupted, incomplete, or biased data can silently mislead even the most advanced AI systems, creating risks that ripple across operations, strategy, and the wider economy. Drawing on real-world evidence and cutting-edge research, this session discusses why leaders must understand what’s happening inside the model, as risks in critical decisions can arise from foundations they can’t see and shouldn’t trust.

Moderator: Zach Jecklin, Chief Information Officer | Echo Global Logistics
Speaker: Alan Amling, Ph.D., Assistance Professor of Practice | University of Tennessee, Global Supply Chain Institute

The final session of Connections 2026 brings some of the industry’s most influential logistics and supply chain media voices together for an unfiltered look at the biggest revelations, hidden trends, and hard truths that emerged over the three days at Connections. This is where the noise gets stripped away, the real story gets told, and the insights you need for 2027 and beyond come into sharp focus. This one conversation will reshape how you think about customers, your competitors, and the future of your network.

Moderators:  Elisabeth Barna, Founder and Principal | EAB Strategies
Bill Cassidy, Sr. Editor - Trucking and Domestic Transportation | The Journal of Commerce
Victoria Kickham, Sr. Editor | DC Velocity
George Lauriat, Editor-in-Chief | The American Journal of Transportation