Think.Do Leadership 2026
February 3, 2026
Think.Do Atlanta
February 4, 2026
Think.Do Leadership 2026
February 3, 2026
Think.Do Atlanta
February 4, 2026
 

Think. Do Chicago

June 23, 2026 | Chicago, IL

GrayMatter's Think.Do Leadership Series is a 2/3 -day workshop + dinner built for manufacturing leaders who are responsible for turning strategy into results. 

 

Think.Do Chicago

June 23, 2026

Think.Do Leadership Series is a day of workshops built for manufacturing, energy and other industrial leaders who are responsible for turning strategy into results – plus, your registration includes a 1-night hotel stay and a ticket to a major conference the next day.

We emphasize proven approaches, real use cases and lessons learned from organizations that have already navigated similar challenges. 

The result is a working session that includes insight and action: 

  • Think: gain perspective on emerging trends, technologies and operational strategies 
  • Do: leave with concrete ideas, frameworks and next steps that can be applied immediately 
Transform Operations without Tearing Them Down 

Getting data is easy (or it should be). Operationalizing data is hard.  

Think.Do Chicago pivots on the idea that manufacturers don’t need to tear down what they’ve already built in order to scale their business. 

Plus, check out the Automate 2026 conference the next day, June 24 – giving you multiple reasons to get out of the office/plant. 

 

Agenda


Tuesday, June 23

 

12 PM

Welcome Lunch & Check-In

Lunch and informal networking. Share your biggest operational challenge.

12:10 PM

Safety & Cyber Moment

Overview of the day and why embedding security into operations matters.

12:15 PM

State of the Industry

Paul Galeski, GrayMatter CEO & Alan Hinchman, GrayMatter

A look at where manufacturing stands today — labor pressures, cybersecurity realities, data overload
and where we see AI fitting in.

12:45 PM

Building Security & Scalability into Brilliant Operations

Tod Virden, GrayMatter & Scott Christensen, GrayMatter

- Using the data you already have
- Avoiding unnecessary rip-and-replace
- Aligning operations and cybersecurity

1:30 PM

Collaborative Workshops 

Peer Group Working Session

Q: Can you discuss a time you wanted to take on a modernization project, but wasn't able to get support?

Q: At your current company, or a previous one, share an example of a modernization investment that produced real, sustained, measurable ROI. What are the lessons learned?

Q: When planning modernization efforts, are you taking them on as multi-year programs or as more constrained individual projects? What are the plusses and minuses of each? 

2:15 PM

Break

 

2:30 PM

Manufacturing Panel Discussion

Aligning OT and IT, integrating innovation into legacy systems and balancing uptime with security.

3:15 PM

Break

 

3:30 PM

Partner Spotlight: The Future of Proficy 

What Proficy’s strategic shift means for manufacturers, how Proficy’s independence unlocks opportunities for operational modernization and what customers and partners can expect in the evolution of the Proficy platform.

4:00 PM

Rapid-Fire Leadership Conversations 

Small-group discussion focused on practical next steps.

4:55 PM

Wrap-Up & Commitments

6:00 PM

Dinner & Networking

A relaxed setting to continue the conversation and build connections.

 
 

 
 

WHAT YOU GET

 
  • Full day of high-impact workshops built for industrial leadership

  • Complimentary hotel stay

  • Ticket to major industry conference (Automate 2026) the next day

  • Meals covered

  • Access to our Voices of Vision leadership report

  • Presentation materials to reference later

  • Real talk with peers who are solving the same challenges

  • Access to GrayMatter experts and leaders

     

    Featured Speakers

    tod-bw

    Tod
    Virden

    VP, Brilliant Operations & Analytics
    Scott-600

    Scott Christensen

    OT Cyber Pratice Director
    PaulGaleski[11617307]

    Paul Galeski

    CEO & Chairman
    Alan-bw

    Alan Hinchman

    Chief Operations Officer