5 Speakers to know at the 2026 Ohio Tech Summit
The 2026 Ohio Tech Summit features a powerhouse lineup, including leaders from Nationwide, Path Robotics, Anduril Industries, and more. Focused on AI, national security, and re-industrialization, the May 14th event in Columbus connects Ohio's tech leaders.
For four straight years, the Ohio Tech Summit has sold out. Why? It’s simple: Fortune 500 executives, startup founders, and state tech leaders from every Ohio market, all in one place, for one day.
The 2026 Summit, presented by Verizon and powered by OhioX, takes place May 14th at the Ohio Union at The Ohio State University in Columbus. The agenda features morning keynotes and three afternoon tracks covering Enterprise, Startups, and Talent for a full day built for anyone looking to connect, learn, and find their next partner, hire, or deal.
Between now and May 14th, we'll be featuring speakers from this year's lineup to give you an inside look at who's taking the stage. Here are the first five:
1. Chetan Kandhari, Chief Innovation and Digital Officer, Nationwide
Chetan Kandhari leads technology and AI strategy at one of Ohio's most iconic companies. Following Nationwide's $1.5 billion commitment to accelerate its technology transformation, announced in October 2025, Kandhari joins the Summit for a rare look inside how a Fortune 100 insurer is navigating a period of sweeping change. His keynote connects enterprise-scale AI adoption to the broader story of Ohio's financial services sector.
2. Andrew Lonsberry, Co-Founder and CEO, Path Robotics
Andrew Lonsberry built Path Robotics around a straightforward idea: welding robots that can figure out what to weld on their own. As AI and autonomy reshape manufacturing floors, Lonsberry brings a builder's perspective to the Summit's re-industrialization panel, focused on closing the hardware-software gap and scaling production capability in Ohio.
3. Beth Flippo, Founder and CEO, Dexa
Beth Flippo is building technology to modernize how physical industries operate. At Dexa, the focus is on integrating AI into industrial workflows in ways that produce real outcomes, not just pilots. She joins the re-industrialization panel to talk about what it actually takes to move from proof of concept to durable operational advantage.
4. Zachary Mears, SVP, Anduril Industries
Before joining Anduril, the defense tech company reshaping how the U.S. military acquires and deploys technology, Zachary Mears spent years in senior roles across the Department of Defense. At the Summit, he brings a perspective few others can: what it looks like when autonomy, AI, and national security converge, and why Ohio keeps showing up in that conversation.
5. Grant Schneider, CTO, Upstart
Grant Schneider oversees the technology stack at one of the country's most closely watched AI lending platforms. Upstart uses AI models to evaluate creditworthiness in ways traditional underwriting can't, and Schneider has been central to scaling that responsibly. At the Applied AI panel, he'll get into what it takes to move AI from pilot to production in a heavily regulated industry.
The 2026 Ohio Tech Summit takes place May 14th at the Ohio Union in Columbus. Tickets are available at ohiotechsummit.org.
