Golden Key Leadership and Management Summit 2026
Lead with confidence. Inspire with impact.
Inspiring and effective leaders aren’t born—they’re developed through learning, reflection, and experience. Whether you’re already managing a team or aspiring to step into leadership in the future, the Golden Key Leadership & Management Summit will help you strengthen the skills, mindset, and confidence to lead with purpose.
Over the course of a week of live online webinars, you’ll learn from experienced leaders and management experts as they share real-world insights, proven strategies, and practical tools to help you grow as a leader—no matter your field or stage of career.
All sessions take place online, so you can join from anywhere in the world. Once you’ve purchased your ticket, you’ll gain exclusive on-demand access to all session recordings, allowing you to revisit each talk whenever you like.
When your ticket purchase is complete, links to the individual webinars will appear below—simply click to register for the sessions you wish to attend.
Note: Access to events is available only to those who have purchased summit tickets through the GKA shop. Registration lists will be cross-referenced with purchase records, so please use the same email and details for both your ticket purchase and webinar registrations.
If you are a Golden Key Access Plus member, you get free access to all of the sessions in this summit! Click on any of the sessions in the schedule below to sign up for individual sessions.
Not an Access Plus member but still want to join us for the summit?
Click here to buy a ticket nowGKIHS and GKA members get an automatic 50% discount on summit tickets, so make sure you're logged in.
Find out more about each of the sessions and the speakers below. Note: These will be announced closer to the time of the summit. Please check back again later.
| Speaker info | Session Title & Description | Time (3 Time Zones) | |
 | Julie Grisham is the Director of Digital Accessibility at Tarrant County College, where she leads accessibility initiatives and works across the College to build accessibility into planning, technology, communication, and everyday practices. She has more than 20 years of experience in accessibility, research, product development, and project management, including extensive work with accessible assessments and technologies for students with disabilities. She is a certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) and has conducted research on disability, communication access, and the experiences of D/deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Her work focuses on moving accessibility beyond compliance and helping organizations build shared responsibility for creating more inclusive and accessible experiences. | Leading Beyond Compliance: Building a Culture of Accessibility This session looks at accessibility as a leadership issue and explores what it takes to create change when no one person or department controls every decision. It is designed for leaders at any level who are responsible for influencing people, processes, communication, or organizational change, whether or not they have formal accessibility experience. Attendees will learn practical ways to build partnerships, create shared responsibility, and gain support for accessibility across an organization. They will leave with strategies for moving accessibility from something addressed after a barrier occurs to something considered as part of everyday planning and decision-making. |
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 | Angel Hernandez is a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft with more than twenty years of experience across enterprise platforms, distributed systems, and AI architecture, spanning consulting work in banking, insurance, utilities, and telecom in Latin America, Australia, and the United States. He holds a BSc in Organizational Leadership from Colorado State University Global, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an MS in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, completed as a Distinguished Scholar with a 4.0 GPA. He is an eleven-time Microsoft MVP, the inventor behind twenty-three invention disclosures and a published U.S. patent, and a member of Golden Key International Honour Society, Sigma Xi, and the Society for Collegiate Leadership & Achievement. As an individual contributor who leads an offshore engineering team and drives standards adopted across multiple organizations, he has spent his career practicing exactly what these sessions describe: leading through influence, credibility, and trust rather than reporting lines. | Leading with Emotional Intelligence Technical skill opens the door; emotional intelligence determines what you do once you are inside. This session applies the four pillars of emotional intelligence — self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management — to the realities of distributed, cross-cultural teams, high-pressure delivery, and difficult conversations. It is designed for leaders, aspiring leaders, students, and anyone working across cultures, time zones, or functions. Attendees will leave with practical ways to manage their own reactions, give and receive hard feedback well, and build trust on teams. |
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| Speaker Info | Session Title & Description | Time (3 Time Zones) | |
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 | Moleboheng Molefi is a Business Transformation professional with experience translating strategy into sustainable operational impact across complex organisations. At Rio Tinto, she has played a key role in operationalising transformation and creating one of the organisation’s most mature improvement lifecycle programmes, embedding continuous improvement into the way the business delivers value. She has regularly engaged and reported to C-suite Steering Committees, presenting transformation progress, insights, risks and recommendations to support executive decision-making. | The art of moving people will explore the human side of change and business transformation: how to create momentum when you don’t have the authority to simply mandate it. Drawing on practical experience in transformation and impact, the talk unpacks how change leaders, consultants and professionals can build trust, shift perspectives, navigate resistance and turn good strategies into meaningful action. Attendees will gain practical approaches for influencing stakeholders, creating commitment and moving people through uncertainty—without relying on hierarchy or title. |
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 | Janet du Preez is a Strategic Organisational Architect who helps leaders uncover and recraft the systems beneath complex organisational challenges. Through Engagement Dynamics, she has spent nearly two decades working across sectors to understand where organisations lose clarity, capability, capacity and human energy to invisible friction. She holds an MSc in the Management of Technology and Innovation, completed cum laude, with research focused on engagement in the context of wicked problems. | The Silent Thief: How Organisational Entropy Steals Your Team’s Energy Teams rarely lose effectiveness all at once. More often, energy is quietly consumed by unclear decisions, unnecessary work, repeated conversations, poor processes, unresolved tensions and organisational friction, a phenomenon Janet du Preez describes as organisational entropy. This session will help leaders and managers recognise where their teams are spending energy without creating equivalent value, distinguish people problems from system problems, and identify where relatively small leadership interventions can restore clarity and capacity. Attendees will leave with a practical diagnostic lens and a powerful question to take back to work. |
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 | Carmen Irving, Ph.D., is the Vice President of PAXIS Institute and a doctor of philosophy in Organizational Development and Leadership from the University of Arizona Global Campus, where her dissertation research examined organizational culture in remote work environments. With over twenty years of experience in youth development and prevention, Carmen has spent her career leading and empowering professionals to implement evidence-based practices across systems of care. A Certified Family Life Educator and Prevention Professional, she holds a Master of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies from Kent State University. | From Research to Practice: Evidence-Based Strategies for Building a Positive Work Culture with Remote and Hybrid Teams This session shares original qualitative dissertation research on organizational culture in fully remote U.S. private-sector workplaces, paired with practical, evidence-based strategies managers can use to strengthen trust, communication, and belonging on remote and hybrid teams, using Schein and Schein’s (2017) three-level culture model to explain how digital tools, meeting norms, and visibility dynamics quietly shape employees’ day-to-day experiences. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how scientifically tested and proven strategies for planning, recognition, feedback, time management, and conflict repair work with hybrid and fully remote workforces. |
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 | Dan Van der Pluym is a psychotherapist, coach, and founder of Deeper Potential, a Melbourne-based practice specialising in neurodivergent and high-achieving professionals. He holds a BA (Hons) in Psychology from Swinburne University, is an Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society (Assoc MAPS) and the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA), and is an accredited personal development coach and mindfulness facilitator. He is an Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine and co-founder of the ADHD Ambition program. | This session reframes neurodivergence — ADHD, autism, and related profiles — as a source of leadership strength rather than a limitation, while offering practical strategies for the challenges that come with it. It’s designed for two overlapping groups: emerging and current leaders who are themselves neurodivergent, and anyone who manages, mentors, or works alongside neurodivergent team members. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of neurodivergent strengths, a few concrete tools for self-management and team communication, and a more confident, less shame-driven relationship with how they lead. |
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| Speaker Info | Session Title & Description | Time (3 Time Zones) | |
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 | Gareth Dart is a therapist, business coach, entrepreneur and ILC member of Golden Key International Honour Society, responsible for alumni development, having served within Golden Key leadership in South Africa since 2019. His work spans psychology, leadership, education, finance, organisational development and governance, and he is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, the Institute of Leadership and the Royal Society of Arts. His particular interest is in how high-achieving individuals translate academic success into ethical leadership, service, and meaningful impact throughout their professional lives. | The Courage to Disagree: Difficult Conversations, Ethical Leadership and the Duty to Speak Up This session examines why professional disagreement is hard — and what makes candour possible. Using everyday leadership decisions about delegation, deadlines, creativity, and mistakes, the session links ethical leadership to psychological safety, autonomy, clear expectations, and accountability. Participants leave able to separate a challenge to the work from a judgement about the person, set expectations that protect both autonomy and accountability, and respond to disagreements and mistakes in ways that encourage early, honest reporting. The practical throughline: how to prepare for a difficult conversation, invite constructive challenge, and handle uncomfortable information without sacrificing standards or dignity. |
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 | Celeste Glasgow Ribbins, MA, CDP, is an organizational development consultant, strategist, facilitator, and founder of The Powershift Experience. For more than 20 years, she has helped leaders and organizations examine complex challenges, strengthen organizational effectiveness, and translate what they learn into practical strategies for movement. Known for asking the questions beneath the question, she is also a member of Golden Key International Honour Society. | Something Isn’t Adding Up: How to Know When You’re Solving the Wrong Organizational Problem Organizational problems do not always begin where they show up. When leaders misdiagnose the problem, even well-designed solutions can fail to create meaningful change. Through this session, leaders, managers, and emerging leaders will learn to examine the assumptions, systems, and conditions beneath the problem they are trying to solve to determine whether it is indeed the real problem. Attendees will leave better equipped to pause, ask better questions, and make more informed decisions before investing additional time, money, and energy in solutions that may not work. |
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 | Dr. Melanie Sue Hicks is a learning and talent development executive, author and TEDx speaker with 20+ years of experience. She serves as the Vice President of Programs for the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, where she leads the design and delivery of high-impact civic and executive leadership programs. Over the course of her career, she has created more than 50 courses and programs serving more than 3500 participants domestically and internationally, and has given more than 2500+ hours of service to more than 47 countries. | Trust Math™: The Hidden Economy for Getting Ahead in Your Career Trust Math™: The Hidden Economy of Getting Ahead in Your Career explores how everyday interactions quietly shape trust, visibility, and access to opportunity. Participants will learn how small moments accumulate into professional capital and how to build the relationships that move careers forward. |
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 | Sarah-Kaye Page is an educator, researcher, and emerging PhD candidate with extensive experience supporting individuals and teams in achieving professional and personal goals. Through her work in education, leadership, and workforce development, she has developed a strong understanding of the challenges associated with balancing competing priorities and managing time effectively. Her research interests focus on capability building, education, and supporting individuals to develop confidence and competence in their roles. | Effective Time Management Strategies for Leaders Effective leadership requires the ability to prioritise competing demands, manage workloads efficiently, and maintain focus on strategic goals. This webinar will explore practical, evidence-informed time management strategies designed to help leaders increase productivity, reduce stress, and improve team effectiveness. Ideal for current and emerging leaders across all sectors, participants will leave with practical techniques they can immediately apply to better manage their time and lead with greater confidence and efficiency. |
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| Speaker Info | Session Title & Description | Time (3 Time Zones) | |
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 | Chris Mizenko is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Zen Dental Support, where he oversees operations, leadership development, and strategic growth. Before entering the dental space, Chris spent years leading multi-site teams in early childhood education — a background that gives this course a genuinely different lens than most dental leadership content, and one his published writing on dental leadership (DrBicuspid.com) has been built around. | Leading with Intention The difference between managing a team and leading one is intention. “Leading with Intention” is built around three places a leader’s intention shows up — their words, their environment, and their direction — and gives attendees a working self-assessment they score at the start of the session and return to at the end. The course closes with a written, specific commitment attendees leave with: one intentional change, in their lowest-scoring area, within one week. |
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 | Carrie MacDonald is an emergency management and workplace safety specialist who translates high-stakes crisis response into strategic organizational resilience. She forged her core decision-making frameworks during 10 years in frontline EMS, mastering split-second triage and operational execution on an ambulance. She spent three and a half years as a program manager across a major hospital network, and for the past decade has owned Dandelion Consulting Group, advising organizations on enterprise risk management, workplace safety compliance, and business continuity. She holds dual Master’s degrees in Project Management and Emergency Services Management. | Decision Making Under Pressure This session covers decision-making under pressure for business owners and management: how to allow staff members to make decisions when it is appropriate, how to think critically in emergencies and natural disasters, and how to prepare for the unexpected so decisions are already known beforehand. |
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 | Greg Haddock Greg Haddock is a strategic finance executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience across high-growth, Fortune 500, public, private, and nonprofit organizations. Throughout his career, he has advised CEOs, CFOs and Boards and led teams and organizations through growth, transformation, crisis, M&A, IPO readiness, and other consequential moments requiring influence across organizational boundaries. His leadership philosophy centers on curiosity, problem solving, relationships, and helping people recognize and realize their potential. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Florida and a BBA from Florida International University, where he became a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. | From Observer to Influencer: The Leadership Power of Expressed Agency Many capable people see opportunities for improvement, develop thoughtful perspectives, and know what they would like to change, yet stop short of actively influencing the outcome. This session explores “expressed agency”: the leadership practice of making our perspectives, needs, and ideas visible so others can engage with them, even when we lack formal authority. Participants will learn a practical framework built around three questions: What am I not saying? What am I unnecessarily accepting? What do I want to influence? |
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 | Beverly Lockett’s career has taken her from educator to senior leader and leadership consultant, through roles including Centre Manager, Dean of Business, and Campus Director. She has experienced the peer-to-manager transition from both directions—leading former colleagues and reporting to someone who once sat beside her as a peer. Bev holds an MBA and an MPhil in Management and is a PhD candidate researching organizational strategy and sustainability. | When “One of Us” Becomes “One of Them”: Navigating Relationships That Change When Your Role Does Most new managers prepare for the work—the budgets, evaluations, and decisions—but far fewer are prepared for the relationships that are quietly recalculated when their role changes, as former colleagues begin interpreting familiar interactions through a new lens. Drawing on experience from both sides of this transition, this session examines what genuinely changes, what can be addressed directly, and what simply has to be worked through over time. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for navigating changing perceptions and relationships while establishing themselves in their new leadership role. |
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 | Jola Sung has over a decade of experience leading a national team across Australia and in the corporate world. She was awarded the Top 3% Academic Excellence award in her master’s in leadership and has since become a strong advocate for authentic leadership. Jola has presented her research at Australia’s largest online conference for Early Childhood Education, and is on a mission to bring intentional leadership and emotional intelligence into all aspects of life, including work, relationships and home. | The Feedback That Boosts Emotional Intelligence The best feedback is feedback that prompts someone to self-reflect, build self-awareness, and boost self-management skills to reach their desired goals. This session explores what makes feedback land — the kind that builds intrinsic motivation to genuinely improve, rather than just compliance. Most beneficial for anyone in medium-to-higher management roles, attendees will take away practical strategies and a framework for how to say what they want to say. |
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| Speaker Info | Session Title & Description | Time (3 Time Zones) | |
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 | Bruce A. Sarte is a technology executive, consultant, and educator with more than 25 years of experience leading technology strategy, organizational transformation, cybersecurity, and digital innovation across education and business. His current work focuses on human-centric AI, helping leaders understand how artificial intelligence can create capacity, strengthen decision-making, and empower people rather than simply automate their work. | Leading Through AI-Driven Change AI is transforming how organizations work, but successful transformation depends less on the technology than on how leaders guide people through change. This session explores how human-centric leaders can navigate uncertainty, build trust, address resistance, and help teams see AI as an opportunity to enhance, not diminish, their work. Participants will learn practical strategies for turning AI-driven efficiency into greater human capacity, stronger teams, and meaningful organizational impact. |
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 | Michelle Magers is a current MSW-C student at Walden University and holds an MA in Human Behavior, an M.S.Ed., and an MBA. She has been a volunteer at the Survivors Outreach Center at Fort Carson, Colorado, since 2023, and specializes in psychoeducation, neuroscience, and grief and loss. | Bereavement: How Leadership Can Address Grief and Loss in the Workplace This session combines the topics of leading with emotional intelligence and difficult conversations to address leading through grief and loss in the workplace. It benefits anyone in leadership and employees generally, as everyone experiences grief at some point. Attendees will leave with guidance on addressing grief and loss, workplace support for grief, approaches to difficult conversations, and definitions of companioning, grief, loss, and bereavement. |
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