Seven Years In: How the C3 Tech Summit Continues to Raise the Bar

At its core, the C3 Tech Summit was built with a clear purpose: to create something leaders actually need. As C3 CEO Matthew Toth put it, the C3 Tech Summit exists to these things:

That intention is what sets the C3 Tech Summit apart from traditional, vendor-heavy or sales-driven events. The focus has never been on volume or noise. Instead, the C3 Tech Summit prioritizes substance, real conversations, thoughtful content, and an environment designed for leaders to learn from one another without distraction. It’s less about being sold to and more about being challenged, informed, and inspired. That philosophy is deeply shared by the team behind the C3 Tech Summit.

“On a personal level, the C3 Tech Summit represents everything I believe about leadership and marketing,” said Abi Riley, Director of Marketing at C3 Technology Advisors. “Marketing isn’t about noise; it’s about creating experiences that matter. The C3 Tech Summit is the ultimate expression of that. I push our team because I believe we can always make it more thoughtful, more impactful, and more aligned with the kind of leaders we want to be and serve.”

In 2025, the C3 Tech Summit marked its seventh year, and its third year at DeVos Place, reflecting how far the event has come. What began in an office setting and later moved through venues like The B.O.B. and 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids, Michigan, evolved naturally as the audience and impact continued to grow. The move to DeVos Place wasn’t about scale for scale’s sake; it was about creating the right environment for what the summit had become. Seven years in, the purpose remains the same: build something meaningful, but the execution continues to rise to meet it. The purpose doesn’t just guide the vision and planning; it shapes how the summit comes to life and the impact it creates.

The 2025 C3 Tech Summit brought together more than 600 attendees, including 217 first-time participants, across 31 sessions and 72 sponsors, marking a clear step forward in both scale and substance. But what stood out most wasn’t just the growth, it was the depth of engagement the experience created. Expanding to a two-day format allowed the summit to slow down and create space for more intentional moments. While this marked the third year of a two-day structure, it was the first time the summit opened with a featured speaker on day one. As Events Manager, Kaitlin Wood shared, bringing Lt. Col. Robert J. Darling in to kick off the Welcome Party encouraged attendees to arrive early, get checked in, and spend meaningful time networking, while also setting the tone for the days ahead and putting people in the right mindset to learn. Day one opened with sessions led by trusted community partners, HIMSS and Motor City ISSA, followed by Lt. Col. Darling’s powerful account of leadership and decision-making inside the President’s Emergency Operations Center during the September 11 attacks.

From the Welcome Reception to Robert Darling’s keynote, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a room with several hundred people where not a single person was looking at a laptop or a phone. That level of presence was incredibly powerful and speaks to how much we elevated the main stage experience this year.  - Abigail Riley, Director of Marketing

The impact extended beyond the stage, as attendees, sponsors, and C3ers spent meaningful, unstructured time with Lt. Col. Darling over dinner, engaging in real conversation and reflection that made the experience feel personal, grounded, and memorable. With this foundation in place, the 2025 agenda was intentionally built around the pressures technology leaders are navigating now.

This years agenda was centered around four primary talk tracks...Each intentionally incorporates practical conversations around AI. This reflected a clear reality for leaders in 2025; artificial intelligence now influences nearly every technology decision across the business. These focus areas mattered because technology leaders are being asked to do more than adopt new tools. They’re balancing innovation with stability, speed with security, and automation with human experience. From modernizing infrastructure and guiding teams through change to defending against growing cyber threats and rethinking how customers engage with technology, the C3 Tech Summit’s agenda mirrored the decisions executives are actively navigating. By integrating AI across each track, the conversations stayed grounded, relevant, and actionable for leaders responsible for long-term outcomes

The main stage brought the summit’s leadership themes to life through real-world perspective and experience. Matthew Toth opened the event by challenging leaders to think differently about innovation, leadership, and progress. Drawing inspiration from John F. Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech, he framed curiosity as a leadership responsibility, reminding the audience that the quality of outcomes in business, technology, and AI depends on the quality of the questions being asked. His message was clear: AI is only as effective as the intent behind it, and better questions have the power to move organizations and even industries forward.

That perspective carried into the economic lens shared by Dr. Paul Isely, who offered a grounded look at AI’s rapid rise and its broader market implications. He explored the conditions that create technology bubbles, warned of overinvestment and stranded capital, and challenged leaders to think critically about how workforces may evolve over the next decade. His message reinforced that AI will play a lasting role in business, but only for leaders who approach it with intention, discipline, and economic awareness.

Leadership under pressure took center stage with Stanley McChrystal and Robert J. Darling, both bringing deeply human insight shaped by real-world experience. McChrystal spoke to the balance between structure and adaptability, while Darling shared practical lessons from crisis leadership, owning mistakes, making decisive calls, and adjusting leadership styles to meet people where they are. Together, their sessions reinforced a core theme of the summit: strong leadership isn’t theoretical. It’s practiced, tested, and built through preparation, courage, and collective responsibility. That same emphasis on depth, connection, and intention extended beyond the main stage and into the vendor hall and breakout rooms, where conversations continued well beyond the sessions themselves.

Throughout the experience, sponsorships were designed with intention and focused on conversation and value rather than booth traffic alone. That showed up through hands-on demos in the hall, thoughtful discussions during meals and panels, and informal connections throughout the two-day experience. Together, these touchpoints created space for genuine conversation, allowing sponsors and attendees to explore challenges, ideas, and solutions in a natural way. Experiential elements helped set the tone throughout the C3 Tech Summit. Interactive demos, a map where attendees pinned where they traveled from, popular water bottles, and other thoughtful touches added to the sense of community without overwhelming the experience. These details reinforced that when sponsors are integrated with intention, they elevate the event as a whole. We’re grateful to all 72 sponsors who played a role in making the 2025 C3 Tech Summit what it was.

The C3 Tech Summit continues to grow because it’s built around people, not just programming. Its value shows up in how leaders engage with one another, the conversations that extend beyond the sessions, and the perspectives attendees carry back into their organizations long after the event ends. We’re grateful to the leaders who arrived ready to participate, the speakers who shared their experiences with honesty and depth, and the partners who contributed with intention. Seven years in, the summit reflects what C3 Technology Advisors is committed to building thoughtful leadership, a strong sense of community, and experiences that create real impact. The work doesn’t end when the C3 Tech Summit wraps up; it continues in the decisions, conversations, and progress that follow.

Registration is now open for the 2026 C3 Tech Summit. Register now to join us this fall in Grand Rapids, Michigan.