SUMMIT PROGRAM – BFUTR 2025 Innovation Leadership Big Ideas
BFUTR 2025 kicks off with by setting the tone for an unforgettable experience. Expect energy, clarity, and the kind of welcome that reminds you—you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. Let’s get into it.
The pace of change has never been higher. Institutions can’t keep up. Work, leadership, and opportunity are being rewritten in real time. Yet across this evolution, Black professionals continue to face barriers masked as inclusion.
Lekan Olawoye opens BFUTR 2025 with an unapologetic reset—disrupting old systems and reframing power through culture, momentum, and ownership. This is the moment that sets the tone for everything that follows—miss it, and you’ll spend the rest of the summit catching up.
As Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, The Honourable Graham McGregor brings a deep commitment to fostering inclusion, belonging, and public safety across one of the most diverse provinces in the world.
In this special address, Minister McGregor will speak to the importance of collaboration between government, industry, and community in shaping a province—and a tech ecosystem—where diversity is celebrated, opportunity is shared, and safety is foundational. His remarks will highlight Ontario’s ongoing efforts to combat hate, strengthen social cohesion, and empower communities to thrive in an increasingly digital and interconnected world.
Artificial Intelligence isn’t just another wave of innovation — it’s redefining how enterprises operate, compete, and grow. Technology leaders are on the frontlines of this transformation, balancing the promise of AI with the realities of adoption, culture, and workforce readiness.
This mainstage session brings together senior executives from some of the world’s most influential companies for a candid conversation on:
This isn’t a theoretical panel — it’s an insider’s look at how top leaders are aligning people, technology, and culture to thrive in a rapidly changing landscape.
For executives, technologists, and builders alike, this is a must-attend session for anyone serious about the future of work and the role of AI in driving it.
In 2025, every executive has dabbled in AI—but very few can prove it’s making or saving real money. Boards are asking sharper questions. CFOs are tightening approvals. The experimental era is over. It’s time to quantify.
This session breaks down what true AI ROI looks like across today’s enterprise—from accelerated procurement cycles to measurable customer engagement gains. We’ll expose which use cases are quietly delivering bottom-line value, and which are bleeding budgets with no traction. You’ll hear what high-performing organizations are doing differently: how they move beyond sandbox pilots, build internal accountability around AI performance, and shift their tech teams from “experimenters” to value creators.
If you can’t answer “What’s the ROI?” with confidence, this session will show you how.
At TD, we believe that the future of tech is human-centered, data powered, and inclusive by design. Join Ted Paris on the BFUTR mainstage to learn how future technologists can lead with impact in an evolving digital landscape. Ted Paris takes a deep dive into their leadership journey from technologist to executive, what it takes to shape the future of technology and how inclusive innovation drives business value for TD Bank
They may not all write code—but they all write the playbooks that move markets.
This main stage session spotlights the Black women leaders driving the business side of tech with precision and power. Whether tech-proficient or non-tech-proficient, these executives are shaping the industry’s most defining moves: from growth strategy and capital allocation to brand vision, policy, and operations.
They’re building scalable systems, managing complex teams, shaping product direction, and making calls that impact millions—often without a technical title. And they’re doing it in an industry that too often overlooks what can’t be shipped, logged, or pushed live.
This session is a deep dive into how leaders across both technical and non-technical backgrounds create exponential value in tech—and what it takes to lead, influence, and win in rooms that were never built for you. It’s not about being behind the scenes. It’s about commanding the direction of the entire show.
The system wasn’t built for inclusion. So what happens when you decide to stop navigating it—and start rewriting it?
In this opening keynote, renowned fintech leader Dan Schulman delivers a message for every builder, strategist, and future exec in the room: the next era of tech leadership demands more than technical skill. It demands clarity, courage, and a refusal to lead by outdated rules.
Drawing from his time transforming PayPal into a force for financial justice and expanding access for millions, Dan will unpack what it takes to lead change that sticks—especially when the stakes are high and the system pushes back. This is about power, infrastructure, and choosing impact over optics.
For mid-career professionals ready to lead from where they stand—and executives ready to break the cycle—this keynote is your call to do more than adapt. It’s your call to redesign the game entirely.
Day One was just the spark—now it’s time to lock in the energy. The host returns to leave us with bold takeaways, the connections that count, and a clear line of sight into tomorrow.
Because at BFUTR, we don’t wind down—we level up.Because at BFUTR, we don’t just attend—we activate.
The host will take the stage to open the BFUTR Main Stage with clarity, energy, and intention. From what to expect to who you’ll meet, this welcome sets the tone for a second day of high-stakes conversations, bold leadership, and game-changing ideas. It’s your first look at the culture, community, and caliber of thinkers that make BFUTR the ultimate stage for Black and allied tech excellence.
Day 2 begins with a shift in tempo. Yesterday was about energy — today is about execution.
In this keynote address, Lekan Olawoye, Obsidi®’s founder and CEO ,speaks directly to the builders in the room: the innovators turning vision into infrastructure, strategy into revenue, and ambition into lasting impact.
This isn’t about waiting for permission or seeking a seat at someone else’s table. It’s about constructing entirely new rooms — companies, ecosystems, and capital flows — designed to outlast trends and bypass gatekeepers.
Lekan will unveil Obsidi®’s latest white paper and share where the platform is heading next: how it’s redefining enterprise leadership in the age of AI and empowering professionals to claim their role in shaping the future of work.
Legacy doesn’t belong to those who play it safe. It belongs to those who build, lead, and bet on themselves.
You don’t need permission to lead — you need precision. And this is where it starts.
The host will close out BFUTR 2025 with clarity and celebration. After two days of bold thinking, unapologetic leadership, and future-shaping conversation, this final moment is about taking what we’ve learned—and using it to lead what’s next. Expect gratitude, next steps, and one last charge to carry the BFUTR energy beyond the summit.
The world of work is changing. After this week, so are we.