AI in Action

AI in Action · Cincinnati

AI for the Conscious Capitalist.

A private, invitation-only working session for leaders who want AI to strengthen their business — without losing sight of the people who make it successful.

You will not just hear about AI. You will bring a real business challenge, map where AI creates leverage across Revenue, Operations, Talent, and Innovation, and leave with a prioritized roadmap and a working prototype you built in the room.

See upcoming eventsDate to be announced.

Event Details

Date
TBD
Time
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET
Location
Cincinnati, OH · Venue to be announced
Led by
David Nilssen & Montoya Hawthorne

Exact date and venue are being finalized. Registration opens as soon as they are confirmed.

Built for impact, not the biggest room.

This workshop is limited to selected CEOs and senior executives so the room stays relevant, practical, and useful. Every attendee is reviewed before a seat is confirmed.

Invitation-onlyLimited seatingReviewed attendanceNo virtual option
What happens in the room

Bring one of your executives and a real business challenge.

You do not need to arrive with a technical idea. You need to arrive with a challenge your business keeps working around: a manual process, a slow decision, scattered data, repetitive work, or a workflow that has not scaled with the company. And, it's ideal if you bring the executive who owns this opportunity/challenge.

We'll help you pressure-test that challenge through an AI readiness lens and begin translating it into an AI-ready workflow, prototype direction, or build-ready brief.

View the Curriculum
Agenda

How the day runs

  1. 8:30 AM

    Doors Open · Coffee & Introductions

    Meet David, Montoya, and the other leaders in the room.

  2. 9:00 AM

    Leading People and Intelligent Systems

    A short, direct brief on how the job of leadership changes when AI enters the org — and why the companies that pair technology with people-first leadership pull ahead.

  3. Map the Opportunity: Revenue, Operations, Talent, Innovation

    Work your own business across four lenses to find where AI creates real leverage right now — and where it would only add noise.

  4. Prioritize by Impact and Effort

    Rank what you found, pressure-test it against your values and your capacity, and pick the one initiative worth building today.

  5. 11:45 AM

    Lunch

    Hosted lunch with peer CEOs, owners, and senior leaders.

  6. Build a Working Prototype

    Take your top-ranked workflow and build something real, live in the room, alongside people who do this for a living.

  7. Governance, Data, and the Humans in the Loop

    Set the guardrails before you scale: what data goes where, which decisions stay human, and how you bring your team with you.

  8. 2:00 PM

    End · Your AI Roadmap

    Leave with a prioritized roadmap you can start on Monday.

Come prepared to work on your business.

Bring

One real challenge.

One real business challenge, workflow, or process you believe AI could improve. You do not need a technical background — just a problem worth solving.

Leave With

A clearer path forward.

A clearer readiness lens, one mapped challenge, a prototype direction or build-ready brief, and a better understanding of where human judgment and AI-enabled talent fit in your business.

Speakers

Led by David Nilssen and Dave Hajdu.

David brings the CEO + scale lens. Dave brings the technology + systems lens.

David Nilssen

LinkedIn

Your Host · The CEO's Perspective

David has built two companies from nothing into category-defining businesses — Guidant Financial helped 30,000+ entrepreneurs secure $7 billion across all 50 states, and DOXA Talent now runs a 1,000-person distributed workforce across six countries with no headquarters and no office space.

A six-time Inc. 500/5000 honoree, two-time TEDx speaker, and SBA National Young Entrepreneur of the Year, David brings a builder's perspective to scale, culture, and the future of work.

Montoya Hawthorne

Workshop Lead · People & Implementation

Montoya Hawthorne, SHRM-SCP, is a people-first talent strategist with 15+ years helping organizations scale through clear leadership and practical people systems. She has partnered with founders, C-suite executives, and senior leaders across high-growth SaaS, Fortune 500, and privately held companies through growth, acquisition, and change.

In this session she helps leaders connect AI, people, and operating rhythms — improving performance without losing the humanity that makes teams effective.

Curriculum Advisor

Leadership Research Lens

Dr. Brooks C. Holtom

Professor of Management, Georgetown University

Professor of Management at Georgetown University and former Senior Associate Dean at Georgetown's business school. Dr. Holtom contributed to the leadership-in-AI curriculum that informs this workshop.

Dr. Holtom is a curriculum advisor and is not scheduled to present at the workshop. AI in Action is independently hosted by DOXA Talent. Georgetown University does not sponsor, certify, or approve this event.

Meet the Speakers

By The Numbers

Results from our live sessions in July.

In July, we welcomed over 200 CEOs and executives to our AI in Action live tour.

9.4/10

Average attendee rating.

Registration opening soon

We're finalizing the date for Cincinnati, OH.

This session is still going ahead — we are confirming the date and venue before opening registration. Check back shortly, or join us at a session that is already open.

See upcoming events

Cincinnati · Fall 2026

Build an AI roadmap that fits your people, your strategy, and your values.

This private, invitation-only session is capped at 50 seats and reviewed before confirmation — built to stay practical and valuable for the leaders in the room. Date and venue will be announced shortly.

See Upcoming Events

Invitation-only · 50 seats · Registration opens once the date is confirmed