Performance psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais, AI leadership author Geoff Woods and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart on brain health, alongside working sessions on brand, capital and AI, live music and movement
NAPA, Calif., Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Summit Napa Valley, which opened Monday at The Meritage, is underway with three days of programming that combines brain and performance science, working sessions on brand, capital and AI, and live music and movement.
“Summit was built on gathering highly accomplished professionals across business, media, technology, sports and the arts to come together and have conversations that matter,” said Chris Stakich, CEO of Summit and formerly the chief experience officer at YPO. “Summit Napa holds true to that model. We are focused on the most pressing topics for people building, scaling and exiting businesses, and have pulled together the best thought leaders and experts we could find.”
The program opened with Dr. Michael Gervais, performance psychologist who helped lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship and worked alongside Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to transform the company’s leadership culture. He spoke on “The Psychology of High Performance,”
AI runs through the business track. Brandon Powell, founder/CEO of HatchWorks AI, leads a hands-on session where attendees build a working AI agent on their own laptops, and Geoff Woods leads a session on “The AI-Driven Leader.”
The final day features “Music as Medicine: The Future of Brain Health,” a live taping of the Get Real podcast where host Jim Weiss of Real Chemistry speaks with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and neuroscientist Dr. Adam Gazzaley on how rhythm and music affect memory, emotion and recovery.
Doug R. Harrison, author of “The Rise Framework,” will lead the session “Seen by People, Read by Machines: Rising to the Conclusions You Want Drawn About You,” a hands-on hour on aligning the identity you present to people with the one AI engines find and cite. This session closes the conference on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 10:30 a.m. PT.
What Sets Summit Apart
Summit is an invitation-based membership community and events platform for entrepreneurs, creators and leaders. Founded in 2008, Summit has over 18 years hosted speakers and collaborators including Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Jane Goodall, Kendrick Lamar, Quincy Jones, Malcolm Gladwell and Al Gore.
Its signature Summit at Sea, first chartered in 2011 for about 1,000 entrepreneurs, returns April 29-May 2, 2027, departing Miami aboard Virgin Voyages. The community has produced over $2.3 billion in capital raised, over 300 Series A through C rounds, over 150 co-founder pairings and 70-plus marriages. Summit joined Events.com in August 2025 and operates under CEO Chris Stakich.
“I believe in a world where imagination, collaboration and kindness reign supreme in the content curation of Summit, that truth paired with entrepreneurial spirit can solve the most necessary problems and create more connections in our shared world,” said Jody Levy,founder/operator and former CEO of Summit. Levy will lead “Recess for Founders: An Interactive Workshop That Hones Your Brain.”
Brain, performance and well-being
Neal Mueller, product manager, Apple; expedition leader, “Leading Above 28,000 Feet: A Framework for Decisions Under Pressure”
Salim Najjar, founder/human performance expert, “The HRV Reset: A Nervous System Tool for Leaders”
Alli Schaper, co-founder/CEO, SUPERMUSH, “The Science of Mushrooms for Mental Performance”
Angela Mwanza, managing director/private advisor, Rockefeller Global Family Office, “Decoding Money Scripts: The Unconscious Beliefs Behind Every Financial Decision”
Kevin Hainline, astronomer, “The Invisible Universe: Navigating the Depths of Space”
Ophira & Tali Edut, The AstroTwins; authors/ELLE magazine astrologers, “Get Ready for 2027: Business & Wealth Forecast for Q4 2026”
Brand, Marketing and AI
Gayle Troberman and Pranav Yadav, former marketing leader, Microsoft/iHeartMedia, and co-founder, Bubbler; neuroscience/behavioral science expert, “Your Brain on Marketing”
Nate Bosshard, moderated by Matt Wiggins — co-founder, brand.ai; partner, Khosla Ventures; founder, Offline Ventures, “Soul & System: The New Rules of Brand Affinity & Recall”
Robert Stephens, founder, Geek Squad, “Keep the Weird Stuff: Building a Brand Machines Cannot Copy”
Jon Zacharias, co-founder/president, GR0, “The GEO Playbook: Winning in the Age of AI”
Founders, Capital and Deals
Justin Gold and Peter Burns, moderated by Jody Levy, founder of JUSTIN’S; its president/CEO, “Trust, Tension & the Second Act: The Story of JUSTIN’S”
Denise Lambertson, managing general partner at Constellation Capital, “Star Power, Real Equity: Structuring Celebrity Partnerships That Work”
Ryan Lewendon of Giannuzzi Lewendon LLP, “The Deals That Define Your Company: Equity, Investors & Exit Strategy”
Movement, Ritual and Music
Movement and ritual run alongside the business sessions, from yoga and breathwork to strength training and an evening cacao ceremony. Schuyler Grant, co-founder of Wanderlust Festival and Kula Yoga Project, leads “Honey Flow Yoga: Yoga & Pranayama for Effort & Ease”; former professional athlete Jerry Housey, founder of Strong House Fitness, leads “Workout: Built Different”; and cacao/chocolate sommelier Fiorella Richter hosts the Sunset Cacao Ritual. The music program moves from DJ sets to live performance and comedy: GARZA (Rob Garza), co-founder of Thievery Corporation, SAAND of Tierra Sounds and Natalie Spilger on the decks; indie duo The Palms and composer-producer Tone Ranger performing live; and New York comedian Mike Cannon with a stand-up set.
Membership and Upcoming Experiences
Summit Membership extends the community between flagship events with over 100 gatherings a year in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Austin, New York and San Diego, curated introductions and priority registration.
Three Summit Experiences are scheduled over the coming months: Summit Sarara in Kenya, Oct. 13-20, 2026; Summit Basecamp in Lake Tahoe, Feb. 4-7, 2027; and Summit at Sea, April 29-May 2, 2027, departing Miami aboard Virgin Voyages. Applications for all three are open at summit.co, and membership applications are open at summit.co/membership. Sponsorship opportunities for the 2027 Experiences are available through sponsorship@events.com.
About Events.com
Events.com is the AI and data-driven platform for the global experience economy. Built with a category-defining domain and over a decade of acquisitions, Events.com applies machine learning and AI across event discovery, personalization, promotion and operations. Founded in 2009 in La Jolla, Calif., the company powers discovery, ticketing, registration, sponsorship and event management for creators and organizations worldwide. Events.com brands include Operabase, Summit, the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance and the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival.
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