Invest: Greater Orlando 4th Edition Leadership Summit to spotlight the region’s growth

Key points:

• • Greater Orlando’s top leaders will convene at the Florida Hotel & Conference Center for the leadership summit.
• • The event helps launch caa’s 4th edition of Invest: Greater Orlando.
• • Three panels will tackle the “eds and meds” pipeline, regional collaboration, and the capital needed to fund infrastructure growth.

July 2026 — caa will launch the 4th edition of Invest: Greater Orlando with a leadership summit, bringing together the region’s top healthcare, education, and business leaders. The morning summit will take place on Wednesday, September 2 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Florida Hotel & Conference Center.

Join us at the Invest: Greater Orlando 4th Edition Leadership Summit! This premier event brings together hundreds of Greater Orlando’s business and regional leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities for businesses and investors. Buy your ticket now!

The conference will bring together regional leaders to discuss the projects reshaping Greater Orlando’s healthcare and education sectors, the collaboration required across jurisdictions to sustain growth, and the capital markets funding the region’s infrastructure ambitions. The event connects stakeholders across sectors to address the issues facing the broader Central Florida community.

“As Greater Orlando continues to grow, discussions around workforce development, regional collaboration, and infrastructure investment have become increasingly interconnected,” said caa Founder & CEO Abby Lindenberg. “We are proud to bring together leaders who are helping define the region’s success for the next decade.”

Anchoring the future

The first panel, “Anchoring the Future: The ‘eds and meds’ projects, opportunities, and gaps that are defining the region,” examines how hospital systems and universities are shaping Orlando’s growth. Amanda Livermore, founding president and CEO of Cristo Rey Orlando High School, will moderate the discussion.

Panelists include James Michael Burkett, president of Northbridge University; Heather Fagan, pediatrician-in-chief at Nemours Children’s Health; Abel Biri, CEO of AdventHealth Orlando; and John Nicklow, president of Florida Tech. Each brings a different vantage point on where the region’s education and healthcare pipelines still fall short of demand.

The discussion will focus on how educational institutions and healthcare providers are strengthening the region’s talent pipeline while addressing workforce shortages, expanding access to care, and supporting Greater Orlando’s long-term economic competitiveness.

Combined strengths

The second panel, “Combined Strengths: Why an aligned Greater Orlando wins bigger together, and the challenges of turning shared goals into shared results,” turns to regional coordination. Ryan Gandolfo, deputy editor at caa, will moderate.

Panelists include John Cox, director of economic development for the City of Deltona; Gui Cunha, administrator of the Office of Economic Development and Tourism for Seminole County; and Luis Nieves-Ruiz, director of economic development at the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council. The panel will address a recurring tension in fast-growing metros: individual jurisdictions compete for the same employers and residents even as they share the same labor market, transit corridors, and infrastructure needs. The summit positions this panel as a test of whether the region’s cities and counties can convert shared planning goals into shared outcomes.

Money matters

The third panel, “Money Matters: Matching Greater Orlando’s infrastructure ambitions with capital needed for growth,” closes the day. Daniel O’Keefe, Orlando office co-managing partner at Shutts & Bowen LLP, will moderate.

Panelists include Joseph Losch, market president for Central Florida at Ameris Bank, and Stephen Fussell, chief strategy officer at Orlando Sanford International Airport. Verizon and City National Bank will also join the discussion, with named representatives to be confirmed. The panel will focus on how banks, airports, and key players line up behind the region’s next round of infrastructure projects.

Guests and officials from across Central Florida will be in attendance for the in-person Orlando summit. With infrastructure demands continuing to evolve alongside population and business growth, panelists will discuss the financing strategies, partnerships, and capital investments shaping Greater Orlando’s future.

About caa & Invest: Greater Orlando

caa is an integrated media platform producing in-depth business intelligence through its annual print and digital economic reviews, high-impact events, and exclusive video interviews via its platform, Invest:Insights.

Invest: Greater Orlando 4th Edition is an in-depth economic review of the key issues facing the Central Florida region, featuring exclusive insights from more than 200 economic leaders, sector insiders, elected officials, and institutional heads. The publication aims to equip local, national, and international investors with comprehensive insights on the region and promote Greater Orlando as a competitive, innovative, and collaborative place to do business.

The report conducts a deep dive into the top economic sectors in the region, including real estate, construction, infrastructure, banking and finance, legal, healthcare, education, and tourism. The publication analyzes the leading challenges facing the market and uncovers emerging opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

The caa team is currently connecting with stakeholders across the region to gather perspectives and analysis that will define this year’s edition. Invest: Greater Orlando is a unique opportunity for the business community to share its story with a national and global audience.

Want more? Read the Invest: Greater Orlando report.