Invest: Palm Beach summit covers AI, future of healthcare
Writer: Pablo Marquez
Key points:
• Palm Beach leaders stressed AI-enabled growth with clear governance and long-term impact.
• Educators emphasized skills, adaptability, and critical thinking over traditional credentials.
• Healthcare leaders highlighted AI and data as drivers of future care and discovery.
February 2026 — Palm Beach business and government leaders gathered for a morning of networking and insightful discussions regarding the region’s future at the Invest: Palm Beach 6th Edition Leadership Summit on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The event was hosted by caa at the Amrit Ocean Resort.
Join us at caa’s upcoming leadership summits! These premier events bring together hundreds of public and private sector leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities for businesses and investors. Find the next summit in a city near you!
More than 250 business executives, educators, and public officials were in attendance, with a strong showing from the county and municipality level, including eight mayors and county administrators coming out and supporting the business community. The event centered on intelligent growth and the use of AI, educators preparing the workforce for the future skills economy, and how technology is shaping the future of healthcare.
caa Founder and CEO Abby Lindenberg opened the event by reflecting on the company’s 10-year anniversary and its growth across 18 U.S. markets.
“The goal has always been to provide leaders with context and insight into what their peers are thinking and a deeper understanding of the broader business ecosystem,” said Lindenberg. “Palm Beach is one of our hallmark markets, and today’s program highlights where true opportunity exists. By fostering meaningful reflection and dialogue, we help build authentic, sustainable business.” (Become a member today to access the latest edition of Invest: Palm Beach)
Intelligent growth
The opening panel, “Intelligent Growth: How companies leverage AI to outpace traditional limits, and the steps leaders can take to integrate it with impact,” focused on how AI is already transforming how organizations grow, invest, plan, and compete, while simultaneously raising critical questions about governance, workforce readiness, equity, and risk.
The panel was presented by Christina Lambert, commission president of the city of West Palm Beach, who underscored how innovation is no longer optional, but a foundational aspect of growth.
“By leveraging AI to enhance user experience and streamline processes, Palm Beach has positioned itself as a national hub for innovation, generating thousands of high-paying jobs and a broad economic ripple effect. This progress signals that this is a destination for forward-thinking institutions,” said Lambert.
Moderated by Shutts & Bowen’s West Palm Beach Office Managing Partner Michael Chait, the panel included Valerie Neilson, executive director of the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Ryan Britton, vice president for economic development at Florida Atlantic University, Michael MacIntyre, chief banking officer at City National Bank, and Paul Gabriel, partner at EisnerAmper.
“We must establish guardrails in place that define how employees should use it by defining limitations,” Gabriel said. “The key here is to ensure that the framework is set from the top down in order to be used responsibly and avoid getting into trouble. Leaders in the private sector have to treat AI as any investment, even if the ROI is not immediate.”
Explore more from our Palm Beach coverage:
Florida braces for a historic generational wealth transfer
Regional Review: Palm Beach emerges as a finance hub
Skills economy
The second panel, “The Skills Economy: How educators are preparing tomorrow’s workforce, and what businesses must do now to close skills gaps,” focused on how workplace success is increasingly defined by skills, adaptability, and real-world experience, as technology, demographics, and employer expectations accelerate the pace of change.
Moderated by Chuck Stembler, president of Cardinal Newman High School, the panel featured Chuck Maddox, head of school at Boca Prep International School, Judi Robinovitz, founder and co-owner of Score Academies, and Oxbridge Academy Head of School Ralph Maurer.
“Humanities and social sciences are important to develop people skills. Teaching students how to think for themselves is the key here. Historical subjects, writing exercises, and critical thinking are very impactful,” Maurer said.
Future of healthcare
The third panel, “The Future of Healthcare: How technology is reshaping care, discovery, and delivery, and what leaders should consider moving forward,” focused on how the healthcare industry is undergoing a transformative shift as data, AI, precision medicine, and digital tools reshape care, discovery, and organizational impact, while raising complex challenges in ethics, integration, workforce readiness, and access.
Moderated by caa Senior Editor Ryan Gandolfo, the panel brought together Paul Testa, chief medical information officer at NYU Langone Health, Lewis Nelson, dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, and David Fitzpatrick, scientific director and CEO at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience.
“I never imagined having the technologies that we have available today to analyze how neurons interact with each other. We must continue to search for the fundamental understanding of how the brain works. We promote taking risks and trying things that haven’t been explored before. This is where the frontiers of sciences, knowledge, and discovery are truly extended,” Fitzpatrick said.
Netflix star and entrepreneur RO-MiNA Ustayev closed the event in a fireside chat with Lindenberg.
“It’s all about perseverance, determination, and never taking ‘no for an answer,” Ustayev said, sending a message about the importance of staying true to oneself, being kind, and resisting pressures to change.
About caa & Invest: Palm Beach 6th Edition
caa is an integrated media platform that produces in-depth business intelligence through its annual print and digital economic reviews, high-impact conferences and events and top-level interviews via its video platform, Invest:Insights.
Invest: Palm Beach 6th Edition is an in-depth economic review of the key issues facing the economy in the area, featuring the exclusive insights of prominent regional leaders. Invest: is produced with two goals in mind: 1) to provide comprehensive investment knowledge on Palm Beach County for local, national and international investors, and 2) to promote the region as a place to invest and 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 is compiled from insights collected from more than 200 economic leaders, sector insiders, political leaders and heads of important institutions. It analyzes the leading challenges facing the market and uncovers emerging opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Want more? Read the Invest: Palm Beach report.
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