SEAT 2026 – Thank You
As I sit back and reflect on the past few days, one thing keeps coming to mind:
Thank you.
SEAT has never been just a conference. It’s a gathering place.
Every year, we bring together people who believe that technology, innovation, and live experiences can make sports and entertainment better. But what has always made this community special isn’t the technology – it’s the people. It’s the willingness to share ideas openly, celebrate each other’s successes, learn from failures, and leave as friends.
Charlotte reminded me why I fell in love with this community years ago. From our incredible opening evening at Bank of America Stadium, to the unforgettable night surrounded by racing history at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, to closing together at the Spectrum Center, every venue reminded us that the places we work are ultimately about bringing people together.
A heartfelt thank you to our host organizations—Tepper Sports & Entertainment, North Carolina Motorsports Association, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Charlotte Knights. Your hospitality, generosity, and willingness to open your homes to our community made this year’s experience truly special.
To our Steering Committee: thank you for the hours you invested over the past several months. You challenged ideas, debated topics, reviewed submissions, and remained intentional about every session we selected. Because of your dedication, I believe this was some of the strongest educational content SEAT has ever delivered. The conversations happening in hallways between sessions were proof that you got it right.
To every speaker who stood on our stages and shared your knowledge so openly, thank you. Fernando Perez and George Hanna you kicked off SEAT 2026 with an amazing opening session. A special thank you to David Meerman Scott and Les Ottolenghi for inspiring us to think differently, challenge assumptions, and continue pushing our industry forward.
To our sponsors and partners: thank you for believing in what SEAT represents. Your support allows this community to exist. More importantly, thank you for showing up as collaborators, educators, and friends—not just sponsors and exhibitors. The relationships built on the show floor are every bit as valuable as those built in our sessions.
And finally, thank you to every attendee. Whether this was your first SEAT or your fifteenth, thank you for asking thoughtful questions, sharing your experiences, welcoming new faces, and making this community what it is. Every conversation over coffee, every hallway discussion, every dinner, every handshake, and every new friendship adds another chapter to the story of SEAT.
This community has always belonged to all of us. My role is simply to help create the space where these conversations can happen.
Thank you for trusting me and our team to bring everyone together once again.
I hope you left Charlotte with new ideas, new friendships, renewed inspiration, and a reminder that none of us has to solve these challenges alone.
Thank you for making SEAT 2026 Charlotte unforgettable.
I can’t wait to see where this community takes us next.
Enjoy your July 4th weekend.
With gratitude,
Josh
PS We’ll be in touch shortly with an post-conference survey and our plans for the next 12 month, my inbox will be open again after a few days rest.
PPS If you enjoyed my keynote “Leave No Trace”, you might be interested in supporting our charity The Joshua Tree project, you can subscribe to our newsletter and donate here at our website.
