The Road to Technology and AI: From Hype to Scaled Impact
Thursday September 10, 2026 @ 10 AM ET | Virtual
AI is everywhere, but where is it actually delivering results? This webinar explores how distributors are moving beyond experimentation and beginning to scale AI and technology across their organizations. As a preview to the Sept. 16-18 NAW Innovators Summit, we’ll highlight what’s working today and what it takes to implement successfully, giving you a clear path from strategy to execution.
This session is part of a 3-part webinar series from McKinsey & Company. Registration includes recordings from past webinars in the series and access for the next session: The Road Ahead: Workforce and Talent Priorities for 2027.
What you’ll learn:
- Where AI is delivering real value today
- Moving from pilots to scaled adoption
- Technology investments that matter most right now
Meet the Speakers
Lindsay (Sackellares) Bauser
Associate Partner
McKinsey & Company
Lindsay (Sackellares) Bauser is an Associate Partner out of our Atlanta Office. Lindsay has deep experience across multiple distribution subsegments specifically in in tech-enabled sales and go-to-market strategy.
Stephen Xu
Partner
McKinsey & Company
Stephen Xu is a Partner out of our Toronto Office. Stephen leads McKinsey’s gen AI and R&D efforts within our QuantumBlack Labs. He transforms our clients’ core business processes using AI, gen AI, and agentic AI; he leads in building code assets to accelerate and scale deployments.
Meet the Moderator
Vesna Brajkovic
Senior Editor
Modern Distribution Management
Vesna Brajkovic joined MDM’s editorial team as Senior Editor in May 2023 after covering the transportation and freight logistics industries as a B2B publication editor for more than seven years. At MDM, she provides in-depth market analysis and insights for the wholesale distribution sector through Premium-member content, such as articles, blogs, research reporting and more.
Upcoming Webinar in the Series:
December 3: The Road Ahead: Workforce and Talent Priorities for 2027
Missed the Previous Webinar?
June 4: The Road to Future-Ready Distribution: Operational Priorities
What does it take to move from strategy to execution? Building on the SHIFT keynote, this webinar explores how distributors are putting future-ready strategies into practice. Discover what the operational priorities, key investments, and real-world approaches shaping the next 6–12 months, so you can focus on what will drive the greatest impact.
This webinar sponsored by:
