Sponsored by: TBA

Tuesday, February 17, 2026
4:00pm-5:00pm
Included with The Essentials and Premium Pass

Moderator: TBA
Panelists: TBA

Level: Any Level
For: Ownership, Sales, Project Managers, Design, Engineering

The most extraordinary lighting projects don’t happen in isolation—they emerge from powerful collaborations between skilled lighting designers and talented integrators who understand how to work as true partners. This dynamic panel brings together both sides of the equation to reveal what makes these relationships thrive. Discover how successful teams establish clear communication protocols, define roles and responsibilities, navigate the handoff from design to installation, solve problems collaboratively in the field, and create workflows that maximize both design intent and installation efficiency. Learn what lighting designers truly need from their integration partners, what integrators wish designers understood about implementation realities, and how both disciplines can elevate each other’s work to deliver lighting experiences that exceed client expectations every time.

Sponsored by: AiSPIRE a WAC Company

Tuesday, February 17, 2026
2:30pm-3:30pm
Included with The Essentials and Premium Pass

Moderator: TBA
Panelists: TBA

Level: Any Level
For: Ownership, Finance, Operations, Sales, Project Managers

The most successful custom integrators are discovering that lighting represents their next major growth opportunity—but the transition requires more than just adding fixtures to proposals. In this candid panel discussion, integration firm principals share their real-world journeys from traditional AV specialists to confident lighting professionals. Hear honest accounts of the challenges they faced, the investments they made in training and partnerships, the mistakes they learned from, and the strategies that ultimately transformed lighting from an add-on service into a profit center. Whether you’re just beginning to explore lighting as a business expansion or looking to accelerate your existing lighting practice, these firsthand stories provide practical roadmaps and inspiration from peers who have successfully navigated this evolution.

Sponsored by: TBA

Tuesday, February 17, 2026
1:00pm-2:00pm
Included with The Essentials and Premium Pass

Moderator: TBA
Panelists: TBA

Level: Any Level
For: Ownership, Finance, Operations, Sales

The question facing many integration firms isn’t whether a lighting showroom would be valuable—it’s whether the investment actually pays off and how to design a space that genuinely drives sales rather than simply impressing visitors. This candid panel brings together integrators at different stages of the showroom journey to share unfiltered perspectives on what works, what doesn’t, and what they wish they’d known before writing the checks. Hear honest discussions about initial investment costs versus actual return on investment, which vignettes and demonstrations truly influence client decisions versus what simply looks impressive, how to design flexible spaces that remain relevant as products and technologies evolve, staffing and maintaining experience centers without draining resources, and measuring real business impact beyond subjective client reactions. Whether you’re contemplating your first showroom investment, refining an existing space, or questioning whether a physical experience center makes sense for your market, this discussion delivers the realistic financial and strategic insights you need to make informed decisions.