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.

Sponsored by: TBA

Thursday, February 19, 2026 11:00am-12:00pm
Included with The Essentials and Premium Pass

Moderator: Lynne Stambouly, Light Lady at Illuminated Design
Panelists: Bruce Clark, Kaleidolight

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

The Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP) is one of the most critical yet misunderstood communication tools in the project workflow. It’s where design intent meets construction reality—showing fixture placement, switching logic, control zones, ceiling conditions, and coordination points that affect nearly every trade.

Too often, the RCP is created in haste or left until “later,” when decisions have already been made in the field. This panel pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to create an RCP that works—for lighting designers, technology integrators, electricians, and clients alike.

Sponsored by: TBA

Wednesday, February 18, 2026 9:30am-10:30am
Included with The Essentials and Premium Pass

Moderator: TBA
Panelists: TBA

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

While new construction offers ideal conditions for implementing sophisticated lighting designs, the reality is that most integration firms generate substantial revenue from retrofit and remodel projects—work that demands different strategies, creative problem-solving, and realistic client expectation management. This pragmatic panel features integrators who specialize in transforming existing homes with upgraded lighting systems despite the inevitable constraints of established architecture, limited access, and budget realities. Learn how experienced practitioners assess retrofit feasibility during initial walkthroughs, work creatively within existing electrical infrastructure and structural limitations, prioritize which spaces deliver maximum impact for the investment, communicate trade-offs honestly while maintaining client enthusiasm, and execute installations that minimize disruption to occupied homes. Packed with real project examples and hard-won lessons, this discussion equips you with proven tactics for turning retrofit challenges into profitable opportunities.

Sponsored by: TBA

Wednesday, February 18, 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

Lighting projects present unique project management challenges that distinguish them from traditional AV installations—from coordinating with architects and electricians during construction to managing complex fixture schedules and ensuring design intent survives to final commissioning. This practical panel draws on real feedback from integration firm project managers actively running lighting projects in 2025 to explore what actually works in the field. Discover how successful firms structure their teams and define clear role responsibilities, establish effective communication protocols with clients, architects, and trades throughout the project lifecycle, utilize software tools and documentation systems to track specifications and changes, manage the critical fixture procurement and delivery timeline, and execute seamless handoffs from sales to design to installation to programming. Whether you’re a project manager refining your lighting workflow or a business owner building your lighting practice infrastructure, this discussion delivers actionable tactics you can implement immediately.