7 ways to get the most out of Elevate 2026

You’ve locked in your spot at Elevate 2026 — your chance to master AI-powered strategies for governance, risk, compliance and audit. But here's the real question: how do you make sure you walk away with lasting value, not just a notebook full of ideas and a backlog of emails?

These seven tips will help you turn every session, conversation and insight into practical outcomes you can start applying the moment you return to your desk.

1. Start with clear goals

Before you land in Atlanta, get crystal clear on what success looks like for you and your organization. Ask yourself:

• What’s the single biggest problem I want to tackle? (Think AI oversight, modern risk reporting, tighter entity controls or stronger audit coverage.)
• Which parts of my role feel the biggest time or workload crunch — and where could AI meaningfully lighten the lift?
• What do I want to be able to do differently 30, 60 and 90 days after Elevate 2026?

Everyone at Elevate 2026 is dealing with similar forces — rising board scrutiny, shifting regulation and new opportunities to use AI to reshape daily workflows. The clearer your priorities, the easier it is to pick the sessions and conversations that matter most.

Write down your top three to five goals. Keep them handy in an app or notebook and use them to guide where you spend your time.

2. Build a personalised agenda (with a little help from AI)

Once the detailed agenda opens, plan intentionally. This is about choosing the right slot and not just filling every slot.

Start by:

• Anchoring your days around core sessions for your role and goals.
• Marking discipline-specific sessions if you're in risk, compliance or audit to learn what’s working for teams facing similar pressures.
• Adding hands-on trainings that match your current systems so you leave with real “how do I do this on Monday?” takeaways.

Use our personalized agenda helper. Download our Elevate 2026 agenda AI program file, pair it with a ready-to-use prompt and instantly identify the sessions most relevant to your experience and goals.

And don’t skip buffer time. Those short breaks are perfect for processing notes, sending quick follow-ups and having spontaneous hallway conversations that often become the most valuable parts of the week.

3. Treat sessions as professional development

Conferences move fast. It’s easy to drift into passive listening. To get real ROI, treat Elevate 2026 as focused professional development.

For governance leaders, the biggest breakthroughs come from deepening your understanding of roles, responsibilities and best practices — far beyond what’s covered in short local orientations.

At Elevate 2026, that means:

• Attending sessions that directly address your responsibilities, whether it’s board oversight of AI or stronger risk and compliance reporting — with select sessions eligible for professional credit.
• Choosing deep-dive trainings on workflow optimization, analytics or AI-powered capabilities you can apply immediately.
• Using each session to pressure-test your current approach and spot gaps you can close quickly.

Think of Elevate 2026 as an investment in your skills and career. Every session you attend strengthens the skills and insight you bring to your board.

4. Make the most of hands-on trainings and labs

Elevate 2026’s biggest advantage is hands-on learning. Mastery tracks, workshops and solution clinics give you space to roll up your sleeves.

To get the most from them:

• Bring real use cases. Come prepared with the challenges you want to solve so you can make the most of hands-on time with Diligent experts and trainers. The clearer your scenarios, the more specific and actionable your takeaways will be.
• Ask practical questions. Use Q&A time and office hours to walk through real scenarios. From automating agenda prep to aligning risk taxonomies, these small moments often unlock fast wins.
• Look beyond your current setup. Labs are a chance to explore what’s possible with AI, integrations and cross-product workflows. Capture screenshots, prompts and step-by-step notes so you can recreate what you learned later.

Treat these sessions like your personal test kitchen for new processes.

5. Network with intention: Before, during and after

Elevate 2026 brings together governance, legal, risk, audit and compliance leaders from more than 20 countries. The content is valuable, but the connections you build often last longer.

Try this approach:

• Use the app to see who’s attending. Browse the attendee list ahead of time and flag peers, speakers or Diligent experts you want to connect with during the event.
• Set a clear target. At the end of each day ask, “Who did I meet today?” Focus on a handful of meaningful new connections, not a pile of badge scans.
• Use receptions and breaks wisely. Compare notes with peers tackling the same AI, risk or oversight challenges you face.
• Mix peer conversations with time spent with Diligent teams. Product experts, customer success and thought leaders can help turn “interesting idea” into into something you can implement next quarter.

Take quick notes on who you met and what you discussed. These connections often become your advisory circle for the rest of the year.

6. Spend focused time in the exhibit hall and Diligent booths

The exhibit hall is also where you can learn more about all the solutions that Diligent One Platform offers and get answers to your questions from our product experts.

Come in with a plan:

• Identify your top challenges. Pick two or three areas to explore, whether that’s entity management modernisation, AI-powered risk analytics or integrated compliance.
• Prioritize relevant booths. Focus on Diligent solutions tied to your stack, and bring specific questions about configuration, adoption or workflow impact.
• Use conversations strategically. Ask questions to help you figure out what else your organization can benefit from and what AI features could have immediate impact.

Make the most of your time in the hall by engaging with Diligent specialists. These conversations often spark the practical insights and ‘aha’ moments you’ll take back to your team.

7. Turn your takeaways into a 30–60–90 day plan

The real impact of Elevate 2026 happens after you return to your desk.

To make your new ideas stick:

• Block time before you travel. Reserve a debrief session on your calendar within a week of getting back to review notes and resources.
• Group your takeaways into themes. For example: AI for board reporting, risk data quality, compliance workflows or transparency in public meetings.
• Build a simple 30–60–90 day plan. Identify quick wins, medium-term pilots and longer-range shifts.
• Share a short summary with your leadership or board. Highlight three to five insights, recommended actions and any support you’ll need.

Think of this as your final Elevate 2026 session — the one where you convert inspiration into action.

Agentic workflows are quickly redefining governance

If your daily workflows still depend on manual coordination, spreadsheets or back‑and‑forth email chains, you’re already operating at a disadvantage.

At Elevate 2026, you’ll get a front-row look at how Diligent’s AI agents complete the work for you, so your team can stop being the integration layer and start acting as the orchestrators.

The organizations embracing agents today are the ones setting the pace for tomorrow. Elevate is your chance to see what they’re doing — and what it will mean for your own governance readiness in the year ahead.

Turn Elevate 2026 into results

Focus on the sessions and conversations that matter most, and use these 7 steps to maximize your Elevate 2026 experience into real-world outcomes for your team and organization.

If you haven’t registered already, there’s still time to join us in Atlanta. Elevate 2026 is where GRC leaders explore what’s possible with AI, test new approaches and return equipped to drive meaningful change.