innovationCAFE Austin: Rethinking Productivity & The Innovation Culture

Join us for the flagship session of innovationCAFE 2026, designed specifically for leaders navigating Austin's hyper-growth economy.

As Central Texas continues its unprecedented boom, the hidden risk for established companies and new HQs is the "Productivity Plateau"—the point where rapid scaling, talent wars, and integration challenges cause innovation to stall and efficiency to break. This session is designed to tackle that deficit head-on.

This session moves beyond theory to focus on two critical, and often conflicting, levers: Productivity and Innovation Culture.

• Keynote Address: Hear from Damian J. Smyth, a seasoned economist, as he addresses the 'Productivity Plateau' in high-growth economies. Damian will provide a clear framework for measuring and scaling operational productivity without sacrificing the very innovation culture that makes Austin a global tech hub.
• The Workshop: The session transitions into an executive problem-solving workshop, centered on a critical question facing every Austin leader:
  

  "As we scale, how do we prove our innovation culture is driving measurable productivity... and not just consuming resources?"

  Led by Adam Rogers and featuring Cherie Jones, this participatory dialogue will focus on tangible strategies for linking R&D, talent, and output.

This high-impact, 2.5-hour event is built on the CAFE principle of innovation:

• Collaborate
• Ask
• Flow
• Evolve

Gain practical insights, network with C-suite peers, and collaborate on solutions over quality coffee. Your insights will directly contribute to a key policy paper submitted to Government, ensuring the voice of Texas's innovation capital is heard.

Location: Hilton Austin

Speakers: Damian J. Smyth, Cherie Jones, Adam Rogers

Duration: 2.5 hours

Action: Gain the framework to scale productivity and contribute to the Texas innovation policy paper.

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