Partnership for Economic Innovation Returns to Mesa for 2026 Celebrating Innovation Summit

Full-day event on Oct. 30 convenes Arizona's priority industry leaders around infrastructure, workforce and cross-sector growth

MESA, AZ, UNITED STATES, October 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Partnership for Economic Innovation (PEI), a passionate collective of business and community leaders accelerating Arizona's economic opportunities, will host the 2026 Celebrating Innovation Summit on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, at Arizona State University's Media and Immersive Experience (MIX) Center in Mesa.

"Aerospace, semiconductors, medtech, clean tech, software and advanced manufacturing draw from the same talent pipeline and the same research institutions, so they move faster when they move together," said John Graham, Board Chair, Partnership for Economic Innovation. "This summit is where those connections happen in a single day, in a single room."

The state ranks first in bioscience job growth, first in the nation for international investment and is on track to add 454,000 jobs by 2034 across semiconductors, aerospace, medtech and advanced manufacturing. Every one of those sectors pulls from the same talent pool, the same energy grid and the same water supply, and the 2026 summit is where the executives, investors and policymakers steering those decisions meet in one room. Attendees will move between candid infrastructure and workforce conversations and hands-on demonstrations of working prototypes lining the MIX Center's first-floor corridor.

"Arizona's innovation economy grows when its leaders share the same room, and this summit was built to make that happen at scale," said Mike Madsen, Board Member, Partnership for Economic Innovation. "The Valley does not just attract innovation. It produces it, and the 2026 program puts that case in front of the people who can act on it."

The full-day event puts Arizona's innovation economy on full display with over 15 live technology demonstrations from companies building the future of the state's priority industries. Attendees will see these breakthroughs in action alongside keynote presentations, Fireside Chats, industry panels and innovator spotlights designed for Phoenix-area executives, investors, policymakers and innovators. Programming runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a networking reception until 4:30 p.m.

The morning program features a keynote from Bob Smith, former Blue Origin CEO, on “Arizona’s Role is Space Exploration”, followed by a Fireside Chat on Aerospace & Defense with Jim Currier, the current CEO of Honeywell Aerospace, and Mike Madsen, the former CEO of Honeywell Aerospace.

"Every state in America wants a piece of the emerging trillion-dollar space economy, but few start with a hand as strong as Arizona's," said Bob Smith, former CEO of Blue Origin. "We have world-class scientists and engineers, deep manufacturing talent and room to test and build. What wins now is speed: leaders who are willing to move fast, back their innovators and learn by doing. I'm confident Arizona will rise to that challenge and extend its decades-long legacy as a leader in aerospace."

The afternoon spotlights the “Future of Neuroscience in Arizona” with a keynote from Dr. Brandon Fox, Chief Resident in Neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute. Additional programming addresses the power and water questions Arizona's advanced manufacturing, data center and semiconductor growth cannot afford to ignore.

“The Thurston Innovation Center at Barrow gave me the resources to take a problem I witnessed in the ICU every day and build a solution now heading into clinical trials,” said Dr. Brandon Fox, Neurosurgery Resident, Barrow Neurological Institute, "That pipeline from resident idea to real-world impact is what makes Arizona's medtech and neuroscience ecosystem worth paying close attention to."

Registration, agenda updates and speaker announcements are available at https://azpei.org/celebratinginnovation2026.

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP FOR ECONOMIC INNOVATION
Partnership for Economic Innovation is a passionate collective of business and community leaders dedicated to accelerating Arizona’s economic opportunities. We believe innovators are problem solvers who come from anywhere, if they have access to pathways to do so — which is why PEI is investing in community-building technology and R&D designed to make Arizona more resilient and empower innovators to bring world-changing ideas to market. PEI initiatives include:
● Applied Research Centers initiative is accelerating the development of emerging technology products in biomedical, semiconductor adjacent, and climate/clean technologies with the potential to radically transform healthcare, and keep us safer and more secure.
● The Connective, Greater Phoenix’s internationally acclaimed Smart Region collaborative, convening cities, industries and entrepreneurs to lay the open innovation groundwork to solve regional challenges.

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