PPAI’s North American Leadership Conference is curated to prepare the branded merchandise industry for tomorrow.

NALC 2026, which takes place May 12-14 in San Diego, combines executive networking with content to create insights for navigating some of the most complicated business questions facing the industry today and into the years to come. Industry leaders will take in data and perspectives on global economic uncertainty, trade disruption, technological change and the evolving marketing landscape.

And they’ll get an exclusive sneak peek of the 2026 PPAI 100 results.

NALC is a great opportunity to catch up with peers and learn how others are navigating a fast-changing market.”

Jason Lipsett

President, Charles River Apparel

“NALC is a great opportunity to catch up with peers and learn how others are navigating a fast-changing market,” said Jason Lipsett, president of Charles River Apparel, PPAI 100’s No. 39 supplier. “With it being mid-year, it’s the perfect time to reflect and gather fresh ideas to keep momentum going during a year of significant change.”

Bringing Down Theranos

How can a company acquire a $10 billion valuation built on fraud? How does a 20-something Stanford dropout deceive esteemed statesmen and titans of industry? What leads someone to defraud hundreds of employees, thousands of investors and millions of patients on an unprecedented scale?

Tyler Shultz, the man most responsible for bringing down health technology company Theranos, will answer these questions and more during his keynote speech at NALC 2026.

Shultz takes audiences through his time as an employee at Theranos, discussing everything from his relationship with Elizabeth Holmes, to the faulty blood testing technology, to his efforts to expose the truth about Theranos.

Shultz will address the importance of corporate governance, modern-day business ethics, Silicon Valley culture and the lessons the corporate world can learn from Theranos’ historic fraud.

The Future Normal

Henry Coutinho-Mason is obsessed with answering the biggest question in business: “What will people want next?”

 The second keynote speaker at NALC 2026, Coutinho-Mason is one of the world’s leading authorities on consumer trends, having spent a decade as the managing director of TrendWatching. He’s the author of Trend-Driven Innovation, which lays out an accessible approach to anticipating customer expectations.

  • It forms the basis of TrendWatching’s research, content and product that is used by 100,000 B2C professionals at hundreds of the world’s leading brands.

Henry’s latest book – “The Future Normal: How We Will Live, Work, And Thrive In The Next Decade” – is a handbook for visionaries featuring the 30 biggest ideas and instigators that will shape humanity’s next decade.

As co-founder of 3Space, Henry is also an award-winning social entrepreneur. With its innovative solution to generating social value from empty commercial property, 3Space was commended in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas and won the European section of the FT/Citi Urban Ingenuity Awards.

Register Now

PPAI’s North American Leadership Conference takes place May 12-14 at The US Grant, a Luxury Collection Hotel, in San Diego.

Standard pricing is $2,600 for PPAI members and $3,000 for non-members.

For more information and to register for the event, click here.