Construction & Real Estate

2026 Design-Build Conference & Expo

The 2026 Design-Build Conference & Expo is the largest national gathering of design-build professionals, bringing together over 2,300 industry leaders including public and private Owners, practitioners, and specialty contractors. The three-day event features expert-led sessions on a variety of design-build topics, networking opportunities, an extensive exhib…

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28Speakers
1Sponsors
33On the bill · sessions
26Companies · in total
§I

Speakers

Programmed at 2026, in alphabetical order.
Alice Leung
Principal · Brick & Mortar Ventures
Andrew McGoram
BIM Coordinator · F.B. Harding Electrical Contractors
Brittany K. Giel, Ph.D.
VDC Manager · The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Bryan Franz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor · University of Florida
Carrie Wettstein
MEP Project Director · AECOM
Dennis Poulos, PE
Sr. Associate · JB&B
Doug Taylor, DBIA
Senior Design Manager · Hensel Phelps
Elisa Jue, AIA, RA(CA)
Senior Principal · SmithGroup
Glenn Jackson
Jad Chalhoub, PhD
Sr. Director of Innovation · Rosendin Electric, Inc.
Jim L. Whitaker, FAIA, FDBIA
Partner · HKS, Inc.
John Novak
Construction Project Executive · Oregon Health & Science University
John W. Medvec, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, DBIA
Sr. Design Integration Manager · Skanska
Katie Wells
VP, Design Management & Operational Excellence · Brasfield & Gorrie
Kenz Meliani, PE, LC, LEED AP BD+C
Principal, Senior Electrical Engineer · SmithGroup
KP Reddy
Founder - CEO, Zero RFI · Zero RFI
Marcela Guevara, LEED AP BD+C, DBIA
VDC Manager · Hensel Phelps
Mark Cutair, DBIA
Senior Project Manager · Whiting-Turner
Mark Peckover, DBIA, PE
Director of Engineering · Cherry City Electric
Megan Salazar
Associate Vice President · EnTech Engineering
Metin Keles, BCE, CEC, GPLLM
Chief Operating Officer · Axiom Consulting and Project Management LLC
Mike Lawless, PE, FPE, LEED AP
Vice President of Innovation · IMEG
§II

Sponsors

The houses behind the program. Tiers as disclosed.
eShow
§III

Agenda

Selected from 33 sessions on the bill.
  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

    VDCLEx Keynote: Managing Projects with AI on Design-Build Projects

    Many say that the construction industry needs more technology, that is actually not the case. We thought BIM and VDC was going to solve many woes, but they didn't. It wasn’t an int…

    VDCLEx
  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

    VDCLEx Keynote: Managing Projects with AI on Design-Build Projects

    Many say that the construction industry needs more technology, that is actually not the case. We though BIM and VDC was going to solve many woes, but they didn't. It wasn’t an inte…

  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

    VDCLEx Keynote: Managing Projects with AI on Design-Build Projects

    Many say that the construction industry needs more technology, that is actually not the case. BIM and VDC were not an interoperability problem, it was a collaboration problem. AI i…

  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

    VDCLEx Keynote: Managing Projects with AI on Design-Build Projects

    Many say that the construction industry needs more technology, that is actually not the case. We though BIM and VDC was going to solve many woes, but they didn't. It wasn’t an inte…

  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM EDT

    Design-Build VDC Leadership Exchange (VDCLEx)

    The Virtual Design & Construction Leadership Exchange (VDCLEx) is returning as a half-day pre-conference event, Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the Design-Build Conference & Expo in Cleveland,…

    VDCLEx
  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM EDT

    Design-Build VDC Leadership Exchange (VDCLEx)

    The Virtual Design & Construction Leadership Exchange (VDCLEx) is a half-day pre-conference event exploring how VDC is impacting designers, builders and Owners by enhancing design …

  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM EDT

    Design-Build VDC Leadership Exchange (VDCLEx)

    A half-day pre-conference event including opening/closing sessions and two specialized tracks: VDC Deep Dive for experienced professionals (covering AI, AR/VR, automation, collabor…

    VDCLEx
  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM EDT

    Connected Teams, Better Outcomes: VDC Progressive Design-Build Synergy for Adaptive Reuse

    The presentation will highlight a case study demonstrating how VDC and Progressive Design-Build were applied in the adaptive reuse of a 12-story, 400,000 SF 1980s office building i…

  • Tuesday, Nov 03, 2026 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM EDT

    Keeping Up with a $4B Design-Build: The Tech Stack That Connected JFK Terminal One

    Managing design changes on a $4B, 1.9M SF fast-track design-build project demands more than good models - it demands a connected digital ecosystem where hundreds of stakeholders ac…

Intermission
Part the Second · For the Buyer

An audience of 26 companies, parsed from the program.

26 companies in attendance.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room
0All threespeak · spons · exh
1Sponsoringsponsor only
25Companies Speakingspeaker only
Speakers by seniority

43% of the speakers carry senior titles: C-suite, Founder, VP, or Director-level.

  • C-suite311%
  • Founder / Owner27%
  • VP-level311%
  • Director / Head of414%
  • Manager / Lead829%
  • Engineer · IC27%
  • Other roles621%

Of 28 on the bill · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies
  1. 01eShowSp
  2. 02Hensel Phelps2V
  3. 03SmithGroup2V
  4. 04AECOM1V
  5. 05Axiom Consulting and Project Management LLC1V
  6. 06Brasfield & Gorrie1V
  7. 07Brick & Mortar Ventures1V
  8. 08Cherry City Electric1V
  9. 09Clemson University School of Architecture1V
  10. 10EnTech Engineering1V
  11. 11F.B. Harding Electrical Contractors1V
  12. 12Gensler1V
  13. 13HKS1V
  14. 14IMEG1V
Sponsors by tier
unspecified1
100% of 1