Phoenix summit will showcase people-first business leadership

The Dave Alexander Center for Social Capital is launching its first Summit for People-Centric Leadership on Oct. 22 in Phoenix, bringing together 200 to 300 CEOs, founders and senior leaders to argue that caring for employees and customers drives performance. The event comes as businesses face burnout, disconnection and weakening trust.

Why it matters: - The summit is built around a simple business case: people-first leadership can improve resilience, trust and long-term growth. - Organizers are framing the event as a response to disconnection, burnout and a loneliness crisis that business leaders can help address. - The conference aims to push social capital from a values concept into a management strategy with real financial upside.

What happened: - The Dave Alexander Center for Social Capital announced the inaugural Summit for People-Centric Leadership for Oct. 22, 2026, at Avant 121 in Phoenix. - The one-day event is expected to bring together 200 to 300 CEOs, CHROs, founders and senior leaders from values-driven organizations across Arizona and the U.S. - The summit will feature 12 leaders from different industries who are presenting people-first leadership as a core driver of business success. - More information is available at the event page.

The details: - Vince Barsolo will discuss how employing incarcerated women in real careers can create purpose and competitive advantage. - Scott Davison will focus on trust capital as a source of resilience and long-term growth. - Omani Carson will share a personal story about scarcity, abundance, love and trust as business forces. - Robert Glazer will speak on how clarity around core values shapes leadership. - Robin Daniels will address how humans and AI can work side by side. - Urs König will highlight radical humility as a path to stronger results and human connection. - Amy Lemire will explain how confidence-building can lift engagement and performance. - Dave Alexander will describe why strong leaders step aside to empower others. - Jonathan Keyser will argue that service-driven success can beat ruthless competition. - Lyneir Richardson will show how capitalism and community can grow together through shared ownership. - Frederica Peterson will focus on how courageous curiosity helps build trusted teams. - Rick McCartney will challenge leaders to respect customers' time as a valuable asset. - Chris Benguhe, founder and president of the Center, said business leaders can and should address the country’s connection crisis and loneliness epidemic. - Benguhe said leaders who do so can also achieve powerful long-term success for their companies.

Between the lines: - The speaker lineup mixes moral arguments with operational ones, which suggests the summit is trying to appeal to both mission-driven and profit-driven executives. - The event also reflects a broader trend in leadership circles: social trust, employee wellbeing and customer respect are being treated as business inputs, not side issues. - By positioning human dignity at the center of capitalism, the Center is making a values argument that also functions as a competitive strategy.

What's next: - The Oct. 22 summit will test whether Phoenix-area and national business leaders are ready to treat social capital as a practical operating principle. - The Center will likely use the event and its publication, Social Capital Insider, to continue promoting people-centric leadership examples. - The organization says the summit is meant to make the link between people-first leadership and financial performance harder to ignore.

The bottom line: - The Phoenix summit is a signal that people-first leadership is moving from philosophy to business playbook.