Horizons 2052: Beyond Boundaries 
An International Event by WGIC 

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Mission: WGIC Horizons promises to be an engaging and enriching experience, bringing together industry leaders, experts, and visionaries from across the globe to explore the latest trends, innovations, and opportunities in our field. Your presence and support are integral to the success of this event.  The Horizons tagline, "Beyond Boundaries," encapsulates the spirit of exploring the exciting opportunities presented by facilitating a shared conversation on the crossroads of geospatial and earth observation technologies and the larger ecosystems present in every company, organization, and government. 

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Sunday, April 27 

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All-day Sunday – Art Museum open 10am - 5pm  

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4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Registration | Badge pick-up 
Sturm Pavilion South Foyer 

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6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Welcome Cocktail Reception 

Sturm Pavilion South 

 

Monday, April 28 

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8:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Registration | Breakfast 
Sturm Pavilion South Foyer 
 
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM

Opening Session 
Sturm Pavilion South 

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9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Welcome Address: A Landmark Year for WGIC
WGIC President Bryn Fosburgh
In line with our Mission and collective member aspirations, WGIC has been relentlessly working to expand the value proposition of geospatial and earth observation technologies and create advocacy, business, and networking opportunities for its members.

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9:45 AM - 10:30 AM
AI in Construction
José Luis Blanco, Senior Partner, Global Leader of Engineering, Construction and Building Materials, McKinsey & Company

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10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Coffee/Networking Break 
Sturm Pavilion South Foyer 

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11:00 AM - 11:45 AM 
Harnessing AI and Digital Twins for Geospatial Workflows
Sean Young, Director, AECO, Geospatial, and AI Solutions Industry Marketing, NVIDIA 
Al is poised to transform the Geospatial workflows with the promise of eliminating tedious processes and boosting productivity. In this talk, we will explore Al solutions for Geospatial. In doing so we will cover the basics of Al – including Al Training, Fine Tuning, RAG, Inference, Generative Al, Data Science, and Radiance Fields. We will also briefly discuss the use of a Digital Twin for aggregating Al data, training synthetic data, and simulating projects before deployment in the real world.

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11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Legislative Developments in Geospatial
United States Senator John Hickenlooper

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12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch (provided on-site) 
Sturm Pavilion South Foyer 

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1:30 – 2:15 PM
Engineering the Future: Harnessing the Power of AI to Drive Business Growth
Eve Psalti, Senior Director, Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) and Machine Learning (ML) represent explosive growth areas in technology, transforming every business and industry globally. As the data economy continues to expand, the current 35 zettabytes generated by over 50 billion connected devices fuel GAI and ML to unlock predictive insights and reshape the landscape of business and daily life. With Microsoft leading in generative AI advancements, including models like Copilot in Microsoft 365 and Azure OpenAI Service, AI now supports business efficiency and empowers individual productivity in unprecedented ways. Large language models (LLMs) process billions of data points to provide intelligent summaries, custom neural voices enhance conversational AI, and task automation streamlines processes from invoice management to sentiment analysis in customer feedback. Microsoft is committed to fostering a responsible AI framework, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and governance, particularly as AI reshapes workforce needs and drives demand for new skills. This presentation delves into Microsoft’s latest AI innovations, the transformative impact on businesses and personal lives, and the exciting future ahead. We'll discuss the key developments, potential, and what to consider as AI becomes integrated into our everyday tools and workflows.

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2:15 PM - 3:00 PM
Geospatial and Cloud Solutions
Clint Crosier, Director, Aerospace and Satellite Solutions, AWS Public Sector

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3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Coffee/Networking Break 
Sturm Pavilion South Foyer 

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3:30 PM - 4:15 PM
How Geospatial Law Impacts the Flow of Geospatial Information
Kevin Pomfret, Partner, Williams Mullen
Geospatial law plays a critical role in shaping the flow of geospatial information as it impacts all aspects of the geospatial sector: collection, use, aggregation, storage, and distribution. It includes key issues such as intellectual property rights, licensing agreements, privacy protections, and national security concerns, all of which influence how geospatial data can be accessed and utilized. For instance, licensing terms or unresolved ownership disputes may limit the ability to aggregate certain datasets, while robust privacy laws may restrict the use of geospatial information tied to individuals. It is important for geospatial companies to understand how geospatial law impacts their supply chain – including vendors and customers – so to identify and address choke points in the supply chain.

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4:15 PM – 5:00 PM 
The Role of AI in Addressing Geospatial Challenges

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5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Gallery artwork viewing 
El Pomar Atrium | Martin Galleries

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5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Reception and Networking: Beverages and heavy hors d'oeuvres 
El Pomar Atrium | Martin Galleries

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Tuesday, April 29 

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8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration | Breakfast 
Sturm Pavilion South Foyer 
 
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Signature Talk
ESRI – Patron Chair WGIC

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9:30 AM – 10:15 AM
The Urban Opportunity: Cities, Climate Change, and Geospatial
Andy Deacon, Co-Managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM)

13,000+ cities and local governments globally are committed to reducing emissions, adapting to the devastating effects of climate change, and increasing energy access through the Global Covenant of Mayors alliance - filling crucial gaps where national ambition is lacking. However, many still lack the data and tools needed for evidence-based climate action planning and measurement. Enter the geospatial industry and its technological gamut, including data, software, hardware, analysis and services. Making these assets available at urban scales and advancing city climate action implementation through geospatial represents a crucial opportunity - for cities, for climate, and for the industry. 

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10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
Coffee/Networking Break 
Sturm Pavilion South Foyer 

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10:45 AM – 11:30 AM
Towards a More Efficient, More Impactful Geospatial Ecosystem
Nadine Alameh, Ph.D., Executive Director, Taylor Geospatial Institute
It has been a year and a half since Nadine Alameh accepted the challenge of becoming the inaugural Executive Director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute – a new institute, funded via a philanthropic gift in St. Louis, to fuel geospatial research and innovation with a consortium of universities and research centers, and an eye on commercialization and impact at scale. AIn this talk, Nadine will share her observations on the evolution of our geospatial ecosystem and the changing roles of organizations (national mapping agencies, academia & research, non-profits, and more) and how these observations are shaping our priorities at the Taylor Geospatial Institute. In particular, she will note how today’s problems (climate, food security, health, disasters, sustainability, etc) require a more deliberate collaborative approach for research & innovation that transcends disciplinary and organization boundaries; the mismatch between the investment in research & innovation and  solutions to “real-world” problems; the gap between research and commercialization and how it can be bridged; and her most sincere appreciation to all the non-profits in the geospatial sector working on increasing collaboration, problem solving, and interoperability. Although geospatial has come a long way, we still have a lot of work to do to achieve our full potential, but one thing is for sure, our time is NOW!

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11:30 AM – 12:20 PM 
The Time for Geospatial is Now
Aaron Addison, Executive Director, WGIC

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12:20 PM - 12:30 PM
Closing Remarks / Summary of Key Takeaways 
WGIC President Bryn Fosburg

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12:30 PM onwards 
Museum art viewing / Networking Activities

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Key Features of the Program: 

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• Curated and Engaging content and conversations: Hearing from industry leaders as well as those leaders beyond the industry 

• Diverse and Inclusive Panels: Ensuring representation from various sectors including private industry, academia, governments and NGOs. 

• Curated Presentations: Featuring emerging geospatial technologies 

• Networking Opportunities: Designed breaks and receptions for attendees to focus on connections and sharing perspectives and approaches on session ideas. 

• Unique venue and attendee experience: The Denver Art Museum provides the perfect setting for conversations for meaningful content and conversations.   

 

This event and program will explore the approaches and solutions within the geospatial and earth observation industry, shaping the trajectory of Geospatial in Everything, Geospatial for Everyone and our collective sustainable future.