Spark 2026 Schedule

Spark is held annu­al­ly in con­junc­tion with the EDS Lead­er­ship Sum­mit in Las Vegas. Each year, the pro­gram brings togeth­er high-poten­tial pro­fes­sion­als for two days of learn­ing, net­work­ing, and career devel­op­ment led by indus­try experts.

All Spark ses­sions will be held in the Rose Ball­room at Resorts World Las Vegas.

Sched­ule sub­ject to change.

Pre-EDS (Fri­day, May 1)

1:00pm — 2:00pm EST: One-hour vir­tu­al ses­sion cov­er­ing sched­ule, cur­ricu­lum, best prac­tices, what to expect and how to pre­pare.
 

Mon­day, May 18 (Full-day)

8:15am – 8:30am: Wel­come, Kick-off and Introductions

8:30am – 8:45am: Inter­ac­tive Ice­break­er Session

8:45am – 9:15am: One-minute Par­tic­i­pant Elevator-pitches

9:15am – 10:15am: EDS and Asso­ci­a­tion Overview — David Lof­tus (ECIA), Eddie Smith (ERA) and Car­o­line Wells (Mura­ta), mod­er­at­ed by Ryan Riester­er (ECIA)

10:15am – 11:00am: Rela­tion­ships and Your Career Jour­ney — Peg­gy Car­ri­eres (Arrow)

11:00am – 11:15am: Break

11:15am – 12:15pm: Exec­u­tive Leader Pan­el: Pro­fes­sion­al Resilience Through Mar­ket Cycles — Bob Gour­deau (KYOCERA AVX), Tom Grif­fin (Cat­a­lyst Uni­ty), Jeff Newell (Mouser), mod­er­at­ed by Car­o­line Wells (Mura­ta)

12:15pm – 1:45pm: Lunch, Meet an Indus­try Leader Round­table — Lori Bruno (Lus­com­Bridge), Jodi Estevez (Avnet), Julie Fajar­do (TDK-Lamb­da), Travis Moench (ROHM Semi­con­duc­tor), Kristin Schuet­ter (Mouser), and Eddie Smith (ERA)

1:45pm – 2:00pm: Break

2:00pm – 2:45pm: From Ear­ly Roles to Future Leader: Lessons in Pas­sion, Pur­pose, and Lead­er­ship — Kristin Schuet­ter (Mouser), Kate Hubert (Sup­plyframe)

2:45pm – 3:00pm: Inter­ac­tive Recap of Mon­day Session

3:00pm – 3:45pm: Spark Par­tic­i­pant and Alum­ni Hap­py Hour

4:00pm – 5:30pm: All-EDS Reception

6:00pm: Din­ner and/​or Social Event, TBD

Tues­day, May 19 (Half-day)

7:45am – 8:00am: Round­table Recap of Monday

8:00am – 8:30am: Dig­i­tal Pres­ence and LinkedIn Per­sona: How to use it pro­fes­sion­al­ly and effec­tive­ly — Heather Fulara (DigiKey)

8:30am – 9:15am: Mar­ket Insights — Dale Ford (ECIA)

9:15am – 10:15am: The Art of Nego­ti­at­ing — John Hut­son (MacIn­nis Group)

10:15am – 10:30am: Break

10:30am – 11:00am: Pro­fes­sion­al Devel­op­ment — Bob Dion (DHD)

11:00am – 12:00pm: Spark Alum­ni Round­table Dis­cus­sion — Mod­er­at­ed by Jodi Estevez (Avnet)

12:00pm – 12:15pm: Inter­ac­tive Recap of Tues­day Session

12:15pm: Adjourn for Meet­ings with Company

Wednes­day, May 20 – Fri­day, May 22 

Meet­ings with com­pa­ny, attend uni­ver­si­ty pan­el on Thurs­day, and depart.

Post-EDS (TBD, ear­ly June)

One-hour vir­tu­al ses­sion review­ing the pro­gram expe­ri­ence and par­tic­i­pants time at EDS.