C-STORE AILEADERS Enter invite code

C-Store AI Leaders Unconference

Build the 2030 store.

Friday Dec 182026, The Elser, Miami
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Learn, jam and build with the 150 leaders shaping AI, robotics and data in convenience and fuel retail. One day in Miami, from morning coffee to the Night Shift.

Invite only. 150 seats. $1,000 through Oct 31.Why you can't miss it

The industry is building toward 2030. Let's build it together.

In October, NACS set a bold course with Advancing Convenience 2030, a five-year plan that puts data, digital standards and innovation at the center of where the industry goes next. Data and AI are already changing how stores order, price, staff, secure and sell. This day brings the people doing that work into one room to learn from each other, compare what works and move faster together. Read the plan announcement

Opening and closing the day.

Paul Ziv

Opening remarks

Creating an Ecosystem.

Paul Ziv

Vice President of TechnologyNACS

Paul is NACS's first Vice President of Technology, leading technology strategy, enterprise modernization and new digital capabilities across NACS and its affiliates, including TruAge. At TruAge he was Vice President of Emerging Technology and Operations, leading the roadmap and execution of its age-verification platform. Before that he ran IT for AnswerNet with a 100-person team, held leadership roles at March of Dimes including Vice President and Associate COO, and was a senior network administrator at RaceTrac.

Morning, Friday, December 18, 2026

James W. Keyes

Closing remarks

Change Equals Opportunity.

James W. Keyes

Former CEO7-Eleven
Board MemberMurphy USA

Jim spent 21 years at 7-Eleven, rising through CFO and COO to lead it as President and CEO from 2000 to 2005, where he brought in retail systems technology that sharpened how stores chose what to stock. He went on to lead Blockbuster as Chairman and CEO, has served on the Murphy USA board since 2013, and is a Horatio Alger Award recipient and founder of the Education Is Freedom Foundation.

Evening, Friday, December 18, 2026

Six themes. Endless jams.

Every jam lives inside a theme, so the day stays focused. The people in the room pitch and lead them.

A sunlit store counter with holographic AI panels floating above it

Agents

AI that runs the store.

  • Which decisions go to agents first: ordering, pricing or labor?
  • What does an AI-run back office really save?
A store aisle scanned by soft beams of light from ceiling cameras

Vision

Cameras that understand the store.

  • Where does vision pay back first: shrink, safety or shelves?
  • How do you use it without creeping out customers or staff?
A robotic arm restocking a glowing drinks cooler

Robots

From the backroom to the curb.

  • Which robots are ready for a 24-hour store?
  • Food service automation: margin or hype?
A golden quantum computer in a bright lab with palm trees outside

Quantum

The next leap, and how to get ready.

  • When does quantum computing start to matter to retail?
  • Are your payments ready for a post-quantum world?
A fuel pump streaming lines of light into the store behind it

Data

The foundation everything runs on.

  • What data do you fix before any AI works?
  • How will agents talk across POS, loyalty and fuel?
A shopper holding a phone that projects a hologram of an order

Shopper

The 2030 customer.

  • What happens to loyalty when every offer is personal?
  • Checkout that disappears: who wins?

How the unconference works.

Short opening remarks, then the room takes over: you pitch the jams, vote on them and work them in small groups, and every jam ends with something you can use on Monday.

  1. Morning

    Pitch a jam

    After opening remarks, anyone can submit a jam proposal: a problem or idea you want the room to work on, in thirty seconds.

  2. Late morning

    Vote

    Everyone votes. The proposals with the most votes become the day's jams, each tied to one of the six themes.

  3. Afternoon

    Jam

    About two hours in small groups, each with a host and a note-taker. Share what you have tried, push on what is next and leave with a move to make.

  4. Before dinner

    Ship it

    The notes become the 2030 playbook and a short film of the day, premiered as dinner begins and released publicly after Miami.

Come prepared with

  • A jam proposalA real problem you are working on right now, ready to pitch in thirty seconds.
  • One experimentSomething you tried, whether it worked or flopped. Both teach the room.
  • One questionThe thing you want answered before you fly home.
  • Your thirty-second introWhat you are building or buying, and who you want to meet.
  • A free eveningThe Night Shift is where the follow-ups get planned.

Ground rules

  • Do businessTalk about what you are building, meet customers and find partners. The jams are conversations, so slides can stay home.
  • The law of two feetIf a jam is not working for you, walk to one that is.
  • What is said staysShare the lesson, not the name.
  • Leave with a moveEvery jam ends with one thing someone will try next.

Who you'll meet

A meeting room at The Elser with floor-to-ceiling windows
The Elser's lawn deck set for a reception, with downtown Miami behind it
The pool deck at The Elser

Miami in December.

Trade the winter coat for the mid-seventies and a view of Biscayne Bay. Fly in Thursday, stay for the weekend.

  • The Elser398 NE 5th Street, Miami. A 49-story tower downtown, its meeting floor twelve stories up behind floor-to-ceiling glass.
  • Around youThe Kaseya Center, Bayside and the Freedom Tower are a short walk away.
  • Getting thereAbout six miles from Miami International. Brightline's MiamiCentral station and the free Metromover are close by.
  • StayingSpecial room rates at The Elser are emailed to you as soon as you buy your ticket.

Morning coffee to the Night Shift.

One day built to learn, jam, build and make friends you will keep.

  1. Morning

    Learn

    Breakfast by the bay, then Paul Ziv, NACS Vice President of Technology, opens with Creating an Ecosystem.

  2. Late morning

    Pitch

    Submit your jam proposals: the problems and ideas you want the room to work on.

  3. Late morning

    Vote

    Everyone votes. The proposals with the most votes become the day's jams, each inside one of the six themes.

  4. Midday

    Connect

    A break and lunch, with time to find the people behind the jams you picked.

  5. Afternoon

    Jam

    About two hours of jam sessions in small groups, each with a host and a note-taker.

  6. Late afternoon

    Compile

    While you take a break, the notes from every jam become the 2030 playbook and a short film of the day, made with AI.

  7. Evening

    Premiere

    As you sit down for dinner, the 2030 playbook and the film premiere, then Jim Keyes closes the day.

  8. Night

    Night Shift

    Dinner and drinks, Miami style.

Night Shift

Every store in this industry runs a night shift. Ours comes with dinner.

  • The premiereAs dinner begins, the 2030 playbook and the film of the day debut, and Jim Keyes closes with Change Equals Opportunity.
  • Dinner and drinksMiami style, to close the day.
  • Dress codeMiami casual. Linen, guayaberas and sneakers welcome.
  • Last jamGrab a table and finish the conversation that ran out of time.

One ticket. Everything included.

A full day of jams with 150 of the industry's sharpest people, every meal, the Night Shift, the playbook and special hotel rates. Nothing else to buy.

Admit one
C-Store AI Leaders Unconference
Fri Dec 18
2026, The Elser, Miami
$1,000
  1. $1,000Through Oct 31
  2. $1,200Nov 1 to 30
  3. $1,500From Dec 1

Price rises to $1,200 on Nov 1.

  • Opening remarks and every jam
  • Coffee all day, breakfast and lunch
  • The Night Shift: dinner and drinks
  • A hand in writing the 2030 playbook, premiered at dinner
  • Special room rates at The Elser
  • 150 peers worth knowing

Your hotel rate arrives by email as soon as you buy.

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