Forum 2027 / Why Attend
The case for being in the room
You can read the industry news. You can attend the trade shows. But the conversations that actually move your business forward happen somewhere smaller. This is that somewhere.
WHY IT MATTERS
Access
The people you need to know are already registered
The Business Forum draws 700+ C-suite and VP-level executives from across the automation ecosystem — not attendees looking to be sold to, but the people who set strategy, sign partnerships, and decide what the industry looks like in three years.
You won't find this concentration anywhere else. Automate draws tens of thousands. The Forum draws the right 700. Getting in front of those specific people, outside of a booth or a conference call, is the whole value.
700+
Executive Attendees
- OEMs & Manufacturers
- System Integrators
- Technology Innovators
- Executive Leaders
ENVIRONMENT
No pitches. No booths. No selling.
The Business Forum is a closed-door members-only event. The agenda is deliberately light — a few sessions, a round of golf, a couple of dinners. The rest is yours. That unstructured time is where trust actually gets built, and trust is what eventually closes deals.
When you're not trying to close a transaction, you have real conversations. People talk about what they're actually worried about. They ask for introductions they wouldn't ask for in any other setting. Three days off the clock changes the relationship in a way that a year of emails doesn't.
Golf Invitational
18 holes at the Waldorf Astoria. A scramble format so every skill level fits in. The real value is the four hours on a cart with someone you wouldn't normally have uninterrupted time with.
Forum Dinners
Long seated dinners with no agenda. The conversations that start here are the ones people mention a year later. No presentations. No panels. Just a room full of the right people with time to talk.
The Talks
A short slate of keynotes and panels that give the weekend a spine. Economic outlooks, technology shifts, things worth knowing. Come to the ones that sound relevant. Skip the rest.
ROI
What you come back with
Attendees don't come back with a badge and a bag of pens. They come back with relationships that change how they do business. Partnerships started on the golf course. Introductions made over dinner. Competitive intelligence gathered in the hallway. A clearer picture of where the industry is actually going, from the people actually steering it.
Peer relationships that last
The Forum runs the same group of leaders through the same three days, year after year. By the third time you've played golf with someone, the relationship is real.
A read on the industry you can't get online
The economic outlook sessions, hallway conversations, and off-the-record dinners give you a ground-level read on what's actually happening — not the press release version.
Introductions that would otherwise take months
You're in the same building, off the clock, for three days. The right introduction happens at breakfast. You'd spend six months trying to get that meeting over email.
Influence in the room that matters
A3 shapes industry standards, advocacy positions, and market strategy. Being at the Forum means being part of those conversations before they become decisions.
"The single most productive event on our calendar. The unstructured time is where the real business happens, and the quality of leaders in the room is unmatched."
President · Vision Solutions Group
"I've been attending for six years. The relationships I've built here have shaped our partnership strategy more than anything else we do."
CEO · Advanced Motion Systems
"It's the one event where I actually slow down long enough to think about where the industry is going. That perspective is worth the three days every time."
VP Strategy · Robotics OEM
Setting
One venue. No commutes. Florida in January.
The Forum doesn't scatter people across a convention center and three satellite hotels. Everything happens at the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek — sessions, meals, hotel rooms, the golf course up the road at the Waldorf Astoria.
Keeping everyone in one place is intentional. You run into people in the lobby. Coffee conversations happen. The hallway becomes part of the program. That proximity is impossible to replicate on a Zoom call or a trade show floor.
Venue
Signia By Hilton
Orlando Bonnet Creek
Golf
Waldorf Astoria
On-site course
Check-In
Jan. 18
2027
Check-Out
Jan. 20
2027
Why Orlando in January?
The timing is deliberate. January is the one month where people aren't slammed with end-of-quarter pressure, board prep, or trade show travel. Getting 700 executives to slow down requires picking the right week. We picked it.
Attendees
The Forum is for A3 members who lead their organizations.
Attendance is not open to the public. It's not a trade show badge anyone can buy. Registration is limited to A3 member companies, and the expectation is C-suite or senior leadership attendance — the people who actually make decisions.
If your company is not yet an A3 member, membership applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The Forum is one of the clearest reasons to join — and many companies do exactly that.
Learn about A3 membership →38%
C-suite
CEOs, COOs, CFOs
31%
VP Level
Strategy, Sales, Engineering
18%
Founders & Owners
Independent & PE-backed
13%
Senior Directors
Functional Leaders