THE STATE OF THE EFFECT

SUMMIT 2026

NEW YORK, NY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

2026 theme:

THE BUILD

Governance, Ownership, and the Future of Value Creation

​​Every year, we step back to ask one question: what is the state of the effect?

This year, the answer is all around us. Institutions are being taken apart and put back together — whether we like it or not, it is happening now. Structures rebuilt by accident get rebuilt badly. Structures rebuilt on purpose become the ground the next generation stands on. That is the opportunity in front of this community. And it is why, this year, we build.

We are not alone. The founders who built before us and the ones building right now, the families who have stewarded capital across generations, the largest institutions in the world, and the regulators who watch the markets have each arrived — for their own reasons — at the same conclusion: what endures is built by design.

Governance as a creative act

And here is what they have all seen. Governance — maybe the most overlooked word in business — is a creative act. It has been hiding in plain sight: the structure that unlocks the value a company creates, compounds it, and safeguards it. How we govern, how we own, who is in the room when it counts — this was never compliance, never a box to check. It is what sets value creation free.

Because trust is not a feeling — it is an architecture. And who gets to build, own, and lead is not decided by talent alone. It is decided by whether the structures exist to let talent in.

What should we build?

Join 200+ entrepreneurs, investors, and cross-sector leaders as we pressure-test two questions from every angle: What should we build? And how do we make sure that what we build keeps creating value?

Framing The Build

Incorruptible by Eric Ries asks why good companies go bad, and lands on an answer we recognize: not because people fail, but because structures do. At The Fourth Effect, that is the ground we have been building on since day one: the governance and advisory infrastructure that helps scaling companies protect the value they create, and that opens the room to the people historically locked out of it.


Ries' idea of "financial gravity," the quiet structural pull toward extraction that bends even well-intentioned companies off course, mirrors the question we explore this year: if the pull is structural, the answer has to be built. How we govern, how we own, and who is in the room when it counts were never compliance. They are design.


The Summit's theme, THE BUILD, picks up where last year's conversation with The Coming Wave left off. The wave has arrived. Institutions are being remade whether we like it or not. And what endures is built by design.

ON THE MAINSTAGE

One thesis, tested all evening: the structures we build decide the value we create.

Mainstage Welcome

A Welcome from The Fourth Effect

Breen Sullivan & Kat de Haën

Co-founders, The Fourth Effect

We built The Fourth Effect to connect founders with the people, expertise, and opportunities that help them build lasting value. This evening brings that mission into the room.

Join co-founders Breen Sullivan and Kat de Haën on the mainstage as they welcome our community, set the stage for THE BUILD, and open an evening of bold ideas, meaningful connections, and conversations that move us forward.

Breen Sullivan, Founder and CEO of The Fourth Effect

Breen Sullivan

Founder & CEO
The Fourth Effect

Kat de Haën, Co-founder of The Fourth Effect

Kat de Haën

Co-founder
The Fourth Effect

Speakers in the Spotlight

Meet the Thought Leadership Discussion Moderators & Leaders

Anne Cocquyt

Anne Cocquyt

Thought Leadership Facilitator

Founder & CEO, The GUILD

The Trust Stack

Security, transparency, and systems people can rely on

Cari Robinson

Cari Robinson

Former GC, Revlon | Former Federal Prosecutor, SDNY; Senior Managing Director, August

Ash Kalb

Ash Kalb

Co-Founder & President, Fulcra

Intelligence With Accountability

Governing AI inside the org chart, not outside it

Joanna Schlingbaum

Joanna Schlingbaum

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Technology & IP Transactions

Nithya Das

Nithya Das

Chief Operating Officer, GC AI

Ownership Architecture

Cap tables, boards, and the future of financial power

Maggie D. Flores

Maggie D. Flores

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Mergers & Acquisitions

René Paula

René Paula

CFO & Chief Legal Officer, Nasdaq Private Market

Climate’s Long Game

Capital structures built for decade-scale problems

Mary Beth Houlihan

Mary Beth Houlihan

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Sustainability

Manju Seal

Manju Seal

Founder & Managing Partner, Terra Impact

Health, Built to Hold

Durable structures for care, data, and outcomes

Sophia Hudson

Sophia Hudson

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Capital Markets

Komal Bajaj

Komal Bajaj

Chief Quality Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals

Thought leadership room moderators and leads:

The Trust Stack

Security, transparency, and systems people can rely on

Cari Robinson

Intelligence With Accountability

Governing AI inside the org chart, not outside it

Senior Managing Director, August Strategic Communications

Joanna Schlingbaum

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Technology & IP Transactions

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Capital Markets

Sophia Hudson

Mary Beth Houlihan

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, , Sustainability

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Mergers & Acquisitions

Maggie D. Flores

René Paulina Molina

CFO & Chief Legal Officer, Nasdaq Private Market

Ash Kalb

Co-Founder & President, Fulcra

Swan Sit

Board Director, Edgewell Personal Care

Ownership Architecture

Cap tables, boards, and the future of financial power

Komal Bajaj

Chief Quality Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals

Manju Seal

Founder & Managing Partner, Terra Impact

Health, Built to Hold

Durable structures for care, data, and outcomes

Climate’s Long Game

Capital structures built for decade-scale problems

Director, Engagement Management, Adobe

The Bridge: What Becomes Possible

Liz Kiehner invites us to picture a future worth building: one where AI helps organizations meet people at the moments that matter, with services designed around their needs.

Through vivid examples, she will explore what this opens up for businesses and the people they serve, then invite the room into a conversation: What would be a game changer?

The Bridge with Liz Kiehner

Liz Kiehner, Director, Engagement Management at Adobe

Introducing the Closing Fireside

Host Remarks with Andrew Wright

Partner, Investment Funds
Kirkland & Ellis

Andrew Wright will offer host remarks on Kirkland & Ellis and its partnership with The Fourth Effect, then introduce Justin Rockefeller for the evening’s closing fireside.

His introduction sets the stage for The Five-Year Horizon and the Hundred-Year View, a conversation with Justin Rockefeller and Breen Sullivan about governance, ownership, and building purpose and value that endure.

Andrew Wright, Partner at Kirkland and Ellis

The Five-Year Horizon and the Hundred-Year View

with Justin Rockefeller and Breen Sullivan

Justin Rockefeller and Breen Sullivan explore how governance and ownership help purpose and value endure, connecting the urgency of the next five years with the lessons of stewardship across generations.

Drawing on Justin’s work across impact investing, philanthropy, and AI, the closing fireside asks what we can put in place now to build lasting value.

Justin Rockefeller

Fireside Guest

Justin Rockefeller

Co-Founder and Chair
The ImPact

Breen Sullivan, Founder and CEO of The Fourth Effect

In Conversation

Breen Sullivan

Founder & CEO
The Fourth Effect

Our VIP Room Thought Leadership Speakers

Alisha Outridge

Alisha Outridge

Byte&Chord, Founder & CTO/CPO

Anna Tavis

Anna Tavis

Clinical Professor & Chair, Human Capital Management, NYU

Anne Cocquyt

Anne Cocquyt

Founder & CEO, The GUILD

Beth Jacobson

Beth Jacobson

General Counsel, Octave

Brian Schmidt

Brian Schmidt

Co-Founder & COO, Hoop

Cate Luzio

Cate Luzio

Founder & CEO, Luminary | Former Global Head of Multinational Corporate Banking, HSBC

Erica Duignan

Erica Duignan

Founder & Managing Partner, Reign Ventures

Hillary Lin, MD

Hillary Lin, MD

Co-Founder & CEO, Curator

Jung Choi

Jung Choi

Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Revelyst

Kim Leinwand Erle

Kim Leinwand Erle

Public Company Board Director

Lindsey Schmidt

Lindsey Schmidt

Advisor to CEOs & Boards | Former CEO

Lisa Nelson

Lisa Nelson

Managing Director, Wealthing VC Club

Michele Colucci

Michele Colucci

Founder & Managing Partner, DigitalDx Ventures

Nicole Lemerond

Nicole Lemerond

Public Company Board Director

Nithya Das

Nithya Das

Chief Operating Officer, GC AI

Paul Hance

Paul Hance

CEO, AnnumAI

Peter Micca

Peter Micca

Managing Partner, Caduceus Capital Partners

Rachael Dugan

Rachael Dugan

General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Cover Whale

Rachel ten Brink

Rachel ten Brink

General Partner, Red Bike Capital

Rob Frankfurt

Rob Frankfurt

Founder, Living Fund

Tiya Gordon

Tiya Gordon

Co-Founder & COO, It’s Electric

Yetsuh Frank

Yetsuh Frank

Head of North America, Scaler

Megan Gray

“Pitch Happens” After Hours

Led by Megan Gray

Stay for our After Hours celebration: drinks, curated networking thanks to our partner Goodword, and perhaps a hilariously unexpected surprise.

Past Summits

THE STATE OF THE EFFECT

SUMMIT 2025

NEW YORK, NY • OCTOBER 21

THIS YEAR’S THEME

THE SHIFT

Infrastructure, Intelligence & the Future of Growth

​​Every year, we step back to ask one question: what is the state of the effect? It’s how we take stock of the forces reshaping our world and what they mean for how we build, lead, and grow.

In 2023, we explored systems change.

In 2024, we turned to implementation.

And now, in 2025, we’ve reached The Shift, the moment when exponential technology stops being a theory and starts remaking the landscape in real time.  It’s an era of exponential solutions: breakthroughs once out of reach are becoming reality. 

But possibility alone isn’t enough. While technology accelerates, the human frameworks around it still lag behind. If we don’t evolve how we organize, decide, and collaborate, we’ll leave enormous value untapped and risk being swept under by the very forces meant to carry us forward.

We are gathering over 150 entrepreneurs, investors, and cross-sector leaders to learn from each other, strengthen the networks that shape innovation, and reimagine the human systems that guide it.

Because facing this kind of shift, none of us can go it alone. Technology is moving faster than any one company, sector, or leader. The future will be built through collaboration, by connecting perspectives, sharing context, and seeing the bigger picture together.

Select participants will also be invited to join VIP Thought Leadership Discussions exploring five critical domains shaping the future; climate, health, finance, security, and AI. Each conversation will surface insights on how to thrive and stay grounded amid the coming wave of change.​

Framing the Shift

The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman challenged us to think about how humanity can walk the narrow path between chaos and control. At The Fourth Effect, we’re building part of that path — the governance and advisory infrastructure that helps innovation stay aligned with human values and long-term resilience.

Suleyman’s idea of “the containment problem” — how we adapt our human, legal, and social systems fast enough to keep pace with accelerating intelligence — mirrors the challenge we explore this year: how governance, innovation, and infrastructure must evolve together if growth is to remain sustainable, ethical, and inclusive.

The Summit’s theme, The Shift, invites us to explore that challenge directly — to stay grounded amid the coming wave and help shape what rises next.​

ON THE MAIN STAGE

The Resilience Equation: Finding Balance in the Coming Wave

  • Ana Moro

    HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY & COMMODITY SPECIALISTS, AMERICAS, BLOOMBERG

    Connect

  • Breen Sullivan

    FOUNDER & CEO, THE FOURTH EFFECT

    CONNECT

  • Ellen Itskovitz

    INVESTMENT TEAM, THE CATALYTIC IMPACT FOUNDATION

    Connect

  • Eric Solomon

    FOUNDER, STRATEGIC ADVISOR, SPEAKER, THE HUMAN OS™

    Connect

  • Kat de Haën

    CO-FOUNDER, THE FOURTH EFFECT

    CONNECT

  • Lawrence Krubner

    INTERIM CTO, THE FOURTH EFFECT

    Connect

  • Maggie D. Flores

    KIRKLAND & ELLIS PARTNER / MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS / PRIVATE EQUITY

    Click Here

  • Quan Myles Boatman

    PRESIDENT & CEO, MYLESEDGE CONSULTING; FORMER FEDERAL SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE

    Connect

  • Tanya Kaul

    SR. DIRECTOR - FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, MICROSOFT

    Connect

Our VIP Room Thought Leadership Speakers

  • Andrea Schmitz

    PARTNER, KNICKERBOCKER FINANCIAL GROUP

    Click Here

  • Anna Tavis

    DEPARTMENT CHAIR, HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, NYU

    Click Here

  • Beth Cartier

    PRINCIPAL, DIGITAL RISKS, AMERICAS, CONTROL RISKS

    Connect

  • Cari Robinson

    SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, AUGUST

    Connect

  • Carrie Jaquith

    GLOBAL HEAD OF DIGITAL PRODUCT, ABAXX TECH

    Connect

  • Christina Trampota

    CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER, INNOVATE GROW SCALE

    Connect

  • David Tswamuno

    FOUNDER, FAIRBRIDGE VC

    Connect

  • Katherine Mogg

    MANAGING DIRECTOR, US GENERAL COUNSEL, FORTESCUE CAPITAL

    Connect

  • Kathy Leake

    FOUNDER & BOARD MEMBER

    Connect

  • Kristen Castell

    MANAGING DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ACCELERATING FINANCIAL EQUITY

    Connect

  • Komal Bajaj

    CHIEF QUALITY OFFICER & MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY

    Connect

  • Lata Setty

    FOUNDING INVESTOR, DUE DILI TEAM & LP ADVISORY COMMITTEE, HOW WOMEN INVEST FUNDS I, II & III

    Connect

  • Laura A. Sullivan

    KIRKLAND & ELLIS PARTNER / MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS / PRIVATE EQUITY

    Connect

  • Laura Kornhauser

    CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, STRATYFY

    Connect

  • Lisa Nelson

    MANAGING DIRECTOR, FAMILY OFFICE SERVICES, WEALTHING VC CLUB

    Connect

  • Maggie D. Flores

    KIRKLAND & ELLIS PARTNER / MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS / PRIVATE EQUITY

    Connect

  • Marthe Haverkamp

    INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT

    Connect

  • Mary Beth Houlihan

    KIRKLAND & ELLIS PARTNER / SUSTAINABILITY

    Connect

  • Melindah Sharma

    MANAGING DIRECTOR, LIFE SCIENCES, MANATT HEALTH

    Connect

  • Parth Shah

    PRINCIPAL, PEGASUS CAPITAL ADVISORS

    Connect

  • Sarah Sandford Broderick

    FOUNDER & CEO, THE FEAT

    Connect

  • Shellie Weisfield Freedman

    KIRKLAND & ELLIS PARTNER / TECHNOLOGY & IP TRANSACTIONS

    Connect

  • Stephanie Benedetto

    CEO OF ALOQIA

    Connect

  • Tanaz Parmar Pilla

    CHIEF INNOVATION & GROWTH OFFICER, FOUNDER, ZAYA ADVISORY

    Connect

  • Tim Schnurr

    MANAGING PARTNER, LEASTTRUST

    Connect

PITCH SHOWCASE

FEATURED STARTUPS

Marissa Fayer

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DEEPLOOK MEDICAL

To bring clarity to healthcare providers and confidence to patients.

Learn more

Moiz Shirazi

FOUNDER & CEO, SCOREALYTICS, INC.

Intuitively identify and manage global legal risks with the power of data.

Learn more

Souha Alameddine

CO-FOUNDER, GAIA SOFTWARE, INC.

Modernizing school nutrition.

Learn more

MEET OUR VIP JUDGES

Ryan Keating

PARTNER, EISNER ADVISORY GROUP, EISNERAMPER

Connect

Jeanne Sullivan

INVESTOR, SPEAKER, ADVISOR

Connect

Master of Ceremonies

Andy Walsh

STRATEGIC ADVISOR & FOUNDER

Connect

Last Year’s Winner

Connect

Melissa Wallace

CO-FOUNDER, FIERCE FOUNDRY

Our Femtech Venture Studio builds female-founded startups from idea to exit to impact the future of funding for women.

Learn more

VIP BREAKOUT ROOMS

CLIMATE CAPITALISM

INVESTING IN THE PLANETARY SHIFT

Explore how resilience in the climate economy is reshaping capital, innovation, and infrastructure, and what’s truly working at ground level.

​Speakers:

TRUST, THREATS & TRANSFORMATION

BUILDING RESILIENT SYSTEMS

Examine how transparency, governance, and culture evolve to sustain trust and stability in a digital-first world.

​Speakers:

INTELLIGENCE AT SCALE

BUILDING ADAPTIVE AI GOVERNANCE

Explore how to scale intelligence without losing human judgment, ethics, or accountability.

​Speakers:

CARE AS CAPITAL

THE NEW ECONOMICS OF WOMEN’S HEALTH

Explore how advances in biotech, data, and workforce design redefine well-being as a driver of organizational and systemic resilience.

​Speakers:

CAPITAL, CODE & CONTROL

THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL POWER

Examine how the convergence of finance and technology is reshaping control, inclusion, and resilience in financial systems.

​Speakers:

THANK YOU TO OUR

VIP Partner & Host

Impact Partner

Headshots by

Wines by

THE STATE OF THE EFFECT

NEW YORK, NY

SUMMIT 2024

EQUITY IN ACTION

CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN OWNING ‘EQUITY’ AND CREATING ‘EQUITY’

This year, our Summit focused on identifying barriers to progress in Climate, Health, and Future of Work and how building diverse leadership pipelines, creating opportunities for equity ownership, and leveraging technology, education, and AI can help break these barriers and create equity. 

In our keynote conversation with the Education GTM lead at OpenAI, we explored the transformative potential of AI to break down barriers and create equity in healthcare, climate, governance, education, and the future of work.

Inspiring this Summit was the belief that building diverse leadership pipelines and creating opportunities for equity ownership today is an important part of paving the way for equitable solutions that will unlock real progress tomorrow. In order for technology, education and AI to be effective accelerants, we can't afford to leave so much human capital on the table!  

By asking ourselves ‘what can we do today as business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs to create equity tomorrow?’ we uncovered how we can make these ideas actionable in Climate Tech, Health Equity, and the Future of Work. This is the systemic change we need, and it starts now.

THE STATE OF THE EFFECT

WHAT WE SHARED AT THE SUMMIT

In one year, our growth and our impact have doubled!  We’re now in over 40 countries, 450 cities, with more than 15,000 members. We’ve made over 270,000 recommendations, matched 2,000+ members to board and investment opportunities, and connected more than 600 startups with advisors and investors. This matters because behind each number is a story of transformation and equity creation. The future of leadership and ownership depends on who is at the table today.

HIGHLIGHTS

Our breakout rooms and pitch competition centered around three key areas essential for our collective success: the well-being of our planet, our health, and our productivity. Paving the way for equitable solutions in climate, health and Future of Work will guide us toward a brighter future.

ACCESS RECORDING

Click Here

CONGRATULATIONS Azul Bio!

Learn more

STATE OF THE EFFECT SPEAKERS

LEARN MORE

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

MAIN STAGE

​Anna A. Tavis, PhD, Department Chair, Human Capital, NYU

​Candice Hunter Corby, CEO at Hidden Star Capital

​Komel Caruso, Co-founder & COO, HerMD

​Rupal Patel, 2x Founder & CEO, Best-Selling Author

​Siya Raj Purohit, Education at OpenAI

​William Provine, CEO, Innovation Space

PITCH COMPETITION JUDGES

​​Crystelle Desnoyer - Masters of Ceremony, Chief of Staff, Kyndrl

​Helena Wasserman - Investors for Climate

​Silvia Garcia Codony - NY Ventures, Empire State Development (Health)

​Zac Geinzer - Commonweal Ventures (Future of Work)

VIP BREAKOUT ROOMS

1

CLIMATE

BREAKING BARRIERS TO A SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE FUTURE

​This session will focused on the real-world barriers to deploying climate tech solutions that advance both environmental sustainability and social equity. Industry leaders and innovators will identify specific, tangible challenges they’ve encountered within their organizations or industries and extrapolate them to broader systemic issues. The final portion focused on brainstorming actionable steps we can take today to dismantle these barriers and drive climate innovation forward.

​Speakers:

BREAKING BARRIERS FOR EQUITABLE HEALTHCARE FOR ALL

HEALTH EQUITY

2

​This session focused on the real-world barriers that prevent advancements in life sciences, healthcare, and well-being from reaching the populations that need them most. Speakers will share tangible challenges from their industries and extrapolate them to broader systemic issues. The final portion concentrated on brainstorming actionable steps to overcome these barriers and foster equitable access to healthcare innovation.

​Speakers:

3

FUTURE OF WORK

REIMAGINING SYSTEMS

​This session dove into the evolving nature of work, governance, and global operating systems. Participants explored the structural challenges preventing equitable work environments and inclusive governance, while brainstorming ways to reshape operating systems to promote global equity and empowerment.

​Speakers:

THE CURRENCY OF INCLUSION:

CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN POWER, MONEY, AND EQUITY

We walked in The Fourth Floor and walked out The Fourth Effect! 

We were thrilled to celebrate our rebrand as well as announce the launch of our UNSTOPPABLE campaign to our attendees of over 150 change makers and leaders.

Thank you to all of our amazing speakers who drove home the point that a systems change is necessary and that Diversity & Inclusion is essential and profitable. Equity in the investment and innovation ecosystem will create better products, better companies and more pie for all.

ACCESS RECORDING

CLICK HERE

THANK YOU TO OUR

VIP Sponsor

Highlights

Speakers

  • Ariel Giumarelli

    PARTNER, ESG & IMPACT, KIRKLAND & ELLIS

  • Cat (Hernandez) Middleton

    GENERAL PARTNER, THE VENTURE COLLECTIVE

  • Cate Luzio

    FOUNDER AND CEO, LUMINARY

  • Cherae Robinson

    HEAD OF COMMUNITY, FLYBRIDGE

  • Cheryl Kellond

    CO-FOUNDER, PLAY MONEY STUDIOS

  • Christine Okike

    PARTNER, RESTRUCTURING, KIRKLAND & ELLIS

  • Karen Sunderam

    INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, IMPACTASSETS

  • Kathy Gardner

    VP, HEAD OF PEOPLE OPERATIONS, PALLADIUM

  • Linda Davis Taylor

    GOVERNANCE CHAIR, MORNINGSTAR FUNDS TRUST

  • Matt Moscardi

    HEAD OF BOARD MONEYBALL, FREE FLOAT

  • Mina Black

    FOUNDER, THE RAINMAKERS COLLECTIVE

  • Rich Taylor

    SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PEOPLE EXPERIENCE & DIVERSITY, NASDAQ

  • Ruth Shaber

    PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, TARA HEALTH FOUNDATION

Featured Founders

Thank you

for hosting and sponsoring this extraordinary evening.