AI Keynote

Speaker in Calgary

and Across Alberta.

Keynotes, executive briefings, and workshops that send a room back to work with a first move already chosen.

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What Zak Speaks About

Zak is the CEO of ORKA AI and the founder of AIwithZAK. He speaks to CEOs, boards, executive teams, and industry audiences about AI strategy, AI fluency, and practical implementation. Sessions run from 30 minute keynotes to full day executive workshops, delivered in person across Alberta and Western Canada, and virtually anywhere.

Most rooms arrive already convinced that AI matters. The harder question is where it applies inside their own operation, what to sequence first, and what happens to their people, margins, and customers along the way. That is the work.

Every session is built around the audience in front of him. Same rigour, different examples, different departments, different risks.

Get in Touch with ZAK
Quality Over Quantity

Signature Talks and Topics

1

The Imagination Gap

Why AI adoption stalls in capable companies, and how leaders learn to see their own operation in AI terms. Built around live reframing of the audience's own workflows, so the room is working on its own material rather than watching someone else's. Best for mixed executive audiences, conferences, and chamber events.
2

Sell Goods Online

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3

Write Beautiful Posts

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4

Monitor Your Gains

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5

Enjoy Your New Site

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6

Love Your Life

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FORMATS

Keynote, 30 to 60 minutes

Conferences, annual general meetings, industry events, and leadership summits. Built for a mixed room and a single memorable throughline.

Executive briefing, 60 to 90 minutes

Closed door, for a leadership team or a board. More conversation, more specifics, fewer slides.

Half day workshop, 3 to 4 hours

Hands-on. The team maps its own processes, scores its own use cases, and leaves with a prioritized shortlist.

Full day strategy session

The deepest version. Readiness review, use case ranking, sequencing, governance guardrails, and a draft roadmap the team can act on Monday.

Panel and moderation

For events that need someone who can keep an AI discussion commercial and out of the weeds.

Virtual sessions

Keynotes and workshops delivered remotely for distributed teams and national associations.

AI FOR BUSINESS TALKS

WHO BOOKS ZAK TO SPEAK

  • Chambers of commerce and business associations
  • Industry conferences and annual events
  • Corporate leadership offsites and executive retreats
  • Boards and advisory committees
  • Economic development organizations and municipalities
  • Professional associations running member education
  • Companies delivering internal AI training to leadership and department heads
@AIwithZAK

What the Room Leaves With

Every session is built backward from what people should be able to do the following week.

  • A shared vocabulary that lets a leadership team argue productively about AI
  • A method for ranking use cases against each other
  • Clear separation between what to pilot, what to defer, and what to leave alone
  • Language for the governance and risk questions their board will ask
  • At least one specific, sequenced first move
  • A line or two they will still be repeating a month later

Context call

A short conversation about the audience, the event, the industry mix, and what the organization wants changed by the end of the session.

Custom Build

Examples, workflows, and scenarios are rebuilt for that audience. A room of construction executives should not sit through marketing examples.

Delivery & Follow-Through

The session runs, and organizers receive a written summary of the frameworks used so attendees have something to work from afterward.

Working Together to Tailor a Talk

How a Session Gets Built

@AIwithZAK

AI for Business Owners that are Needing Strategy

Zak builds AI systems for a living. He is the CEO of ORKA AI, hosts the AI Podcast with ZAK, authored the Alberta AI Advantage research, and writes for business leaders through AIwithZAK and AImagazine.ca.

That matters on a stage because the examples come from current work rather than from a circuit deck written two years ago. When a CFO asks what actually breaks in a deployment, the answer is specific.

The podcast, the whitepaper, and the writing are all public. The talk sounds like all three.

Calgary-based, working across Alberta and Western Canada, available nationally.

Get in Touch with ZAK

FAQs on Inviting Zak to Speak

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What topics does Zak speak on

AI strategy for business leaders, AI fluency for executives, AI readiness and roadmapping, custom AI agents and automation, AI governance, and industry specific adoption. Sessions are built around the audience rather than delivered from a fixed deck.

Is the session customized for our organization

Yes. Every booking starts with a context call about the audience, the industry mix, and the outcome the organizer wants. Examples, workflows, and scenarios are rebuilt for that room.

How long is a typical keynote

Keynotes run 30 to 60 minutes with time for questions. Executive briefings run 60 to 90 minutes. Workshops run half a day or a full day depending on how much mapping and prioritization the team wants to do.

Does Zak travel outside Alberta

Yes. Zak is based in Calgary, works across Alberta and Western Canada, and takes national bookings and virtual sessions for distributed teams and associations. Travel is quoted separately for events outside the Calgary region.

Do audiences need technical knowledge

No. Sessions are given for non-technical leaders and operators. Technical attendees still get value from the prioritization and governance material, and nothing in the session requires a background in AI.

What is the difference between a keynote and a workshop

A keynote changes how a room thinks about AI. A workshop puts that thinking to work on the organization’s own processes and produces a prioritized shortlist before people leave.

How far in advance should we book

Larger conferences typically confirm several months out. Executive briefings and internal workshops can often be arranged on shorter notice. Send your date and it can be checked directly.

Book Zak for Your Event

Tell him the date, the audience, and what you want the room to do differently afterward. He will tell you honestly whether he is the right fit.