PRESS RELEASE

AEC Summit Adds Vornado, Machete Group, NYU Stern, Olympian, and Monumental Labs Leaders to 2026 Lineup and Announces Updated Sponsor Roster

Presented by KP Reddy Co., the Oct. 19 summit in Brooklyn now counts 26 confirmed speakers; a one-day flash sale offers two tickets for the price of one.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · ATLANTA, SEPT. 24, 2026

“Vornado operates one of the largest commercial portfolios in the country. NYU Stern trains the people who will finance the next one. And the founders joining them are building the tools both will run on. Those three groups almost never sit at the same table, and that’s exactly the problem the Summit exists to fix.”

“Vornado operates one of the largest commercial portfolios in the country. NYU Stern trains the people who will finance the next one. And the founders joining them are building the tools both will run on. Those three groups almost never sit at the same table, and that’s exactly the problem the Summit exists to fix.”

KP Reddy, Founder and CEO of Zero RFI

AEC Summit today announced 13 additions to its speaker lineup and its updated 2026 sponsor roster, four weeks ahead of the summit on Oct. 19 at the Weylin in Brooklyn, N.Y., during New York Real Estate Week.

The program brings together a broad spectrum of speakers across real estate development, capital investment, construction, engineering and technology.

New confirmed speakers

Joining the previously announced lineup:

  • David Carlock, managing partner at Machete Group

  • Sam Chandan, PhD, founding director of the Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance and professor of finance at NYU Stern School of Business

  • Nigel Coelho, general manager of agentic compliance at construction workforce platform Lumber

  • Nick Durham, general partner at Shadow Ventures, the AEC-focused venture capital firm

  • Robert Entin, executive vice president and chief information officer at Vornado Realty Trust

  • Mechelle Lewis Freeman, founder of TrackGirlz, Olympian, World Champion sprinter and Olympic gold medal-winning coach

  • Lisa Kelly, founder and CEO of Radical Results

  • Thai Nguyen, head of venture and innovation at Diverge, a Hensel Phelps company

  • Micah Springut, founder and CEO of Monumental Labs, which builds AI-driven robotic systems for stone carving and fabrication

  • Nora Swanson, PE, principal of innovation and knowledge management at JB&B, a Trinity Consultants team

Zero RFI leadership will also join the programming, including Andrew Ackerman, director of corporate development; Nona Black, managing director and head of AI transformation; and Barry Clark, chief technology officer.

Previously announced speakers include Chris Nations, Antonia Elisa Soler Blasco, Justin Barton and more. The full roster is available at aecsummit.co/speakers.

2026 sponsors

AEC Summit 2026 is presented by KP Reddy Co. with Zero RFI. Gold sponsors are Brookwood Group, Privv and Shadow Ventures, and silver sponsors are BuildingWorks, GRAFTD and Lumber. Bronze sponsors are Ames & Gough, Greenberg Traurig, Lawson & Weitzen and Wilson Sonsini. A limited number of sponsorships remain; for sponsorship inquiries, visit aecsummit.co/sponsors.

Pre-summit happy hour

Registered attendees will also be invited to a happy hour on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 18. Location and details will be sent directly to registrants.

One-day flash sale

Today only, Thursday, Sept. 24, attendees can purchase one general admission ticket for $599 and receive a second ticket for $99 using code AECFLASH2 at checkout. The offer ends at midnight ET; standard rates apply thereafter, subject to availability.

Student tickets

A very limited number of student tickets are also available. Students must register with a valid college or university email address to be eligible. To request access, email info@kpreddy.co.

Full agenda

The full agenda will be released on Monday, Sept. 28. Attendees will be able to view the complete session schedule, speaker tracks and event details at aecsummit.co.

About AEC Summit

Now in its 10th year, AEC Summit is the flagship annual gathering hosted by Zero RFI and KP Reddy Co., convening more than 200 senior leaders across architecture, engineering, construction, real estate development and construction technology for a full day of curated roundtables. Past programs have featured innovation executives from some of the country’s largest owners, developers and builders, alongside the founders and investors building the industry’s next generation of tools. The 2026 Summit takes place Oct. 19 at the Weylin in Brooklyn, N.Y., during New York Real Estate Week.

About Zero RFI

Zero RFI is an AI-native platform company transforming how buildings get delivered. Founded by KP Reddy and backed by General Catalyst, Zero’s owner’s representative firms and professional services organizations are powered by Foundation Zero, the company’s proprietary intelligence layer supporting projects from first idea to final handoff. Zero operates from offices in Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, New York and Denver. For more information, visit zero-rfi.com.

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