Product leadership has never been harder to define, or more important to get right. As the tools change faster than the frameworks, what separates the leaders who stay relevant from those who get reshuffled?
As AI reshapes what product teams can build and automate, the question for senior leaders isn't what technology can do. It's what endures when the tools keep changing.
Join TechRochester and ITX for an exclusive first look at The Future-Proof Product Leader, the upcoming book from Mike Belsito, Senior Director of Mind the Product and one of the most connected voices in the global product community. Mike will share unreleased research and ideas from the book before it reaches the public, in a small-room format designed for honest dialogue, not slides.
This is the room where the real conversation happens. Seating is intentionally limited so that everyone in it has a voice.
Mike will challenge the room on:
Why the frameworks that got your team here, from Agile to every process you've standardized on, may already be working against you in an AI-era environment
Why judgment, curiosity, and taste are the skills hardest to automate and the ones most worth developing right now
How the best leaders make the hard call when data is incomplete, stakes are high, and no framework gives you the answer
What it looks like to build a team that learns faster than the market shifts, before the next disruption forces your hand
EVENT FORMAT
5:30 PM – Arrival & Welcome Reception
Light hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, and introductions.
6:00 PM – An Inside Look at The Future-Proof Product Leader
An intimate, thought-provoking discussion with Mike Belsito.
6:45 PM – Networking & Continued Conversation
Connect with fellow product and technology leaders in the region.
FAQs:
Who’s it for?
Designed for senior product, design, and technology leaders, this experience offers a rare opportunity to engage directly with Mike in a setting built for honest dialogue, shared perspective, and meaningful connection.
Who’s Mike Belsito?
Few people in product have talked to more practitioners, at more levels, on more stages than Mike Belsito. As Senior Director of Mind the Product and a longtime podcast host, speaker, and community builder, he’s spent years in direct conversation with the people shaping how product gets done globally.
What will the evening look like?
This is a small-room, off-the-record conversation — not a presentation. Mike will share unreleased material from the book, then open the floor for questions. Expect the kind of candid back-and-forth that doesn’t happen at conferences. Seating is limited to ensure everyone in the room has a voice.
Date: May 7, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: ITX | 1 South Clinton Sq, Suite 900, Rochester, NY 14604
Cost: $30 Non-Members. $24 Members
What separates product and technology leaders who stay relevant from those who get reshuffled?
Mike Belsito — Senior Director of Mind the Product, longtime podcast host, and one of the most connected figures in the global product community — is bringing unreleased research from his upcoming book, The Future-Proof Product Manager, to an intimate group of senior leaders. The TechRochester event will be hosted by ITX.
Drawing on years of conversations with the field's most influential practitioners and a recent intensive wave of interviews for the book, Mike will challenge the room on what truly endures—beyond frameworks, beyond tools, beyond trends. This is a small room, off-the-record conversation. Not a keynote. Seating is limited to ensure everyone has a voice.