OPENING GENERAL SESSION: The Next RenAIssance

John Hedlund

2027 MBA Chair-Elect; Vice Chairman, ICE Mortgage Technology

John Hedlund is the 2026 MBA Vice Chairman and Vice Chairman of ICE Mortgage Technology. Hedlund is an experienced, entrepreneurial, business leader specializing in strategic design, effective application of technology integration, execution, and leadership of large, diverse financial services organizations. A prominent MBA voice and industry volunteer over the years, Hedlund has served as a board member for several organizations, including as a member of MBA’s Board of Directors, Board Chairman of MISMO, Chairman of MBA’s Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG), Board Member and past Chairman of the California Mortgage Bankers Association, and Advisory Board Member for Automated Mortgage Systems, Inc., and FundingShield, LLC. Hedlund has served in senior leadership positions in the mortgage divisions at several large financial institutions during his career. He also co-founded and served as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at AmeriHome Mortgage Company, where under his leadership, AmeriHome quickly grew to become the second-largest correspondent lender in the country. He helped lead the company’s sale to Western Alliance Bank in 2021, where he was a member of the leadership and executive team until 2024. He also founded and led Adanac Advisors Group, a boutique advisory and consulting firm. Hedlund holds a Masters of Business Administration from Dalhousie University and Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Economic, and Marketing from Simon Fraser University.

Zack Kass

Global AI Advisor; Former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI

Zack Kass is a global AI advisor, researcher, keynote speaker, the former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI, and bestselling author of The Next RenAIssance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential. At OpenAI, Zack led the teams responsible for sales, partnerships, and customer success, turning the company’s cutting-edge research into real-world business solutions. As an executive advisor, he has personally advised leaders spanning dozens of industries in 124 cities across 20 countries. He works with Fortune 1,000 boardrooms and leadership teams—including Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley, and Amgen—to help leaders deploy AI at scale and navigate the rapidly evolving landscape. His mission is to ensure that individuals, businesses, and governments are active participants in the AI-powered future by making AI technology both understandable and actionable. He is recognized as one of the foremost thinkers in applied AI, with insights featured in Fortune, Newsweek, CNN, Entrepreneur, AdAge, and Business Insider. Beyond his advisory work, Zack currently collaborates with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Virginia, studying the future of work and intelligence. He is also the AI for Conservation Fellow at Conservation International. He holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley.