You don’t really know an event until you step back and look at it.
I still remember that moment last year – standing back, turning around, seeing the space come together – and thinking, we’re onto something.
I had that feeling in year one of Future Proof Festival. And I had it again last year at Future Proof Citywide. Not because everything was perfect, but because the idea had become real. The energy was there. The flow made sense. And immediately, my brain went to what comes next: how people move through the space, how they engage with the content, where conversations start, and what needs to evolve to make the experience even better.
This year’s floor plan is the result of that learning.
A City, Not a Convention
Future Proof Citywide isn’t meant to feel like a conference dropped onto a beach. It’s meant to feel like a city that appears for a few days, one built entirely around the wealth management community, infused with the color, rhythm, and energy of Miami Beach itself.
When you enter from Ocean Drive, the first thing you’ll notice isn’t a hallway or a queue, it’s scale. You’ll pick up your badge in Loomis Park, surrounded by Future Proof branding, open air, and the buzz of people arriving from every direction. Even before you step fully into the footprint, you’ll feel it: this is not contained. This is expansive.
From there, the space opens north to south, ocean to city, with wide walkways, real floor coverage, and intentional sightlines that make movement effortless. You’re surrounded by the sounds of the city, the ocean breeze, and the art deco backdrop of Ocean Drive, a reminder that you’re not just attending an event, you’re inhabiting one of the most iconic places in the world. And you won’t be stuck in a stale ballroom.
One of our biggest learnings from last year was physical friction, walking through sand is fun for about five minutes. We fixed that with more floor coverage and walking space. Subtly. Intentionally. You may not even notice it, and that’s the point.
You’ll just find yourself staying longer. Talking more. Moving easier.
Fully Distributed Energy
One of the most important changes this year is how energy moves through the footprint.
Instead of a few gravity wells where everyone piles up, the entire space is designed to buzz. Three main stages open simultaneously each morning, paired with sponsor activations, food pavilions, and Breakthru Experiences that encourage exploration. No dead zones. No long treks to “the good part.” Wherever you are, something is happening.
On the south end, our Breakthru Meetings tent anchors the experience. It’s massive – truly one of those spaces that makes you stop when you walk in. Over two days, we’ll facilitate more than 30,000 one-to-one meetings there. For many people, this is the heartbeat of Future Proof: focused conversations, real connections, real outcomes.
The Center of Everything: The AI Playground
And then there’s the part I’m most excited about, the place where all of this energy, curiosity, and momentum converges.
Smack in the middle of the footprint sits the AI Playground, not tucked away, not off to the side, but structurally and symbolically at the center of Future Proof Citywide.
The sheer size of it will surprise you. But what’s inside is what really matters. This is where AI stops being a headline and starts becoming a shared, human experience.
This isn’t a tech expo. It’s not rows of booths and jargon-heavy demos. It’s people – operators, advisors, founders, technologists – coming together to compare notes, challenge assumptions, and build conviction in real time. The AI Playground is a micro‑event within the event, a place where learning turns into implementation, where curiosity turns into capability.
Inside, you’ll find:
- AI Sandbox sessions: small, facilitated group discussions where 30–35 participants actively shape the conversation. No presentations. No talking heads. Just practitioners working through real problems together.
- The Level Up Stage: reimagined through our Live With AI theme, focused on sharpening human skills: leadership, communication, conflict, judgment. The things that matter more, not less, in an AI‑enabled world.
- The Show & Tell Stage: where real builders and operators walk through what they’ve actually implemented, what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently.
- 40+ AI companies doing live demos and hands‑on interactions, many of which wealth professionals are encountering for the first time.
It’s active. It’s participatory. And it’s designed so that whether you’re AI‑curious or AI‑obsessed, you’ll find your place.
More Than the Beach
Future Proof Citywide doesn’t stop at the sand, and Miami doesn’t either.
Throughout the week, the experience extends beyond the beach and into the fabric of South Beach itself. From Ocean Drive to historic landmarks like the Villa (formerly the Versace Mansion) and The Betsy Hotel with its intimate, art-filled charm, Future Proof Citywide is intentionally woven into the city through curated workouts, conversations, dinners, and gatherings that keep the energy moving well past the footprint.
This is what makes Future Proof Citywide different. Miami isn’t just the backdrop, it’s part of the experience, shaping how people show up, connect, and open up to new ideas. You’re not locked into a single venue. You’re experiencing Miami, intentionally, thoughtfully, and together.
What This All Adds Up To
Whether you joined us last year or this is your first Future Proof Citywide, the experience is designed to meet you where you are, and move you forward.
You’ll leave with clearer ideas, stronger connections, and a better sense of how to navigate what’s changing in our industry. You’ll spend less time navigating logistics and more time in conversations that matter. Less energy walking between things, more energy engaging with the people, content, and experiences you came for.
The environment is built to make discovery easier – from how you move through the space, to how you engage with new content formats, to how ideas carry from one conversation into the next. The result isn’t just better flow. It’s better outcomes.
I can’t wait for you to experience it – to feel the warmth of the sun, the hum of conversation, and the sparks that happen when people who may have never met before come together with a shared sense of curiosity and purpose.
This is where the experience comes to life. Join us at Future Proof Citywide 2026, March 8-11 in Miami Beach, FL.
See you on the beach.
