ABOUT THE EVENT

AI for Business: Practical Foundations for Entrepreneurs

PEI Connectors clients are invited to participate in an in-person Connect To Learn session! 

Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Time:  11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Online on Teams 
                (Meeting link will be provided upon registration and on reminder email)

Overview

AI has moved from novelty to necessity, and it's now one of the largest opportunities for competitive advantage since the internet. Yet most businesses are still on the sidelines, and studies show the majority of AI projects fail. In this practical, hype-free session, Matt Symes shows business leaders where AI creates real, immediate value, and how to start using it well this week, not "someday."

Drawing on work with more than 2,000 organizational leaders, Matt reframes AI not as an IT project but as a leadership discipline: a co-pilot that amplifies how your business already delivers value. You'll leave with a clear, practical starting point you can act on right away.

What will be covered:
•    What today's AI can and can't do, and why it's best understood as a business lever vs a tech toy
•    Where AI creates real value across the business: marketing and sales, operations and delivery, HR, and leadership
•    Why most AI efforts fail, and the simple approach that beats chasing shiny new tools
•    Practical first use cases you can put to work immediately, with a human always in the loop
•    The fundamentals of prompting to get consistently useful results
•    Live Q&A

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Meet the Facilitator:

Matt Symes, CEO, Symplicity Designs

Matt Symes is the CEO and founding partner of Symplicity Designs. He has guided 600+ private and public-sector organizations through strategic transformation, unlocking over $1B in profitable growth and helping Symplicity earn and sustain B-Corp certification—with impact that places the firm among the global top decile for the triple bottom line. As a serial company builder, he has started, acquired, and scaled a diversified portfolio—from a specialty coffee roastery to professional services—giving him credibility that most consultants can only reference.

An award-winning CEO and award-winning educator, Matt was named Business Leader of the Year by the Halifax Chamber in 2021 for his role in helping the region navigate the Covid-19 pandemic and he has been recognized five times as Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs (2022–2026). 

His operating experience includes stepping in as COO to help scale a CPG firm from $20M to $155M in revenue, doubling a global IT firm’s revenue in less than three years, and has supported systemic performance improvements in education and healthcare. His grandfather was a roofer who started a roofing company and his heart lies with helping small business owners. That breadth informs how he mentors founders and executives: align on a compelling future, make the few hard choices that matter, and build an environment where execution becomes routine.

Register today to save your spot!

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