Beyond Briefs: What Web Summit Taught Us About People, Purpose, and Data Security

Not everyone at a tech conference writes code or builds campaigns. Some work directly with clients or behind the scenes ensuring businesses keep running like a well-oiled machine.

At the 2025 Web Summit Vancouver, our admin and account management teams found something that hit closer to home. It was a renewed focus on tech as a tool and the essential role every person plays in shaping a brand’s experience.

In this post, Aaron, Hailey, and Tanya share the takeaways that challenged their thinking, inspired fresh ideas, and reminded them why people (and purpose) still matter most.

Keep reading for their Web Summit insights!

Aaron Paetkau on leadership, culture, and the power of people

My mind continues to run wild with new ideas and learnings since returning from Web Summit. The chance to learn from marketing experts and business leaders from across many industries was very fun! Not to mention, I loved the chance to connect with team members and invest in the Array culture.

Leadership in the age of technology and AI

While I loved learning about marketing insights and strategies (which I’ll definitely be applying to my work with clients), the emphasis on leadership in the era of technology and AI really stuck with me.

Listening to founders and CEOs of successful multinational companies talk about how business success starts and ends with your people was inspiring.

To be a successful leader, one CEO emphasized the importance of humbly listening and sharing honestly, saying: “If you don’t listen, you are unwilling to change. If you don’t change, you will fail,” and “If you don’t share honestly, you can’t expect honesty.” Leaders must have open, honest, and frequent communication with their teams.

That expectation doesn’t stop at the workplace, it extends to how customers engage with brands, too. One presenter shared that 60% of Canadians feel they have more power to create meaningful change as a customer than in the voting box.

The case for slow, intentional growth

Another leader challenged the idea of rapid business growth, saying that growth at the expense of operational excellence and culture will sink a team. Slow, intentional growth, prioritizing the right people in the right roles is the best way to build for success.

Teams that spend more time together on non-work related tasks are more effective. So, maintaining a positive team culture, where people feel like they matter and their unique contributions are valuable, is more important now than ever.

Ultimately, the role of the leader, according to Craig Walker, CEO of Diapad is to set strategy, get people bought in, give them something interesting to work on, and show them why it matters.

It all boils down to people.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t share a few more standout moments:

• The best entrepreneurs have a microscope on one eye and a telescope on the other
• Pretty good decisions made early are better than great decisions made late
• 61% of people say AI is impersonal
• 87% of marketers consider brand building as their most important job
• Neil Patel’s speech on marketing was incredible and there are too many highlights to mention, but one stat that stood out was that human written content converted 5 times more than AI content, even when considering the time spent to produce the content. So, I hope you enjoyed my very human bumbly thoughts!
• Lastly, I got a picture with NBA champion Javale McGee, which was pretty cool. He said that good partnerships tell stories; great partnerships creates culture that transcends

Thank you Web Summit and thank you Array!

Hailey Mayenburg on Authenticity, AI, and the Human Touch

For myself, the biggest takeaway from the 2025 Web Summit Vancouver, was that consumers appreciate authenticity and a human touch in the world of AI.

As marketers and storytellers, AI is a tool to use to help us make things more efficient, but it will never take away the human touch.

In one session, speakers talked about the fact that there is so much content out there. Lots of it is being AI-made. As Cristina Beatrice Mancini, CEO at Black Girls Code, said, there is too much “clutter”. As Megha GaribaldiIt, Chief Growth Officer at The Atlantic, goes on to say, it is important to be intentional, thoughtful, human first, and true to your brand and its purpose.

We are all in a war for attention on social media platforms. Being personable in your comments, in the way you engage and post, is a way to stand out from others.

Really focus on anchoring your work to your company’s mission and purpose, and then seriously consider who you would like to reach with the story you have composed.

Another session with Loren Gray, Social Media Influencer and Songwriter, talks about if you are considering targeting Gen Z’s, they seek authenticity, relatability, transparency, and personable content.

Also, Amanda Perelli, Senior Creator Economy Reporter at Business Insider, said in the session that in order to be authentic, it might even mean embracing the cringe.

Tanya Reinkober on data security and the role of AI

As an accountant, I learned a lot on how AI security is an essential part of our company’s technology.

AI can be coerced into changing direction and leaking important information. One speaker mentioned, “Computers can’t do arithmetic and get distracted”. A warning not to put your API on public servers without security measures in place.

It was a good reminder to make sure that our company’s information is always kept safe to prevent confidential materials from being leaked.

It’s a hype bubble that we need to get to the next stage with but we should not fear it.

I attended several financial workshops that helped me refresh my existing knowledge and learn about policy updates I hadn’t yet encountered.

It gave me a renewed sense of responsibility to help keep our systems safe while embracing AI in a way that enhances, not replaces, the work we do.

Final takeaway

At a conference driven by tech, it was the human insights that left the biggest mark.

Whether it’s leading with empathy, creating space for authentic connection, or embracing AI as a tool (and not a replacement) the biggest lesson was clear: purposeful work still starts with people.

Looking for more Web Summit takeaways? Check out the first post in our series.