On October 14, 2026, the International Coaching Federation's Toronto Chapter brought its Leadership Impact Summit & Awards Gala to StartWell. In a single day, the space hosted one-on-one coaching introductions, an afternoon of keynotes and a panel, and an evening awards celebration. Each part of the day had its own feel, and nobody had to change venues.
This year's theme was The Human Advantage: Leading & Coaching in the Age of AI. That made the setting part of the message. A conference about protecting human connection needed a room where people actually connected.
The client and the brief
ICF Toronto is one of the largest chapters of the International Coaching Federation. It counts more than 1,000 coaches in its community, and its chapter president, Abirambika Ravivarman, places it among the top six ICF chapters worldwide. Its annual Summit and Gala draws corporate executives, HR and people leaders, and ICF-credentialed coaches.
The programme asked a lot of one venue:
- Pro-bono coaching meetups. Registrants were matched with an ICF-credentialed coach and met them at the event, so the day needed quiet, private corners.
- A CCE-eligible speaker programme. Five sessions and a panel ran from 2:30 to 5:40 PM, so the day needed a proper presentation room.
- Sponsor booths and networking. These needed open floor space near the entrance.
- Dinner stations and an awards gala. The evening needed to feel celebratory, not like a continuation of the afternoon.
The organizers also wanted to break their own habits. "I know a lot of people are hoping for tables, which is traditionally what they've done," said Amy Au, PCC, ICF Toronto board member and panel moderator. "Today they are going to figure out a different way to connect and sit together."
One space, three experiences
Rather than fight the room, the ICF team designed the day around it. "Because the space had its energy and vibe, we also built our sessions to match that," Amy Au explained. The result was three distinct experiences under one roof.
1. Meet your coach (afternoon arrival)
Guests checked in from 1:30 PM, browsed sponsor booths, and then joined the pro-bono coach and coachee meetup. These introductions happened in StartWell's smaller, softer corners: lounge seating, couches and two-person tables. The setting suited a first coaching conversation rather than a trade-show handshake.
2. Learn what matters now (the summit)
The speaker programme ran in a dedicated presentation room, a few steps from the lounge. Guests could move between the talks and quieter conversations downstairs without losing the thread of the day.
3. Celebrate (the gala)
At 6:00 PM the same building turned into a party. Dinner stations opened, Suzannah Kelly, ACC, of Interac delivered the evening keynote, and the ICF Toronto Coaching Impact Awards wrapped up with a prize draw and networking. "When we move into the evening, it is a celebratory moment," Au said. "It is in the same space, but we are going to create three different experiences."
On stage: the human advantage
The afternoon brought together coaches, consultants, a neuroscientist and people leaders from organizations including Deloitte, the LCBO and the University of Toronto. Their sessions kept returning to one question: what can't be outsourced?
Lindsy Matthews, University of Toronto instructor and two-time TEDx speaker, opened with When Change Changes Everything. Her framework is simple to say and hard to practise: accept that change is happening, separate facts from fears, then adapt your goals one step at a time.
Sachi Kittur, CEO of TAP Network, argued that The Playbook That Got Us Here Won't Get Us There. "The leadership behaviors over the last two to three decades were actually built, and we were trained, for a much simpler organization," she said. In what she calls a "tsunami of change," leaders need to recognize which old habits no longer serve them. Her mission is to protect human connection and human-centric leadership as more of our skills move to AI.
The panel, What Leaders Must Get Right as AI Reshapes Work, was moderated by Amy Au. It featured Jonathan Reitz, MCC (Fluxify, Case Western Reserve University and Coachbot.ai), Clevette Coombs (Coombs Consulting) and Benoit Hardy-Vallée (Deloitte). They discussed how leaders can build confidence in adopting AI while keeping teams human. "It's always gonna be about the human first and having that human connection," said Coombs of her main takeaway.
Reitz framed the stakes for the profession. Coaching, he said, is the one field that by default builds on what is already going well in a person's life. "The world needs what coaches have to offer."
The programme closed with Lilian Riad-Allen, PCC, on the neuroscience of adapting to AI, and a session from Abirambika Ravivarman and Andy Martinello on the human capabilities AI makes visible.
In the room: what guests said about the space
We filmed speakers and attendees throughout the day. Without being asked, they kept coming back to the same thing: the room changed how people interacted.
"When I first walked in, I love the sunlight shining through. I really feel the vibe is very different, very lively." — Amy Au, PCC, ICF Toronto
"I love the variety of environments. You can sit at a table, talk to one or two other people. You can sit on a couch and take a moment to step back. You can engage in the panels or the presentations upstairs, and they're steps away." — Summit attendee
That guest saw the variety as more than comfort. In their view, it gives teams their best chance to learn something about themselves and how they interact. They also offered one unsolicited review: "The coffee's really good, and coffee makes everything better."
Other guests described a space that felt both open and close:
"This event space is beautiful, and it's roomy, but it's actually very intimate."
"One size fits all doesn't apply. If you need to collaborate with a team of five, 10, 15, you've got a space. If you need privacy, one-on-one coaching, you've got a space. And then you've obviously got a great setup for larger forums and speaking engagements."
"It's not your typical corporate stuffy... It's like you're sitting in a coffee shop with good friends and having a great discussion on the topics of today."
Why it worked
- One venue, no transitions to manage. Coaching meetups, sponsor booths, five speaker sessions, dinner and an awards gala all ran in the same building. Guests never had to leave and re-find the energy somewhere else.
- Zones, not a single ballroom. Couches, small tables and lounge corners sat steps away from a dedicated presentation room. That let people choose how to take part, which suits a coaching audience.
- A room that matches the message. For a summit about the human advantage, natural light and an un-corporate feel did real work. As one attendee put it, the setting made it easier to be more connected to the people around you.
- A clean shift from day to night. The afternoon felt like a learning environment and the evening felt like a celebration, without a venue change or a long reset.
As Amy Au put it to guests at the start of the day: "Experience the room, experience the space, be with the humans that are there in the room. That's what it is all about."
