Jon McNeill

Mastering Both Innovation and Scaling – Discover the Proven Algorithm for Success
As long as business has existed, people have been trying to find the secret to success, often unsuccessfully. But what if there really was a proven blueprint for growth? According to former Tesla president and Lyft COO Jon McNeill, the “algorithm for success” that’s been employed at Tesla and SpaceX has consistently delivered transformative results. In this fascinating presentation, McNeill – who led Tesla through a period of explosive growth, driving revenue from $2B to $20B – shares insights from his upcoming book “The Algorithm: Tesla’s Hypergrowth Formula That Will Revolutionize Any Business” (March 2026), offering a deep dive into a proven method for accelerating innovation and scaling success. Through real-world examples, he unpacks the key steps of “the algorithm,” why it works, and how companies across industries have leveraged it. Attendees will walk away with a practical, actionable framework they can apply immediately within their organization to drive growth and turn bold ideas into reality.

AI, Simplified: A Practical Guide for Corporate Leaders
AI is transforming industries, but how can executives actually use it to drive impact? In this revealing presentation, experienced executive, entrepreneur and investor Jon McNeill cuts through the noise to explain how AI works in simple terms, breaking down complex concepts into clear, actionable insights. He’ll cover where and why AI should – and shouldn’t – be applied and how to integrate it into your business strategy. With hands-on experience working on autonomous driving – “the mother of all AI problems” – McNeill brings real-world insights from his time as vice chair of Cruise. He’ll break down the AI stack in a way that makes sense, explore what’s coming next, and share why great leadership isn’t about flashy presentations but about having a practical understanding of where AI can drive value, help communicate effectively, and make informed, strategic choices.

AI – The Salesperson’s New Supertool
As many think about how artificial intelligence tools may impact the future of work, plenty of narratives focus on potential job losses. But what if AI could make some roles even more productive? According to experienced executive, entrepreneur and investor Jon McNeill, the ability of AI tools like large language models (LLMs) and generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) to quickly handle time consuming processes can greatly accelerate sales success. In this revealing presentation, McNeill explains how GPTs in particular can streamline lead generation and customer acquisition. By freeing salespeople from the tedium of sorting through hundreds of pages of business records, they will be able to laser-focus on converting potential leads into lucrative customers. Audiences will leave with a new outlook on the future of work thanks to a practical understanding of how AI can be used to truly augment, not replace, humans.

Innovation in the Boardroom: Building Boards That Drive Impact
Innovation isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a boardroom necessity. The best boards today do more than manage risk; as a resource to the CEO, they drive bold growth, solve real problems, and create lasting impact. They’re hands-on, strategic, and highly effective. Few understand this shift better than executive, entrepreneur and investor Jon McNeill. After beginning his career at Bain, McNeill founded, scaled, and sold six companies before joining Tesla as president. He later served as COO of Lyft and now sits on the boards of General Motors, Stash, CrossFit, Asurion, and Lululemon. McNeill is now CEO of DVx Ventures, where he’s focused on building groundbreaking businesses. In this engaging session, he draws on his popular Stanford Graduate School of Business lectures to break down how to curate and manage a high-impact board – one that doesn’t just safeguard the business but drives it forward. Attendees will be able to return to their organizations with a new outlook on how boards and C-suites can work together to reach new levels of cooperative innovation and value creation.

A Human-Centered Framework for Growing and Scaling Your Business
When organizations set growth initiatives, the path to prosperity isn’t always clear or easy, and success isn’t guaranteed. Few are as well-qualified to speak about successful scaling strategies as Jon McNeill, CEO of startup incubator DVx Ventures. As a key player in two of the most iconic disruptive startup success stories of the 21st century – first as president of Tesla, then as COO of Lyft – his framework for scaling innovation has been proven right time and again. “You have to start by hiring world-class people,” explains McNeill. An engaging storyteller, he shares lessons learned from his time at Lyft and Tesla, as well as from his current role as a CEO, to teach his practical method for scaling businesses. Following this enlightening and informative presentation, attendees will walk away with powerful new tools and insights for forging a path that will set a new bar for success within organizations.

How to Win: Why Sleeping on the Manufacturing Floor Leads to Success
As leaders continually strive to build efficient and successful organizations, sometimes one of the simplest success strategies is forgotten: being engaged with the team. In many instances, the leadership of big organizations tends to be far away from their own employees. Former Tesla President Jon McNeill advocates for the opposite approach, one where leadership actively engages with all levels of an organization. Of his early days at Tesla, McNeill gives an example of just how visible he was, “Elon and I would sleep on the manufacturing floor to trouble shoot and problem solve with the frontline workers and engineers.” A gifted storyteller, McNeill uses relatable anecdotes to illustrate how building a team-oriented atmosphere through boots-on-the-ground, people-first leadership builds a culture of trust and innovation, and a deeper understanding of the competitive market. Leaders will gain insight into the importance of having close proximity to people on the frontline. With McNeill’s tactics, managers can ultimately foster more engagement throughout an organization, leading to a collective ambition to reach new levels of success.

Create an Idea Factory Within Your Team
Where do unique and disruptive innovations come from? Past president of Tesla and former Lyft COO Jon McNeill says leaders should take a cue from the music industry’s “songwriting factories” and create “idea factories” within organizations. In this enlightening session, McNeill – who has successfully founded, scaled and sold six businesses – explains how having a group of ambitious executives and creatives assigned to a team-within-the-team helps organizations better identify holes in the market and hyperfocus on creating new strategic initiatives and innovations. As CEO of startup incubator DVx Ventures, McNeill works with founders and creatives every day who are deploying this strategy and achieving measurable results. Following this interactive session, leaders from any industry will be equipped to create organizational “idea factories” to identify and seize innovation opportunities they might have otherwise missed.

Address Risk Head-on: Mastering the Talk/Do Ratio
Strategies must be formulated with care, but at what point does talking about an initiative become “paralysis by analysis”? According to former Tesla Motors president Jon McNeill, the biggest difference between the now-iconic disruptive electric vehicle startup and many legacy corporations is execution. “There’s a lot of talk but not a lot of do, which leads to organizational speed being hampered,” says McNeill, who led Tesla to a 10-fold increase in sales in three years. “Organizations are afraid to take risks and consider if any decisions that are going to be made are irreversible. But I’ve never seen a decision that’s irreversible.” While organizations need to be held tightly accountable, they also need to be realistic in strategy and unafraid to take risks. In this interactive session, McNeill uses real-world examples to show how an effective talk/do ratio leads to actual progress and innovation. Leaders will leave this session with frameworks for creating more direct paths to opportunities that can achieve true marketplace impact.