The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL's) 2026 Annual Leadership Conference kicked off Thursday with more than 500 registrants, all gathered around this year's theme: Live Your Purpose, Lead With Passion.
The day started early for first time conference attendees, who met peers and AAPL staff at the First Timers Breakfast Meet 'n Greet before the program began.
Opening the morning, AAPL Interim CEO, Claude Brunson, MD, MSCHS, CPE, FAAPL, FASA, welcomed attendees and thanked Peter Angood, MD, for his 15 years as AAPL President and CEO before turning to the state of physician leadership and where AAPL is headed next.
"Leadership is not defined by a title, an office, or a position on an organizational chart," Dr. Brunson told the audience. "Physicians lead every day — in operating rooms, clinics, hospitals, academic institutions, and communities."
With financial pressure, workforce shortages, and AI reshaping healthcare, he added, "physician leadership is not simply important to the future of healthcare — it is essential."
He closed with a challenge for the days ahead: "The true value of this conference will not be measured simply by the number of sessions we attend or the information we take home. It will be measured by what we do with that knowledge."
The conference then kicked off with a keynote address from Vin Gupta, MD, MPA, a pulmonary and critical care physician, public health expert, and familiar face to millions as an NBC News medical analyst.
Dr. Gupta is managing director of healthcare innovation at Manatt, where he leads teams working to advance home healthcare technologies, bringing together startups, established companies, health systems, and regulatory experts to scale new models of care. Before that, he served as chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy.
After Dr. Gupta's remarks, and some critical networking in the Exhibit Hall along the way, the course work began.
Thursday's concurrent sessions included learning sessions spread across six learning paths:
- Leading Self
- Leading Teams & People
- Leading the Organization
- Leading Change & Innovation
- Leading with AI
- Leading with Purpose
At lunch, the "Learning & Development Community of Practice" gathered. AAPL's Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic, and who come together to meet both individual and group goals.
The afternoon belonged to the AAPL Convocation & Awards. It opened with a timely panel, "What Search Firms Know That You Don't — Yet" with Mamata Majmundar, MD, FAAFP, CHCQM, CPE, and Tom Rossi, Vice President of Executive Search at Jackson Physician Search. Presenters offered an insider's look at what health systems want in their physician executives today and where demand is headed next.
Then it was time to celebrate. AAPL recognized its newest Fellows and award winners and Devjit Roy, MD, CPE, shared his own CPE success story with a presentation, "Clarity is the Credential: How the CPE Turned a Physician Leader into a Physician Executive." Dr. Roy also signed copies of his book, Between Heartbeats and Algorithms: Reclaiming What Matters in Healthcare, published by the AAPL.
The ceremony honored the newest class of Certified Physician Executives, 31 physicians who completed one of the most rigorous credentials in physician leadership. The CPE credential will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2027. There were also 10 new Fellows, four new Distinguished Fellows, three Roger Schenke Award winners, and one Leape Ahead Award winner honored.
In his opening address to the Convocation, Dr. Brunson urged the new CPEs to see the credential "not as the finish line, but as a continuing commitment." "The real measure of this credential is what we do with it — for our patients, our teams, and our organizations," he said.
The Convocation ceremony closed out with Dr. Sree Koka sharing his insights on finding your sweet spot as a leader. Dr. Koka has had an active leadership career in oral healthcare including private practice. He is the CEO and co-founder of Executive Leadership Enterprises LLC which oversees the Sweet Spot Leader program that teaches human-centered leadership, the hallmark of high-performing teams, to healthcare professionals.
Attendees seeking additional degrees learned about AAPL's university partnerships, including five 2026 partners: Indiana University Kelley School of Business, UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management, Arizona State University, Auburn University Harbert College of Business, and Weill Cornell Medicine SC Johnson College of Business.
Thank you to our 2026 AAPL Annual Leadership Conference Sponsors:
Platinum
- HygenX.Ai
- Nozin
- SC Johnson Professional
- VitalPay by Global Rewards
Gold
- Ludi
- My Financial Coach
Silver
- American Board of Medical Specialties
- AMN Healthcare / B.E. Smith
- Clinician Nexus
- Elsevier
- Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- HCA Healthcare
- Jackson + Coker Locum Tenens
- Jackson Physician Search
- livemed
- MaxWorth Consulting Group
- QGenda
- simpliphy
- WellSky
Bronze
- WellBeam Connected Care
As in past years, the AAPL hosted its bookstore, "Bookmart" with extensive offerings, new book launches, and a "Meet the Author" session where prospective book authors could speak with AAPL authors. The Physician Leadership Journal (PLJ) Editorial Team was also available to discuss article submission to the flagship journal.
After the Welcome Reception and poster presentations in the Exhibit Hall, a champagne toast for the CMO Academy, and some time outside under the Arizona sky, attendees were off to dinner, and a full day was in the books.
