Internal working reference · not for distribution

Better Company -- Fact Sheet

Everything we know so far. Updated July 4, 2026. Pricing and speaker confirmations still pending.

At a glance

Name
Better Company (the summit’s name).[1,6]
Dates
December 18–20, 2026 (Fri–Sun).[1]
Location
Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld -- 6677 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32821 (confirmed; room block / booking link pending).[1,2]
Public domain
TBD.[4,6]
Host entity
Socioeconomic Summits, LLC -- for-profit FL LLC (Doc L26000317758, EIN 42-3049932); 5400 Tech Data Drive, Clearwater FL 33760.[9]
Theme
Better Business, Better World.[3,7]
Positioning
Open to all; an independent personal initiative.[6]
Status
Planning -- venue secured; room block, pricing, and speaker confirmations pending. Program firming up (~12 plenary + 16 breakouts); committee consolidating onto one shared planning sheet.[1,6,11]

Thesis & themes

A professional networking summit on the future of business in America -- theme Better Business, Better World. Pro-enterprise, open to all, an independent initiative.[3,6,7]

  • Socio-economic development
  • Energy
  • Economy & justice
  • Health & medicine
  • AI
  • Sustainability & agriculture
  • Peacebuilding
  • Human oneness
  • The moral architecture of markets

Sectors: Healthcare & Medicine · Energy · Engineering · Agriculture · Transportation · Construction · Architecture · Education · Software · Space Exploration.[7]

Daily shape

Fri Dec 18
Opens at noon -- welcome lunch (2 hrs), opening keynote + an afternoon session, breakouts, then a long dinner & reception with entertainment.
Sat Dec 19
Full day -- 2 morning sessions with a performing-arts interlude (mornings capped ~2.5 hrs), 2-hr lunch, an afternoon session + breakouts, long dinner & entertainment.
Sun Dec 20
Closing morning -- 2 sessions, closing remarks; ends by noon with a farewell lunch.

Fri noon -> Sun noon; mornings shortened, longer meal breaks per Shahin. Target ~12 plenary + 16 breakout sessions; evening entertainment under consideration (Eric Harper confirmed willing).[1,8,11,12]

Speakers -- 25 tentative, pending confirmation; bios/photos being sourced[1,6,8]

  1. Payam Zamani Entrepreneurship, Purpose, and the Future of Capitalism
  2. Dalia Mogahed Human Development in Diverse Democracies
  3. Dr. Ghasem Bayat World Energy Supply & Demand: Past and Future
  4. Robert Atkinson Human Oneness and the Future of Global Progress
  5. Devin Singh What Makes an Economy Just?
  6. Bruce Koerber The Moral Architecture of Markets
  7. Peter Greer Finance for Sustained Development
  8. Steve Chalke Building Thriving Communities
  9. Mark Pearson Horizontal Drilling & Hydraulic Fracturing in Securing US Energy Needs
  10. Najeeba Syeed Peacemaking as Development: From Polarization to Partnership
  11. Dr. Jeffrey Barns The Engineering & Science of Space Travel
  12. Krish Kandiah Refugee Integration and the Future of Social Cohesion
  13. Dr. Vafa Bayat The Role of AI in Designing Medicine for Cancer & Alzheimer's Treatments
  14. Kosti Psimopolos Healthcare, Ethics & Development
  15. Paul Hanley Sustainable Agriculture and the Future of Development
  16. Jenna Nicholas The Intersection of Business, Spirituality, and Investing
  17. Jason Ighani The Modern Man: How Womens Higher Education Reshapes a Mans Role at Home and in Society
  18. Nesa Ashraf Reasons for the Decline of Marriage
  19. Dr. Kevin Sabet The Collateral Damage of Divisive Politics
  20. Omid Akhavan The Financial Tools Available Today
  21. Prof. Nava Ashraf Women Using Microfinance Loans in Zambia
  22. Dr. Todd Khozein Building Inclusive Economic and Social Systems that Honor Human Dignity and the Health of the Planet
  23. Dr. Alex Habib Riazati Humanistic Psychology and Human Potential
  24. Dr. Soheila Azizi How the Involvement of Qualified Women Benefits Organizations and Communities
  25. — (TBA) CO₂ Sequestration Operations in Combating Global Warming

Confirmed so far: Dr. Ghasem Bayat only (Energy plenary -- “World Energy Supply & Demand: Past and Future”). More resumes in (J. Barnes, A. Sadrzadeh, S. Azizi) under review, held until confirmed; committee is balancing the speaker mix and moving to one shared list.[11,13,10]

Deferred to a future conference: Dr. Mark Shahriary, Dr. Farideh Kioumehr, Mr. Navid Dehqani, Dr. Bill Davis.[8]

Organizers

  • Gilbert Hakim -- Host & initiator -- CEO, SCC Soft Computer
  • Dr. Ghasem Bayat -- Lead organizer & program -- New Dawn / Americo Energy
  • Armin Hakim -- Operations, LLC, logos
  • Philip Hakim -- Organizer
  • Yvette Hakim -- Organizer
  • Dr. Alex Habib Riazati -- Organizer
  • Liliane Saberin -- Organizer & coordination
  • Wade Fransson -- Program & schedule
  • Shahin Badiee -- Organizer
  • Chad Jones -- Website, registration, payments

Per organizer threads.[2,3,6]

Requirements & timeline

  • Registration + online payment (Humanitix or Eventbrite, not custom Stripe).
  • Speaker list + bios.
  • Hotel name & address.
  • Summit dates & name.
  • Organizer info.
End of June 2026
Website live.
July 2026
LLC, banking, venue secured; marketing begins.
Jul–Dec
Promote 4–5 months out.

Source.[2,5,6]

Open decisions / gaps

  • Public domain.
  • Logo pick (below).
  • Room block & booking link (venue secured).
  • Ticket pricing & tiers.
  • Speaker approvals (one shared list).
  • Speaker bios + photos.
  • Breakout session topics & speakers.
  • Evening entertainment / performers.

Logo options -- pick one (host: Socioeconomic Summits, LLC). Site uses option A, text cropped.[4]

Sources

  1. Ghasem Bayat -- “An update on Socio-Economic summit” email + schedule attachment. June 19, 2026.
  2. Ghasem Bayat -- update email + attachment (org structure, earlier speaker draft). June 12, 2026.
  3. Armin Hakim -- “Socioeconomic Conference” email thread. June 5–11, 2026.
  4. Armin Hakim -- “Company Logo for Socioeconomic Summits” email (11 logo options). June 19, 2026.
  5. Chad Jones -- registration/payments recommendation (Humanitix or Eventbrite). Internal.
  6. Compiled facts: planning/sed-direction/sources/conference-facts.md. June 19, 2026.
  7. Update set (name, sectors, schedule, Vafa Bayat CV): planning/sed-direction/sources/update-jun-22/. June 22, 2026.
  8. Corrected schedule + speaker priority + Shahin schedule input + Habib deferrals: planning/sed-direction/sources/update-jun-24/ + organizer emails. June 24–26, 2026.
  9. Armin Hakim -- LLC filing details (legal name, FL document number, EIN, registered address). June 16, 2026.
  10. Conference intro + presenter-balance thread -- Ghasem Bayat, w/ Wade Fransson (avoid over-weighting one community), Liliane & Shahin (breaks; dates = Dec 18–20). June 23, 2026.
  11. Venue confirmed (Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, via Shahin) + draft program targeting ~12 plenary + 16 breakout sessions: planning/program/draft-program-MGB-2026-07-02.md. July 2–3, 2026.
  12. Shahin Badiee -- evening-performer candidates (Strunz & Farah, Eric Harper, Smith & Dragoman, others); Wade confirmed Eric Harper willing/available. July 2–4, 2026.
  13. Ghasem Bayat -- additional speaker resumes/abstracts received (Jeffrey Barnes, Dr. Arta Sadrzadeh, Dr. Soheila Azizi) -- under review, held pending confirmation. July 3–4, 2026.