The Global Leisure Economy:
The $6 Trillion Opportunity Most Businesses Are Ignoring
IBCircle CEOs & CFOs Deep Dive Roundtable · Thursday, October 22, 2026
The global leisure economy — spanning outdoor recreation, tourism, eatertainment, sports media, experiential hospitality, and brand experience — is one of the most dynamic and underexamined sectors of this decade. It is also one of the most internationally interconnected: capital, consumers, brands, and talent flow across borders in ways that create both significant opportunity and real competitive risk for internationally active businesses. Yet most boardrooms treat it as a peripheral topic.
On October 22, IBCircle brings together a small group of globally experienced leaders — operators, investors, and policymakers who are shaping this space internationally — for a peer-level roundtable with 35 internationally active CEOs, CFOs, founders, and investors. The insights in this room are not available anywhere else in Colorado. On October 22, that changes.
THE DISCUSSION
This is not a lecture. It is not a panel. It is an intimate roundtable — 35 executives in one room — where the most valuable insight comes not from the front of the room but from the people sitting around the table.
Each featured speaker introduces one theme in five minutes. Our moderator then opens the conversation to the full room for 45 minutes of peer-level discussion:
- Where is the real money in the global leisure economy right now — and where is it heading?
- Colorado is one of the world's great leisure destinations — are we maximizing that advantage, or leaving value on the table?
- AI, data, and digital transformation — what do they mean specifically for leisure, tourism, and outdoor recreation?
- What does the global consumer want from leisure experiences now — and how has that changed permanently post-pandemic?
- Sponsorship, partnership, and brand alignment in the leisure economy — what works globally, and what doesn't?
FEATURED SPEAKERS
- Justin Beavis — Founder, Urban Legacies & URWLD (Bio)
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- Christopher Jerard — Chief Brand Officer, Outside Interactive Inc./ OUTSIDE Magazine (Bio)
- Stephanie Carter— CEO, The Wallaroo Hat Company (Bio)
- Tim Wolfe —Director, Colorado Tourism Office (Bio) and/or Andrea Blankenship — Director, International Tourism, Colorado Tourism Office (Bio)
- Robert C. Mulverhill — Executive Chairman, OXT Technologies · Principal, IBC Ventures (Bio)
Additional participants to be announced.
OUR HOSTS
Rocky Mountain Public Media, Colorado's premier public media organization, serving the Front Range and beyond through trusted, independent journalism and community content. Rocky Mountain Public Media's mission — to inform, inspire, and connect communities — makes it the ideal setting for a conversation about where global leisure, culture, and brand experience are heading.
WHY THIS ROOM IS DIFFERENT
? TWICE AWARDED ?
Business Networking Organization of the Year
Global Innovation & Excellence Awards · 2025 & 2026
IBCircle events attract global executives, serial founders, and sophisticated investors who value substance over small talk. Attendance is intimate by design — space is strictly limited to preserve the quality of conversation.
BEYOND THE EVENING
IBCircle will produce a full Think Tank Report from this discussion, distributed to our membership, our wider network, and Colorado's international
EVENT DETAILS
- DATE: Thursday, October 22, 2026
- TIME:4:00 – 6:30 PM
- VENUE: Rocky Mountain Public Media (RMPM)
- ADDRESS: 2102 Arapahoe Avenue, Denver, CO 80205
- REFRESHMENTS: Drinks and light snacks will be served
- DRESS CODE: Business Casual
TICKET PRICES
- $65 for IBCircle Members & Members' Guests and First-Time Guests
- $185 for Non-Members
Drinks and light snacks will be served. Dress code: Business casual.
RSVP today. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Advanced, on-line registrations required. The IBCircle has a standard no-refund policy. Space is extremely limited. Early booking recommended.