Vention Unplugged x BMad: Building governed, scalable AI-native engineering teams

Is your team's AI spend growing faster than your delivery outcomes? If you're pouring budget into tokens, tools, and copilots but still can't point to where the ROI actually landed, this is the event for you. Join us on Thursday, 22nd October 2026 for the latest edition of Vention Unplugged - hosted by Vention in partnership with BMad at Loft39 in New York - designed for senior technology leaders wrestling with what it actually takes to build governed, scalable AI-native engineering teams. For over 20 years, Vention has been building software for the world's most ambitious companies, and for the last several, at the center of the AI shift, helping organizations move past isolated pilots into real, production-grade AI delivery. The evening will open with a keynote from Brian Madison, founder of the BMad Method. Brian "BMad" Madison is the creator of the BMad Method, the most widely adopted open-source framework for AI-native, agile development, with 43,000+ GitHub stars and a master class watched over 250,000 times, used by everyone from solo developers to Fortune 500 engineering teams. With 25+ years in software, from NASA programs and military systems at Northrop Grumman to IoT at Siemens and enterprise consulting, plus a stint in the U.S. Army that shaped his disciplined, mission-first approach to leadership, Brian brings a practitioner's view of what actually works when teams go AI-native. His framework gives engineers, product managers, and entire organizations the structure to move from "vibe coding" to real spec-driven development, and if you've been trying to figure out what AI-native actually looks like day to day rather than on a slide, this is the person to hear it from. From there, we'll move into a fireside chat presented by our CTO, Glyn Roberts, with a guest speaker to be announced. Following the fireside chat, attendees are invited to network and connect with the speakers in the speakeasy. Together, we'll explore what spec-driven development looks like in practice, and how organizations are building governed, scalable AI-native engineering teams. Agenda6:00PM - Welcome Reception & Networking 6:30PM - Keynote: BMad, presented by Brian Madison 7:00PM - Fireside Chat with Glyn Roberts (guest TBA) 8:00PM - Networking in the Speakeasy Why attend? Hear real client experiences and real-life examples of how organizations have implemented AI into their software development lifecycle Get practical insight into spec-driven development and what it takes to build governed, scalable AI-native engineering teams Network with engineering and business leaders tackling the same challenges Connect directly with speakers in the speakeasy __________________________________About Vention Vention has spent over 20 years building software for the world's most ambitious companies, and for the last several, at the center of the AI shift. With hundreds of AI engineers and 150+ AI projects delivered across 30+ industries, we help organizations move past the pilot stage and into real, production-grade AI delivery. Our own research backs up what we see in the field: companies with high AI maturity see 3x higher ROI than those still just testing the waters. Through our proprietary 5-Stage AI SDLC Maturity Model and Transformation Triad, we help engineering leaders turn scattered AI experimentation into a governed, spec-driven delivery system — the same approach you'll hear about on stage tonight, battle-tested with clients around the world. About BMad Code BMad Code is the company behind the BMad Method, the open-source standard for enterprise-grade AI delivery. The method governs agile AI-driven development across the SDLC and enforces your regulatory and operational policies. BMad puts your engineers' expertise in charge, makes every decision explicit before the build starts, blocks a plan with gaps before a line of code is written, and leaves a versioned record of every run in your own repository. No unstated assumption reaches the code. It is built for work that cannot survive on vibe coding alone, greenfield or brownfield, and runs in teams from solo developers to Fortune 500 and regulated enterprises. BMad Code helps organizations adopt it at scale through advisory, enablement, and official certification.