The Partnership Leaders crew hosted their Catalyst Summit at the ServiceNow office in New York, and it delivered. Hudson Yards views aside, the real value was a full day of deep dives with some of the sharpest minds in partnerships and ecosystem strategy.

As I navigate toward my next role, events like this are essential. Staying at the forefront of where the industry is heading beats waiting for the next thing to happen.

Here are the five takeaways that stood out most.

The MCP Revolution

We are moving toward a Model Context Protocol world. MCP is a new open standard that acts as a universal connector, allowing partner data to be pulled into any AI model safely and instantly. If you work in partnerships and haven’t started paying attention to this, now is the time.

Marketplace is Level 1

Success requires moving beyond ad-hoc transactions into a continuous co-selling motion where you map your technology directly to the partner’s stack. Marketplace is not a destination — it’s the baseline.

The Rise of the Chief Partner Officer

The CPO role is surging. Over 1,200 open roles on LinkedIn this year alone. Partner ecosystems are finally becoming core corporate strategy, not a side function.

Incentives Over Warmth

Relationship warmth is a weak predictor of revenue. Structural incentives and standardized agreements are what actually drive conversion. This one hit hard and should inform how every partner team structures their programs.

The Human Element

AI does not replace the human side of a partnership. It ensures you show up prepared to actually deliver value. The distinction matters.

The speaker lineup brought serious heat, covering everything from the universal connector for AI to the future of partner operations, including Asher Mathew and Chris Samila from Partnership Leaders, Ryan Clare from ServiceNow, Harbinder Khera from Mindmatrix, Simon Van Den Hende from introw.io, and Ian Cugniere from Evervault.

If you work in partnerships and are looking to level up, Partnership Leaders is worth your time.

Originally published on LinkedIn, April 2026.