Social Commerce Summit Launch Event Brings Together the Operators Building the Next Era of Social Commerce

The inaugural event in L.A. will bring together leaders across platforms, brands, agencies, creator commerce, and finance to discuss what is driving growth.

MANHATTAN BEACH , NY, UNITED STATES, May 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Social Commerce Summit launch event will convene senior operators, platform leaders, brand executives, agency leaders, investors, and founders on May 14 and 15, 2026 at the westdrift Hotel Manhattan Beach in Manhattan Beach, California.

Produced by Social Commerce News, the event is designed for qualified senior operators building at the intersection of social platforms, creators, brands, agencies, commerce technology, and investment. Attendance is complimentary for qualified applicants.

Social commerce is moving beyond isolated channels. Affiliate marketing, influencer commerce, creator-led direct-to-consumer growth, TikTok Shop, live shopping, platform-native selling, and social-driven discovery are converging into one connected market. Social Commerce Summit was created as a neutral, practitioner-led forum where the operators building that market can compare notes, pressure-test what is working, and discuss the business realities behind growth.

“Social commerce is moving faster than most companies can organize around it,” said Stuart Johnson, CEO and Founder of Social Commerce News. “This Summit was created to bring the operators building the market into one place to compare what is working, discuss the economics behind growth, and help shape the operating norms for the category.”

Opening Night on Thursday, May 14 will feature keynote presentations from Neil Patel, Co-Founder of Neil Patel Digital and one of the most recognized voices in digital marketing; Eric Siu, Founder of Single Grain; and Glenn Sanford, Managing Director and Publisher of SUCCESS^®.

Neil Patel’s session, “30 Charts That Show the Future of E-Commerce Marketing,” will examine the shifts reshaping digital marketing, from channel performance and LLM-driven discovery to social commerce, AI-powered personalization, and smarter segmentation. Patel and Siu will also come together for a special live version of Marketing School, their widely followed marketing podcast.

Friday, May 15 will feature a full day of mainstage programming with senior operators from across major platforms, consumer brands, and social commerce companies. Platform speakers include Heidi Levyn, Director of eCommerce & Fashion at Meta; Vincent Launet, Head of the Personal Care & Devices Category, North America at TikTok; and Lindsay Pasteris and Avery Burridge, Product Partner Managers for YouTube Shopping.

Brand and operator speakers include Jay Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Sprinter and k2o by Sprinter, the Kylie Jenner-founded beverage brand’s beauty-led hydration extension; Shahab Elmi, Co-Founder and CEO of Cymbiotika; Puneet Nanda, Founder and CEO of GuruNanda; Rémi Martini, Co-Founder and CEO of SARELLY; Brandee Shtevi Winikoff, Assistant General Counsel, Health & Wellbeing at Unilever; Aaron Jones, Chief Digital Officer of Liquid I.V.; Lauren Hill, VP, Digital & Ecommerce at ColourPop; Eugenia Kovalenko, VP of Growth, E-commerce at Dr. Squatch; Shahzad Khan, VP, Data Science and Analytics at K18 Hair; David Vanderveen, Board of Directors and President of Prenetics & IM8 Health, the David Beckham co-founded consumer health brand; and William August, CEO of Outlandish, a leading TikTok Shop partner agency.

Programming will focus on practical operating questions facing social commerce leaders now, including channel performance, creator and affiliate economics, platform updates, AI across commerce operations, compliance, multicultural market growth, capital strategy, and brand-led growth.

The event will also include a dedicated Financial and Investment Session focused on capital strategy, M&A, scaling mechanics, and the financial realities behind growth in social commerce. Featured speakers include David Vanderveen, Board of Directors and President of Prenetics & IM8 Health; Carl Daikeler, Co-Founder and CEO of BODi and P90X; and Nital Patel Scott, CFO of K18 Hair.

The event will be held at westdrift Hotel Manhattan Beach, located at 1400 Park View Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, approximately 15 minutes from Los Angeles International Airport.

More than 500 people have registered for the launch event, which is now more than 90% at capacity. Attendance is complimentary for qualified applicants. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and qualified applicants must register by Wednesday, May 13 to be considered.

To register, visit SOCOMMSUMMIT.COM.

About Social Commerce Summit
Social Commerce Summit is a landmark event for senior operators building at the intersection of social platforms, creators, brands, agencies, commerce technology, and investment. Produced by Social Commerce News, the Summit is platform-agnostic, practitioner-led, and focused on real operating insight for the rapidly converging social commerce market.

For more information, visit SOCOMMSUMMIT.COM or email info@socialcommercenews.com.

Kathleen Ross
Social Commerce Summit
kathleen@socialcommercenews.com
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