A Sun Valley veteran gives a glimpse into the business world's most exclusive conference
The longtime tech and advertising executive brokered one of the most famous deals to come out of the summit — the $4.4 billion sale of AOL to Verizon, which began over a casual lunch in 2014.
Armstrong is now the CEO of Flowcode, a platform he founded that uses QR codes to fuel customer engagement.
Business Insider caught up with Armstrong to discuss some of the hot topics of this year's conference, which kicked off on Tuesday.
Artificial intelligence, unsurprisingly, was top of mind for attendees.
It was the "1,000-pound gorilla" in "every conversation, every meeting," Armstrong said.
"It used to be about media and technology, media and the internet," he said. "There's a third leg of the stool now: media, the internet, and AI."
AI is being adopted at a much faster pace than the internet was, he said, and executives and investors swapped ideas about how to best implement the technology.
Armstrong, for example, has enforced "TuesdAIs" at Flowcode. On Tuesdays, each department must focus on the technology by implementing new tools and updating processes to incorporate AI.
It's "time to paddle out to the next wave," he said. "Paddle hard."
Among the media set, sports dominated conversation. It's the "place that can still collect humans together in big audiences for live events," Armstrong said, adding that a similar takeaway had emerged from Cannes earlier this summer.
The conference drew attendees from all over the sports world, including the NBA, NFL, and MLB commissioners, team owners like Robert Kraft and Jimmy Haslam, and entrepreneurs like Jeb Terry of venue operator Cosm.
Armstrong ended the conference with a somewhat extreme sport of his own: bridge jumping in one of Idaho's many swimming holes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Jared Allen calls kids his ‘greatest accomplishment' at Hall of Fame induction
For 12 years, Jared Allen was one of the top defensive ends in the National Football League. During his time as a professional football player, Allen was a five-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro selection. He completed 136 sacks in his career and as a result of all of that, Allen was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. On Aug. 2, Allen and three other former NFL players, received their gold Hall of Fame jackets and made a speech. At the end of his speech, Allen said if his football accolades are all he is remembered for, then he failed. 'I'm here to tell you two, you are my greatest accomplishments,' Allen told his daughters, Brinley and Lakelyn, who were sitting at a table looking up at him during his speech. 'When I get called home to heaven one day, if all they talk about is this gold jacket, my career, then I failed miserably as a father, a husband and a friend. You two are my legacy,' he continued, as his daughters got emotional. 'You are both so talented, and I cannot wait to see what you two decide to do to conquer this world,' he said in a direct message to his girls. 'So always put Christ first. Find your why, dream big dreams and always pursue greatness in whatever you do. Thank you all, and may God bless you all.' Allen began his professional football career with the Chiefs in 2004 before he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings before the 2008 season, where he played the majority of his career until 2013. Allen would go on to play with the Bears and with the Panthers before retiring in 2016. In a message to the Vikings during his speech, Allen said, 'As a Norseman by blood, because I am Norwegian, it was only fitting I became a Viking.' 'The entire Wilf family, I don't think I can every truly express the depths of my gratitude to your entire organization,' he continued. 'I'm a firm believer that God puts people in your life at the appropriate times, and what you did for the growth of my career, and more importantly, the people that you surrounded me with in that organization helped me grow as a man, that is why I will forever call the Vikings my home.' In the end, Allen said he likes to believe that the Hall of Fame jackets are gold in color because gold is a 'reflective medal,' and this jacket in particular symbolizes all the people in his life that helped him get to where he is today. 'I might be the one wearing this jacket, but I hope every time you see this jacket you see yourself.'
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lions' Hendon Hooker, Kyle Allen looking for better results in backup QB competition
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Hendon Hooker provided a blunt assessment of his first preseason performance. 'A zero out of 10,' the Detroit Lions quarterback said. 'It wasn't to my standards, it wasn't to the team's standards of just being productive and controlling the huddle and making plays.' Hooker and Kyle Allen, who are competing for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind starting quarterback Jared Goff, are both looking for vast improvement in the offense's performance when the Lions play at Atlanta on Friday. Detroit committed five turnovers and generated just 197 yards in a 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday. Allen, who started the game, was 9 of 14 for 91 yards but was intercepted twice. Hooker was 3 of 6 for 18 yards and was picked off once. They'll switch roles on Friday with Hooker playing the first half and Allen taking over after halftime. Durability hasn't been an issue for Goff since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. He hasn't missed a game the past three seasons. If that streak ends this season, the Lions will need to have a reliable option. They're looking for either Hooker or Allen to establish themselves as the clear backup. 'I can tell you both of those guys are, it goes without saying, they're frustrated with the way that went and they both want to improve and get better,' coach Dan Campbell said. 'And they will.' Hooker was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft despite a knee injury suffered late in his college career that turned his rookie season essentially into a redshirt year. Hooker had 58 touchdown passes and five interceptions in two seasons at Tennessee. The 27-year-old Hendon also spent three seasons with Virginia Tech. Hooker made three brief appearances last season, going 6 of 9 for 62 yards. This preseason is pivotal to show he was worthy of his draft status. 'Very key. Every play is important,' he said. 'So just taking advantage of every play, every throw, every decision and just putting my best foot forward every time.' Allen, 29, has bounced around the league since making Carolina's roster as an undrafted free agent in 2018. The Lions are the sixth organization he's suited up for and fifth in the past five seasons. He appeared in one game with Pittsburgh last season. Allen has made 19 starts, including 12 of 13 appearances during the 2019 season with the Panthers when he passed for 3,322 yards with 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He was sacked 46 times. The Lions signed him to a one-year, $1.27 million contract with a $100,000 signing bonus in March. The second half against the Falcons gives Allen another extended opportunity to secure his spot on the depth chart. 'Obviously (looking to) correct the interceptions and the mistakes, play a little cleaner football,' he said after Sunday morning's practice. 'Just keep executing the offense, getting more comfortable in it and take it play by play.' ___
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
T-Mobile boots customers off yearslong offers without asking
Over the past few months, T-Mobile (TMUS) has been pushing customers to make a major change that has made a few uncomfortable. It started when T-Mobile hiked the prices of its older phone plans (One, Magenta, Simple Choice, and Go5G 55) by $2 or $5 per line in June last year, angering customers. Then, in April, it issued another price increase for some of its older phone plans, hiking monthly prices by $5. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter It appeared that these changes were an effort to push customers off of older phone plans. That suspicion became clearer that same month when T-Mobile introduced its Experience More and Experience Beyond phone plans, which are essentially upgraded versions of its Go5G Plus or Go5G Next plans with five-year price lock guarantees. Related: T-Mobile launches a cheap new service amid customer struggles However, even though the newer plans included upgraded perks, some customers are cautious about switching because taxes and fees are omitted from the plans' pricing. Image source: Bloomberg/Getty Images Now, T-Mobile has made another bold move to push customers onto newer plans. The phone carrier announced that starting Aug. 13, it will boot select customers off of older phone plans and place them onto its Go5G Plus plan (which doesn't include taxes and fees in the price). According to some users on Reddit, who claim to be T-Mobile employees, this change will impact customers on Magenta Plus, MAX, Sprint Max, and ONE Plus plans. Also, customers on segmented plans such as 55+, First Responder, etc., will be moved to similar versions on Go5G Plus. T-Mobile says this will be a "free upgrade," and any free lines, discounts, and perks customers may have on their current plan will also migrate to Go5G Plus. Related: Verizon hopes a new tactic will fix fleeing customer problem "Beginning with your next bill cycle after August 13, we're upgrading your plan to Go5G Plus, which includes all the benefits you already have and more at no extra cost-like better deals on phone upgrades," said T-Mobile on its website. "You'll also get more high-speed data, like 50GB of hotspot data and 15GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico." Customers with price locks on their current plans won't be migrated to Go5G Plus; only those on older phone plans who were impacted by recent price increases will be moved. The change from T-Mobile comes after it officially retired its Go5G plans in June. This means that new customers were revoked the ability to sign up for those plans, while older customers could remain on them. T-Mobile's latest move also comes during a time when it is struggling to retain loyal customers. In its second-quarter earnings report for 2025, T-Mobile revealed that while it attracted 830,000 new postpaid phone customers, its postpaid phone churn (the number of customers who cut their phone service) increased by 10 basis points year-over-year. More Telecom News: Verizon's push to make switching harder for customers hits a snagT-Mobile announces generous offer for conflicted customersAmazon pulls the plug on a free service for customers During an earnings call on July 23, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the company is navigating a "highly competitive environment" where competitors are unveiling "unprecedented device promotions." T-Mobile is even facing increased competition from cable companies that offer consumers phone services at discounted rates. A recent report from MoffettNathanson found that Comcast, Spectrum and Altice USA gained 886,000 new phone customers during the first quarter of 2025, up from the 804,000 they added during the same quarter in 2024. During the third quarter, T-Mobile anticipates churn will either decrease year-over-year, remain flat, or slightly increase. Related: Comcast takes drastic action as customers rapidly cut service The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
