Agenda

Join the BHB editorial team for a short welcome before we kick off INVEST.

Arrowfly is proud to honor the Future Leaders Awards Class of 2026. This program celebrates the high-performing, forward-thinking professionals who are driving innovation and shaping the future of the behavioral health industry.

The formula for building enterprise value has changed. Industry leaders discuss how technology, leadership, payer strategy, workforce development and disciplined operations are becoming the biggest differentiators in today's behavioral health market.

The outpatient mental health landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation as providers move beyond simple consolidation toward the creation of comprehensive, high-performance care systems. At the same time, operators are evaluating PHP and IOP levels of care while navigating the rise of AI therapy chatbots. This session explores that and more, including strategies to expand access, integrate multidisciplinary services and leverage new types of data.

Despite a challenging capital environment, substance use disorder treatment presents a compelling investment case. This panel examines the market dynamics, policy tailwinds and clinical innovation making SUD one of behavioral health's most overlooked opportunities.

Autism services remain one of behavioral health's most active investment categories, but the next wave of growth extends beyond traditional ABA. Leaders discuss adult services, multidisciplinary care, technology and the evolving platform opportunity. What’s more, speakers will make sense of the ongoing crackdown on ABA utilizing and spending.

This case study panel goes inside one of the biggest deals from the last few years – examining the strategic rationale, integration process and early lessons from combining two (very different) behavioral health powerhouses. More details coming soon.

Buyers and sellers often enter diligence with abundant data but insufficient insight into the issues that ultimately determine valuation and deal certainty. This panel will examine the mission-critical financial, revenue-cycle, clinical, compliance, and operational information that buyers should request, sellers should prepare, and both sides should use to accelerate diligence, reduce surprises, and create a stronger post-close operating plan.

The best healthcare deals don’t create value at signing—they create value in the years that follow. Join private equity-backed executives, founders, investors, and their trusted advisors as they share practical lessons on scaling BHB companies, executing acquisitions and strategic partnerships, navigating regulatory complexity, and positioning businesses for a premium exit. Hear what separates the highest-performing platforms from those that struggle after the deal closes—and the lessons every founder and investor can apply.

This session will focus on:

· The strategic initiatives that drive enterprise value after an investment.

· How leading companies accelerate growth through acquisitions, health system, payor, employer, and strategic partnerships.

· The biggest integration mistakes made during the first 100 days—and how to avoid them.

· Lessons learned from both sides of the table—what investors, operators, and advisors wish they had known before closing the deal.

· Current trends in healthcare M&A, valuation drivers, and deal terms.

· How founders and management teams can prepare today for a successful future exit.

· Practical approaches to navigating regulatory, reimbursement, AI, and competitive challenges while maintaining growth.

Join BHB for another BHB+ networking lunch, where we'll discuss takeaways from INVEST so far and engage in meaningful conversation between BHB+ members. Per usual, what's said in the room, stays in the room. Come ready to ask questions and share your experiences.

Not all growth creates value. Investors and operators examine the operational, clinical and financial characteristics that separate premium behavioral health platforms from average businesses.

Behavioral health companies are increasingly looking beyond traditional referral relationships to build strategic partnerships that accelerate growth, improve reimbursement and expand access. This session explores what makes these collaborations successful – and where they’re creating the most value.

Building a larger organization is about more than adding locations. C-suite execs and other industry leaders discuss how leadership development, organizational culture and executive teams evolve as behavioral health companies transition from founder-led organizations into scalable enterprises.

TMS, ketamine, esketamine, ECT – interventional psychiatry is gaining clinical momentum, but the investment landscape remains complex. This panel examines the reimbursement realities, scalability challenges, and market opportunities that will determine whether interventional psychiatry becomes behavioral health’s next major asset class.

While there have been several marquee behavioral deals in this year’s headlines, extensive deal activity continues quietly beneath the surface across the behavioral landscape.  Join industry leaders and professionals on the front lines of this activity for a discussion on the "under the radar" deal dynamics that are playing out in PE and platform deals, strategic roll-ups, recapitalization and restructuring transactions.

Two private equity partners and one behavioral health operator are put on the "hot seat" to answer one question: If you had $100 million to build or back a single behavioral health company from scratch today, what would it look like? From selecting the subsector and care model to defining the tech stack and payer strategy, these investors will defend their hypothetical bets and reveal where they see the greatest untapped potential for enterprise value in the decade ahead.

In this opening conversation to start the final day of INVEST, BHB will sit down with one of the biggest players in the behavioral health space. More details coming soon.

Across every subsector of behavioral health, shifting payer dynamics and new reimbursement models are becoming the primary catalyst for dealmaking and platform strategy. This session examines how evolving rate structures, the expansion of value-based contracting and state-level policy shifts are directly influencing asset valuations and reshaping the investment thesis for 2027.

Once a cornerstone of the youth behavioral health continuum, residential treatment now faces growing scrutiny from regulators, payers and investors. This panel examines whether the future belongs to outpatient and community-based models – or whether residential providers are adapting to a new role in the market.

What actually gets a behavioral health startup funded? Venture investors walk through the opportunities they're pursuing, the diligence questions they're asking and the characteristics that separate promising ideas from investable businesses.

In another "Inside the Deal" case study, BHB goes under the hood of another well-known industry transaction, exploring strategic rationale, upside opportunities, challenges and more. More details coming soon.

After 2+ days of conversations on investment, innovation and scale, we'll close INVEST by opening the floor to the audience. Join BHB's editorial team and a panel of industry leaders for an interactive town hall as they answer attendees' biggest questions, debate the conference's most important themes and share their final thoughts on where behavioral health is headed next.