Gartner CIO Communities: What's on the Agenda for Executive Summits

CIOs are being called on to do more than oversee technology operations. They are helping shape enterprise strategy, accelerate innovation, manage risk and ensure that technology investments deliver measurable business value amid constant change. Gartner CIO Communities connect senior technology executives from leading organizations in a trusted setting where they can exchange practical perspectives, challenge conventional thinking and learn from peers navigating similar responsibilities.

Executive Summits are a cornerstone of this experience. These full-day, in-person gatherings give CIOs dedicated time to step away from day-to-day demands and focus on the critical issues impacting their roles. Participants hear from Gartner analysts, experienced practitioners and industry thought leaders; take part in interactive discussions; and participate in curated one-on-one peer meetings centered on shared priorities.
 

Gartner C-level Communities creates a trusted environment where executives can openly exchange ideas, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another's experiences. Those conversations ultimately help us become better leaders for our own organizations.

- Chris Crist, CIO
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 

This fall, Gartner CIO Communities will bring Executive Summits to 25 communities across North America, Europe and Australia. The sessions below offer a preview of the conversations ahead – from responsible AI and enterprise transformation to leadership, culture and the future of technology-enabled business. 

1 The Power Pair — How CEOs and CIOs Drive Transformation Together at the Vancouver CIO Community Executive Summit

Technology transformation is most effective when business and technology leaders share a clear vision and take joint ownership of the outcomes. In this keynote fireside chat, Patrick Davis, CEO at BCLC; Mark Goldberg, CIO at BCLC; and Dharmesh Gandhi, CIO at BC Hydro, will discuss how strong CEO-CIO partnerships can sharpen investment priorities, improve communication with the board and advance enterprise-wide change across areas such as cybersecurity, data, AI and customer experience. They will also explore how this partnership can accelerate decision-making and develop the change management capabilities needed to sustain transformation.
 

2 AI Across the Value Chain – Insights from Michelin at the France CIO Community Executive Summit 

For many organizations, the challenge is no longer identifying AI’s potential – it’s turning that potential into true business value. In this keynote, Yves Caseau, Group Chief Digital & Information Officer at Michelin, will share how the global tire manufacturer is applying AI across its value chain, from research and development to digital twins and agentic automation. He will also discuss how CIOs can prioritize use cases with measurable ROI, safeguard data and intellectual property, and build an AI-enabled IT organization that combines automation with human expertise.
 

3 What Must Remain Human? at the San Francisco CIO Community Executive Summit

In this CIO-CHRO fireside chat, Sesh Tirumala, SVP and CIO, and Katie Watson, CHRO, both of Western Digital Corporation, will discuss how technology and HR leaders can work together to guide AI-enabled change. They will discuss the importance of resilience, adaptability and AI fluency, as well as how organizations can focus conversations on business outcomes, human judgment and the capabilities people need to thrive.
 

4 Building for Continuous Change in the AI Era at the New York CIO Community Executive Summit 

As AI becomes integrated into business operations and decision-making, CIOs must create the conditions for innovation without compromising trust or accountability. In this keynote, Brian Saluzzo, CIO at Citigroup, will share lessons from scaling AI in complex, highly regulated environments. He will explore how organizations can design operating models for responsible AI adoption, align business, technology and data teams around shared outcomes, and scale AI capabilities while preserving the agility needed to keep pace with change. 

5 Reimagining the National Lottery — A Two-Year Digital Transformation at the UK & Ireland CIO Community Executive Summit

In this breakout session, Mark Smith, CTO at Allwyn UK, and Mark Hughes, CSO at Allwyn UK, will share lessons from Allwyn’s two-year digital transformation of the technology platform supporting the National Lottery. They will discuss how the organization delivered a comprehensive replacement of its legacy systems, built a scalable foundation for future growth and maintained a strong focus on digital excellence throughout the transformation.

6 Foundation First - The Leadership Blueprint for Transformation at the Dallas CIO Community Executive Summit

Leadership is essential to turning AI ambition into successful transformation. In this keynote, Chris Cox, Chief Technology & Digital Officer at Keller Williams Realty, will share how CIOs can establish the organizational and operational foundations needed to advance AI strategies and respond to emerging opportunities. He will explore how technology executives can make thoughtful build, buy or partner decisions, use external ecosystems to accelerate business value and preserve a unified culture through changes to the operating model. 

7 Banking on Responsible AI  — A Case Study on Balancing Risk and Outcomes at the Sydney CIO Community Executive Summit 

For financial institutions, adopting AI requires a careful balance between innovation, business value and risk management. In this session, Matt Neubauer, Chief Information Officer at Morgans Financial, and Volker Rath, Field CTO at Cloudflare, will share a case study for how Morgans Financial developed a practical approach to AI adoption within a highly regulated environment. They will also discuss how organizations can define their risk appetite, align AI investments with business outcomes and establish the safeguards needed for secure, compliant and sustainable AI operations.

These sessions illustrate the breadth of challenges CIOs are navigating – from scaling AI and replacing legacy systems to strengthening partnerships, leading organizational change and maintaining trust in a volatile environment. 

Executive Summits give technology executives the opportunity to explore these challenges with peers, exchange perspectives and gain practical insight from others who understand the demands of the role. As Kurt Brissett, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Built, shared: 

For me, the greatest value is the peer exchange... It is about testing ideas, sharing lessons, learning from different industries and contributing to a community that helps leaders make better decisions for their organizations.

Ready to connect with fellow technology executives? Join your local community to participate in an Executive Summit and gain practical insights through candid conversations, peer exchange and collaborative learning. If you are already a community member, sign in to the app and register for your local Executive Summit.