SUMMIT OVERVIEW
Unlock the Future: Championing AI’s Transformative Potential
Are you ready to move from AI experimentation to true organizational integration?
Join forward-thinking leaders at The 19th CIO Executive Summit 2026 to explore how Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally reshaping operations, products, and workplace culture and discover actionable strategies to:
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Drive Growth: Redesign workflows for new revenue streams.
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Upskill Teams: Build an agile, AI-fluent workforce and
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Lead with Trust: Balance bold innovation with data privacy.
Stop just managing automation—start leading the revolution. Secure your spot today to connect with trailblazers and deploy AI responsibly for sustainable global impact!
SUMMIT DETAILS
Date:
Time:
Venue:
16th September 2026 [Wednesday]
09:15 - 17:15
Cordis Hong Kong
555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok
Hong Kong
FORUM AGENDA
08:15
Registration, Showcase Visit and Networking
08:15
CIO Executive Breakfast Roundtables
(by Invitation only)
09:15
Opening Keynote: How CIOs Should Reinvent IT for the AI Age The IT organization will be augmented and autonomously operated by AI. But will some parts of IT disappear? Will new capabilities or teams be needed? The organization could be radically different—for better or worse. It’s up to CIOs to choose and lead IT’s reinvention by 2030. The journey starts today. Join this session to learn more.
09:40
Keynote 1: Deliver Real AI Impact: The CIO's Roadmap to AI-nomics
10:05
Keynote 2: From Concept to Catalyst - Turning AI into a Powerhouse of Value Amidst the swift pace of digital transformation, Digital Leaders are challenged to go beyond traditional IT programmes and harness the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence. AI isn't just another enterprise application; it has the potential to revolutionise your business operations and contribute to your saving targets by up to 80% with private cloud solutions. Are you ready to transform your approach and lead your organisation into a new era of productivity, efficiency and innovation? Join this boardroom to discuss: • Shifting from long proof of concept cycles to rapid value generation • Understanding why the total cost of ownership in your AI strategy is different from that in traditional application environments • Managing AI to ensure compliance, enhance security and build stakeholder trust through sovereign cloud capabilities
10:30
Keynote 3: Preparing for Brand New Threats - Adopting and Scaling up a Proactive Cyber Strategy Cyberattackers are increasingly leveraging AI and machine learning (ML) to execute more advanced and sophisticated attacks, amplifying the scale and impact of the threat. As a result, the perception among many organisations is that the scales are tipping in favour of the attackers. To change this perception, a proactive AI-driven defense strategy must be adopted. To meet this moment, how can IT leaders cut down on complexities within AI-driven platforms and gain visibility and control across security systems to better protect the enterprise? Join this session to discuss: • The strategies IT leaders are deploying to combat the evolving threat landscape • Defending in the AI era through mixing conventional and new approaches • Leveraging AI to empower your defence teams and scale up security across the organisation
10:55
Keynote 4: Bring Your Data to the Model: Building an AI-Ready Infrastructure
11:20
Morning Networking Coffee Break and Showcase Visit
11:35
Keynote 5: Impact of AI on Workplace and Workforce GenAI deployments can create behavioral, capability-related, and cultural related challenges. They include risks of de-skilling and cognitive surrender. Organisations also will encounter capability gaps that go beyond prompt-writing: problem framing, critical evaluation, domain judgement, workflow integration, and risk literacy (including privacy and bias). Leaders of hybrid human/Agent-teams will need to move from managing activity to managing outcomes, quality standards, and accountability. This talk explores the current research and proposes practical ways forward for organisations.
Director, Applied AI Research, HSBC
12:00
Keynote 6: The AI Imperative - Driving Business Outcomes in a Changing World The current business landscape is characterized by rapid change and increasing complexity. Organizations must leverage AI not just as a trend, but as a strategic tool to drive measurable outcomes, enhance employee experiences, and unlock new avenues for growth and innovation. Join this session to discuss: • Implement AI for measurable ROI and operational efficiency • Leverage AI-driven personalization while ensuring security and compliance • Build AI fluency and drive sustainable growth organization-wide
12:25
CIO Think Tank: Beyond Tech - Evolving Organizations for AI Success You can’t unlock AI’s full value without rethinking your people strategy. The gap is widening between those riding the AI wave and those struggling to stay afloat. We’re pouring investment into platforms, models, and copilots, but what about our people? Without inclusive upskilling, AI won’t feel like empowerment; it will feel like exclusion. Join this panel to discuss: •The fundamental architectural necessities that AI is driving in technology and operations • Aligning workforce AI proficiency as a core pillar of AI ROI • Evolving talent strategy, org design, and change management in parallel with AI investments • Building cross-functional partnerships to drive AI adoption and success
Panel Chair
Dr. Jacob Wai
Vice President
Data & AI Literacy Association
Executive Panelists
Narayanan NS
Head of Service Excellence
CLP
Head of AI, Group Functions Technology and Head of Asia & Middle East, Group Functions Technology
HSBC
Winnie Ho
Vice President of Digital &
Technology Solutions
MGM MACAU
13:05
CIO Networking Luncheon Roundtables
(by Invitation only)
14:15
CISO Think Tank: Managing AI Risks While Driving Innovation and Realising ROI No business leader invests in technology for its own sake-they seek measurable improvements in productivity, agility, and business outcomes. AI is no different, but its rapid evolution, coupled with complex security and compliance considerations, can make it difficult to determine where to start and how to scale. As AI adoption accelerates, it is critical for organisations to prioritise security, compliance, and governance in order to mitigate risk. The key to unlocking ROI lies in identifying high-impact, secure use cases, optimising AI adoption, and ensuring teams have the right tools, skills, and safeguards to drive sustainable value. From protecting sensitive data to ensuring AI models operate ethically and transparently, developing a security-focused AI strategy is essential to long-term success. Join this session to explore: • Security, privacy and regulatory risks in AI deployments • Best practices for managing AI data lifecycles and compliance • Building a resilient AI infrastructure that balances innovation with risk management
Panel Chair
Executive Panelists
Michael Cheung
Director of Cyber Security Operations, Incident Response and Intelligence
CLP
15:00
Keynote 7: Zero Trust & AI - Strengthening Security, Reducing Complexity, and Driving Innovation Businesses stand to benefit from AI in unprecedented ways, but only if IT leaders overcome transformation challenges. This includes implementing a modern zero trust architecture to protect data and users, embracing AI while managing its risks, and handling the technical and financial implications of ever-expanding environments. A risk-based approach to security ensures CIOs deliver a secure, phased transformation. Join this session to: • Understand how zero trust and AI together, unlike firewalls, provide the strongest cyber defense by stopping threat actors from lateral movement within networks • Learn strategies for protecting AI applications developed in data centers and the cloud, while preventing data leaks from public AI applications • Discover how eliminating costly legacy hardware simplifies environments while cutting network and security costs
15:25
Keynote 8: Securing Data Flow in the AI-Quantum Era Sensitive data movement can be risky but restricting it outright can create operational and security challenges. In an era of agentic AI, generative AI, and emerging quantum computing, organisations need security frameworks that protect data while ensuring agility. This session explores how modern security platforms enable secure data flow, adapt to diverse use cases and prepare for the post-quantum encryption (PQE) shift. Join this keynote to learn: • How to choose the right secure access method for each use case • Why security must be adaptive to risk, user behavior and AI-driven interactions • How to prepare for post-quantum encryption and its enterprise security impact
15:50
Keynote 9: Beyond the Human - Securing Every Identity in the Modern Enterprise As organisations accelerate digital transformation, identity has emerged as the new cybersecurity perimeter. Yet in today’s landscape, not all identities are human. Machine identities, service accounts, workloads, and AI agents now far outnumber users and managing their access and privileges is often overlooked or may seem impossible. With attackers increasingly targeting identity-based gaps, the need for a unified, identity-first security model has never been more urgent. Join this keynote to learn: • How the definition of “identity” is evolving and what it means for your strategy • Best practices for securing human, machine, and AI identities across hybrid environments • The role of least privilege and automation in reducing risk without slowing down the business
16:15
Afternoon Networking Coffee Break and Showcase Visit
16:25
Keynote 10: Secure and Compliant Data Protection in Changing Times Data is readily known to organizations as its most critical asset. Yet traditional data protection methods were not designed to handle the demands of today's distributed applications and data, especially in the context of modern cyber threats. To ensure business continuity, organizations must adopt robust data protection strategies and improve preparedness to respond and recover quickly from disruptions. By modernizing data protection across hybrid cloud, organizations can protect their most critical asset and maintain operational viability in a complex digital landscape. Join this session to discuss: • Implementing advanced data protection strategies to counter modern and traditional cyber threats effectively • Ensuring uninterrupted efficiency and availability of data-powered applications • Providing robust, modern data protection solutions that help ensure business continuity, secure critical data, and support future innovation
16:50
Closing Keynote: AI Governance: Practical Guidance For Personal Data
17:15
Closing Remarks
