Influence. Proof. Impact.

The 2026 ICCO Global Summit recognises that public relations now sits at the centre of some of society’s most urgent challenges. As the information environment becomes more fragmented, politicised and technologically mediated, the industry’s role is no longer limited to messaging or reputation defence. It is about shaping society itself: strengthening the connective tissue between organisations and their stakeholders across paid, earned, shared and owned channels. The 2026 ICCO Global Summit challenges the global PR community to confront its responsibility, exercise judgment, and translate intent into action — not just for clients, but for the wider systems of trust in which they operate.

Dates

11 - 13 November, 2026

Venue

nHow Milano, Italy

Summit Themes

The Summit will be organised around the same ten strategic areas developed
through the Change Agenda, now viewed through the lens of execution and impact:

Creativity & Culture – Relevance, differentiation and cultural intelligence in a fragmented world

Measurement & Evaluation – Proving impact, not outputs, in business and societal terms

AI in PR: Craft & Models – Human judgment, machine mediation and new operating models

Technology, Disinformation & Trust – Defending credibility in an accelerated information environment

Geopolitics & Crisis – Corporate diplomacy, legitimacy and leadership in permanent volatility and conflict.

Influence & Media – Authority and trust in a decentralised, zero-click ecosystem

Talent & NextGen – Skills, structures and sustainability for the future workforce

Climate & ESG – Communication, courage and credibility amid backlash and fatigue

Health, Humanity & Leadership – Burnout, empathy and duty of care in a perma-crisis profession

DEI & Gender – Accountability, inclusion and long-term industry resilience

Speakers

ICCO GLOBAL SUMMIT 2026

Programme Schedule

12–13 November 2026 · Influence. Proof. Impact.

11: 00 AM

ICCO Board Meeting

6:00 PM

Welcome Reception and Drinks for ICCO Global Summit delegates

8:15 – 8:30 AM

Arrival & Registration

HOSTICCO / UNA Team

9:00 – 9:15 AM

Introduction / Welcome Address

HOSTICCO / UNA Representatives

Geopolitics

9:15 – 9:45 AM

Keynote Address - Chris Foster

9:45 – 10:30 AM

Operating in the Fault Lines

SPEAKERSCharlotte West, Vice President, Global Corporate Communications; LenovoSarah Scholefield, Chief Executive Officer, Grayling; Abdul Waheed Patel, TBC

Influence & Media

10:30 – 11:15 AM

The Fragmented World: How Politics, Polarisation and Media Fragmentation Are Rewriting the Rules of Influence

SPEAKERSMarshall Manson, Global Practice Lead, FleishmanHillard; Naazneen Nawaz, Senior Director, External Communications, Wikimedia Foundation; Toby Doman, Corporate Affairs & Strategic Communications Leader, PPF Group

MODERATORNeha Mehrotra, Vice President, ICCO

11:15 – 11:45 AM

Networking Coffee Break

11:45 AM – 12:15 PM

Driven to Build, Guided by Values

SPEAKERPeter Finn, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, FINN Partners

MODERATORArun Sudhaman, Non-Executive Chair, ICCO

DEI & Gender

12:15 – 12:55 PM

Global Women in PR: The 2026 Annual Index

SPEAKERTBC

MODERATORSue Hardwick, Co-Founder, Global Women in PR

12:55 – 1:50 PM

Lunch

1:50 – 2:20 PM

Why Your PR Agency Model Is Already Obsolete

SPEAKERMatt Neale, Global Chief Executive Officer, Golin Ketchum

AI in PR

2:20 – 3:00 PM

Beyond the Pilot: Making AI Work in Communications

SPEAKERSStayko Tzenov, TBCMatt Collette, Chief Executive Officer, Sequencr; Elif Guvencer, Vice President, Advisory, EMEA, RepTrak

AI in PR

3:00 – 3:30 PM

Networking Coffee Break

3:30 – 4:00 PM

Real Harm: Communicating Health in the Misinformation Era

SPEAKERSStephanie Marchesi, President, Global Health & EMEA, WE CommunicationsSpeaker 2 – TBC

Technology, disinformation & trust

4:00 – 4:40 PM

Defending Credibility in an Accelerated Information Environment

SPEAKERSPatrice Schneider, TBC; Shayoni Lynn, Founder & Managing Director, Lynn Group ; Maxime Couture - TBC; Speaker 4 – TBC

MODERATORMassimo Moriconi, TBC

5:00 PM

Close of Day 1 Sessions

7:30 – 9:55 PM

ICCO Awards + Gala Dinner

At a different venue nearby

8:30 – 8:45 AM

Arrival in Hall & Registration

8:45 – 9:00 AM

Introduction

SPEAKERNeha Mehrotra, Vice President, ICCO

9:00 – 9:30 AM

Keynote Address

9:30 – 10:15 AM

Cultural Fluency in the Machine Era

SPEAKERSMargaret Key, Chief Executive Officer, Allison Worldwide; Michelle Hutton, Global Chief Client & Growth Officer, Burson; Josh Rosenberg, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Day One; Jamal Alawed, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Gambit Communications

MODERATORJulian Boulding, Founder & President, thenetworkone

Geopolitics/Crisis

10:15 – 11:00 AM

Trust and Policy in a Contested World

SPEAKERSBrad Staples, Chief Executive Officer, APCO Worldwide; Conall McDevitt, TBC; Mary Njoki, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, GlassHouse PR; Chris Christodoulou, Chief Executive Officer, Action Global Communications

11:00 – 11:30 AM

Networking Coffee Break

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

TBC

SPEAKERTBC

MODERATORTBC

Measurement & Evaluation

12:00 – 12:30 PM

From Pressure to Proof

SPEAKERSMazen Nahawi, Founder & Group Chief Executive Officer, CARMA; Lynette Jackson, Chief Communications Officer, The Adecco Group; David Nelson, Director, Anacta

MODERATORShayoni Lynn, Founder & Managing Director, Lynn Group / Founder, Global Women in PR

Health, humanity & leadership

12:30 – 1:00 PM

Building Firms for What Comes Next

SPEAKERSMohamed Al Ayed, Chief Executive Officer, TBC; Madan Bahal, TBC; Miranda Mitchell, TBC

1:00 – 2:00 PM

Lunch

2:00 – 2:30 PM

Built by Machines, Believed by Humans: Communicating in an AI-Native Society

SPEAKERFaheem Ahamed, Group Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, G42

MODERATORShayoni Lynn, Founder & Managing Director, Lynn Group / Founder, Global Women in PR

2:30 – 3:00 PM