Kayla Bourgeois

It's been a year of seismic change for global enterprise. Tariffs & market upheaval. Conflict. AI proliferation. The result? A climate of unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty which looks unlikely to abate in the near-term. Read one way, the challenges are many and overwhelming. Read another, the climate might be a catalyst for real enterprise transformation. With a much higher tolerance for uncertainty and disruption than most of their C-suite peers, they have both the mentality and skillset to drive genuine reinvention in stormy seas. Before they can do that, though, it makes sense to stop and to take stock of Transformation's core purpose in 2026. This opening session examines how a challenging backdrop can be used as a catalyst for moving from efficiency-led to mission-led transformation and, crucially, how that mission can be applied to build resilience for the business.

• How has the purpose of Transformation changed in an agentic age? Are its core principles of efficiency, standardisation and business value unshakeable, or do we need to update them?

• What does an uncertain political climate mean for our approach to setting and implementing a Transformation vision? Can we move expand on Transformation’s role as an efficiency driver to enable genuinely purpose-led transformations?

• Does Transformation need to formally own the change mandate, or can they deliver comparable or even superior value by enabling and empowering communities of change champions across enterprise?

• Do Transformation leaders need to review their focus on strategic, long-term planning in an environment where the pace of change is increasing exponentially and unpredictably?

• What responsibility does Transformation have to promote uncertainty tolerance across the wider business?

This is an interactive, fun and high-energy exercise to share thoughts and opinions on some of the most thought-provocative topics and issues facing C-suite transformation leaders today. Be prepared to take a stance on these contentious statements and defend your perspective.

• Will Chief Transformation Officers exist in 5 years’ time?

• Is change management merely a symptom of weak leadership?

• Will AI render core systems redundant?

• Have most digital transformation failed? Did we only achieve digitization?