Industry Leading Business Transformation Insights

Transformation is accelerating; can your organization keep up?

The PEX Report 2026/27: Global State of Business Transformation draws on 185 professionals surveyed between May and August 2026, with 61% of respondents at the board, C-suite, SVP, VP or director level. Now in its second year of matched, like-for-like data, the report provides a detailed view of how transformation priorities, investment, technology adoption, and organizational challenges are changing, as well as featuring expert perspectives and real-world examples from senior transformation leaders and practitioners.

What does the data tell us?

• 61% say AI is now the most-used methodology for business transformation
• 57% say Agentic AI is the most-planned investment, rising from 39% the previous year
• 71% say AI skills are the most-cited capability gap among transformation organizations
• 54% say Change Management has overtaken cost as the biggest transformation challenge

Together, these findings point to a fundamental shift: the challenge is no longer simply deciding whether to transform but how to build an organization capable of transforming continuously.

Download the report and explore the forces reshaping the transformation agenda, including:

• AI and Agentic AI: From experimentation and pilots to enterprise-scale investment and autonomy
• Governance: Why organizational controls are struggling to keep pace with AI adoption
• Value Realization: The shift from AI use cases toward measurable business value
• Data and Process: Why strong foundations remain critical to scaling transformation
• Change and Workforce: The growing impact of change fatigue, skills gaps and sustained adoption
• Investment Priorities: Where transformation leaders are directing resources over the next 12 months
• Success Measures: How organizations are redefining transformation impact, from efficiency to top-line growth
• Transformation at Scale: What the latest data reveals about building a permanent transformation capability

The transformation agenda is changing, but the big question is: what comes next? Download the report to explore the data shaping the next chapter of business transformation.

In 2026, 120+ transformation leaders from $1bn+ enterprises across America dedicated two days of their busy schedule to step away from the day-to-day noise and come together with peers at the Chief Transformation Officer Exchange 2026.

From Fortune 500 companies to fast-moving innovators, attendees represent industries including Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Pharma, Insurance, and more. Titles include Chief Transformation Officers, SVPs, COOs, CIOs, and Heads of Strategy, Change, and Digital Transformation.

Download the Audience Guide for a breakdown of attendees across our events, and how their investment priorities changed throughout 2026. 

Traditional conferences often promise hundreds of conversations, but how many of them actually lead to meaningful business opportunities? For Navigate, the Chief Transformation Officer Exchange proved that quality will always outperform quantity.

In this exclusive interview, Brad Clark, Managing Partner, Navigate, shares why the Exchange's invitation-only format, executive audience, and collaborative approach created a fundamentally different experience from traditional conferences, and why those differences translate into real commercial value.

The result wasn't just stronger brand awareness; it was a pipeline built on genuine relationships, strategic conversations, and opportunities that continued well beyond the event itself. Download the interview to learn more about:

• How Navigate turned two days of curated executive meetings into meaningful commercial opportunities and long-term partnerships
• Why interactive thought leadership, including the Hack-a-Thon, generated stronger engagement than traditional exhibiting alone
• What makes the Chief Transformation Officer Exchange a uniquely valuable platform for connecting with senior enterprise transformation decision-makers

If you're evaluating where to invest your sponsorship budget, download this interview now as it offers a first-hand perspective on why meaningful conversations, not footfall, deliver the greatest return.

Explore partnership opportunities at the Chief Transformation Officer Exchange 2027. The previous 2026 edition connected solution providers with a hand-selected community of transformation leaders, offering up to 15 private meetings, boardroom sessions, and strategic networking in an exclusive closed-door setting. Download the Sponsorship Prospectus to understand how our curated engagement model accelerates pipeline, shortens sales cycles, and positions your brand at the heart of enterprise transformation.

The 2026 Chief Transformation Officer Exchange welcomed an influential community of senior enterprise transformation leaders to Charlotte for three days of peer-led discussion, benchmarking, and strategic collaboration.

As AI moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide implementation, leaders explored how to balance innovation with execution, embed value realization from day one, and build organizations capable of continuous adaptation. Download the Post-Event Report for a behind-the-scenes look at the conversations that shaped the Exchange, including exclusive survey findings, attendee insights, and the priorities defining transformation in 2027.

Everyone is talking about AI – but according to the Chief Transformation Officers leading some of America's largest enterprises, AI isn't what's preventing transformation success. The real obstacles are far more complex.

To uncover what transformation leaders are really focused on, we analyzed the insights shared by the C-Suite leaders attending the Chief Transformation Officer Exchange Fall 2026. The results in this exclusive infographic highlight the 12 challenges that today's Chief Transformation Officers believe are having the greatest impact on enterprise transformation success.

Download this infographic to discover:

• The 12 biggest challenges Chief Transformation Officers say are slowing enterprise transformation today
• Why AI is only one piece of a much bigger transformation puzzle, and where organizations continue to struggle most
• How your transformation priorities compare with other enterprise leaders and where you should focus next to deliver measurable business value

If you're responsible for enterprise transformation, digital strategy, AI, operational excellence, organizational change or business transformation, this infographic provides an invaluable opportunity to benchmark your strategy against the leaders shaping the future of enterprise transformation. Download your copy today and discover how your organization compares with America's leading Chief Transformation Officers.

At the Flagship Summit of our Transformation Portfolio, the Business Transformation World Summit 2026, we surveyed over 100 enterprise transformation leaders to understand how organizations are really navigating transformation today: from cadence and friction points to Agentic AI maturity, value creation, and the evolving scope of the Chief Transformation Officer role.

The results reveal a clear picture of where transformation is accelerating, and where it’s still breaking down.

This infographic uncovers:

• Where transformation creates the most friction, and why people, culture, and leadership alignment remain the hardest challenges to solve
• How far enterprises have progressed on the Agentic AI maturity curve, from early exploration to embedded adoption
• The single biggest concern holding back enterprise AI adoption (and it’s not regulation)
• Which transformation approaches are delivering the most tangible value today, and where value remains unclear
• How the CTRO role is expanding, and what leaders are prioritizing over the next 12 months

One message is unmistakable: Transformation leaders are no longer debating whether to transform; they are grappling with how to scale impact, build trust, and move from experimentation to execution.

Download the infographic to benchmark your transformation maturity, priorities, and AI readiness against peers across leading enterprises, and identify where to accelerate, recalibrate, or lead.

In this exclusive interview with Mandi Spina, Chief Transformation Officer, Prince William County, she challenges some of the most persistent assumptions in enterprise change: from AI-driven automation to the myth that transformation ends at implementation. Drawing on real-world experience, she unpacks what actually drives sustainable impact, and where organizations continue to get it wrong.

Download this interview to learn:

• Why post-implementation governance is the most overlooked driver of transformation success
• When incremental optimization becomes organizational risk, and how to know when to reinvent
• The cultural behaviors that predict transformation success better than any KPI

Download the full interview to gain a candid, C-suite-level perspective on what transformation leaders must rethink in 2026, and how to design a transformation function that truly endures.

Transformation isn’t a launch moment; it’s a long game. In this sharp, honest interview, Derek Gallo, Sr. Director, Business Transformation, Thermo Fisher Scientific, breaks down what leaders get wrong about transformation timelines, the hidden costs of delay, and why leadership behavior matters more than any technology upgrade.

Gallo explains when incremental improvement becomes a liability, what process mining reveals that leaders never expect, and why active advocacy from senior leaders predicts success better than any KPI.

Download to learn more about:

• When to optimise and when to reinvent from scratch
• Why relationships and judgment can never be automated
• The three non-negotiable capabilities every transformation function needs next
• The costliest transformation mistake enterprises still repeat in 2026

Download the interview and join him and other senior transformation leaders at the Chief Transformation Officer Exchange for the conversations that move real programs forward. Secure your place now!

CTROs don’t need another culture framework. They need behaviours that show up in decisions, dashboards, and delivery. In this exclusive interview, Culture Partners’ Chief Strategy Officer, Jessica Kriegel, shares how organisations cut cycle times, lifted engagement, reduced safety incidents, and unlocked millions in savings by making culture part of the work – not a side initiative.

If your transformation is stalling, this guide shows how to shift from silos to shared accountability, from language to habits, and from compliance to values-aligned performance – plus the early warning signs your programme is drifting.

Featuring real results like:

• 37% faster ER lab turnaround in 4 days
• Employee satisfaction: 50% → 80%
• $10M+ in savings from employee-led improvements

Download to learn more about:

• How to link culture directly to KPIs that move the business
• The three places culture must live (meetings, comms, systems)
• Three vendor vetting questions that cut through culture noise

Make culture your execution engine. Download the interview and take the next step by joining the Chief Transformation Officer Exchange to learn directly from leaders who are redefining how culture drives performance.

As a transformation leader, you’re already navigating constant reinvention; new technologies, evolving customer expectations, and mounting performance pressure. But even the best strategy will stall if your workforce can’t move with you.

This Upskilling & Reskilling Guide was built for you: the leaders designing the future of work. Inside, you’ll find practical checklists, proven frameworks, and real-world insights from transformation experts, including Stephanie Licht, Senior Director of Process Optimization & Automation at Old National Bank, who has turned uncertainty into progress.

It’s not about more training. It’s about creating a culture that learns, adapts, and leads, no matter what 2026 brings.

What You’ll Gain When You Download:

• Roadmap to close your organization’s skills gap and keep pace with AI-driven transformation.
• Tools to strengthen leadership readiness and culture, so change feels shared, not forced.
• Methods to prove ROI and business value for every upskilling and reskilling initiative.

Download your guide now and start building the future-ready workforce your strategy needs to succeed.

Agentic AI promises to automate entire processes, opening up a new lane of profitable improvements to an enterprise, and making it a key focus at the upcoming Chief Transformation Officer Exchange this April 28-29 in Dallas, Texas.

This data-driven insights infographic sets the tone ahead of discussions, revealing exactly where enterprises stand in the Age of Agents, from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption, and what’s holding them back or propelling them forward. It will give you real benchmarks, practical lessons, and peer insights to guide your next move.

Download to learn more about:

• How leading companies are deploying AI agents today, and in which functions
• The top challenges slowing adoption (hint: data quality tops the list)
• When experts expect agents to become commonplace at work
• How the Summit helped leaders strengthen strategy, governance, and technical readiness

Most organizations are already talking about or testing Agentic AI, but only a few are scaling successfully. Download now to see what the leaders are doing differently.