All 2026 Conference Sessions

Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™ 2026 dives deep into key topics for CIOs and IT leaders around AI, executive leadership, cybersecurity, operating models and more to help you address your organization's mission-critical challenges.

2026 Conference Theme

Ignite Intelligence

AI is no longer a differentiator — it’s now part of the foundation. CIOs must take the artificial out of intelligence, combining human ingenuity with AI to unlock value, drive agility and navigate disruption. A human-centered approach is key to leading the intelligent enterprise. 

Explore our conference sessions below, all developed with this theme in mind.

Hear from a long-term Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo attendee on why he keeps coming back.
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Monday, October 19, 2026

12:05 PM - 12:25 PM EDT

Infor: Beyond FDE with PING — The Rise of the Forward Deployed Enterprise by 2035
Rick Rider, Svp, Product Management, Infor
By 2035, FDE is no longer just a vendor role — it's a capability every enterprise builds for itself. Agentic AI collapses the path from business idea to production software, and IT's role shifts from builder to architect of the builders. PING Golf shares early evidence from their own experience as Infor offers a 10-year view of how the vendor-customer boundary dissolves and who owns enterprise software creation in an agentic world. ... Show More Show Less

01:45 PM - 02:15 PM EDT

IBM: ​The 2030 CIO: Orchestrating Human + AI intelligence for Enterprise Advantage​

By 2030, CIOs will be measured less by the technology they manage and more by the intelligence enterprises mobilize. As AI gains agency and quantum computing expands what technology can solve, CIOs must rearchitect how work, decisions and accountability flow. This session explores CIOs' role as orchestrator—uniting human judgment, machine intelligence and compute into an organization that senses, decides and acts with speed, resilience and trust. ... Show More Show Less

01:45 PM - 02:15 PM EDT

ThreatLocker: Implementing Zero Trust Controls, A Case Study
Danny Jenkins, Ceo & Co-founder, ThreatLocker
Zero Trust isn't a product, it's a security posture that requires planning and strategy. Hear the real-life implications of how moving to a default-deny state can be applied to cybersecurity operations. Learn the challenges and results possible from an IT professional who has been charged with executing on that strategy so you can leave with the lessons and best practices to use in your own environment. ... Show More Show Less

02:45 PM - 04:45 PM EDT

CIO Circle Research Discussion: Reinvent the Technology Operating Model for a World Beyond IT
Jaime Capella, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner
AI and democratized tech are breaking traditional IT operating models. Tech creation now extends beyond IT, but CIOs retain accountability, creating a leadership paradox as responsibility grows while control shrinks. Learn how CIOs can close this gap by redesigning operating models: shift from project- to product-centric delivery, focus on orchestrating enterprise capabilities via platforms, embedded governance, and clear human-AI decision models for safe, effective tech environments. ... Show More Show Less

02:45 PM - 04:15 PM EDT

CIO Circle Workshop: Assess and Adapt Your Operating Model for the AI Era
Erin Griffin, VP, Executive Partner, Gartner
Mark Kenneth, VP, Executive Partner, Gartner
Nick Reddall, VP, Executive Partner, Gartner
Technology is at an AI inflection point. To unlock the demand of AI’s enterprisewide value, the IT operating model must be reimagined with more agility, adaptive governance and stronger decision quality. This workshop will empower you with steps to redesign a more flexible operating model, shifting IT from an enabler to a value creator and allowing CIOs to lead as critical business partners. ... Show More Show Less

05:55 PM - 06:15 PM EDT

Workato: The Three Futures of Enterprise AI: Efficiency, Adaptability, or Reinvention
Darryl Maraj, Chief Strategy Officer, WORKATO, INC.
AI's limit isn't intelligence, it's the enterprise around it. As agents move from answering to executing work, leaders are funding one of three futures: a more efficient enterprise, a more adaptive operating model or an AI-native business. This session offers a framework for spotting which future your investments create, which architectural and governance choices separate the paths and which early signals show value compounding. ... Show More Show Less
Tuesday, October 20, 2026

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

CIO Circle Workshop: Assess and Adapt Your Operating Model for the AI Era (Repeat)
Erin Griffin, VP, Executive Partner, Gartner
Mark Kenneth, VP, Executive Partner, Gartner
Nick Reddall, VP, Executive Partner, Gartner
Technology is at an AI inflection point. To unlock the demand of AI's enterprise-wide value, the IT operating model must be reimagined with more agility, adaptive governance and stronger decision quality. This workshop will empower you with the steps to redesign a more flexible operating model, shifting IT from an enabler to a value creator and allowing CIOs to lead as critical business partners. ... Show More Show Less

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM EDT

How CIOs With Lean Teams Can Drive Enterprise Agility Through Their Operating Model
Donna Scott, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner
Dynamic enterprise leadership requires balancing strategy, architecture, governance and delivery. Lean IT teams often focus on delivery, short-changing the other three. This tactical focus stalls digital transformation, leaving the enterprise in a traditional, reactive state and vulnerable to disruption. Can a lean team actually drive enterprisewide agility? This session offers CIOs actionable advice to transform IT and enterprise operating models into a dynamic digital powerhouse. ... Show More Show Less

12:30 PM - 01:15 PM EDT

Ask the Analyst: What Are the Best Practices for Managing an Automation COE?
Arthur Villa, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
Uncover proven best practices for building and scaling a high-performing automation center of excellence. Join this interactive, Q&A-style session to address questions on structuring and staffing automation COE, governance models best for managing automation at scale, ensuring continuous improvement and innovation within the COE, common pitfalls in COE management and ways to avoid them. ... Show More Show Less

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“It really helps you get away from the operational things you’re doing every day, and think about what’s next.”

JR Williamson
Senior Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, Leidos

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