CIO Summit
The Rise of Agentic Systems
Modernize. Secure. Innovate. Lead with the power of Agentic-AI
The IDC CIO Summit Benelux 2026 is the leading event for senior technology and business executives shaping enterprise strategy and digital leadership in one of Europe’s most digitally mature and innovation-driven economies. Designed for CIOs, CTOs, and transformation leaders, this one-day summit delivers actionable insights on top priorities for 2026: modernization, cybersecurity, sustainability, AI and Agentic AI adoption, and aligning IT investments with measurable business value in an increasingly regulated environment.
As Benelux organizations accelerate their digital transformation agendas, CIOs face rising pressure to modernize legacy systems, manage complex hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures, and ensure compliance with the EU AI Act and NIS2Directive. Balancing innovation with governance, cost efficiency, and talent development is now central to maintaining competitiveness and trust across both public and private sectors.
The next stage of transformation will be driven by the rise of Agentic AI. For CIOs in the Benelux, the focus will be on implementing these technologies responsibly, ensuring transparency, and developing the workforce skills and governance models needed to scale AI safely and strategically.
Agenda
IDC analysts and industry experts will share practical guidance on building resilient, sustainable IT foundations, reducing technical debt, and operationalizing AI, including Agentic AI, responsibly and at scale. Through keynote presentations, panels, and peer discussions, the Summit equips the CIO community in the Benelux with the research, frameworks, and leadership insights to drive trusted innovation, strengthen resilience, and accelerate digital progress through 2026 and beyond.
2026 Prediction
By 2027, 55% of G1000 CIOs will be tasked to create enterprise AI value playbooks, featuring expanded ROI models to define, measure, and showcase AI impact across efficiency, growth, and innovation.
Main Themes
The CIO as Business Strategist
CIOs have evolved from operational leaders to enterprise strategists. As digital transformation reshapes every business model, technology leadership now defines competitiveness. Today’s CIO must align IT priorities with business outcomes, influence the boardroom agenda, and drive innovation that delivers measurable value.
Modernization, Legacy and Technical Debt
Managing technical debt is no longer just a maintenance concern, it’s a strategic priority. Modernizing legacy systems, simplifying architectures, and optimizing cost structures allow organizations to shift resources from upkeep to innovation. Streamlined technology portfolios create the agility needed to compete in a digital economy.
The Agentic AI Revolution
Agentic AI marks a shift from automation to autonomy. How CIOs can govern, scale, and integrate autonomous AI systems responsibly (balancing opportunity with oversight to create intelligent, self-directed enterprises.
Resilience by Design
Resilience is emerging as the defining capability of modern enterprises. Adaptive architectures, secure infrastructure, and integrated continuity planning enable organizations to withstand disruption (whether from economic uncertainty, regulatory shifts, or cyber threats) while sustaining growth and trust.
Cybersecurity, Trust, and Digital Sovereignty
As digital ecosystems expand, trust becomes a critical currency. CIOs must address cybersecurity, data sovereignty, and compliance in tandem, ensuring that cloud strategies and cross-border operations align with evolving regulations. Building digital trust creates both protection and competitive advantage.
Building the Intelligent Enterprise
Data is the foundation of every intelligent organization. Reliable, governed, and accessible data architectures enable AI, automation, and analytics to operate at scale. Enterprises that invest in strong data foundations are better positioned to extract insight, anticipate change, and deliver smarter, faster business outcomes.
2026 Prediction
By 2027, G1000 organizations will face an up to 30% rise in underestimated AI infrastructure costs, driving CIOs to expand the scope of FinOps teams to optimize expenses and enhance business value.
Speakers
Gian Carlo De La Paz
Senior Event Manager, IDC
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Gian Carlo De La Paz
gdelapaz@idc.com
Martina Longo
Research Manager, AI-Fueled Business Strategies
IDC
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Martina Longo
Martina Longo is a research manager in the IDC EMEA Digital Business and AI Transformation Strategy Research Group. In her role she advises ICT players on how organizations create business value using digital technologies. She also leads the IDC EMEA Digital Native Business research, focused on a mix of start-ups, scaleups, and more mature digital natives. She also collaborates with the EMEA C-Suite Tech Agenda research, analyzing technology investments and buyer preferences across C-suites in the EMEA region. She also examines how C-suite leaders are evolving as a result of key market trends and technology innovations (e.g., AI).
Event Sessions
Day 1 9:10 am
Scaling AI for the Agentic Future: Closing the Enterprise Gaps
EMEA CEOs have high expectations for AI – one-third foresee entirely new operating models, and 15% expect unprecedented market behaviors within 3-5 years. Yet only 9% of European organizations report measurable results from most AI initiatives. Progress is slowed by resource competition, regulatory uncertainty, ROI challenges, and unclear use cases. This keynote explores how CIOs can build strong foundations for an outcome-driven, agentic AI future.
Dirk Bil
Head of HR
ABB
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Dirk Bil
Marjolein Geus
Partner
Bird & Bird
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Marjolein Geus
Andy Mayle
Sales Engineering Leader
1 Password
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Andy Mayle
Knowledge Hub
The AI homework nobody asked for (but everyone’s getting anyway)
Artificial Intelligence has officially reached the “you can do anything with it” stage of technological hype. Judging just by AI vendor narratives, and by some of the media, it’s the golden key to productivity, efficiency, optimization and innovation.
The Agentic Business Future: Driving Resilience, Sovereignty, and Innovation in EMEA
As organizations navigate an era defined by economic uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, and relentless technological change, one truth stands out: the future belongs to those who can harness AI, automation, and sovereignty to build resilience, drive innovation, and unlock growth.
EMEA’s Tech Evolution – 7 Key Themes Transforming Business in 2025
The technology landscape across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is changing rapidly in 2025, with innovations actively reshaping industries and creating new business opportunities.
Meet Our Partners
1Password
Trusted by over 180,000 businesses, millions of consumers, and 1 million developers, 1Password is redefining identity security for the way people and AI agents work today. Our mission is to unleash productivity without compromising security. The 1Password Extended Access Management product suite delivers zero trust security that protects, manages, and governs access to all SaaS applications, whether managed by IT or not. Built on 1Password’s Enterprise Password Manager, which secures more than 1.3 billion credentials, 1Password’s Agentic AI capabilities extend identity security to AI agents and other non-human identities. Leading companies such as Asana, Associated Press, Browserbase, Canva, Cresta, Golden State Warriors, Hugging Face, MongoDB, Octopus Energy, Salesforce, SandboxAQ, Slack, Stripe, and Under Armour trust 1Password to provide the right person or AI agent the right access to the right app from a trusted device.
Insight
Insight Enterprises is a leading Solutions Integrator that helps clients solve technology challenges by combining the right hardware, software, and services. As a Fortune 500 technology company, backed by 35+ years of expertise and a deep network of 6,000+ partners, we deliver secure, end-to-end IT solutions for organizations around the world.
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