A seat at the table, not a booth on the floor.
The CIO Initiative does not have sponsors. We have partners: a small, select group of organizations whose senior leaders participate alongside the CIOs in the room as equals. While each summit takes place in a single city, attendees travel from across the country to be there.
This is not traditional event sponsorship.
At most technology conferences, sponsors pay for visibility, a logo on a banner, a booth in a hallway, a speaking slot in a breakout room that half the audience skips. The relationship is transactional, and everyone in the room knows it.
The CIO Initiative is structured differently. We have a small number of partners, typically no more than a handful per summit, and every one of them participates as an equal. There is no sponsor track. There is no exhibition floor. There is no sponsor keynote.
What there is: genuine access. Two full days alongside senior technology executives who travel from across the country to attend, in a setting designed for candid conversation. Your C-level representative doesn’t just attend, they sit at the table, participate in peer dialogue, and if their expertise is relevant to the agenda, may be invited to contribute to a panel session.
This model works because we protect it carefully. The number of partners is limited by design. The quality of the relationship, not the size of the check, is what matters.
Tell us about your organization and we will be in touch about availability for Philadelphia 2026 and future summits.
Equal participation. Real access.
Every partner receives the same experience, because there is only one level of partnership. What that looks like in practice:
We require a C-level executive, not a sales team.
This is the single most important thing to understand about CIO Initiative partnership. We do not accept sales representatives, account managers, or business development teams as the partner’s attendee. The person in the room must be a senior executive, a CIO, CTO, CISO, CEO, or equivalent, who can participate as a genuine peer to the technology leaders they are sitting with.
If that executive isn’t available for the summit dates, we would rather defer your participation to a future summit than compromise the peer dynamic that makes this event valuable to everyone in the room, including you.
Who you will be in the room with
CIO Initiative Summit
Philadelphia
September 23-24, 2026
Partnership extends beyond Philadelphia.
Current partners receive right of first refusal as the CIO Initiative expands to new cities and new cohorts of technology leaders.
Let’s have an honest conversation about fit.
We are selective about our partners, not because of the size of the investment but because the peer dynamic of the summit depends on every person in the room belonging there. If you believe your organization is the right fit, reach out. We’ll be direct with you about availability, expectations, and whether this makes sense for your team.
The year-round community behind the summits.
Parliament™ is the invitation-only C-level peer cohort at the heart of The Executive Initiative®. Members attend the CIO Initiative Summit complimentary, including two hotel nights, and participate in ongoing peer gatherings throughout the year.