The CIO Initiative Summit — October 2027

The CIO Initiative®

CIO Initiative®, Executive Summit

CIO Initiative Summit
October 2027

An evening and a full day of candid peer conversation, strategic insight, and executive connection, for the technology leaders shaping what’s next. No sales pitches. Panel discussions are peer-led – no panels for show. Just the conversations that matter.

View agenda
Event Details
Date
October 6–7, 2027
Wednesday – Thursday
Venue
a location to be announced
Location to be announced
General Admission
pricing to be announced
Accommodation details to be announced
Audience
C-level technology executives
CIOs, CTOs, and senior IT leaders
★
Parliament participants attend complimentary: one Executive Initiative summit per year of their choice, including two hotel nights.
Evening + Day
Summit format
C‑Suite
Exclusively technology leaders
0
Sales pitches
9+
Years of executive summits

Who Should Attend

Built for technology leaders
who operate at the top.

The CIO Initiative Summit is not a general technology conference. It is a carefully curated gathering of senior technology executives who come to engage seriously, not to be sold to, not to collect business cards, but to think, learn, and connect with peers at their level.

Attendance is limited to ensure every conversation is high-caliber. We apply the same peer criteria to summit attendees that we apply to Parliament participantship.

Chief Information Officers
Active and former CIOs from organizations of all sizes and sectors, including those who have moved on to CEO, COO, and other C-suite roles.
Chief Technology Officers
CTOs responsible for platform strategy, engineering, and technical direction at the enterprise level.
Chief Information Security Officers
CISOs and CSOs are welcome at the CIO Initiative Summit. Security and technology leadership increasingly converge, and the conversation is richer for it.
Chief Data and Digital Officers
Chief Data Officers, Chief Digital Officers, and Chief Architects whose work sits at the intersection of technology strategy and business transformation.
C-Suite Executives with Technology Oversight
CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CMOs, and CHROs who carry technology responsibility or who want to deepen their understanding of how technology shapes modern organizations.
Parliament Participants
Parliament participants receive one complimentary Executive Initiative summit per year, their choice of any Executive Initiative event. This summit qualifies. Parliament participants also receive priority access to additional summits throughout the year.

Summit Agenda

An evening and a full day.
No wasted time.

Day 1 begins with a Welcome Reception at 5:00 PM, a dining reception with meal stations and open bar, flowing into the evening’s Fireside Chat. Day 2 is a full day of peer-led sessions, panels, and presentations. Times are approximate and subject to change.

Day 1: October 6
Arrive & Connect
5:00 PM
Welcome Reception
Dining reception with meal stations, hors d’oeuvres, and open bar. The evening begins here.
6:30 PM
Fireside Chat
Featured Session
8:00 PM
Networking Social
Open bar. Stay as long as you like.
Day 2: October 7
Go Deep
7:00 AM
Breakfast
8:00 AM
Welcome & Introductions
8:15 AM
Keynote
Featured Session
8:45 AM
Morning Panels & Presentations
Peer Sessions
10:15 AM
Mid-Morning Break
10:30 AM
Morning Panels & Presentations continue
Peer Sessions
12:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM
Afternoon Panels & Presentations
Peer Sessions
2:45 PM
Mid-Afternoon Break
3:00 PM
Afternoon Panels & Presentations continue
Peer Sessions
4:45 PM
Closing Reflections & Remarks
5:30 PM
Cocktail Reception
6:30 PM
Summit Dinner
8:00 PM
Post Dinner Social
Until approximately 10:00 PM.

Featured Speakers

Speakers from recent summits include:

Arvin Bansal
Arvin Bansal
CISO, C&S Family of Companies
Manbir Bhullar
Manbir Bhullar
Head of IT Strategy and CIO Advisor, Diconium
Mark S. Blanke
Mark S. Blanke
IT Transformation Executive; CEO, The Executive Initiative
Rick Charlino
Rick Charlino
Former CIO, Founder and Managing Partner, Siempre Systems
Ken Ferguson
Ken Ferguson
Senior Partner, Berkshire Executive Search
Jesse Hillman
Jesse Hillman
CIO, DC Water
Steve Holt
Steve Holt
CIO, Retired
Ian Hyatt
Ian Hyatt
ITS Director, City of Cape Coral
Sherry Jordan
Sherry Jordan
CIO, Hudson Automotive
Santhosh Keshavan
Santhosh Keshavan
CIO, Voya Financial
Ken Knapton
Ken Knapton
CIO, Win Brands
Maria Alvarez Mann
Maria Alvarez Mann
Advisor and Former CIO
Marc Mulzer
Marc Mulzer
Vice President, Enterprise Architecture, GuideWell
Jubin Thomas Mundackal
Jubin Thomas Mundackal
VP, Global Data, Retail and Product Systems, Capri Holdings
Nora Osman
Nora Osman
CEO, Norvana
Michael Pompey
Michael Pompey
Chief AI Strategist, Arrow Electronics
Chandra Prakash
Chandra Prakash
VP, Solution Management, Allied Universal
Melissa Scott
Melissa Scott
CIO, City of Philadelphia
Mark Settle
Mark Settle
Seven-Time CIO and Author
Darla Wolfe
Darla Wolfe
CIO
Walter Yosafat
Walter Yosafat
Six-Time CIO

Additional speakers to be announced.

Now accepting invitation requests

Save the date. 2027 is next.

The CIO Initiative Summit returns October 6–7, 2027, with the location to be announced. Our 2027 schedule is now open for invitation requests.

See the 2027 summits

Venue

Location
to be announced

The venue for the October 6–7, 2027 CIO Initiative Summit will be announced soon. As with every Executive Initiative summit, it will be a private, focused setting chosen for candid peer conversation, not corporate theatre. Confirmed invitees receive full venue and travel details well ahead of the event.

Summit History

Past gatherings

Since our inaugural summit in 2017, the CIO Initiative® has convened senior technology leaders at some of the most distinctive venues across the country.

Cincinnati skyline
2025
CIO Initiative Summit · Cincinnati

Cincinnati 2025

October 15–16, 2025
Lytle Park Hotel · Cincinnati, OH
Salt Lake City skyline
2025
CIO Initiative Summit · Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City 2025

May 14–15, 2025
Asher Adams Hotel · Salt Lake City, UT
Houston skyline
2024
CIO Initiative Summit · Houston

Houston 2024

November 6–7, 2024
The Laura Hotel · Houston, TX
Chattanooga skyline
2023
CIO Initiative Summit · Chattanooga

Chattanooga 2023

October 4–5, 2023
The Edwin Hotel · Chattanooga, TN
Kansas City skyline
2021
CIO Initiative Summit · Kansas City

Kansas City 2021

September 29–30, 2021
Ambassador Hotel · Kansas City, MO
Savannah skyline
2020
CIO Initiative Summit · Savannah

Savannah 2020

November 4–5, 2020
Perry Lane Hotel · Savannah, GA
San Antonio skyline
2019
CIO Initiative Summit · San Antonio

San Antonio 2019

October 2–3, 2019
St. Anthony Hotel · San Antonio, TX
Nashville skyline
2018
CIO Initiative Summit · Nashville

Nashville 2018

November 7–8, 2018
Union Station Nashville Yards · Nashville, TN
Boston skyline
2017 · Inaugural
CIO Initiative Summit · Boston

Boston 2017, Inaugural Summit

November 1-3, 2017
Royal Sonesta Hotel · Boston, MA

Where it all began. The inaugural CIO Initiative Summit brought together a founding cohort of senior technology executives for the first gathering of what would become a decade-long community.

What Attendees Say
“CIO Initiative Summits provide a unique opportunity to network with other IT executives and learn from their experiences. The Summits are small enough to promote direct personal interaction with other IT leaders and yet broad enough to encompass a wide variety of views and opinions. Unlike many other meetings, I’ve obtained information and advice at past Summits that is substantive, actionable and directly applicable to the challenges facing my IT team.”
Mark Settle
Author and CIO
“The CIO Summit provides an intimate platform to share successes and failures as well as current initiatives with a peer group that covered many industries outside of the Silicon Valley bubble. The format was a great way for the attendees to both present and participate in the discussions around each of the poignant areas of focus. CXO attendees were honest and open, we forged friendships outside of our common role related challenges.”
Aaron Gette
CIO, EoS Fitness
“Unlike a typical conference, this was an intimate gathering of technology executives whose primary objective was to advance the role of the CIO as a business leader. Everyone in attendance was there to share insights with one another in what could be best described as a servant leadership think-tank.”
John Doherty
CIO, Columbia Forest Products
“Out of all the opportunities to plug in and discuss IT industry trends, I have made it a priority to attend this event for past few years. The Executive Initiative has done a great job gathering CIOs, authors, and industry leaders to share knowledge and insights. Logistics have always been first class and served as a great opportunity to informally network and build meaningful relationships.”
Steve Holt
Former CIO, Materion Corporation
“I find the CIO Initiative Summit to be a great, engaging forum for being able to interact with true experts and leaders in the industry and both learn and share ideas, experiences and improvement opportunities. The focused, more intimate setting and gathering enables tremendous interaction and synergies that is hard to get from other forums.”
Walter Yosafat
Global CIO
“The network is absolutely invaluable. When you hear other people’s stories, they’re solving a lot of the same problems, or they’ve already solved them.”
Sherry Jordan
CIO, Hudson Automotive
“I was very impressed with the quality of the dialogue, and how candid it was. People come with working ideas, and honestly, we learn just as much from the ideas that didn’t work.”
Santhosh Keshavan
CIO, Voya Financial
“This is my seventh summit. The value is the interaction with peers, comparing the challenges I face with how they’re approaching them. A little time out of the office with people I trust, where I can let my hair down, is a significant value.”
Jesse Hillman
CIO, DC Water
“The thing I really liked about this event is the networking opportunity. I met a lot of new people, and the last panel gave me something I can take right back to my organization.”
Parag Pujari
CIO, Jurgensen Companies
“My favorite part is the intimate nature of it, being able to network with peers and learn from them.”
Ken Knapton
CIO, Win Brands
“The topics we covered were meaty, much more than what you’d see at a normal convention or conference. I took copious notes and left with a lot of action items. Really a great conference.”
Brad Enneking
CIO, HPLS
“It was very different than what I was expecting. A much more intimate and authentic conference. An opportunity like this to join with other CIOs is both cathartic and reassuring, and a great chance to share challenges and, importantly, solutions.”
Steven Carter
Former CIO
Parliament™ by The Executive Initiative®

Participants attend complimentary, including hotel.

Parliament™ participants receive complimentary access to one Executive Initiative® summit per year, their choice of event, including two hotel nights. A benefit worth TBA, included with participation.