Hajra Naz
For chief executives and senior executives, global travel has changed. In 2026, it’s not about how many conferences you have on your calendar. It is about being in the right places at the proper times throughout the worldwide innovation chain, where technology and public policy meet capital flows and cultural influence.
The leaders who make their mark won’t see the year as a series of disparate events but as a thoughtfully sequenced and strategically staged effort that’s meant to surface insight early, shape narratives, create influence, and solidify relationships into actual outcomes by the end of the year.
The 2026 calendar as a leadership roadmap
We view the 2026 technology and innovation calendar as a leadership roadmap. It highlights where senior leaders can meaningfully connect with peers, accelerate business growth, strengthen positioning, and expand their organizations with global impact. This does not mean attending every major gathering. Rather, it requires clarity around where to go, when to show up, and why each presence matters.
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How the Year Starts: Signals and Positioning
Why early signal detection matters
The year opens with a critical phase focused on early signal detection and narrative formation. CES 2026, taking place in Las Vegas from January 6 to 9, remains a cornerstone for understanding which technologies are transitioning from prototype to product across artificial intelligence hardware, robotics, mobility, and consumer platforms.
How leaders should use CES
For CEOs, CES should feel less like a media spectacle and more like an intelligence-gathering mission. The best value is often through private briefings, closed-door demonstrations, and targeted partner discussions, not on the public stage. For the second year, AI House at CES remains the centralized location for senior-level discussions on applied AI, governance, and deploying at scale.
DLD Munich is a strategic pause
A more contemplative and strategic look then comes with DLD Munich, January 15 to 17. It’s where the impact of technology on culture, power structures, and economic models is discussed among founders, policymakers, and captains of industry. DLD frequently leads to Davos, a chance for leaders like yourself to sharpen thinking before entering the more public space.
Davos and global alignment
And full credit to them, since the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos (Jan 19-23) is where learning becomes positioning. Nowhere else can you find a city that does it so well in terms of matching technology strategy with regulation, changing geopolitical conditions, and long-term policy direction. That’s where stories are crafted, alliances get put to the test, and stakeholder alignment goes front and center.
February: Expanding Into Growth Markets
Why the Middle East and Africa matter
February is about extending influence into high-growth regions, particularly across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Africa, and emerging markets. These regions are no longer peripheral; they are becoming central to global capital flows, talent pipelines, and policy innovation.
Web Summit Qatar and regional partnerships
Web Summit Qatar, from February 1 to 4, offers a powerful platform for CEOs seeking partnerships that span the Middle East, Europe, and fast-growing global markets. It provides both visibility and deal-making opportunities in a region actively shaping its digital future.
RiseUp Summit and startup ecosystems
Immediately following, RiseUp Summit from February 5 to 7 delivers a ground-level view of innovation across Africa and the Middle East. It is especially valuable for leaders who want firsthand exposure to emerging founders, regional talent, and early-stage business models.
Riyadh and Dubai as innovation hubs
The leading tech show during the V2V G2G Forum & AI Pioneers Summit, under the patronage of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, to explore a fresh standpoint in frontier techs covering immense ground across artificial intelligence, gaming, and blockchain, shows how much Saudi Arabia has thrown itself into emerging technologies. Step Dubai: February 11-12. It then builds on momentum in the region with a deep dive into applied AI and enterprise-grade companies, but also fast-scaling startups.
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March: Infrastructure and Core Technology
Where infrastructure decisions are made
March represents a shift toward infrastructure and foundational technology. Mobile World Congress (MWC), held in Barcelona from March 2 to 5, is essential for leaders whose businesses rely on connectivity, telecommunications, edge computing, or mobile platforms. This is where long-term infrastructure bets begin to crystallize.
Culture and consumer insight at SXSW
For that, there’s SXSW—March 13 through 17—which provides a different but compatible lens. (A personal disclosure: I chair the conference.) It is an amalgamation of technology, media, creativity, and culture, and thus particularly valuable for leaders who are looking at consumer behavior, storytelling, creator economies, and the societal implications of emerging tech.
Why NVIDIA GTC is non-negotiable
NVIDIA GTC, returning to San Jose from March 16 to 19, is often referred to as the “Super Bowl of AI.” For any organization where AI is central to the business, GTC is not optional. It is where platform dependencies, compute strategies, robotics advances, and competitive advantages are defined.
April: Influence, Relationships, and Capital
High-trust environments for leaders
April is the most relationship-dense month of the year. Summit at Sea, hosted aboard a Virgin Voyages ship departing from Miami, creates space for deep, high-trust conversations with founders, investors, and cultural leaders—conversations that are difficult to replicate in traditional conference settings.
TED and global storytelling
The TED Conference, held April 13 to 17 at the Vancouver Convention Centre and elsewhere in the city, is one of the loudest platforms for leaders trying to marry technology with human consequence. It is also the final year that TED will be held in Vancouver before moving to San Diego in 2027.
The Middle East’s rising influence
LEAP Saudi Arabia, which took place from April 13 to 16 in Riyadh, is a signal of where capital, ambition, and large-scale experimentation are meeting. Running alongside the summit, Dubai AI Week and the Dubai AI Festival highlight the increasing significance of national AI strategies and public-private cooperation.
Africa and Europe in focus
GITEX Africa, in early April in Marrakec,h positions Africa as a major frontier for AI, fintech, smart cities, and digital infrastructure. EmTech Europe in Athens provides access to frontier research in AI and biotechnology with direct business implications, while eMerge Americas on April 23 and 24 in Miami connects North American innovation with global opportunity.
Why Leaders Must Be Selective
Choosing anchor events
The most effective CEOs will not attend to everything. Instead, they will identify one anchor event per quarter and layer in regional or sector-specific gatherings aligned with their growth priorities. CES and Davos help define strategy, while events in the Middle East and Africa drive expansion and access to capital.
Measuring success the right way
Across all events, success is not measured by the number of panels attended. It is measured by conversations advanced, partnerships formed, and strategic clarity gained. This overview covers events through April, with additional guidance to follow in future columns.
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What Strategic Presence Looks Like in 2026
Global travel with intention
It is no longer 1945, but in 2026, global leadership demands a global presence—when there’s purpose behind it. Those leaders who do succeed will view travel not as a calendar obligation, but as a strategic instrument to pull the world’s innovation corridors together with purpose, time, and clarity on what comes next.
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