6TH ANNUAL

Pathways Towards Differentiated Success

AGENDA

08.15

Registration & Welcome Coffee

09.00

Conference Chairperson’s Welcome Remarks

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

09.15

Panel Discussion: Technology Business Partnering to Drive Business Growth 

In a world where everything moves very rapidly, the role of IT and CIO/CTO naturally needs to evolve and develop into technology business partners. IT is now required to champion innovation, advance enterprise business goals and drive enterprise transformation for business growth, efficiency and competitive advantage.

  • How the role of IT is changing for the better
  • Bridging the divide between business and IT
  • Driving a transformative mindset within IT function
  • Infusing business acumen into IT function to channel innovation
  • Best practices in cultivating business-centric IT

Moderator:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

Panelists:

Chris Chau

Chief Information Officer

A*STAR

Dr. Henning Bork

Group CIO

ASMPT

Roshan Kapoor

Senior Vice President – IT

OLAM FOOD INGREDIENTS

09.50

Keynote: Optimising Cloud Strategies for Value-First Delivery

Cloud computing has completely transformed IT capabilities to run more effectively thus support the business to grow and innovate faster. Cloud computing is, however, poised to offer even more profound developments in 2026 – from multi-cloud and hybrid cloud dominance, AI-powered cloud, serverless, edge and quantum computing to the rise of autonomous cloud infrastructure, one that is integrated with artificial intelligence and machine learning.

  • The changing nature of the cloud in 2026
  • Rethinking cloud infrastructure and how to optimise it
  • Developing a hybrid and multi-cloud strategy to enhance flexibility and scalability
  • How will the new cloud ecosystem redefine IT infrastructure in 2025?

10.15

Panel Discussion: The Reality Check of GenAI Adoption

2024 saw immense growth of Generative AI (GenAI) adoption where the technology fundamentally changed how businesses get done. However, Gartner analysts predict that at least 30% of generative AI (GenAI) projects will be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025, due to poor data quality, inadequate risk controls, escalating costs or unclear business value.

  • Expectations vs. reality
  • Assessing the maturity of GenAI model and how to accelerate it
  • Ensuring GenAI delivers its promises
  • Realising measurable business value for GenAI
  • Framework for ethical GenAI development and deployment

Moderator:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

Panelists:

Deepak Sarda

CTO

ENDOWUS

Terence Kok

Executive Director Technology & Innovation

MEINHARDT GROUP

Santosh Nair

Regional Head of Innovation and Process Consulting, APAC IT

SIEMENS HEALTHINEERS

10.50

Morning Coffee Break

11.15

Keynote: AI-Ready Enterprises: Building the Foundation for Agentic Transformation

As AI adoption accelerates, many organisations struggle to unlock its full potential due to fragmented systems and data silos. How can you trust your data and systems to be the fuel your AI initiatives need to be successful?

  • AI Agents as the catalyst of a new form of transformation
  • Overcoming the modern integration challenge – a major roadblock to AI success
  • A strategic approach to drive agility and customer-centric innovation while reducing complexity

Greg McCreanor BOOMI
Greg McCreanor

Head of Partner Advisory

BOOMI

11.40

Panel Discussion: Innovation vs. Keeping the Lights On

The days of just keeping the lights on are gone for today’s IT leaders. Most IT leaders are now under pressure to help the business to drive business changes and propel growth with continuous innovation.

As the epicenter of modern enterprise, CIO/CTO’s role in championing innovation today is often iterated as efforts to help business increase revenue, tap new markets, increase customer engagement or grow new product lines. How should CIOs/CTOs lead innovations that don’t impact current business operations thus overshadow new innovations?

  • What to prioritise in 2026?
  • Managing the continuous demand for innovation
  • Striking the right balance between innovation and operational excellence
  • Engaging with ecosystem partners to deliver the most value
  • Driving sustainable innovation while maintaining critical enterprise service continuity

Moderator:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

Panelist:

Amit Kewalramani

Senior Vice President-Digital Product Lead - Citi Global Wealth

CITI

12.15

Keynote: Transforming Corporate Functions & Product Innovation with AI & Imperative Governance

As AI reshapes industries, CIOs and CTOs must navigate the dual challenge of optimizing company’s internal functions while driving AI-powered product innovation—responsibly. According to Gartner, by 2026, over 80% of enterprises will have used generative AI APIs or models in production environments, significantly reshaping workflows, and product offerings. Meanwhile, Forrester highlights that organisations prioritising responsible AI practices see 25% higher trust and adoption rates among customers and stakeholders. This session explores how leaders can harness AI and create a strategic roadmap for AI-driven transformation that balances innovation with responsibility.

Senior representative, OUTSYSTEMS

12.40

Networking Lunch

13.40

Keynote: Ensuring Business and Operational Resilience in 2026

Cybersecurity plays a key role in risk management and business continuity through 2025 and the coming year. The adoption of AI and GenAI, spread of fake news and misinformation, cloud movement and talent crunch are pushing security to the top of IT leaders’ priorities list in 2026. Also, according to Gartner, 44% of C-suites and boards are less confident CISOs can deliver on key priorities. How should CIOs and CISOs protect their organisations from constantly evolving security threats, especially in the era of AI and distorted information?

  • Ensuring high-level cyber maturity amidst mounting and persistent cyber threats
  • The role of OT Security in business continuity
  • Enabling disinformation security to prevent, detect and respond to disinformation campaigns
  • Rethinking Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to boost operational resilience and incident response
  • Enhancing end-user security awareness to strengthen defenses

14.05

Panel Discussion: Modernising Digital Transformation Strategies for Relevance in 2026

Gartner research shows that 89% of boards agree digital is an implicit part of growth strategy, but 81% report they have not made progress toward or achieved their digital business transformation goals. Now that CEOs and the boards expect to see top- or bottom-line benefits from digital investments, how should CIOs and CTOs handle lagging digital transformation efforts and demonstrate business value from technology investments?

  • Aligning technology initiatives with business goals to drive digital transformation
  • Scaling digital transformation despite organisational barriers
  • Balancing innovation and control during digital business transformation
  • Sustaining the transformation momentum without overwhelming the teams
  • Measuring the outcomes and success of digital strategy

14.40

Fireside Chat: IT Cost Optimisation to Meet Business Transformation Demands

According to Forrester, while most technology executives expect to increase their IT budgets in 2026, it might not be enough to keep up with inflation. The rising costs from AI and cloud spends, security frameworks, supply chains and tech talents will expect CIOs to manage technology investments more carefully to avoid redundancy.

  • Growth vs. inflation – budgeting for IT in 2026
  • Budgeting for cloud, non-cloud investments, software and technical staff amid increased demand for AI modernisation
  • Optimising cloud use and rein in cost
  • How to minimise IT operation and fixed costs
  • Innovative sourcing and vendor management to reduce IT spend

Moderator:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

15.05

Afternoon Coffee Break

C-ENGAGE CONVENTION PLENARY

The CFO & CIO Alliance

15.30

Conference Chairperson’s Welcome Remarks

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

15:35

C-Suite Panel Discussion: AI Action Plans for 2026

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat shared a preview of Singapore’s plans for research, innovation and enterprise (RIE) by 2030 and said both initiatives on large-scale applied AI push, and cross-sector research will be among wider efforts, including major investments, to secure Singapore’s future amid quickening economic and geopolitical shifts.

With Singapore’s plans in pushing on with applying artificial intelligence (AI) on a large scale in key sectors, as well as launch major research and development (R&D) programmes that cut across different fields in an effort to drive economic growth that creates good jobs, how should business leaders in Singapore redefine their strategy in their AI roadmap for the coming years?

  • Practical lessons of AI implementation: What works and doesn't
  • Bridging the gap between Open vs. Closed AI models
  • Budgeting for AI: Siloed projects or big bang
  • Deploying AI as a defence and offence strategy for business resilience
  • Decoding AI opportunities for business in 2026

Moderator:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

Panelists:

Benoit Doumas

CITO - Head of Technology, Data and AI

EASTSPRING INVESTMENTS

Yeow Loye Siew

Chief Information Officer

MANDAI WILDLIFE GROUP

16:10

C-Suite Keynote: Usher in the Future of Work with AI Agents Built for the Enterprise
Masterclass Programs

16:30

 

Masterclass 1

Masterclass 2

Masterclass 3

17:10

 

Masterclass 4

Masterclass 5

Masterclass 6

17:50

Closing remarks
End of Event