All 2026 Conference Sessions

Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™ 2026 conference dives deep into key topics for CIOs — including agentic AI, AI governance, IT, cost optimization, emerging technologies and more — to help you address your organization’s mission-critical challenges.

2026 Conference Theme

Ignite Intelligence

AI is no longer a differentiator — it’s now part of the foundation. CIOs must take the artificial out of intelligence, combining human ingenuity with AI to unlock value, drive agility and navigate disruption. A human-centered approach is key to leading the intelligent enterprise. 

Explore our conference sessions below, all developed with this theme in mind.

Hear from a long-term Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo attendee on why he keeps coming back.
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Monday, October 19, 2026

02:45 PM - 04:15 PM EDT

CIO Circle Workshop: Assess and Adapt Your Operating Model for the AI Era
Technology is at an AI inflection point. To unlock the demand of AI’s enterprisewide value, the IT operating model must be reimagined with more agility, adaptive governance and stronger decision quality. This workshop will empower you with steps to redesign a more flexible operating model, shifting IT from an enabler to a value creator and allowing CIOs to lead as critical business partners. ... Show More Show Less
Tuesday, October 20, 2026

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

CIO Circle Workshop: Assess and Adapt Your Operating Model for the AI Era (Repeat)
Technology is at an AI inflection point. To unlock the demand of AI's enterprise-wide value, the IT operating model must be reimagined with more agility, adaptive governance and stronger decision quality. This workshop will empower you with the steps to redesign a more flexible operating model, shifting IT from an enabler to a value creator and allowing CIOs to lead as critical business partners. ... Show More Show Less

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM EDT

How CIOs With Lean Teams Can Drive Enterprise Agility Through Their Operating Model
Donna Scott, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner
Dynamic enterprise leadership requires balancing strategy, architecture, governance and delivery. Lean IT teams often focus on delivery, short-changing the other three. This tactical focus stalls digital transformation, leaving the enterprise in a traditional, reactive state and vulnerable to disruption. Can a lean team actually drive enterprisewide agility? This session offers CIOs actionable advice to transform IT and enterprise operating models into a dynamic digital powerhouse. ... Show More Show Less
Wednesday, October 21, 2026

12:30 PM - 01:00 PM EDT

3 Essential Steps to Evolve Your Operating Model in the Age of AI and Volatility
Brandon Germer, VP Analyst, Gartner
IT's role is rapidly transforming, and legacy operating models are no longer fit for purpose. The post-AI job redesign effort, agentic AI and global instability are forcing CIOs and their peers to accept that they can no longer succeed without coleading change. Join this session to learn the essential steps to reimagine your operating model for this new era and secure IT's future. ... Show More Show Less

02:15 PM - 02:45 PM EDT

Avoid the Antipatterns of Product Management
Miles Gibson, VP Analyst, Gartner
Product antipatterns are common approaches that seem effective in the short term but ultimately undermine desired results. This session uses findings from Gartner’s 2025 State of Agile and Product Transformations survey to show CIOs the costs of common antipatterns and the proper patterns to follow instead. ... Show More Show Less

02:15 PM - 03:45 PM EDT

CIO Circle Workshop: Create Your Pathway to the Dynamic MSE (Exclusive to Midsize Enterprise Program)
Dynamic midsize enterprises practice continual innovation, continual strategy, continual governance and execution. They seek to disrupt markets, industries and competition and augment their business models. To operate in a continuous and real-time state requires maximal leverage and integration of IT into enterprise operating models and products/services. Learn how you can steer your business to be dynamic. ... Show More Show Less

02:15 PM - 02:45 PM EDT

Strategic Operating Model Transformation: Mapping the Multiyear ITOM Journey
Chet Geschickter, VP Analyst, Gartner
IT operating model (ITOM) transformation is a complex, multiyear journey. This session adopts a long-term perspective, guiding IT leaders on how to initiate and lead successful transformations. Attendees will review detailed ITOM transformation charts that map workstreams, phases and key activities, providing a practical roadmap for sustained organizational change. ... Show More Show Less

05:15 PM - 05:45 PM EDT

Why Operating Model Transformations Stall — and How the Office of the CIO Fixes It
Jaime Capella, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner
Only 24% of CIOs say their operating model flexes with changing business needs. Without dedicated orchestration, transformation stalls. The Office of the CIO (OCIO) can close that gap. Discover how to design the OCIO to align governance, talent and execution, and accelerate operating model transformation at scale. ... Show More Show Less
Thursday, October 22, 2026

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM EDT

How CIOs Transform Shared Services From Cost Center to Profit Center
Chet Geschickter, VP Analyst, Gartner
CIOs who are short of AI investment and struggling with significant technical debt are easily seduced by the idea of becoming a profit center. By guaranteeing financial returns through chargeback mechanisms to business beneficiaries, CIOs can stimulate investment. However, this approach must be carefully managed, as the profit center model can easily be taken too far. ... Show More Show Less

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“It really helps you get away from the operational things you’re doing every day, and think about what’s next.”

JR Williamson
Senior Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, Leidos

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