GLOBAL DATA INNOVATION SUMMIT
JUNE 24, 2026
Brussels, Belgium
AI Success Solutions in an Unstable World
Join a select group of CEOs, board members, and senior global leaders in discussion around AI Success Solutions. Be surrounded by innovation and new ideas at one of Brussels’ most elegant private venues, TheMerode.
CEOs and board members across the world are asking the same urgent questions about artificial intelligence. How do we achieve real ROI from our AI investments?
The Digital Trust Summit Brussels is designed to help global CEOs and board leaders answer these questions. This invitation-only forum convenes policymakers, regulators, and senior executives to work through real governance and deployment challenges together.
Leaders leave the Summit with practical insights on how to:
Scale AI from pilots to enterprise-wide impact
Translate governance frameworks into operational systems
Embed organizational standards and oversight into AI technology
Reduce hidden operational, cyber, and geopolitical risk
Turn AI investment into durable competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving global regulatory environment
The Digital Trust Summit Brussels is hosted by Global Data Innovation and NewFrames in coordination with the Association of Civic Tech Europe (ACTE). Location Sponsor: TheMerode.
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Premium Platinum Partner
Strategic Partners
Thought Leadership Partners
Founder Digital TRust Summit
RSL Media
Members of EU Parliament
EU COMMISSION AND OTHER GOVERNMENTAL LEADERS
AI, Innovation and the Arts
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Speakers
MODERATORS
TRUST AMBASSADORS
Facilitators
DIGITAL TRUST SUMMIT BRUSSELS 2026
( *Schedule subject to change )
AI That Works
The Blueprint for Trusted, Responsible, and Profitable AI Deployment
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration, Executive Breakfast & Networking
THE STAKES
Why this moment demands a decision
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Executive Overview: The State of Digital Trust
Dominique Shelton Leipzig, CEO Global Data Innovation, Founder Digital Trust Summit
Remarks by Aline Muylaert, co-founder of GoVocal, VP of ACTE
9:15 AM - 9:20 AM
RSL Media Standard
Speaker: Cate Blanchett, Award-winning actress, producer and RSL Media co-founder
9:20 AM - 9:45 AM
Fireside Chat: RSL Media Explained
Speakers:
Cate Blanchett, Award-winning actress, producer and RSL Media co-founder
Nikki Hexum, RSL Media co-founder
Moderator:
Dominique Shelton Leipzig, CEO Global Data Innovation
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
Europe & the Future of AI Governance
Speakers:
Erika Staël von Holstein, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Re-Imagine Europa (RIE)
Christopher Weissberg, Member of the French National Assembly representing French citizens living in the United States and Canada
Moderator:
Amaia Echevarria, Journalist, Euronews
With the EU AI Act and new tech sovereignty rules, the EU is moving quickly in the areas of regulation and governance. Learn what businesses cannot afford to ignore.
10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
MORNING NETWORKING BREAK (30 minutes)
Discuss the morning’s sessions with colleagues and attendees
THE FORCES
The geopolitical, cybersecurity, and regulatory landscape that shapes every decision
10:45 AM - 11:10 AM
When the Policy and the Breach Happen at the Same Time
Speaker:
Kavitha Mariappan, Chief Transformation Officer, Rubrik
By the time Kavitha leaves the stage, the audience will understand what resilience and sovereignty actually require in the age of agentic AI, and why the enterprise security agenda and Europe's sovereignty agenda are pointing at the same problem.
11:10 AM - 11:25 AM
Fireside Chat: Cyber and Agentic AI
Speakers:
Despina Spanou, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), European Commission
Kavitha Mariappan, Chief Transformation Officer, Rubrik
Moderator:
Gian Volpicelli, European Technology Reporter, Bloomberg
Agentic AI is expanding at 40% annually. Yet 65% of organizations have already experienced an Agentic AI cybersecurity incident. Learn questions boards can ask to ensure their organizations operate successfully and safely in the Agentic Age.
11:25 AM – 11:40 AM
Geopolitical Strategy and AI
Speaker:
Damien Bruckard, Founder, Geopolitical Strategy
Based in Paris, Damien Bruckard is the Former Head of Global Engagement and principal advisor to the Secretary-General at the International Chamber of Commerce where he also served as Deputy Director of Trade and Investment
AI deployment decisions made inside your boardroom are now geopolitical decisions. Supply chains, data sovereignty, and cross-border operations make geopolitical fluency a governance essential
11:40 AM - 12:00 PM
Trust: A CEO Blueprint
Speaker:
Stijn ‘Stan’ Christiaens, Founder and Chief Data Citizen, Collibra
Hear directly from Stijn ‘Stan’ Christiaens, founder of Collibra, Brussels' first unicorn, on how a focus on trust served both society and business. Trust first. Unicorn second.
12:00 PM - 12:15 PM
Executive Leader Remarks
Speaker:
Christine Durinx, Managing Director of VIB
Learn from Christine Durinx, Managing Director of VIB, who is deploying AI where the stakes are highest, in diagnostics, imaging, and genomics. Advice for successful AI.
THE PEOPLE
Workforce, humanity, and the human imperative
12:15 PM - 12:45 PM
How Teams Can Rapidly and Effectively Adopt AI
and Adjust to a Changing Employment Environment
Speakers:
Guylaine Saint Juste, CEO NABA
Rand Morimoto, President, Convergent Computing
David Tamis, Global Communications & Public Affairs Manager at Generation
Moderator:
Raksha Muthukumar, Independent tech journalist (focus includes tech labor)
Workforce transformation is not a human resources question. It is the single most measurable way AI either improves your company or harms it. Leaders who upskill their employees as part of AI strategy are outperforming those who treat it as a cost controlling tool to promote layoffs
12:45 PM - 2:00 PM Lunch
Meet conference attendees and enjoy curated lunch discussion topics.
THE SOLUTIONS
Governance tools, crisis preparedness, and systems that work
1:40 PM - 1:55 PM Lunch Session
Proving You Are Real: Verified Identity in the Age of Deepfakes
Speakers:
Jo Antoons, Senior Counsel, Fragomen
Vladimir Jankovic, Managing Director Fragomen
Amit Sharma, Head of Global and Digital Strategy & Ecosystem Growth, Idemia
With deep fakes made more real by AI, we cannot trust our eyes. Digital wallets to verify identity are one solution to address this problem and bring clarity to employers, employees, governments and beyond.
2:00 PM - 2:20 PM
Innovation Challenge / Technology Demonstration: Diligent AI Board Member
Speakers:
Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director, Diligent Institute
Kira Ciccarelli, Head of Research, Diligent Institute
Katarina Wallin Bureau, General Manager, Strategic Relations European Government Affairs, Microsoft
Siddika Demir, Advisory Board Member, PredxBio
Board-level AI governance is no longer aspirational. Boards can now deploy purpose-built AI tools that synthesize information, stress-test decisions, and give directors the expert perspective they need without adding seats to the table.
2:20 PM - 3:05 PM: Scenario Simulation
You Are the Board.
You will be presented with a real-world situation.
You have to make a decision.
Facilitators:
Cal Al-Dhubaib, Principal Technologist, Rubrik
Tania Tanic, CEO, BrainStorm Cyber Risk
Guylaine Saint Juste, CEO of NABA
Cynthia Guerrero, CEO of (CG)2 Strategies
This simulation puts you inside an AI decision in real time, building the muscle memory that separates boards that respond effectively from boards that freeze.
3:05 PM - 3:35 PM
AFTERNOON NETWORKING BREAK (30 minutes)
Enjoy discussion with conference attendees during this networking session
THE FUTURE CONTRACT
Policy, culture, and the commitment to trust as civilization's infrastructure
3:35 PM - 3:55 PM
The EU Omnibus: How to Facilitate EU AI Act and digital laws Implementation and Innovation for Business
Speakers:
Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliement (Italy)
Sergey Lagodinsky, Vice-President, Greens/EFA, Member of the European Parliament (Germany)
Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT)
Moderator:
Gian Volpicelli, European Technology Reporter, Bloomberg
The EU AI Act has new deadlines coming into effect in August and throughout 2026 and 2027. The EU Commission’s proposed EU Tech Sovereignty Package will be considered by the EU Parliament and Council.
What do businesses need to know about operationalizing these new standards and are they the new global defacto standard?
4:00 PM - 4:10 PM
Digital Rights, Child Protection & AI Safety
Speaker:
Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, Member of the European Parliament (Slovakia)
MEP Ostrihoňová will address what boards and platform operators must do now as AI companions are linked to teen suicide, deepfakes weaponize identity against ordinary people, and smart glasses bring surveillance abuse into everyday public life.
4:10 PM - 4:45 PM
The Future of Storytelling: AI and our Global Culture
Speakers:
Darren Aronofsky, Award-winning filmmaker
Moderator:
Adam Leipzig, Award-winning producer, Author, Business Strategist, Faculty Haas School of Business, Berkeley
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Readout of This Day
Speakers:
Doug Leeds, co-founder of RSL Standard, RSL Collective and RSL Media
Dominique Shelton Leipzig, CEO, Global Data Innovation
5:00 PM - 5:10 PM
Closing Reflections:
Dominique Shelton Leipzig
You arrived with a question. You leave with a blueprint.
AI that elevates society, improves humanity, upskills your workforce, prevents harm,
and delivers ROI is not a future aspiration.
It is a governance decision we make today.
COCKTAIL RECEPTION
5:15 PM - 7:00 PM
Cocktails
Decompression and connection.
