In-Person

UK & Ireland CIO Community

Inner Circle

2 December 2026 | 113 Chancery Lane

2 December 2026
113 Chancery Lane

Collaborate with your peers

Join UK & Ireland's top CIOs for an intimate networking dinner and facilitated discussion on key business challenges. Enjoy a relaxed evening of dinner and drinks with your peers to share best practices, make new connections and build professional relationships.

Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CIOs today:

Lead Strategic Technology Alignment to Establish an AI Operating Model

Manage Costs Strategically to Maximize Business Value

Elevate Cybersecurity as a Core Driver of Business Value, Resilience and Growth

UK & Ireland CIO Governing Body

The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the discussion topics and agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CIOs, For CIOs®.

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Debra Bailey

OSB Group
Group CIO

Claire Dickson

Haleon
CDTO

Javed Iqbal

BAT
CDIO

Lex Aling

Johnson Matthey
CIO

Pooja Bagga

The Guardian
Group CIO

Agenda

2 December 2026

16:30 - 17:30  Executive Networking Reception

17:30 - 18:30  Discussion Topics

Navigating the New Era of Collaboration and Change

As AI agents and digital copilots become part of daily work, CIOs face a pivotal challenge: building a culture where humans and AI not only coexist but collaborate to drive innovation and productivity. This shift requires more than technical integration—it calls for reimagining roles, workflows, and executive expectations.

CIOs must balance the promise of AI-augmented work with the realities of change management, ensuring employees feel empowered, not displaced, and that agent interfaces are intuitive and secure. At the same time, leaders must navigate evolving vendor ecosystems, budget constraints, and the ongoing buy vs. build debate.

Discussion Questions:

  • What initial focus area creates the strongest foundation for scaling?
  • How are you supporting teams in human-AI collaboration?
  • How do you balance usability and security in agent interfaces?
  • How are executive expectations changing with AI?
  • How do you approach vendor risk and buy vs. build decisions?
  • What change management strategies have worked best for you?
  • What lessons from recent AI projects guide your next steps?

18:30 - 19:00  Networking Break

19:00 - 20:30  Summary Discussion & Dinner

20:30 - 21:30  Social Hour

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming in-person gathering

Gartner cares about the health and safety of our community. If you are feeling unwell, please refrain from attending the conference. At this time, Gartner does not have any health-related requirements in place for attendance. Should this change, we will follow up with updated guidance.

Location

Your Community Sponsors

CIO Thought Leader

Key Sponsor

Community Programme Manager

For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.

Heather Mitchell

Community Programme Manager

heather.mitchell@gartner.com