October 2025
One of the biggest challenges for marketers and sales executives is reaching their prospect audience. As Senior Account Executive Chase Coffield of Nexla noted, “You certainly can't cold call like you used to, and email inboxes are increasingly harder to stand out in.” The ideal solution is to connect with key members of your target audience in person – and that’s just what you can do as a sponsor of Gartner C-level Communities.
Executive members of Gartner C-level Communities get together with their peers multiple times per year in their local region. Our flagship community event is the Executive Summit, a one-day, in-person program for C-level executives, where they spend the day collaborating, exchanging insights and building relationships with peers. Executive Summits also offer numerous opportunities for sponsors to connect face-to-face with C-level executives, participate in interactive sessions and showcase their thought leadership.
This is a certified method of getting top tier conversations with decision makers at key accounts.
– Chase Coffield
Senior Account Executive, Nexla
Here are 3 unique benefits for sponsors of Executive Summits:
1. Connect One-on-One with C-level Executives Throughout the Day
Sponsoring an Executive Summit offers unparalleled access to C-level executives and decision-makers in your industry. These gatherings are intentionally designed to foster meaningful business conversations in a highly curated and intimate environment.
Sponsors have access to a dedicated networking lounge, as well as opportunities to connect and have casual conversations with executives throughout the day. The format of Executive Summits—featuring small-group discussions, roundtables, and focused networking sessions—enables deeper, more strategic conversations that simply aren’t possible at traditional tradeshows.
What truly sets Executive Summits apart is the quality and caliber of participants. Gartner C-level Communities vets every executive, ensuring that only qualified C-level executives are present. This guarantees that your interactions are with the right decision-makers, leading to more relevant and impactful exchanges. As Sanjay Beri, CEO and Co-founder of Netskope describes it, “At many other events, you may have CISOs, but then you may also have architects and directors. You may have a CIO event, but then the CIO wouldn't be there. In this case, it's very clear you have the executives – you have the CISO and the CIO.” Sponsoring Executive Summits not only elevates your brand, but also positions your team to build genuine relationships and drive business with the industry’s most influential leaders.
Gartner C-level Communities offers a curated, intimate setting where conversations are highly focused and strategic.
– Rohit Choudhary
CEO & Co-Founder, Acceldata
2. Participate in Interactive Sessions with Executives
Another unique aspect of Executive Summits are the Boardrooms, an opportunity to engage directly and exclusively with a select group of C-level executives in a confidential, closed-door environment. Unlike larger forums, Boardrooms are designed for highly interactive, two-way discussions, enabling sponsors to have a seat at the table with executives.
The Boardroom sessions focus on critical industry challenges, allowing sponsors to both share their perspectives and gain invaluable feedback from influential industry leaders. As Jason Clark, Chief Strategy Officer of Cyera, commented, "For me, running strategy and marketing, the most important thing for us is to understand the pain and the problem that we're trying to solve in the industry."
The value of Boardroom sponsorship goes beyond simple exposure—they’re about building meaningful relationships and gaining a deeper understanding of executive priorities. “We use the opportunity to have deep dialogues, to get feedback, good and bad, and that's incredibly powerful as we take that back and integrate it with our strategy,” says Arthur Hu, Senior Vice President of Global CIO & Services and Solutions and Group CTO at Lenovo.
It's a great environment – more intimate, more focused on substance, which lets us move the conversation forward.
– Sanjay Beri
CEO and Co-founder, Netskope
3. Increase Awareness and Influence Through Thought Leadership
Sponsors also have the opportunity to share their organization’s thought leadership through both Keynote and Breakout sessions at Executive Summits. Sponsoring a Keynote session is a powerful way to showcase thought leadership and innovative ideas to the full audience of C-level executives. These sessions not only boost brand awareness among top decision-makers, but also create demand by highlighting solutions to challenges executives may not have previously considered. Keynotes are the ideal platform to introduce new products, share compelling insights and demonstrate leadership on executives’ mission-critical priorities.
Breakout or presenting sessions give your organization the opportunity to engage directly with a self-selected group of C-level executives in an interactive, focused setting. Whether through presentations, case studies, panels, or workshops, these sessions allow your leaders to demonstrate expertise, share actionable insights, and foster meaningful dialogue on topics that matter most to the community. Breakouts provide the opportunity for more interaction, as Darko Matovski, PhD, CEO at causaLens, put it: “Our session was absolutely incredible. The audience was really engaged, asking wonderful questions. It was very interactive.”
Gartner C-level Communities offer technology and solution providers unparalleled access to C-level executives through Executive Summits, with opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations and demonstrate expertise.
Contact us to learn more about connecting with our community members and leveraging Executive Summit sponsorship opportunities to build influence and drive growth.
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