Agenda 2026

Travel information

10:34 a.m. Departure of the Frankfurt delegation

Departure from the main station (Hauptbahnhof) on ICE 16. Stanislaw Rahm, CIOmove editor and your team captain, will meet you at the reserved seats in carriage 28.

09:01 a.m. Departure of the London delegation

Departure of the London delegation from St. Pancras Station on Eurostar service ES9126. Professor Art Langer, your team captain, will meet the group at 10:00 a.m. at the Eurostar security gates and assist with security and immigration before boarding.

11:34 a.m. Departure of the Cologne delegation

Departure from the main station on ICE 16, which continues from Frankfurt. Stanislaw Rahm is also your team captain on ICE 16. He will wait for you at the reserved seats in carriage 29.

11:55 a.m. Departure of the Paris delegation

Departure from Gare du Nord on Eurostar service ER9435. Ursula Soritsch-Renier, CDIO of Saint-Gobain and your team captain, will join you on board with her husband, James, and coordinate the group during the journey.

Schedule for Thursday

11:00 a.m. – 07:00 p.m. Check-in at Hotel Amigo (Rue de l’Amigo 1, 1000 Brussels). The CIOmove team is expecting you at an extra counter.

Starting point 1 (most suitable for early birds):
2:00 p.m. Visit of the European Council

Starting point 2 (most suitable for those who arrive by train):
3:00 p.m. Visit of the European Parliament including interview with Horst Ellermann and Gregor Peter Schmitz, Editor-in-Chief of “Stern” magazine and former correspondent of “Spiegel” in Brussels

Starting point 3 (most suitable for late birds)
4:00 p.m. Walking tour through Brussels (starting at the hotel)

8:00 p.m. Welcome reception – Networking evening Brasserie Surréaliste (Place Du Nouveau Marché Aux Grains, 23, 1000 Brussels) – including opportunity to watch the World Cup match Germany – Ecuador.

7:30–8:00 a.m. Morning activities. Guests can choose between an optional yoga session at the hotel or a running session in Brussels.

9:30 a.m. Warm Welcome at Les Ateliers des Tanneurs, Rue des Tanneurs 60A, 1000 Bruxelles

9:35 a.m. Keynote: “Challenges and Responses for AI and IT Security” by Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer, Inaugural CIO of NATO

10:00 a.m. Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS): “The Eurostack Initiative – What’s in It for CIOs?” More infos: CEPS – Our Experts at the European Union, CEPS, Les Ateliers des Tanneurs, Rue des Tanneurs 60A, 1000 Bruxelles

10:30 a.m. Splitting up the group for four discussions:

1. “Buy European” – Industrial Policy or Market Distortion?
   – European preference must be measurable, not ideological.
   – Reference frameworks beat new certifications.
2. Security, Certification & Trust – Can EUCS Create a Market?
   – Immunity from extraterritorial law is a core, unresolved concern.
   – Certification must reduce risk, not just signal alignment.
   – Cyber resilience depends on the weakest links.
3. Data Protection, Data Act & Data Spaces – From Law to Usability
   – Sector-led data spaces are essential – but only if governance is clear.
   – Interoperability matters more than central control.
   – Regulatory overlap is becoming a cost factor.
4. Architecture, Federation & Scale – How can EuroStack Actually Work?
   – Mapping dependencies before declaring sovereignty.
   – Harmonisation beats national solutions.
   – Financing federation requires long-term instruments.

12:40 p.m. Departure of Eurostar from Brussels Midi

2:05 p.m. Arrival of Eurostar in Paris, Gare du Nord

3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Check-in at the hotel Melía Paris (3 Boulevard de Neuilly, 92400 Courbevoie, La Défense France)

3:00 p.m. Arrival at the Headquarters of Saint-Gobain, Tour de Saint-Gobain (12 Place de l’Iris, 92400 Courbevoie)

3:15 p.m. “Transforming a 360-Year-Old Company for Solutions, Sustainability, and AI” by Ursula Soritsch-Renier, Chief Digital & Information Officer (CDIO), Saint-Gobain

3:45 p.m. “Digital Resilience and Sovereignty” by Emmanuel Sardet, Group CTO of Crédit Agricole and Président of “Cigref”, the French association of large digital users Companies    

4:15 p.m. “Creating an AI Unicorn in Europe” by Malte Kosub, CEO and Co-Founder of Parloa

4:45 p.m. coffee break

5:00 p.m. Deep dive discussion I and II

7:30 p.m. Reunion with companions, Rooftop reception at the Saint-Gobain tower

7:00–8:00 a.m. Morning activities. Guests can choose between an optional yoga session at the hotel or a running session in Paris.

09:45 a.m. Walk to HPE France from Melia Hotel La Defense

10:00 a.m. Check In at HPE, Bâtiment Sense, 4 Rue Paul Lafargue, 92800 Puteaux

10:10 a.m. Welcome

10:15 a.m. CIO Session 1: “Innovation”. Peer-moderated discussions across the innovation track

11:15 a.m. Coffee Break

11:45 a.m. CIO Session 2: “Integration”, Peer-moderated discussions across the innovation track

12:45 p.m. Bus departure to Columbia University (4 Rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris)

1:55 p.m. Welcome Address by Professor Art Langer, Columbia University

2:05 p.m. Deep Dive Discussion III + IV. Including Workshops with Martine Gouriet, Directrice Transformation numérique, usages et innovation at EDF (Électricité de France), who is also the French IT-Woman of the year 2025 and Michael Mueller-Wuensch, CIO and Board Member at The Largest German Digital Retailer OTTO.

3:35 p.m. Coffee Break

4:00 p.m. CIO Session 3: “Intelligence”. Peer-moderated discussions across the innovation track

5:00-6:00 p.m. Reunion with companions. Dinner&Networking@Columbia Garden Reception (Flying Buffet)

8:00 p.m. Return to Meliá Paris La Défense. Enjoy a scenic evening transfer through Paris – with stopovers at the nicest cafés of Montparnasse and the Eiffel Tower.

7:00–8:00 a.m. Morning activities. Guests can choose between an optional yoga session at the hotel or a running session in Paris.

8:30–10:00 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel.

9:00–10:30 a.m. Check-out luggage collection(we offer to shuttle your luggage to our final destination. From there airports and stations can be reached easier than from La Defence).

10:30 a.m. Tour de CIOs: Guests choose between four different Paris experiences:

• By vintage 2CV cars,
• by bike,
• e-bike, or
  by a relaxed tuk-tuk tour. All routes lead to:

1:00 p.m.Lunch at lounge bar along the river Seine

2:00 p.m. End of event & departure. Guests collect their luggage and depart.