57 topics were proposed by participants for CIOmove 2026. In total, we were able to discuss 49 of them during the sessions in Brussels and Paris at Saint-Gobain’s headquarters, at HPE and at Columbia University. Here are three key learnings from Horst Ellermann:
- AI topics are still the most popular
In the ranking of the highest-rated discussion proposals, AI topics are still leading the way. This was also the case in Dublin, Rabat and Lisbon – that is, at the three CIOmove events of previous years – and the topic remains right at the top of the agenda this year too. It is no bold prediction to suggest that this will also be the case for 2027 at CIOmove in Sweden.
Seven of the ten highest-rated topics deal with AI. But simply having ‘AI’ in the title is no longer enough. It was encouraging to see that participants are approaching the topic from a wide range of angles – from architecture and infrastructure issues to discussions on digital sovereignty, the use of AI and its governance.
In fact, only three classic management topics made it into the top 10 for 2026: ‘Why Large-Scale Transformations Keep Failing’, ‘Form Alliances’ (to achieve sovereignty, editor’s note) and ‘IT Governance in Complex Organisational Structures’. We expect such classic topics to remain a feature of CIOmove in the years to come.
2. Peer topics are preferred
Unsurprisingly, CIOs rate their colleagues’ topics most highly. As they once again made up the absolute majority at the CIOmove 2026 compared to IT providers – a situation we as organisers had intended (80:21) – only one provider, Tobias Regenfuss from Accenture, made it onto the list of the top 10 topics, but he did so by taking first place:
| Top 10 Topic Proposers: |
| Tobias Regenfuss, Accenture |
| André Sauer, Optima Group |
| Jochen Decker, SBB (Swiss Rail) |
| Roland Schuetz, Phoenix Group |
| Roman Rapoport, BPW Group |
| Michael Mueller-Wuensch, Otto Group |
| Bernd Rattey, Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) |
| Patrick Naef, Franke Group |
| Sandra Babylon, Cembra |
| Thomas Reitz, Norma Group |
(What is striking here is that the Swiss participants – Jochen, Patrick and Sandra – are significantly over-represented among the top 10 topic proposers.)
3. Averages tell us little
The rankings above are based on the average rating given by all participants on a scale of 1 (not interesting to me) to 5 (very interesting to me). As is always the case with averages, this says very little about the distribution. It only needs five top ratings by CIOs to get a discussion started, no matter what the others say. This is, why we encourage to propose more specific topics – even though they may not get a high ranking overall. Example: Ralf Werner, CIO of OGE, proposed the topic ‘AI in the Energy Sector’. One of his arguments: “The biggest value comes when AI connects grids, hydrogen, EV charging, storage and demand response across companies and borders.” The topic was good. Ralf’s arguments were good. Nevertheless, the topic was rejected. We hope that more CIOs from the energy sector will be attending the next CIOmove in Sweden.
Below, we have compiled the most pithy propositions from the discussions. Some are greatly abridged and are not suitable for quotation in other contexts. Participants at CIOmove 2026 can still find the full context in our ‘Peerfinder Tool’.
