Forbes Hosts 22nd Annual CMO Summit Bringing Marketing Leaders Together For Unfiltered Conversations Focused On Growth, Creativity And AI

Linda Boff at the Forbes CMO Summit

Jamel Toppin for Forbes

NEW YORK (September 21, 2026) – The 22nd Annual Forbes CMO Summit took place September 15 – 17 in Aspen, Colorado and assembled some of the world’s most influential marketers for three days of candid, actionable conversations about the forces reshaping marketing.

This year’s theme, “Unfiltered,” encouraged CMOs and brand leaders from some of the world’s most influential companies to engage in honest dialogue about what it takes to lead and drive growth for their brands. Intimate by design, the Summit created space for leaders to challenge conventional thinking, exchange ideas openly and learn from one another.

Reflecting on her experience, Linda Boff, President of the Forbes CMO Network says, “It was a thrill to lead the Forbes CMO Summit for the first time and have the opportunity to dig into vital practitioner areas from growth hunting to creator influence to AI. This special community is leading fearlessly into the future and it was invigorating to come together and have unfiltered conversations that ultimately drive purchase decisions and define brand behavior around the world.”

Throughout the Summit, the program explored new ways of considering fearless leadership, creativity, AI in practice and enterprise growth. Notable speakers included Carla Hassan, CMO of JPMorgan Chase, Kellyn Kenny, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer of AT&T, Frank Cooper, CMO of Visa, Faby Torres, Global CMO of Gap brand, Jessica Jensen, SVP & CMO of LinkedIn, among other CMOs from leading brands.

In addition to including voices from CMOs, the program welcomed UCLA Women’s Basketball Head Coach Cori Close, Laura Held, Partner and Member of Executive Committee of Shamrock Capital Jim Lanzone, CEO of Yahoo, and Sotheby’s Auctioneer Phyllis Kao.

Conversations across the first two days included provocative themes such as “Timeless And Timely”, “Can Brands Keep Up With Creators”, and “Unmistakably Human: What Consumers Want”. AI was an important theme, and attendees spent a dedicated morning discussing AI In Practice and The Great AI Debate. The program also highlighted the importance of leading teams and investing in the next generation of marketing talent. This culminated in “Acts of Generosity,” an auction where CMOs bid on one-of-a-kind growth and mentorship experiences for rising talent on their teams by pledging their own time to mentor others. The Summit’s final morning brought attendees together to reflect on where marketing leaders go from here and the ideas, commitments and questions they would take with them.

This year’s Summit was brought to life by its sponsors. Agentio served as the Title Sponsor of the 2026 Forbes CMO Summit, with Accenture Song, Adobe and Rokt as Presenting Sponsors. Partner Sponsors included Ibotta, Sprinkler, Typeface and United Talent Agency, and Acxiom, Hightouch, Nift, and Tongal served as Supporting Sponsors.

As one of the longest-standing, invite-only gatherings for marketing leaders, the Forbes CMO Summit brings together honorees from Forbes’ World’s Most Influential CMOs list alongside other leading CMOs and industry executives. This year’s conversations reflected the spirit of the “Unfiltered” theme: honest, direct and focused on what comes next.

Ahead of the CMO Summit, Forbes released Season 2 of Linda Boff’s new podcast, “A Different Take, a new Forbes podcast series unpacks the strategy, risks, and cultural impact behind the world’s most talked-about marketing campaigns. Season 2 focuses on New Balance as a modern brand-building case study—how a legacy performance-running brand evolved into one of the most culturally relevant names in sports, fashion, and lifestyle.

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