Germany now ranks 4th among the world’s most targeted nations for cyberattacks, with vulnerability discovery and active exploitation increasing at an unprecedented pace. Cyber risk is no longer an episodic threat, it is a constant operating condition for enterprises, critical infrastructure, and public institutions alike. This opening keynote panel will examine what today’s threat landscape truly means for technology leaders and boards. Moving beyond awareness and compliance, the discussion will focus on how leadership must adapt in an environment where breaches are expected, response speed matters more than prevention alone, and resilience has become a core business capability. Panelists will share perspectives on accountability, decision-making under pressure, and how executive leadership shapes an organisation’s ability to withstand and recover from cyber incidents.

Key Takeaways:
• Gain clarity on what Germany’s attack statistics mean for business continuity, economic stability, and national risk.
• Understand why traditional, reactive security models are no longer sufficient.
• Explore the evolving role of executives and boards in setting accountability for cyber resilience.
• Identify leadership actions that reduce impact, accelerate recovery, and build trust when attacks are inevitable.

As Germany accelerates investment across AI, quantum technologies, microelectronics, biotechnology, and climate-neutral infrastructure, the success of this ambition depends on more than technology alone. It requires resilient digital foundations, effective leadership, and the ability to innovate at speed while managing operational, technological, and cyber risk. This leadership forum examines how resilience underpins innovation, economic competitiveness, and digital sovereignty, and how cybersecurity fits as an enabler within broader IT strategy. The discussion will explore how IT and security leaders can work together to embed resilience and cyber considerations into national and EU-level technology strategies, across architectures, operating models, and the workforce, from the outset.

Key Takeaways:
• Discuss why resilient and secure digital foundations are essential to Germany’s six priority technology domains.
• Explore how people, culture, skills, and leadership influence innovation, risk, and innovation outcomes.
• Discuss how public-private collaboration and workforce readiness can strengthen national and EU cyber resilience.
• Identify what “secure-by-design” means at a national scale, across technology, processes, and people.

In this interactive session, our event partners will take the lead in initiating and facilitating conversations centered on challenges and solutions within the industry. Attendees can expect dynamic discussions where diverse perspectives are shared, fostering collaborative problem-solving and the exploration of innovative solutions to common industry hurdles.

In an environment shaped by complex data strategies, rapid AI adoption, and large scale legacy modernization, speed has become a competitive necessity. Under these conditions, avoiding mistakes is unrealistic, and trying to do so often slows organizations down even further. The real challenge is not failure itself, but how leaders and teams respond when it occurs.

Guided by the leadership principle “Think big, start small, learn fast,” this session explores how we deliberately re framed mistakes as a source of learning rather than blame. Drawing on research by Amy Edmondson, Google’s Project Aristotle, and recent McKinsey and EY studies, the session outlines practical strategies and explicit leadership behaviors – such as role modeling openness, reframing errors, and enabling structured reflection – that enable teams to speak up early and learn fast. As a result, we observed that teams began escalating risks earlier, reflecting more openly on setbacks, and experimenting more confidently in complex transformation initiatives. This shift strengthened decision quality, reduced repeated errors, and increased organizational resilience in high uncertainty environments. The session highlights the decisive role of leadership teams in shaping failure culture, and demonstrates how treating mistakes as learning signals can accelerate innovation rather than hinder it.

This presentation explores the evolving landscape of customer interactions, delving into emerging technologies such as AI, chatbots, and augmented reality to enhance customer engagement and satisfaction. By analysing current trends and anticipating future developments, it provides insights into how businesses can adapt their strategies to meet the evolving expectations of consumers in the digital age.

Delve into strategies for bolstering cybersecurity defences amidst the ever-evolving landscape of complex cyber threats. Through an exploration of advanced technologies and proactive methodologies, attendees will gain insights into fortifying their systems against emerging cyber risks.

Take a break, engage in meetings and join a discussion roundtable! During this PM Power Break, fellow enterprise leaders will guide discussions on their favorite topic, fostering an environment of open exchange, exploration of diverse perspectives and experiences. Attendees can grab a coffee and anticipate engaging conversations through 1-2-1 meetings and roundtables. Conversations will be driven by shared challenges and interests, offering valuable insights and opportunities for collaborative learning and networking.

Learn effective strategies for optimizing IT costs and enhancing budget management within organizations. Through case studies and practical insights, attendees will gain valuable techniques to streamline expenses, maximize resource utilization, and align IT spending with business objectives.

Spending on technology, risk, and resilience continues to accelerate as organisations respond to regulation, digital change, and growing operational complexity. Yet disruption, skills gaps, and execution challenges persist, raising questions about how effectively this investment is translating into real resilience and ROI. This panel brings together a finance leader, a CEO, and senior technology executives to provide an industry view on how investment decisions are made, prioritised, and evaluated across the organisation. From board-level strategy to operational execution, speakers will share how different leadership roles assess value and impact in an increasingly complex risk environment. Join us for this closing session as we focus on how organisations can approach investment more intelligently and how success should be measured when budgets are under pressure and risk is constant.

Key Discussion Takeaways

• Why higher spend hasn’t consistently reduced risk
• How finance, executive, and technology leaders assess value differently
• What smarter investment and measurement should look like going forward