May 11, 2026
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The Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo is an annual conference produced by Gartner for senior marketing leaders, held on May 11-12, 2026 at the InterContinental London - The O2. The London edition is part of Gartner's global marketing conference series, running alongside the North American edition in Denver in June. The event positions itself as a practitioner-oriented research forum, anchored in Gartner's proprietary analyst work rather than vendor-driven content. The 2026 edition is centred on the theme of CMO leadership in the AI era, with the overarching conference narrative framing the challenge as one of strategic, structural, and cultural transformation required to unlock growth and strengthen trust in conditions of sustained technological and market disruption.
The conference is designed for CMOs and senior marketing leaders across industries, with specific tracks and programme elements tailored to digital marketing leaders, customer experience and loyalty leaders, marketing operations and analytics leaders, and brand marketing leaders. A dedicated CMO Circle Program sits within the broader agenda as an invitation- and application-only forum for chief marketing officers to explore strategy, share ideas, and build peer community at the executive level. The conference draws an international audience of marketing decision-makers, primarily from European organisations, with attendance also from North American and global firms.
The programme spans two full days and is organised around more than 70 research-driven sessions delivered by 20+ Gartner experts alongside guest speakers. Session formats include keynote presentations, breakout sessions, interactive workshops, analyst roundtables, Meetups, and one-on-one private meetings with Gartner analysts - available exclusively to paid registered attendees and bookable in advance through the Gartner Conference Navigator platform. An Xpo exhibition component allows attendees to explore solutions from technology vendors and service providers. The CMO Circle Program operates as a parallel, curated track within the two-day schedule. Gartner Conference Navigator serves as the primary agenda-planning and networking tool both before and during the event.
The 2026 agenda is structured around five core thematic priorities. Brand Strategy and Activation addresses how CMOs activate brand to drive innovation and measurable business performance. CMO Leadership and Collaboration covers the reshaping of the CMO role as a strategic growth driver with expanded executive influence. Customer Experience and Understanding explores how to adapt to new channels and AI to improve customer engagement and loyalty. Marketing Technology, Data, and Analytics focuses on building AI-ready data foundations and driving marketing ROI through machine learning and operational intelligence. The fifth priority area - AI Strategy and Transformation - runs across all tracks as the unifying lens, with the opening keynote titled "Supercharging Marketing's AI Advantage - Leading the Race to 2030" delivered by Kristina LaRocca-Cerrone, VP Advisory at Gartner, and Jay Wilson, VP Analyst at Gartner.
The conference concludes at the end of the second day's session programming on May 12, following the final breakout and interactive sessions. Attendees are directed to the Gartner Conference Navigator platform for full session scheduling, including any closing programme elements confirmed closer to the event date.
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