2026 Corporate Communications & Brand Summit

07:30 AM - 08:30 AM ET

Registration and Networking Breakfast

08:30 AM - 08:40 AM ET

Welcome and Introductions

Ivan Pollard, Marketing & Communications Center Leader, The Conference Board

08:40 AM - 09:00 AM ET

Networking and Cross Pollination

We will kick off our event by meeting one another to share our top priorities and the biggest challenges we are tackling in 2026.

09:05 AM - 09:35 AM ET

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It: The Communicator’s Role in 2026

For corporate communicators, this is a time of massive change: technological, economic, political, demographic and more. How is the function changing in response, and what can we expect in 2026? In this conversation, we will discuss the changes, the challenges and opportunities ahead, and the strategies and tools needed to address them.

Damon Jones, Chief Communication Officer, Procter & Gamble

Ivan Pollard, Marketing & Communications Center Leader, The Conference Board

09:35 AM - 10:05 AM ET

From Underdog to AI Powerhouse: The Reinvention Blueprint of a Global Brand

How does a $2 billion market cap company transform into a $350 billion+ industry leader in a decade? And how does a once-overlooked brand evolve into one of the world’s foremost AI innovators? In this session, Ruth Cotter shares AMD’s transformation journey and the critical role of clear purpose, disciplined storytelling, and a modern communications strategy in reshaping the company’s culture, brand, and market perception during a period of unprecedented technological change. As AI rewrites the rules across industries and communications, Ruth explores the connection between leadership, authenticity, and narrative, and how each underpins trust and sustainable growth.

Ruth Cotter, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, AMD

Matt Rosenbaum, Principal Researcher, Human Capital, The Conference Board

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM ET

Time Machine: Brainstorming the Future

Attendees at each table will co-create and share two statements: first, a one-sentence assessment of the biggest changes they have seen in the communications function since 2022; and second, a prediction of the biggest changes in the communications function they expect to see by 2030.

10:20 AM - 10:50 AM ET

What the CEO Wants From You

The role of the Chief Communications Officer as a strategic business adviser continues to grow in importance, especially in the volatile environments we are currently experiencing. In this session, leaders will discuss how to establish and build on these relationships, and what fellow C-Suite members and the Board need to hear from communications leaders in 2026.

10:50 AM - 11:10 AM ET

Networking Break

11:10 AM - 11:20 AM ET

When Change Is Constant, Internal Communications Becomes Strategy

Throughout the conference, we will be featuring new research from The Conference Board on key challenges and opportunities facing communicators today. In our first segment, we will look at research on the business impact of internal communications, and how to make change communications effective in a period of constant transformation.

Denise Dahlhoff, PhD, Director, Marketing & Communications Research, The Conference Board

11:20 AM - 11:50 AM ET

Creating a Cultural North Star: How to Internalize Your Brand's Biggest Promise

A brand re-launch is more than a marketing event—it's a chance to redefine culture. This fireside chat will explore how Colgate-Palmolive strategically transformed its external consumer promise, "Reimagine a Healthier Future for All," into an internal employee promise. We'll discuss how operationalizing the brand through pillars like wellness, inclusion, and purpose-driven work can unify, energize, and provide a clear cultural "North Star" for your entire workforce. Join us to learn how to move your brand from the billboard to the breakroom.

Dana Bolden, Chief Communications Officer, Colgate-Palmolive

Denise Dahlhoff, PhD, Director, Marketing & Communications Research, The Conference Board

11:50 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Knowledge Exchange: What Do You Have to Share? What Do You Want to Know?

Among attendees at the conference will be someone – likely more than one person – with experiences that will help you tackle a current challenge. There will also be others ready to benefit from your experiences and insights. As we head into lunch, we will use badges to help conference participants connect and share knowledge on the issues that matter most to them.

12:00 PM - 01:15 PM ET

Networking Lunch

01:20 PM - 01:50 PM ET

Communicating in the Places Where the Work Actually Happens

Concurrent Session 1A

Lisa McCormick Lavery, Head of Internal Engagement, CSL

Kay Luna, Senior Communications Manager, Global Internal Communications, John Deere

Jan Botz, Program Director, Internal Communications Council, The Conference Board

01:20 PM - 01:50 PM ET

Reputation as Schrödinger's Cat: How to Open the Box and Understand What You Find

Concurrent Session 1B

01:55 PM - 02:25 PM ET

Are People Still Needed? How We Are Using AI in Content Creation Today

Concurrent Session 2A

Bill Walsh, Senior Vice President, Integrated Communications, AARP

01:55 PM - 02:25 PM ET

Case Study: Getting the Chemistry Right - Why Industry Reputation Still Matters and How To Move It

Concurrent Session 2B

Sarah Scruggs Brandt, Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, American Chemistry Council

02:25 PM - 02:45 PM ET

Networking Break

02:45 PM - 03:00 PM ET

Speed Debates

What is your most controversial opinion on the future of communications? What are the best arguments for it, and against it? In this interactive exercise, we seek to open minds and create connections by asking attendees to debate with their neighbors several thorny propositions – and then switch sides after 60 seconds. Each topic will be revealed immediately before the debate.

03:00 PM - 03:35 PM ET

Prepare To Be Amazed: Are Your Crisis Communications Plans Ready for What’s Ahead?

For the past several years we have described the environment as one of “unprecedented change” – and yet each year has beat the previous one in its levels of disruption. Have organizations’ crisis communications plans kept up? External and internal comms and public affairs leaders discuss strategies for making crisis communication preparations more resilient and ready for the previously unimaginable.

Jason Alderman, Chief Communications Officer, SmartNews

Amalia Stanton, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategic Communications & Marketing Officer, Memorial Hermann Health System

Denise Dahlhoff, PhD, Director, Marketing & Communications Research, The Conference Board

03:35 PM - 03:45 PM ET

How Does AI Decide What to say About You?

Gain insights from The Conference Board’s research on how AI is reshaping corporate reputation building and shifting the importance of key human skills.

Denise Dahlhoff, PhD, Director, Marketing & Communications Research, The Conference Board

03:50 PM - 04:20 PM ET

Marketing the News: How The New York Times Still Prevails in the Days of Diminished Attention

For millions, The New York Times is a daily ritual that helps them tap into their life's passions, and is crucial to determining truth in an increasingly chaotic world. By 2025, The New York Times's subscriber base had increased to over 12 million subscribers, solidifying the success of its essential subscription strategy and digital transformation. As Chief Brand and Communications Officer of The New York Times Company and Publisher of Wirecutter, David Rubin joins us today to share insights on advancing this iconic brand, as The New York Times continues to navigate successfully through massive disruptions in technology, media, politics and more.

David Rubin, Chief Brand and Communications Officer, The New York Times Company

Ivan Pollard, Marketing & Communications Center Leader, The Conference Board

04:25 PM - 04:55 PM ET

How Wikipedia’s Openness Fights Misinformation and Disinformation

Let us take a moment to consider something we take for granted that is, in fact, astonishing: In January 2001, a site was launched with the utopian goal of creating “a world where every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge,” by way of a free encyclopedia edited entirely by volunteers–and anyone could volunteer. Wikipedia celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It’s now the largest and arguably one of the most trusted reference works in the world. It is the backbone of information on the internet, used by search engines, voice assistants and generative AI tools to serve up instant information. Yet to continue its mission it must respond to global trends, from new technologies and information consumption habits to increased polarization and misinformation affecting the information ecosystem as a whole. In this talk and fireside chat with Anusha Alikhan, Chief Communications Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, we will explore how Wikipedia continues to remain relevant and win trust—and what other organizations can learn from its experiences.

Anusha Alikhan, Chief Communications Officer, Wikimedia Foundation

Denise Dahlhoff, PhD, Director, Marketing & Communications Research, The Conference Board

04:55 PM - 05:00 PM ET

Day One Recap and Day Two Preview

Ivan Pollard, Marketing & Communications Center Leader, The Conference Board

05:00 PM - 06:00 PM ET

Networking Reception