Annual Summit

Our annual summit brings together the world’s most significant companies and design executives shaping the future of global business, technology, and design.

September 25-28, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO

In 2024, we gathered the design executives representing some of the world's largest companies to explore the future of design leadership. We will continue that endeavor and build on it this September.

Overview

Three days of focused immersion with the industry’s top design chiefs - confronting what it takes to lead in an era of automation, disruption, and accelerating intelligence.

This year, we gather in the heart of Silicon Valley not just to discuss the future, but to shape it. Through co-led sessions and candid dialogue, we’ll define what matters most for our 2026 agenda, from reclaiming craft and reimagining design leadership to building teams and practices fit for the intelligence renaissance.

Shaping futures and new business innovation

AI may unlock efficiency, but that alone won’t drive lasting competitiveness. This track will focus on surfacing bold ways design leaders are shaping business opportunities that go beyond efficiency. What new problems can we solve in this era of intelligent systems? And how does our craft create not just faster, but better experiences for customers and employees?

Translating vision into operating models

Turning bold ideas into reality requires more than strategy, it demands the right systems, roles, and rhythms to scale. This track focuses on how design leaders are building modern operating models that align with AI-era capabilities, foster speed, scale and adaptability, while unlocking new ways to create cross-functional impact and amplify design value.

Delivering business and customer value

The moment of truth lies in what we deliver to our customers, employees, and the business, but how is quality and value being redefined? This track focuses on defining how design leaders are crafting new principles for experience value, clarify our craft in designing for AI, establish new ways to measure impact and elevate how user value is represented in strategic decision-making.

Summit 2024 Highlights

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Sponsorship Opportunities

Leading technology vendors work with Design Executive Council to drive strategic business objectives forward, from product insights and validation, to driving thought leadership.

Get in touch with
Gordon Ching, Founder & CEO
gordon@designexecutivecouncil.com

Attendees

Alex Hsiao
VP of Product Design
at
CNN
Andy Vitale
VP, Head of Product Design
at
Taxwell
Arin Bhowmick
Chief Design Officer
at
SAP
Brian Rice
SVP, Global Chief Design and Brand Experience Officer
at
3M
Caleb Schmidt
SVP of Experience Design
at
U.S. Bank
Christian Rohrer
VP of Human Centered Design
at
TD Bank Group
Christina Vallery
Chief Design Officer
at
The Cigna Group
Cindy Chastain
Former SVP of Customer Experience and Design
at
Mastercard

In 2024, we gathered the design executives representing some of the world's largest companies to explore the future of design leadership. We will continue that endeavor and build on it this September.

“It was incredible to get to spend some valuable time, both socially and professionally, with other leaders of design functions in different industries.

It’s pretty rare to be able to bring together this type of group, and I look forward to future interactions, both with this group and other members.

Most importantly, we have the opportunity to influence the industry and possibly businesses, as they come to understand the value of design more accurately.”

Christian Rohrer

VP of Human Centered Design at TD Bank Group

“Learning from other design executives ensures that you have a well-rounded perspective to drive business impact. Becoming a design executive means you need to spend more time learning about the broader business than just design itself. This is where DXC excels.”

Arin Bhowmick

Chief Design Officer at
SAP

Explore the premier membership network for design executives

This summit gathers our members, senior design leaders from global public companies and late-stage ventures, who are united by a mission to elevate design's role across the highest levels of business.

Request an invitation to take part in candid, forward-looking conversations that define what’s next.

Express interest

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