Reuters has unveiled the speaker lineup for its annual Reuters NEXT leadership summit, set to return to New York for two days starting December 1, 2026. The invitation-only gathering is expected to bring together 600+ CEOs and global decision makers from 15+ countries and across 10+ industries, spanning business, government, technology and media.
The announcement, made by Reuters, confirms that the summit will bring together global CEOs, policymakers, investors and innovators to examine shifts in geopolitics, capital and technology, along with the decisions shaping the year ahead. Among the confirmed speakers are Portugal's Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel, Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane and Bayer CEO Bill Anderson, according to the same announcement.
A Theme Built Around Shifting Power
This year's New York edition carries the theme “Shifting Influence. Defining Decisions,” according to the Reuters NEXT New York event page, which frames the gathering around a year defined by shifting influence across power, capital and technology. The program promises to explore changing geopolitical alliances, financial power, artificial intelligence and global investment flows, and to dig into leaders' current choices, the risks they create, and what they mean heading into 2027.
The roster extends well beyond the foreign minister and the two pharma and food-industry chiefs. UPS CEO Carol Tomé and Santander US CEO Christiana Riley are also slated to speak, per the event page, alongside political strategist Steve Bannon and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
Children's Risks and AI Infrastructure on the Agenda
One session will pair UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell with UNICEF USA Ambassador and actor Sofia Carson, built around a program description of children facing an unprecedented convergence of risks — from conflict and climate displacement to life-changing technology, the event page states. An on-stage interview will feature Google Senior Vice President and Chief Technologist for AI and Infrastructure Amin Vahdat.
The program looks ahead to uncertainty around 2027 investment conditions. Christiana Riley, GoldenTree Asset Management CEO Kathy Sutherland and Avenue Capital Group CEO Marc Lasry are among the names on the lineup. Actor Wes Studi and Particle 6 CEO Eline van der Velden also appear, adding entertainment and creative voices to a lineup that includes finance and policy names.
How Reuters Frames the Summit's Purpose
The summit brings Reuters’ newsroom perspective and independent journalism to discussions of consequential decisions and their implications. Josh London, head of Reuters Professional, discussed the summit’s agenda and action plans.
The program includes live World Stage interviews and panel discussions broadcast to an audience of millions worldwide, expert-led masterclasses, and curated peer-to-peer networking, according to the event page. It also features invitation-only Leadership Circles held under the Chatham House Rule, allowing for candid, off-record exchanges among attendees. Reuters NEXT describes itself as the definitive annual live journalism event hosted by the news agency, curated by the Reuters newsroom and guided by the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, per its event information page.
Part of a Growing Global Series
New York is one stop in a broader Reuters NEXT live journalism series that spans London, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Reuters NEXT is described as an invitation-only leadership summit reserved for C-suite executives, with all applications subject to approval, and the New York event's own RSVP page currently states that registration has closed.
Reuters separately announced a new European edition of the summit, Reuters NEXT Europe, set for London on June 16, 2026, building on the global summits in New York, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. That London gathering is slated to cover geopolitics, economy and markets, banking and finance, AI and technology, climate and sustainability, and business leadership — a sweep of topics that mirrors the themes converging on New York this December.
