In-Person

DACH CISO Community

Executive Summit

26 November 2025 | The Westin Grand Frankfurt

26 November 2025
The Westin Grand Frankfurt

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with DACH's top CISOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.

Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CISOs today:

Evolving Leadership in Security, From Enforcer to Influencer

Redefining the CISO Role for a Dynamic, Risk-Taking Workforce

Building Resilient Cybersecurity Ecosystems for Sustainable Growth

DACH CISO Governing Body

The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CISOs, For CISOs®.

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Sascha Brock

DHL Group
SVP CISO

Nikk Gilbert

RWE
CISO

John Petersen

Nestle
CISO

Aleksandar Radosavljevic

Global Fashion Group
CISO

Judith Wunschik

Siemens Energy
Global Chief Cybersecurity Officer

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CISO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your DACH CISO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

Agenda

25 November 2025

26 November 2025

18:00 - 21:00  Governing Body Private Dinner

Governing Body Welcome Reception

 Join this exclusive evening hosted by the Governing Body, this dinner is a can’t-miss opportunity to connect with your peers prior to tomorrow’s Executive Summit.

08:00 - 09:00  Registration & Breakfast

09:00 - 09:45  Keynote

Powering Trusted Digital Transformation — Resilience by Design

Christian Reilly headshot

Christian Reilly

EMEA CTO

Cloudflare

Florian Brandner headshot

Florian Brandner

Global Head of Information & Cyber Security

Puma

Organisations are struggling to keep pace with rapid technological change, increasingly looking to the CISO as the “protector” of innovative transformation. However, securing the digital future requires more than just establishing guardrails. There is also mounting pressure to enable a cyber-resilient approach—one that fosters innovation while achieving more with less.

In this session, we will explore:

  • How integrating AI into cybersecurity can enhance risk management
  • The importance of collaboration and co-ownership in driving digital innovation
  • Strategy for striking the right balance between innovation and resilience 


09:45 - 10:00  Break

10:00 - 10:45  Breakout Session

A Security Leader’s Guide to Building Resilient, Secure Computing Infrastructure

 Security leaders face unprecedented challenges in safeguarding their organizations’ computing infrastructure. However it's no small task to develop the right strategies and best practices to employ for resiliency and secure technology environments that can withstand all forms of cyber threat.Join this session to explore:

  • Successfully navigating these challenges through the lens of (customer)
  • Fortifying infrastructures while balancing agility, compliance, and business continuity
  • Leveraging real-world lessons learned to drive continuous improvement and proactive risk management


10:00 - 10:45  Breakout Session

From Complexity to Clarity — Solving Real-World Observability Challenges

Richard Meeus headshot

Richard Meeus

Director, Security Technology & Strategy

Akamai Technologies

Few things embody complexity like APIs and the multi-cloud environments that CISOs and security teams manage daily. Identifying the real problem can make these challenges even more daunting. For global organizations, having a consistent set of tools and strategies is essential to streamline operational processes. In this session, we’ll take a deeper dive into real-world examples from global enterprises, highlighting their observability and security success stories.

  • Cut through the noise by normalizing alerts and risk signals across multiple clouds and tools, reducing operational overhead.
  • Strengthen response processes by leveraging collective intelligence across teams and ecosystems, improving speed and accuracy.
  • Secure the future of innovation by embedding API observability into AI-driven application environments.


10:45 - 11:50  Networking Break

10:55 - 11:40  Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

11:50 - 12:35  Breakout Session

Scrapping Tradition to Improve Security, Transparency and Trust in Today’s Workplace

Bolstering productivity and efficiencies across the enterprise is a primary function in the role of today’s IT leader, which increases reliance on emerging technologies, such as the enterprise browser. According to recent Gartner research, "Enterprise browsers will evolve to become the core platform for almost all of the day-to-day enterprise productivity and security software used by the workforce."

Join this session to discuss:

  • Introduction of innovative possibilities for critical application protection
  • Creating a secure employee experience centered on transparency and trust
  • Reimagining how IT leaders can enable users while creating unique business value

 

11:50 - 12:35  Executive Boardroom

Building Cyber Resilience — From Traps to Milestones

Ian Lowe headshot

Ian Lowe

Head of International Marketing

Axonius

In an era where attacks and threat actors are more sophisticated and traditional security paradigms are less effective, security leaders need to rethink what it means to be cyber resilient, contextualized for their organization. All that said, it’s not a solo job - buy in from the entire business is key to move from traps to milestones.Join this session to discuss:

  • Lessons learned from building a business continuity plan for cyber resiliency
  • Which insights truly matter for reporting on the company’s cyber risk in quantifiable terms
  • Technologies to prioritize – and retire - with resilience in mind

12:35 - 13:20  Lunch Service

13:20 - 14:00  Keynote

Securing Data Flow in the AI-Quantum Era

Sensitive data movement can be risky but restricting it outright can create operational and security challenges. In an era of agentic AI, generative AI, and emerging quantum computing, organizations need security frameworks that protect data while ensuring agility. This session explores how modern security platforms enable secure data flow, adapt to diverse use cases and prepare for the post-quantum encryption (PQE) shift.

Join this keynote to learn:

  • How to choose the right secure access method for each use case
  • Why security must be adaptive to risk, user behavior and AI-driven interactions
  • How to prepare for post-quantum encryption and its enterprise security impact

 

14:00 - 14:15  Break

14:15 - 15:00  Breakout Session

Behind the Swipe — How Security Awareness Impacts us all

Cecilie Fjellhøy headshot

Cecilie Fjellhøy

Speaker on Fraud Detection & Prevention

Guest Speaker

Cecilie Fjellhøy never thought she would be a victim of fraud, until it happened to her. Humans innately trust but with more of us building a digital identity online, it is becoming increasingly difficult to discern the friction between security and identity when it matters most. Join Cecilie as she shares her story and highlights the importance of bringing the personal into the security awareness conversation.

In this session, you will hear:

  • Lessons learned on the ease with which security breaches can happen
  • Techniques to elevate the personal element of security awareness
  • Insights into breaking down stigma around fraud

14:15 - 15:00  Executive Boardroom

The New Competitive Edge — Adapting and Thriving with Resilience

Edwin Weijdema headshot

Edwin Weijdema

Field CTO EMEA

Veeam

 Every headline is a wake-up call: another breach, another boardroom scramble. In an era of instant news and relentless risk, today’s CISO must do more than enforce security—they must influence resilience, empower smart risk-taking, and shape a culture of preparedness from within.

In this boardroom session, we’ll dissect recent data scenarios,  and discuss: 

  • How to enhance organizational response time and communication 
  • Help you avoid common traps and transform crisis into opportunity
  • Rethinking your response playbook 


15:00 - 15:30  Networking Break

15:30 - 16:15  Breakout Session

From Gatekeepers to Enabling Partners — Redefining Security Leadership

Ad Krikke headshot

Ad Krikke

Executive Partner

Gartner

Stefan Baldus headshot

Stefan Baldus

CISO

Hugo Boss

As businesses race towards innovation and agility, the role of the CISO is undergoing a transformation from enforcers to enablers. Often seen as the "police officers" of security, CISOs must now align with agile and low-code environments to foster collaboration and drive business value. 

Join Ad Krikke, Sr. Executive Partner, Gartner and Stefan Baldus, CISO, Hugo Boss as they explore real life examples of:

  • Transforming into a value-led CISO by aligning security with business objectives
  • Embracing a product-based approach for enhanced agility and innovation
  • Developing adaptive governance to support organizational growth and autonomy

16:15 - 16:30  Break

16:30 - 17:15  Keynote

Beyond Firewalls — Leading with Intelligence in the Cyber Age

Volker Buss headshot

Volker Buss

CISO

Merck

As digital threats grow more sophisticated, cybersecurity leadership must evolve from perimeter defence to organisation-wide resilience. At Merck, security is no longer just about tools and protocol, it's about cultivating agility, trust and shared accountability. The Cyber Alliance is driving this shift, nurturing a culture where protection, response and recovery are everyone's business.

Join Chief Security & Information Security Officer, Volker Buß to explore:

  • Embedding a security-first mindset that enables resilience at every level
  • Aligning strategy, culture and diverse teams to stay ahead of evolving risks
  • Recognising emotional intelligence as a frontline defence to combat social engineering


17:15 - 18:00  Closing Comments and Prize Drawing

25 November 2025

26 November 2025

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming in-person gathering

Gartner cares about the health and safety of our community. If you are feeling unwell, please refrain from attending the conference. At this time, Gartner does not have any health-related requirements in place for attendance. Should this change, we will follow up with updated guidance.

Location

Venue & Accommodation

The Westin Grand Frankfurt

A block of rooms has been reserved at the The Westin Grand Frankfurt at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling +49 69 29810.

Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of €251 EUR (plus tax) is 27 October 2025.

Your Community Sponsors

CISO Thought Leaders

Key Sponsors

Program Sponsors

Community Programme Manager

For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.

Tara Teymoori

Community Programme Manager

+447930242500

tara.teymoori@gartner.com