Marcus Evans Announces 19th Edition of the CMO Summit 2026, Uniting Australia's Most Senior Marketing Leaders in Queensland

Marcus Evans, the global business intelligence and events company with four decades of experience producing premium executive forums, has announced the CMO Summit 2026.

Now in its 19th edition, the summit is scheduled for 22-23 July at the Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise in Queensland, Australia. It is an invitation-only gathering of the country's most senior marketing executives, designed to facilitate strategic dialogue, peer learning, and high-value professional connections.

Now firmly established as one of Australia's premier marketing leadership forums, the CMO Summit brings together Chief Marketing Officers, marketing directors, and senior brand strategists from leading organisations across retail, technology, telecommunications, financial services, and beyond. The 2026 edition reflects the increasing complexity of the modern marketing function and the growing demand for leaders who can operate at the intersection of creativity, data, and commercial accountability.

A Programme Built Around What Matters

The summit's content agenda has been developed in direct response to the strategic priorities and pressures facing today's marketing leaders. Sessions will address six core themes that define the current marketing landscape.

Marketing Reimagined with AI examines how organisations are moving beyond experimentation to embed artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and dynamic personalisation into their core marketing operations in ways that deliver measurable commercial impact.

Brand Credibility in the Digital Age tackles one of the most pressing challenges in modern marketing: maintaining consumer trust in an environment saturated with AI-generated content, misinformation, and heightened scepticism.

The programme also addresses talent as a strategic asset, with dedicated sessions on

Empowering Marketing Talent exploring how organisations can attract, develop, and retain the calibre of professionals needed to compete in a fast-evolving landscape.

CMO as a Value Maximiser speaks directly to the budget and accountability pressures facing senior marketers, focusing on how to align investment with business outcomes and demonstrate the commercial value of the marketing function.

Dynamic Operations and Marketing in Sync round out the agenda, addressing the operational and cross-functional alignment challenges that determine whether strategy translates into execution.

An Exceptional Speaker Faculty

The 2026 speaker faculty represents some of the most accomplished marketing professionals in Australia and globally.

Miki Luong, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at IBM ANZ, brings a global technology perspective to the conversation on AI and brand strategy.

James Holloman, CMO at David Jones, offers insight into brand transformation and consumer engagement at one of Australia's most iconic retail institutions.

Jordana Sunderland, Director of Integrated Marketing at Schneider Electric, contributes a global marketing lens to discussions on cross-functional alignment and campaign effectiveness.

Further sessions will be led by Hannah Fillis, Head of Digital Marketing and Media at MECCA, Karinne Limberiou, Head of Marketing at Telstra Enterprise, Jodi Murray-Freedman, CMO at Bakers Delight, and Wadim Schreiner, Head of Brand Strategy and Customer Propositions at Woolworths Group, among others.

An Invitation-Only Forum

Attendance at the CMO Summit is by invitation only. This deliberate approach ensures that every participant is a senior decision-maker, and that the conversations that take place are substantive, confidential, and genuinely useful.

The format combines keynote presentations, interactive sessions, and structured one-to-one meetings, giving both executives and solution providers the opportunity to engage in focused, productive dialogue.

The summit is hosted at the Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise, offering a world-class setting that complements the calibre of the event. For more information or to request an invitation, contact Stavros Karelidis, Senior Marketing Manager at Marcus Evans Summits.

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About Marcus Evans

Marcus Evans is a global media, corporate marketing, and information company employing over 3,000 professionals across 59 locations worldwide. For 40 years, the group has been producing premium business events and summits that connect senior executives with the intelligence, solutions, and networks they need to drive organisational performance.