August 31, 2026 · Olten · Switzerland
Swiss Digital Leadership Forum 2026
Swiss Digital Leadership Forum · Conference on AI · Digital · Marketing · New Work · Cybersecurity
Fotos: Marc Gilgen / FHNW / Advatera
Digital Leadership, Digital Transformation, Agile Leadership, Business Management, Digital Workplace and Cybersecurity in the era of the rise of AI
Join us on August 31, 2026, for a one day digital leadership conference in Olten, Switzerland.
Experience a day filled with engaging workshops, talks, and discussions on key topics such as responsible AI, digital leadership, digital transformation, corporate culture, agile leadership and cybersecurity. The Digital Leadership Forum will be held at the FHNW Campus in Olten, featuring a state-of-the-art lab showcasing cutting-edge technologies like generative AI. Can’t wait to see you there!
Partners
Swiss Digital Leadership Forum · SPEAKERS 2026
Speakers
Adrian Aeschbacher
(Switzerland)
Video Editor, Screenwriter & Director
Aldo Gnocchi
FHNW (Switzerland)
Digital Marketing
Head of Programme: AI-Powered Digital Marketing, Digital Content Creation and Content Marketing. Lecturer in Digital Marketing and AI.
Andreas Mollet
INOLUTION Innovative Solution AG (Switzerland)
Managing Director
Competence, talent and performance management for organisations. Individual, pragmatic and future-oriented. For competent employees today, tomorrow and beyond.
Bettina Schneider
FHNW (Switzerland)
Head of Competence Center Digital Trust, FHNW School of Business
Christine Deger
CYBERLUCHS for Business (Spain)
Interim CISO
Empowereing CISOs & ISBs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland | CISO masterclass, mentoring & 20+ years of cybersecurity | Women4Cyber’
David Drodge
Roche (Switzerland)
Group Lead Digital Transformation AI & Digital Marketing
Digital leadership
Ervane Tchoumi
Nyamga (Switzerland)
AI Governance & Strategy Advisor
Gery Bruederlin
FHNW (Switzerland)
Professor Human Resources & Strategic HR Consultant
Gundekar Giebel
Kanton Bern (Switzerland)
Leiter Kommunikation, Responsable de communication, Gesundheits-, Sozial- und Integrationsdirektion
Jacqueline Vo
LGT Private Banking (Switzerland)
GenAI Digital Workplace Engineer
Johannes Fenner
FHNW (Switzerland)
Head of Programme: Digital Leadership, Digital Marketing & Performance Marketing. Lecturer in Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing Expert with broad corporate experience, as strategic consultant and as academic lecturer.
Johannes Müller
Siemens (Switzerland)
Senior Manager Knowledge Management
Karin Christen
required gmbh (Switzerland)
Managing Director, Co-Founder
Luke Szkudlarek
what. AG (Switzerland)
Growth Strategy Lead, Founder
Maria Ivashchenko
Accor (UK)
Communications Manager UKI, Benelux & the Nordics
Maria is an internal communications specialist at Accor, where she drives creative, human-centred campaigns and formats across Europe & North Africa.
Mark Moser
FHNW (Switzerland)
Intercultural Communication & Negotiation Expert
Martin König
Durchblick - Business Coaching (Switzerland)
Transformation Coach
Empowering people to shape cultures and redesign organisations.
Martina Dalla Vecchia
FHNW (Switzerland)
Head of Programme: Digital Leadership in IT. Cybersecurity. AI powered CyberTech
Michael Krebs
FHNW, Edinburgh Business School (Switzerland)
Senior Lecturer
Leading People and Develop Organizations in the Age of Homo Digitalis
Michael Sitte
FHNW (Switzerland)
Professor Human Resource Management
Empowering HR through insights and data-driven actions
Oliver Dörr
Microsoft (Switzerland)
Field CTO - EMEA Enterprise ISVs
Rainer Kessler
STAC (Switzerland)
Cyber Security & Artificial-Intelligence Safety
Sara Stella Lattanzio
(Switzerland)
B2B Marketing Expert
Sarah Genner
(Switzerland)
Digital Transformation Expert
Sibylle Olbert
FHNW (Switzerland)
Head of Institute for Human Resource Management and Organisation
People X AI - Working and leading responsibly
Simon Bertschinger
namuk outdoor clothing for kids (Switzerland)
Head of E-Commerce
Performance Marketing Strategist | Shopify Enthusiast | Dad of three
Stella Gatziu Grivas
FHNW (Switzerland)
Head Competence Center Cloud, Digitalisation & Transformation
From the IT Basement to the Customer Frontline: Empowering CIOs as Digital Leaders
Susanne Dornemann
FHNW (Switzerland)
Sustainability, Change & Teamcollaboration
Empowering employees to shape change in a sustainable way
Tuanni Marshall
Transport for London (UK)
Social Media Manager
The best part of my job is exploring London and meeting people from different teams - every day is different, and that keeps things exciting.
Volker Grünauer
Advatera (Austria)
Moderator
Volker Grünauer is a European conference chair, speaker, and founder of Advatera. He helps communications, digital, and marketing teams understand and apply AI in a practical and responsible way. As a lecturer and workshop facilitator, he combines strategic thinking with hands-on experience in digital workplace, intranet, and transformation topics.
Yanin Merlini
Merys Group (Switzerland)
Founder
Turning clarity into growth: offers, content & campaigns that convert
Agenda Swiss Digital Leadership Forum 2026
Track A
AI powered Digital Marketing
Aldo Gnocchi, FHNW
AI powered Digital Marketing
Aldo Gnocchi, FHNW
Track
B
New Work & Digital Workplace
Marie Gonzalez, Advatera
New Work & Digital Workplace
Marie Gonzalez, Advatera
Track
C
Marketing Organisations in the AI-Age
Johannes Fenner, FHNW
Marketing Organisations in the AI-Age
Johannes Fenner, FHNW
Track
D
Cybersecurity & AI-Safety
Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNW
Cybersecurity & AI-Safety
Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNW
Track
E
IT Leadership for CIOs
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
IT Leadership for CIOs
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
Track
F
HR Management & Agile
Sibylle Olbert, FHNW
HR Management & Agile
Sibylle Olbert, FHNW
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
8:30 am – 9:00 am CEST
Good Morning & Check-In
Dominik Schneider, Advatera
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
8:45 am – 9:30 am CEST
Moderated Roundtable Discussions
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
9:30 am – 9:45 am CEST
Opening: Align & Lead
The warm welcome by Martina Dalla Vecchia and Rico Travello will be followed by a short seated yoga session.
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
9:45 am – 10:15 am CEST
Keynote: Digital Transformation Strategy
Sarah Genner
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
10:15 am – 10:45 am CEST
Coffee & Gipfeli
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
10:45 am – 11:15 am CEST
Notion Automated Content Ecosystem with n8n Agent Orchestration
Karin Christen, required gmbh
Room B
Monday, Aug 31
10:45 am – 11:15 am CEST
AI, you, & the future of work
What types of work will AI reshape
How do we adopt AI? The 3 Es of of AI Adoption, Human Elements: Employees & Leaders, Case Study: A Tale of 2 Swedish Companies (Klarna & Ikea)
Conclusion: What can and should we do now for the future
David Drodge, Roche
Room C
Monday, Aug 31
10:45 am – 11:15 am CEST
Should You Fire Your Agency?
AI is quietly making many agency services obsolete — or at least, much cheaper to do in-house. As a digital leader, you now have a choice you've never had before: rebuild how you collaborate with agencies, or cut them entirely. This talk gives you a practical framework for deciding what to keep, what to insource, and how to demand more from your agency partners in the AI era. Whether you're a CMO, CDO, or managing a portfolio of digital suppliers — this session will change how you think about external collaboration.
Luke Szkudlarek, what. AG
Room D
German
Monday, Aug 31
10:45 am – 11:15 am CEST
KI-Tool-Auswahl in Unternehmen – Risiken, Sicherheit und Compliance im Fokus
Bettina Schneider, FHNW
Room E
German
Monday, Aug 31
10:45 am – 11:15 am CEST
Studienergebnisse FHNW CIO‑Studie 2026
IT‑Management‑Reifegrad: Die digitale Zukunft gestalten mit Innovation, KI & Leadership
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
Room F
German
Monday, Aug 31
10:45 am – 11:15 am CEST
HRM als Treiber & Enabler von KI in Organisationen
Mensch X KI ist mit zwei wesentlichen Rollen verbunden, die nicht nur dem HRM, sondern der Führung insgesamt zukommen: KI in Führungsprozesse zu integrieren sowie Veränderungen zu begleiten. Was ist erforderlich, um diese Aufgaben erfüllen zu können?
Sibylle Olbert, FHNW
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
When AI-Generated Video Makes Sense – A Practical Perspective
Adrian Aeschbacher
Room B
Monday, Aug 31
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Internal Comms Insights
Maria Ivashchenko, Accor
Room C
Monday, Aug 31
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Adapting the marketing organisation to AI - learnings and ambition from namuk
Simon Bertschinger, namuk outdoor clothing for kids
Johannes Fenner, FHNW
Room D
Monday, Aug 31
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Stop Prompting. Start Delegating: When AI Agents Become Your Digital Workforce.
In this session, we move beyond prompt-based AI to explore how autonomous agents can orchestrate end-to-end business workflows using the Microsoft Agentic Framework and integrate seamlessly into enterprise systems. Through real-world examples—including production-grade workflow automation with platforms like n8n—you’ll see how organizations are delegating complex tasks to AI-driven processes today to unlock scalable productivity and operational agility.
Oliver Dörr, Microsoft
Room E
German
Monday, Aug 31
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Podiumsdiskussion: CIO as a Digital Leader
In der Podiumsdiskussion beleuchten wir, wie CIOs heute Kultur formen, Innovation ermöglichen und Organisationen sicher durch den digitalen Wandel navigieren. Gemeinsam diskutieren wir: Was braucht es, um als CIO nicht nur mitzuhalten, sondern vorauszugehen? Welche Kompetenzen, welche Haltung und welche Vision definieren einen Digital Leader?
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
Room F
Monday, Aug 31
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Navigating Twin Transition: Leading Change for Digital Excellence and Sustainable Value
We explore how organisations can successfully navigate the twin transition by integrating digital innovation with sustainable value creation. Participants will gain practical insights into leading change, fostering digital excellence, and driving long‑term resilience.
Susanne Dornemann, FHNW
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CEST
Lunch & Learn
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
1:00 pm – 1:10 pm CEST
Digital Detox
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
1:10 pm – 1:40 pm CEST
Keynote
Ervane Tchoumi, Nyamga
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm CEST
Strategic content distribution in 2026
Sara Stella Lattanzio
Room B
Monday, Aug 31
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm CEST
Digital Transformation in Communication matters
4 decades of experiences, changes and helping to shape digital transformation in communication matters — and how AI is shaping the next phase
Gundekar Giebel, Kanton Bern
Room C
Monday, Aug 31
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm CEST
B2B-Digitalmarketing-Services im AI-Age
Welche Leistungen bleiben, welche werden egal?
Yanin Merlini, Merys Group
Room D
Monday, Aug 31
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm CEST
Incident Response Plan
Room E
Monday, Aug 31
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm CEST
CIO in Business
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
Room F
Monday, Aug 31
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm CEST
The merger of HR and IT in times of AI. A good or a bad idea?
What does this latest organizational development stand for? What are its pros and cons? When would it make sense and when not?
Gery Bruederlin, FHNW
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
2:15 pm – 2:45 pm CEST
Coffee
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm CEST
How to use social media to connect to customers and use employer generated content to create relatable and humanised content
Tuanni Marshall, Transport for London
Room B
Monday, Aug 31
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm CEST
New Work/Digital Workplace
Room C
Monday, Aug 31
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm CEST
Werde ich noch gefunden? Wie KI und neue Suchsysteme die Spielregeln verändern
Davide Cortese, Arcmedia AG
Room D
Monday, Aug 31
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm CEST
AI-Safety Regulations: EU AI Act and ISO 42001
Rainer Kessler, STAC
Room E
German
Monday, Aug 31
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm CEST
Leading Ahead: Wie ein CIO die digitale Zukunft eines Unternehmens prägt
Ein inspirierender Einblick aus der Praxis: Die mehrfach ausgezeichnete CIO zeigt auf, wie sie digitale Transformation, Innovationsfähigkeit und Leadership in einem Schweizer Unternehmen erfolgreich verbindet.
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
Room F
Monday, Aug 31
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm CEST
Inclusive Leadership in the Age of AI
Inclusive and responsible data-informed decisions?! Insights into an ongoing research project on bias in HRM data analysis, with and without AI.
Michael Sitte, FHNW
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
3:20 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Breakout Masterclass: Communications in AI Transformatin - An interactive Interview with Marc Moser and Aldo Gnocchi
Mark Moser, FHNW
Aldo Gnocchi, FHNW
Room B
Monday, Aug 31
3:20 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Breakout Masterclass: GenAI & digital workplace & The Power of Knowledge Management
Johannes Müller, Siemens
Jacqueline Vo, LGT Private Banking
Room C
Monday, Aug 31
3:20 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Breakout Masterclass: Digital Leadership - Building the Competences That Matter
Andreas Mollet, INOLUTION Innovative Solution AG
Johannes Fenner, FHNW
Room D
Monday, Aug 31
3:20 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Breakout Masterclass: 5 AI-Tools for CISOs
Christine Deger, CYBERLUCHS for Business
Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNW
Room E
German
Monday, Aug 31
3:20 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Breakout Masterclass: Der CIO als Digital Leader
Warum der CIO heute der wichtigste Transformationsleader ist.
Live‑Assessment auf der Studienplattform.
Diskussion im Plenum.
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
Room F
Monday, Aug 31
3:20 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Breakout Masterclass: Stop Bullshit Work - action learning for more focused and inspired work
Today’s Homo Digitalis works in an environment of constant fragmentation: chats, e-mails, social media, AI-agent notifications, AI work slop and an ever-growing number of meetings compete for attention.
Based on the proven action learning program “More SMART than PHONE – Focused and Inspired Work”, the session provides practical tools to work more concentrated, inspired and productive in the age of permanent digital distraction.
Michael Krebs, FHNW, Edinburgh Business School
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm CEST
Townhall - Summarizing the Conference
Room A
Monday, Aug 31
4:30 pm – 7:00 pm CEST
Network-Apéro & Prize Draw
Agenda and locations subject to changes
Join us...
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Register below for the Swiss Digital Leadership Forum on August, 31 2026. The conference is held at FHNW in Olten, Switzerland.
Included in the ticket is a full day of workshops and sessions as well as catering and the get-together after the conference.
Address of conference venue:
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
Campus Olten
Riggenbachstrasse 16
4600 Olten
Switzerland
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