Conference News: Fortune Celebrates America; LEAP jumps to Asia; Aspen’s Climate Sessions
Fortune 500 Innovation Forum: In 2026, in commemoration of America’s 250th birthday, Fortune will gather executives from Fortune 500 companies along with innovative startup founders and policy makers to discuss American competitiveness and economic growth. Held from 16 – 17 November in Detroit the Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will take the place of the Fortune Global Forum for this year as a way of celebrating American Innovation. Fortune stresses that the focus will be on innovation (not just AI), highlighting case studies of how iconic brands have and are maintaining relevance and how they are utilizing unique processes to do so.
LEAP-ing Into a New Location: Tahaluf, a B2B events organizer in Saudi Arabia that is part of Informa, has announced that they would be expanding the LEAP conference brand in 2026 to Asia. LEAP East will launch in July and be held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 9-11 July 2026. LEAP East will aim to bring together experts from various fields to explore fintech, gaming, robotics, AI, smart cities, digital transformation, and Web3, among other emerging technologies. The organizers stated that Last year, LEAP in Riyadh had a strong speaker representation from Hong Kong and the new event will “underscore the fast-growing business relationship between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, as both regions continue to solidify their roles as vibrant global tech hubs.” Just this week, LEAP Riyadh announced that the event will be postponed to 31 August through 3 September to ensure strong international participation.
Submission Opportunity: Held during Chicago Climate Week, Aspen Ideas: Climate Chicago provides a platform to discuss climate solutions and foster collaborations, particularly those in Chicago and the Midwest. Hosted by the Aspen Institute in partnership with the Chicago Climate Corps (C3), this multi-day event convenes policymakers, scientists and academics, business and NGO leaders, Aspen Ideas Climate drew over 1,300 attendees last year – its first time in Chicago after three years in Miami. Have a speaker idea for the mainstage plenaries, breakout panels, workshops, private roundtables, or half-day programmatic deep dives? Proposals are accepted now through 1 May.
Lunchtime Learning: Speaking of last year’s Aspen Ideas Climate Chicago… If you are looking to see what topics resonated, check out the 2025 videos here. Nearly 30 sessions are available to view, from the opening and closing plenaries, to session on the clean energy workforce, future of water in the Great Lakes, carbon accounting, farming in a changing climate, and future-proofing the built environment.
Coming Up Next Week: During Axios AI+DC Takeover Week, the media group promises to bring its “AI coverage to life” with a three-day series kicking off 23 March and culminating in the fourth annual AI+DC Summit on 25 March. The week will feature special programming on the impacts of AI on the new defense landscape and the new wave of the AI economy. Transform – where Chief HR and other business leaders reimagine the future of people and work – takes place at the Wynn Las Vegas from 23-25 March centering on the 2026 theme “The Human + AI Equation: Forging the Next Era of Work.” For more than 30 years, RSA Conference has promised to be a “driving force behind the world’s cybersecurity community.” This year’s RSA USA gets underway 23 March at Moscone Center in San Francisco. CERAweek is held 23-27 March in Houston, convening more than 10k attendees from the energy sector across more than 80 countries. And from 24-26 March, ShopTalk Spring convenes over 10k retail ecosystem attendees at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.