emerging leaders in multinationals summit 2026

• Setting the intention for the day and how to get the most out of ELM 2026 and reboot your human advantage
  

• The leaders of Australia's foreign-owned companies have a greater opportunity and responsibility to punch above their weight on the global stage than ever before
• Rich unpacks the leadership 'programs' that worked in a simpler era but now create friction: between global HQ and local teams, between human instinct and digital tools, between doing and truly leading
• What it means to reboot, not start over, but deliberately upgrade how we lead, as AI now demands more of leaders than no previous era of change has required before

• Few people are better placed to answer this question. Maile Carnegie has led at the top of three world-class organisations across consumer goods, technology and financial services, spanning three decades of change
• Maile and Rich unpack which human leadership attributes proved most critical across each chapter, what stayed constant, what had to evolve, and what this AI era is now demanding of leaders that nothing before it fully prepared them for

• Robert Swan OBE is the first person in history to walk to both Poles, a feat requiring radical clarity of purpose, team trust and critical decision-making under extreme pressure
• His 2041 Foundation has spent 30+ years mobilising global leaders around purpose-driven, long-term stewardship, proof that the human qualities that matter at the Poles are the same ones that matter in the boardroom
• Robert leaves participants with a personal framework for authentic leadership with courage, commitment and compassion, how to cut through complexity, stay focused on what matters, and move forward when the path is unclear

• The future belongs to leaders who challenge either/or thinking and embrace the power of AND. The tension between humanity and technology is the most urgent example of this today
• Tim Arnold advises multinational organisations on navigating the chronic conflicts that slow leaders and teams down
• Participants work through a personal tension map: identifying competing demands and building a practical framework for holding both sides productively. Highly actionable and designed for immediate use

• The best country leaders think like strategists. They understand their market more deeply than global HQ ever will and they use that asymmetry as their greatest source of influence
• Drawing on his unique vantage point advising the world's top multinationals, Mark reveals the mindset, commercial clarity and behaviours that distinguish the very best country leaders and what emerging leaders can start doing now
• How the best country leaders are treating AI, not as an IT problem, but as a strategy, culture and judgment question that sits squarely on their desk

Named Best MBA Teacher at London Business School, MIT and Melbourne Business School. Brand consultant to LVMH (in-house for 13 years), McKinsey, De Beers, J&J, Shiseido, Subaru and more. Founder of the globally acclaimed Mini MBA.

• Leading a local operation inside a global company means navigating the tension between HQ ambition and market reality. The best multinational leaders don't just manage this tension, they harness it
• CEOs from different industries share top insights, hard lessons and practical strategies from the intersection of global and local leadership. Each is a member of Abundium's Multinational Business Council, championing the voice of foreign-owned companies in Australia
  
• The panel will also tackle the AI questions leaders in this room are wrestling with right now, from managing AI directives arriving from global HQ, to building AI-ready teams in a local market moving at its own pace

• A day of insight only creates change if it leads to action. Tim Arnold returns to close ELM 2026 with a structured, high-energy session designed to convert the day’s learning into concrete commitments

• Drawing on his Lead with AND framework, Tim brings the threads of the day together and guides participants through one practical question: what are your next two moves?

• Every participant leaves with specific, personal commitments, not intentions, but actions, to take back into their teams and organisations