Programme
The second edition

Lugano Global Forum 2026

Dedicated to better understanding our rapidly changing world.

16–17 November 2026 LAC, Lugano
Programme The 2025 edition
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About the forum

A conversation, not a conference

The Lugano Global Forum is an annual, invitation-only gathering in Switzerland bringing together approximately 150 carefully selected leaders from government, business, banking and finance, technology, academia and international media.

Independent by design and deliberately limited in size, the Forum creates an environment for candid discussion about the forces reshaping our world: geopolitics, geo-economics, the global economy, artificial intelligence, technology and the future of global markets.

The ambition is simple: to build in Lugano an independent Swiss platform for global dialogue.

More about the forum
Lugano and its lake from the air
Aerial view of the Lugano waterfront and Piazza della Riforma
Theme 2026

A world in upheaval

Geopolitics. Geo-economics. Artificial Intelligence.

War, trade conflict, technological disruption and shifting centres of economic and political power are reshaping the international order. LGF 2026 brings together leaders from Switzerland and around the world to understand the forces driving this upheaval, where they may lead, and what they mean for governments, business and global markets.

Speakers

Voices of the forum

All speakers
Lionel Barber, author and former Editor-in-Chief of the Financial Times

Lionel Barber

Author and broadcaster

Former Editor-in-Chief, Financial Times

Bill Emmott, writer and former Editor-in-Chief of The Economist

Bill Emmott

Writer and consultant

Former Editor-in-Chief, The Economist

Anja Fiedler, Chief Executive Officer of Switzerland Global Enterprise

Anja Fiedler

Chief Executive Officer

Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE)

Paolo Gentiloni, Chair of the European Investment Bank Global Advisory Council

Paolo Gentiloni

Chair of the Global Advisory Council

European Investment Bank

Portrait of Zichen Wang

Zichen Wang

Deputy Secretary-General

Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

Mercedes Ruehl, Switzerland and Austria Correspondent, Financial Times

Mercedes Ruehl

Switzerland and Austria Correspondent

Financial Times

Luca Pedrotti, Regional Director and Head Wealth Management Ticino, UBS

Luca Pedrotti

Managing Director, Regional Director & Head Wealth Management Ticino

UBS

Portrait of Joe Sarno

Joe Sarno

Executive Vice President, International Sales

Fortinet

Portrait of Jay Obernolte

Jay Obernolte

U.S. Congressman, California’s 23rd District

U.S. House of Representatives

Portrait of Luigi Di Maio

Luigi Di Maio

EU Special Representative for the Gulf region

European Union

Portrait of Page Crahan

Page Crahan

General Manager, Tapestry

X, the Moonshot Factory

Programme

Two days of dialogue

  • Morning plenary: Geopolitics, Trade and Geo-economics
  • 08:30

    Registration

  • 09:30

    Opening remarks and partner welcome

    Alan Friedman, Michele Foletti, Luca Pedrotti, Paolo Mondia, Joe Sarno, and Claudio Bassetti.

  • 09:45

    Director’s introduction to Lugano Global Forum 2026 and to Sergio P. Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer, UBS

  • 09:50

    Opening Message from Ottawa

    Melanie Joly, Minister of Trade and Industry, Canada

  • 09:55

    The View from Switzerland: How to Navigate the New World Disorder

    Alan Friedman in conversation with Sergio P. Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer, UBS.

  • 10:25

    The View from Washington

    E.J. Dionne, Brookings Fellow and veteran Washington Post political columnist

  • 10:55

    Commentary and discussion

    With E.J. Dionne, Lionel Barber and Bill Emmott. Moderated by Alan Friedman.

  • 11:20

    Coffee break and networking in Room 1

  • 11:40

    The View from Beijing: China and the New Global Order

    Zichen Wang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing. Introduced by Sally Bundock.

  • 12:10

    Commentary and discussion

    With Bill Emmott, Bernardino Regazzoni and Giampiero Massolo. Moderated by Sally Bundock.

  • 12:25

    The View from the Gulf

    Keynote address TBD

  • 12:55

    Commentary and discussion

    With Luigi Di Maio, Barbara Cimmino and Lionel Barber. Moderated by Sally Bundock.

  • 13:15

    Buffet lunch at LAC

  • 14:15

    Opening of the Boîte d’Or experiential space with Alberto Prandoni

    The space remains open Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday.

  • 14:30–15:45

    Breakout Session A, Refectory: High Impact Philanthropy

    Lynn Fritz, Riccardo Braglia, Helga Piaget, Luc Pettavino. Moderated by Alan Friedman.

  • 14:30–15:35

    Breakout Session B, Room One: Europe’s Future

    Giampiero Massolo, Bernardino Regazzoni and Barbara Cimmino. Moderated by Antonio Di Bella.

  • 15:35–16:00

    Coffee break and networking in Room 1

  • Afternoon plenary
  • 16:00

    Special address

    Ambassador Callista Gingrich, United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

  • 16:15

    Special Address: The View from Europe

    Paolo Gentiloni, former Prime Minister of Italy and former European Commissioner for the Economy.

  • 16:45

    Roundtable

    Putin and Trump, Putin, Trump, and Xi. The War in Ukraine and Europe. The War in Iran and Europe. The Future of NATO, The Rise of the Pro-Russia Far Right in Germany and France, The bond markets vs. Bessent and implications for the ECB, The dollar and the euro. Panellists: Paolo Gentiloni, Fabio Natalucci, Giampiero Massolo, Bernardino Regazzoni. Moderator: Sally Bundock.

  • 17:15

    The View from Switzerland

    Hélène Budliger Artieda, State Secretary and Director, SECO. Introduced by Alan Friedman.

  • 17:45

    Swiss Business Leaders in a Changing World

    Monika Rühl, Anja Fiedler and Suzanne Thoma. Moderated by Mercedes Ruehl.

  • 18:15

    Audience questions

  • 18:25

    The View from Southeast Asia. The Iran war, the Ukraine war, the rise of China, seen from Kuala Lumpur. Plus: Election Fever: Can Malaysian Democracy Deliver? Is Malaysia Truly Asia?

    Special Address by Dato’ Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia and former Minister of Home Affairs. Introduced by Alan Friedman.

  • 18:45

    TAEX: “Marina Abramovic, TAEX, and the Story of Digital Art”

    Alan Friedman in a conversation about AI and the arts with Stefanie de Regel on TAEX.

  • 18:55

    Alan invites all delegates to join the Official LGF Dinner at 20:00, with welcome drink beginning at 19:30 at Swiss Diamond Hotel La Romantica

  • Official LGF Dinner · Swiss Diamond Hotel La Romantica
  • 19:00

    Transfer to Cocktail & Dinner Event from LAC

  • 19:30

    Official LGF cocktail at the Swiss Diamond Hotel La Romantica

  • 20:15

    Lugano Global Forum Official Dinner at the Swiss Diamond Hotel La Romantica

  • 20:45

    Presentation of the World Charity Union Awards

  • 21:00

    Acknowledgement of institutional and sponsor partners

  • 21:15

    Coffee served

With the support of

Partners

All partners
Attendance

Become a Partner

If you are a corporate interested in becoming a Partner for LGF 2027, please contact us.

  • 16–17 November 2026
  • LAC, Lugano
  • info@luganoglobalforum.org
Newsroom

Around the forum

All stories
Prodi and Klaus Clash at the Opening of the Lugano Global Forum: Europe Faces the New World Disorder
Press releases

Prodi and Klaus Clash at the Opening of the Lugano Global Forum: Europe Faces the New World Disorder

LUGANO – November 10, 2025 — A lively, direct and unfiltered exchange between Romano Prodi and Václav Klaus inaugurated the first edition of the Lugano Global Forum, offering a vivid snapshot of the geopolitical tensions running through Europe in a time of deep global uncertainty. The encounter, conceived — as Director Alan Friedman noted — “to let serious people talk seriously,” immediately captured the attention of the 150 international leaders in attendance.