A conversation, not a conference
Our mission is to promote better understanding in an age of uncertainty.
The Lugano Global Forum brings together people who make decisions, shape ideas, manage capital, build companies and interpret world events. We believe that genuine dialogue between these communities is increasingly important at a time when geopolitics and economics can no longer be considered separately.
The Forum is designed to provide independent perspective, strategic insight and direct exchange across national, political and professional boundaries.
- Our community is selective.
- Our conversations are candid.
- Our perspective is international.
- Our ambition is global.
Quality, not quantity
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.
It is a conversation, not a conference: a place where senior decision-makers, business leaders and independent thinkers can exchange views directly, challenge conventional thinking and better understand a rapidly changing world.
The ambition is simple: to build in Lugano an independent Swiss platform for global dialogue.
Who is in the room?
What distinguishes the Lugano Global Forum is not simply who appears on the stage. It is who is in the room.
LGF brings together approximately 150 invited participants: heads of companies, policymakers, bankers and investors, entrepreneurs, economists, technology innovators, academics, philanthropists and leading international journalists.
For 2026, participants include Sergio P. Ermotti, Group CEO of UBS; Paolo Gentiloni, former Prime Minister of Italy and former European Commissioner; Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner; Hélène Budliger Artieda, Switzerland’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Director of SECO; Callista L. Gingrich, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein; Wang Huiyao, Founder and President of the Center for China and Globalization; Suzanne Thoma, Executive Chair of Sulzer; Page Crahan, General Manager of Tapestry at X, the Moonshot Factory; and Luigi Di Maio, EU Special Representative for the Gulf.
The international media presence is equally important. Participants include Lionel Barber, former Editor of the Financial Times; Bill Emmott, former Editor-in-Chief of The Economist; Sally Bundock, Chief Presenter at BBC News; E.J. Dionne Jr., Brookings senior fellow, Georgetown professor and New York Times contributing columnist; Antonio Di Bella, former Director of Rai News 24; and Mercedes Ruehl of the Financial Times.
The audience matters just as much: senior executives, investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, diplomats and opinion-formers, selected to create substantive interaction rather than simply fill a hall.
This concentration of decision-makers is intentional. LGF is designed for a few hundred people, not thousands.
A world being reshaped
We are living through a period of profound geopolitical and economic change.
Wars, trade tensions and geopolitical rivalry are challenging assumptions that shaped the international system for decades. The relationship between the United States and Europe is changing. China is seeking a larger global role. The Gulf and the emerging economies of Asia and the Global South are becoming increasingly important centres of economic and political power.
At the same time, governments and businesses must navigate trade fragmentation, enormous public debt, volatile financial and currency markets, energy insecurity and accelerating technological change.
Artificial intelligence is adding another dimension. Competition over AI, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, semiconductors and technological sovereignty is increasingly inseparable from questions of national security and economic power.
The old boundaries between geopolitics, economics, finance and technology are disappearing.
For business leaders and policymakers, understanding how these forces interact is no longer optional. It is the environment in which decisions must be made.
The questions
The Lugano Global Forum is built around questions rather than predetermined answers.
- How do governments and businesses navigate a more volatile geopolitical environment?
- What does geo-economic fragmentation mean for trade, investment and global markets?
- How will the changing relationship between the United States, Europe and China reshape the world economy?
- What role can Switzerland play in an increasingly divided international system?
- How will artificial intelligence transform economic power, productivity, security and global competition?
- What risks are markets underestimating, and where are the opportunities?
And above all: where is the world going next?
Alan Friedman
Alan Friedman is a well-known journalist, best-selling author and television commentator who has been an award-winning foreign correspondent with The Financial Times of London, The International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
He has served as an adviser to various heads of government across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has also been a prominent talk show host on Italian television, developing and anchoring prime time shows for Rai 2 and Rai 3, Sky TG24, RAI News 24, RTV San Marino and La7.
He is presently an opinion columnist for Italy’s La Stampa newspaper and the author of The End of America? A Guide To The New World Disorder (Biteback Publishing, 2025). He moved to Lugano in 2021.
The team
The Forum is organised on behalf of Synchronicity Media SA.
- Alan Friedman Executive Director
- Camilla Angelino Event Coordinator
- Roberta Lanzolla Press Office Italy
- Margherita Vanini Press Office Switzerland
- Gabriele Franceschi Digital Director
- Barbara Erskine Programme Director
- Veronica Kohlbecker Director of Gulf Partnerships
- Gabriella Carignani Administrator, Synchronicity Media SA
- Nina Kogan Social Media
International Advisory Board
Five members were appointed to the Forum’s International Advisory Board ahead of the second edition, to guide its direction and its programme.
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Ambassador Bernardino Regazzoni
Senior Swiss diplomat · Lugano
A senior Swiss diplomat and former Ambassador to China, Mongolia, and North Korea (2019–2022), with previous postings in France, Italy, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. Ambassador Regazzoni brings deep, first-hand insight into European and Asian diplomacy and international relations at a time of shifting global power dynamics.
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David French
Executive Vice President, Chief Lobbyist, National Retail Federation · Washington, D.C.
As the chief lobbyist for the world’s largest retail association, Mr. French represents leading U.S. retailers with combined annual sales exceeding USD 5 trillion. His perspective is central to shaping U.S. and global policy on trade, taxation, supply-chain security, consumer markets, and the digital economy.
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Antonio Di Bella
Former Director of TG3 and Rai News 24 · Rome
Veteran journalist and television executive. With more than four decades across New York, Paris, and Rome, Mr. Di Bella brings unparalleled experience in global media, public communication, and international political reporting.
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Lynn Fritz
Founder of the Fritz Institute · San Francisco
A pioneer of modern just-in-time logistics, Mr. Fritz has helped reshape global crisis-response systems by applying private-sector precision to humanitarian action. He has worked with the Red Cross, the United Nations, and USAID to strengthen efficiency and resilience in international relief operations.
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Massimo Volpe
Founder & CEO of Retail Hub · London
Retail Hub is a leading retail-tech innovation platform connecting startups, investors, and major corporations across Europe and the United States. Mr. Volpe enhances the Forum’s focus on technology-driven transformation in global commerce and consumer behaviour.
“This high-caliber International Advisory Board reinforces the Lugano Global Forum’s commitment to establishing a setting where depth of thought, intellectual independence, and constructive dialogue prevail over spectacle.”
Work with the forum
Speaking opportunities, partnerships, media accreditation or a question about attending — the team reads everything.