Program

 

26 October, 2026 (CST)

PROVOKE GLOBAL SUMMIT DAY 1

09:50 - 10:00
Welcome & Introduction
10:00 - 11:00
Making Sense of the Chaos Keynote
Penta CEO Jim O’Leary and PRovoke Media founder Paul Holmes try to make sense of the chaos embroiling the corporate, political and media world in 2026.
Penta
11:00 - 11:45
Communicating in Chaos

In an era defined by geopolitical uncertainty, stakeholder polarization and information overload, CEOs are increasingly expected to act as trusted communicators. The leaders who break through are those perceived as genuine subject-matter experts rather than brand ambassadors, able to provide clarity and credibility amid a growing volume of competing voices and narratives.

Tapping from original research on US and global panels, this session explores how organizations and CEOs can navigate growing expectations around taking a stance on complex issues in an increasingly fragmented world, where stakeholder expectations often differ across markets and communities, and what clarity-first leadership means for trust and reputation.

SEC Newgate
11:45 - 12:15
Fireside Chat: A look at McDonald’s Brand Storytelling Evolution
For decades, brand storytelling meant a TV spot and a press release. Today it’s a TikTok trend fans start without you, a meme that becomes a menu item, and a community that expects to be part of the story, not just the audience for it. Join Nubia Murray (Senior Director, U.S. Brand Communications at McDonald’s) and AJ Livsey (Head of Strategy at Golin Ketchum Chicago) as they unpack how one of the world’s most recognizable brands has rethought the way it shows up: listening to fans, moving at the speed of culture, and earning attention. And how they’ve evolved their approach to storytelling through an audience-centric, platform approach. 
Golin Ketchum
12:15 - 13:10
Lunch Break
13:10 - 14:10
Leading Change: Why Communications Is the Engine of Enterprise Transformation Keynote

Enterprise transformation is about more than changing systems. It's about changing how organizations operate, engage stakeholders, and create value. As companies navigate shifting expectations, new business models, workforce evolution, and AI-driven change, communications has become a critical driver of success. 

Bringing together communications leaders from some of the world's most influential companies, this session will explore real-world lessons, challenges, and strategies for turning enterprise change into lasting business impact. From building alignment and shaping culture to driving adoption and engagement, the discussion will show how communicators help organizations navigate complexity, accelerate change, and achieve transformation goals.

Discussion topics

  • Why communications is a driver of enterprise transformation, not just a messenger of change
  • How the communications function can serve as a pacesetter for transformation by bringing an outside-in perspective—connecting external trends, stakeholder expectations, and emerging signals to internal priorities and decisions
  • The importance of shaping culture and behaviors that support long-term transformation goals
  • How to balance speed, transparency, and stakeholder expectations during periods of disruption
  • Lessons from organizations that successfully transformed how they operate, compete, and create value
Burson
14:10 - 14:55
In Conversation with the 2026 Young Changemaker Award Winners
We. Communications
14:55 - 15:10
Networking Coffee Break
15:10 - 15:55
The Modern PR Playbook: Earning C-Suite Trust in Complex Times
When a crisis hits or a market pivots, executive leaders don’t look for media metrics; they look for strategic foresight. This session strips away the corporate jargon to explore how PR professionals can cultivate genuine, high-impact alliances across the C-Suite, evolving from tactical executors into trusted counselors who deliver unshakeable clarity, speed, and credibility.
The Sway Effect
15:55 - 16:35
Real Stories, Artificial Intelligence: Governance, Transparency and Trust in the AI Era
AI now shapes how stories are written, pitched and told. Audiences, clients and regulators are asking harder questions about what's real. New AI disclosure rules in the U.S. and EU, unsettled questions of ownership, and rising concern about authenticity mean communicators can no longer treat AI as just a productivity tool. In this session, Samantha Rothaus, a partner at Davis+Gilbert with significant experience advising on the use of AI in marketing and communication, will moderate a panel of PR and technology leaders exploring how organizations are building AI governance, staying compliant with evolving laws, and deciding when and how to be open about AI use. The panel will also discuss why answering these questions correctly is already a business imperative and critical source of credibility in a time when authenticity in storytelling has never been more important.
Davis+Gilbert
16:35 - 16:40
Global Summit Day 1 Closing

26 October, 2026 (CST)

GLOBAL SABRE AWARDS

19:00 - 20:00
Global SABRE Awards Drinks Reception
20:00 - 22:00
Global SABRE Awards

PRovoke Media’s Global SABRE Awards ceremony on October 27 will honor the best public relations campaigns and agencies around the world—and offer attendees the opportunity to celebrate their own local markets, the City of Chicago, or the impending Halloween holiday.

We are inviting all attendees—including our Global SABRE Awards winners and our Global Agency of the Year honorees—the opportunity to dress up and express themselves in a variety of styles:

  • For those traveling from international markets, national dress is an option;
  • For those looking to celebrate the City of Chicago, local history might be your inspiration;
  • For those already thinking ahead to Halloween, the event can be a test run for the holiday;
  • And for those who prefer traditional business attire, masques will be provided (but strictly optional).

While the costume aspect of the evening will be strictly optional, there will be prizes for the best of those who make a special effort.

The evening will begin with a cocktail reception at 7pm. The dinner and accompanying awards presentations will run from 8pm to 10pm. An after party, sponsored by UK creative shop The Romans, will end the evening from 10pm-11pm.

22:00 - 23:00
Global SABRE Awards After Party
The Romans

27 October, 2026 (CST)

PROVOKE GLOBAL SUMMIT DAY 2

09:10 - 09:15
Welcome & Introduction
09:15 - 10:00
The Chicago Principles Keynote

In a wide-ranging discussion of the state of the public relations industry, Richard Edelman will sit down with Paul Holmes ahead of the 75th anniversary of Edelman, to make the case for independent status and family ownership, and to explain why trust is at the center of Edelman’s strategy and the profession’s future.

Edelman
10:00 - 10:30
INspire SABRE Winner Presentations
The 2026 PRovoke Global Summit will again feature 'PRovoke/INspire', where a selection of our Global SABRE Awards winners will give short 15-minute presentations on their winning campaigns.

10:00 - 10:15: ‘From the Road’ with Ian Cohen, Jordan Guthmann

10:15 - 10:30: ‘Lidl by Lidl’ with Jordan Kavanagh

See all Global SABRE winners here. Rankings will be unveiled during the Global SABRE Awards ceremony on the evening of Monday, October 26.

10:30 - 10:50
Two Decades of Change in Two Years: Driving Value in a Transformed Healthcare Ecosystem

Over the last two years, the healthcare industry has experienced two decades' worth of change. Institutional trust has eroded, geopolitical shifts have disrupted health agencies, and affordability concerns, health misinformation and the rapid rise of AI use for health education have upended the ecosystem. Each of these shifts would be a defining challenge on its own. Yet, health communicators have had to absorb them all simultaneously while also managing leadership changes, organizational restructuring and an expanding stakeholder set.

Impactful communication doesn’t just keep pace with change – it drives measurable business value amid constant uncertainty. Doing so requires focusing where it matters most, offering proof points that establish credibility and advance access and cutting through the noise with creative conviction.

The pressure for communicators to deliver value through relentless change extends far beyond healthcare. In this fireside chat, we’ll explore how healthcare leaders are resetting priorities, aligning their teams and creating business and human impact. 

GCI Health
10:50 - 11:05
Networking Coffee Break
11:05 - 11:50
Who Owns The Narrative Now?

Companies are hiring heads of narrative. Boards are asking about it. And most organizations still can't say who actually owns it.

The reason is simple: a company's narrative is now shaped by creators, communities, critics, algorithms, and AI answer engines, often before the company says a word. Telling a good story still matters. But leaders now need to understand how narratives form, how they move, and where they can realistically be influenced.

This session brings together communications leaders to unpack what narrative leadership looks like in practice: who owns it, how to read it, and how to shape it without losing credibility.

Attendees will leave with a clear view of where narrative should sit in their organization and how to build the capability to lead it.

FINN Partners
11:50 - 12:50
INspire SABRE Winner Presentations
The 2026 PRovoke Global Summit will again feature 'PRovoke/INspire', where a selection of our Global SABRE Awards winners will give short 15-minute presentations on their winning campaigns.

11:50 - 12:05: ‘Breakfast +1: Taiwan's Behavioral Nutrition Revolution' with Emi Chen, Nancy Huang

12:05 - 12:20: 'Iceland: The Real Unreal’ with Jim Joseph, Phillippa Solway

12:20 - 12:35: ‘One sentence for help' with Simen Aukland

12:35 - 12:50: 'From Promises To Proofs' with Dr. Sunday Dare, Israel Opayemi

See all Global SABRE winners here. Rankings will be unveiled during the Global SABRE Awards ceremony on the evening of Monday, October 26.

12:50 - 13:40
Lunch Break
13:40 - 14:10
Exploring Trends in Award-Winning Creativity Keynote
From courage to comedy, what makes award-winning creative work stand out? Paul Holmes and FleismanHillard’s global chair of brand impact Jim Joseph will discuss some of the themes from the past year’s best work, and the political, societal and technological trends that drive them.
FleishmanHillard
14:10 - 14:55
Leaving an Empty Seat: When Powerful CCOs Depart, the Function Goes With Them
Two former CCOs whose roles were divided, downgraded or absorbed after they walked out the door explain why the function's standing so often belongs to the person rather than the chair, and what sitting CCOs should be doing now to make theirs outlast them.
14:55 - 15:15
Growth Has a Reputation Problem: Why Marketing and Communications Can Solve It Together

Growth no longer happens inside the marketing funnel alone. Reputation, credibility, earned influence, executive visibility, stakeholder trust and AI-driven discovery now shape business outcomes alongside traditional marketing. Yet the structures designed to deliver growth haven’t kept pace.

At the same time, the mandates of both the CMO and CCO are expanding and increasingly converging. CMOs are moving deeper into reputation, trust and AI-driven discovery, while CCOs are moving closer to business strategy, growth and performance. What was once clear functional territory is becoming shared. 

New research from Zeno Group’s Clarity 2030 reveals the opportunity: move beyond alignment to true co-ownership of growth.

Join Allison McClamroch, Head of Brand U.S., Zeno Group, for a candid conversation about what this new model demands and what it will take for CMOs and CCOs to turn converging mandates into a shared advantage.

Zeno Group
15:15 - 15:30
Networking Coffee Break
15:30 - 16:00
The 2027 Value Equation

Today’s CEO agenda is formidable. Leaders are expected to deliver profitable growth while managing costs, navigating geopolitics, harnessing AI, empowering talent and advancing sustainability. All at the same time. Few of these priorities succeed or fail on strategy alone. They succeed or fail on how they land with employees, investors, boards, policymakers and customers, and on what happens where business, culture, policy, and technology meet.

That is why the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer has become one of the CEO’s most important advisors. Corporate affairs is the one function that sees across every stakeholder group. It can anticipate how a decision will be received before it is made and turn competing expectations into a path forward. An AI transformation that brings the workforce along, a cost program that protects trust, a growth move that holds up under political scrutiny: these are the places where that advisory role changes outcomes.

When reputation is run as an operating discipline, with stakeholder intelligence informing decisions on product, policy, talent and capital, its impact shows up where the CEO and board measure it: in growth, resilience and enterprise value.

Drawing on new proprietary Weber Shandwick research on Chief Corporate Affairs Officers and the firm’s VALUE framework, this panel will explore implications for CCAOs in 2027: advancing the CEO agenda, shaping better decisions, anticipating risk and opportunity, and proving the commercial value of corporate affairs in terms the boardroom recognizes.

Weber Shandwick
16:00 - 17:00
INspire SABRE Winner Presentations
The 2026 PRovoke Global Summit will again feature 'PRovoke/INspire', where a selection of our Global SABRE Awards winners will give short 15-minute presentations on their winning campaigns.

4:00 - 4:15: ‘Abolishing „Parking Trap“ Scams in Austria’ with Philipp Grüll

4:15 - 4:30: ‘LEGO® Botanicals Collection 2025: How an Iconic Toy Brand Became the World's Most Unexpected Florist' with Jody Benjamin, Kristen Kusterer

4:30 - 4:45: ‘A Virus Has No Gender' with Jayoung Kim, Soojin Kim

4:45 - 5:00: ‘How PATRÓN Tequila Turned Censorship into the Campaign' with Sally Alfis

See all Global SABRE winners here. Rankings will be unveiled during the Global SABRE Awards ceremony on the evening of Monday, October 26.
17:00 - 17:05
Global Summit Day 2 Closing

Platinum Sponsors

Penta
Edelman
Burson

Gold Sponsors

MSL
FINN Partners
SEC Newgate
The Sway Effect
Golin Ketchum
FleishmanHillard
Weber Shandwick

Young Changemakers Sponsor

We. Communications

Silver Sponsors

Davis+Gilbert
GCI Health
Zeno Group

Partner Sponsors

MikeWorldWide
Adfactors
M Booth
Ruder Finn
SPRG
Real Chemistry
The Romans
Bully Pulpit International

Official SABRE Showcase Partner

WARC