The CIO Circle Program

Designed for CIOs and equivalent roles, the CIO Circle Program provides exclusive sessions for eligible IT executives attending Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™ to explore new strategies, share innovative ideas and grow your community of peers. Learn more about eligibility here.

This experience includes:

Networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities with a group of CIO, CTO and Chief Digital Officer (CDO) attendees to swap experiences, trade best practices and expand your executive peer community. 

Access to exclusive sessions throughout the conference, including thought leader lunches, workshops, roundtables and discussions tailored to the most important topics for seniormost IT Executives.

Priority booking capabilities for limited-capacity sessions and One-on-One Meeting(s) with a Gartner expert to ensure you don’t miss out on these conference offerings.

*IT Executives from a marketing vendor or consultancy are not eligible to participate. Qualifying IT executives from a technology vendor or consultancy must be involved exclusively in their organization’s internal IT/IS operation.

Featured sessions

Integrated within the broader conference agenda, the CIO Circle Program includes interactive discussions covering the top priorities of CIOs, CTOs and CDOs, as well as informal networking opportunities to connect with other IT leaders from a variety of regions and industries. Through these sessions, participants connect over common initiatives and accelerate, validate and solidify their strategies. 

View the featured sessions from the 2026 CIO Circle Program Agenda.
  • CIO Circle Lunches
  • CIO-exclusive Workshops
  • CIO-exclusive Roundtables

CIO Circle Lunches

The details of the 2026 CIO Circle Lunches are coming soon. In the meantime, get an idea of what you can expect by viewing last year's CIO lunches.

2025 Lunches

  • A Fireside Chat with Bear Grylls
  • Leading with Creativity — Jo Malone CBE’s Journey of Innovation, Resilience & Brand Transformation
  • CIO Circle Lunch: Bring Impossible Ideas to Life

2026 CIO-exclusive Workshops*

  • CIO Circle Workshop: Assess and Adapt Your Operating Model for the AI Era
  • CIO Circle Workshop: Build and Visualize Your Business Capability Model
  • CIO Circle Workshop: Elevate Your Leadership Impact With Executive Influence, Engagement and Execution
  • CIO Circle Workshop: Navigating the Tough Spots in Your AI Strategic Plan
  • CIO Circle Workshop: New-to-Role CIOs: Accelerate Speed to Value and Navigate the Toughest Transition Scenarios
  • CIO Circle Workshop: Plan and Build the Human-AI Workforce
  • CIO Circle Workshop: AI Value, AI Literacy and AI Governance (Exclusive to Midsize IT Organizations)

*Preregistration is required. These sessions are available to end users only.

2026 CIO-exclusive Roundtables**

  • CIO Circle Roundtable: Building the Future-Ready IT Workforce in the Age of AI 
  • CIO Circle Roundtable: Competing in an AI-Shaped Economy: Optimize or Disrupt? 
  • CIO Circle Roundtable: How Do I Get My Board to Take Cybersecurity and Resilience Seriously? 
  • CIO Circle Roundtable: Critical Capabilities Reshaping IT and Business Roles for the AI Age 
  • CIO Circle Roundtable: Proactive Strategies for Managing AI Risks and Safeguarding Your Organization

**Preregistration is required. These sessions are available to end users only.

“Great energy, content and professional connections. The keynotes were inspiring and the organization of the event is as usual impressive. I’ll be back!”

Lynne Clegg
EMEA CIO, MetLife

Apply to join the program

The CIO Circle Program is exclusive to eligible CIOs and equivalent roles attending Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™, and an application is required to attend. We recommend applying when you register for the conference as session seats are limited and fill up quickly.
How to qualify

*Applicants must meet the following qualification criteria to participate:

  1. Enterprise-wide Chief Information Officer (CIO), or
  2. Business unit/ region/ government division Chief Information Officer (CIO) responsible for:
    1. Private sector: $250+ million in revenue
    2. Public sector: 1,000+ employees

IT Executives from a marketing vendor or consultancy are not eligible to participate.

Qualifying IT executives from a technology vendor or consultancy must be involved exclusively in their organization’s internal IT/IS operation.

You can apply to participate in the CIO Circle Program when you register for Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™. During the registration process, the program application will be prompted by answering ‘yes’ to the question, “Are you the Chief Information Officer or do you serve in the Chief Information Officer role for your organization?”. You will be notified via email regarding the status of your application.

Application and approval are required for participation.

Log back into your Gartner conference profile, click “Edit” next to “Registration Profile,” and scroll down to answer the “Attendee Profile” questions.