This year’s ADCE Creative Leaders Summit will explore what comes before the finished creative work: the agency-client relationship, chemistry within teams and conversations that generate new ideas. Under the theme Relationships, the programme will connect the experiences of agency leaders with the perspectives of those who manage brands. Confirmed speakers include Sir John Hegarty, Creative Director and Co-Founder of The Business of Creativity, and Juliana Paracencio, Executive Creative Director at Droga5.
The Summit will take place on 19 and 20 November as part of ADCE Creative Week 2026, a four-day programme beginning in Barcelona on 17 November. Alongside discussions for industry leaders, the week will include judging, portfolio reviews, programmes for young creatives and awards ceremonies.
The Summit’s format is adapted from The One Club for Creativity’s long-running Executive Creative Summit and is intended for agency leaders, founders and senior management. Across 13 sessions, 16 speakers will share their experiences of the changes affecting their businesses and the decisions that come with leadership roles. Topics will include creative co-leadership, trust within organisations and responsibility in leadership, including business issues that extend beyond the usual scope of discussions about creativity.
The announced speakers come from agencies, design studios, technology companies and major brands. Tiffany Rolfe, Chair and Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, will join Liza Enebeis, Creative Director and Partner at Studio Dumbar/DEPT, and Dustin Duke, Global Executive Creative Director of the Brand Innovation Lab at Amazon Ads.
The programme also features Anna Berbiela, Founding Partner, and Guillem Casasus, Co-Founder of SMLXL, independent creative leader Sophia Lindholm, Malcolm Poynton, former Global Chief Creative Officer at Cheil Worldwide, and Koka Kamushadze, Managing Partner at Playmakers.
Sharing experiences from Breitling will be Pablo Widmer, Global Head of Product Design, and Laura Amarelle, Global Head of Brand Communications. Speakers also include Martell Beck, Head of Marketing & PR at Deutsche Bahn, and Ulrich Klenke, Chief Brand Officer at Deutsche Telekom. Representing HP will be Abel Sanchez-Hermosilla Martinez, EMEA Head of Brands Innovation, and Corina Alexandra Pop, Creative Services Lead for the same region.
Before the Summit begins, the first two days of Creative Week will be dedicated to judging work and developing young talent. Judging for the ADCE Awards will begin on 17 November, when ADCE Creative Express, an educational initiative in which the next generation of creatives takes part in a collaborative international challenge, will also take place.
The final round of judging on 18 November will be open to the public. The same day will feature the final presentations of the Creative Express programme and Portfolio Review, which will connect students and emerging creatives with representatives from 25 leading agencies. Participants will receive direct feedback on their work, career advice and insight into the industry, and the day will conclude with the ADCE Student Awards ceremony.
Alongside the first day of the Summit, The One Club AI Creative Challenge will take place on 19 November. Participants will receive a surprise creative brief on stage, which they will tackle in real time using artificial intelligence tools. Following the second day of the Summit, the programme on 20 November will conclude with the ADCE Awards ceremony and a closing party.
The organiser, the Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE), brings together 25 professional clubs and associations from 24 European countries and represents more than 7,000 professionals. Founded in 1990, it is part of The One Club for Creativity, and its new president is Dörte Spengler-Ahrens, Chairwoman of Jung von Matt Group.
Seats at the Summit are limited. Details and registration are available on the programme page, with the full schedule of activities on the festival website.
