Sessions

At Davos, Brand Finance launched the Global 500 2026, the 20th edition of its annual study of the world’s strongest and most valuable brands.

In partnership with Infosys, they hosted a panel discussion over breakfast with global brand leaders on the crucial topic "AI Rising: The Evolution of Brand and Trust".

Hosted by

The future of customer experience: creativity, trust and technology

Hosted by Infosys and Economist Impact | January 21st, 2026 | 8:30 CET

Businesses today face an unforgiving landscape, defined by shifting customer expectations, heightened scrutiny over ethics and social responsibility, and relentless technological disruption.

Success increasingly depends not just on what companies sell, but the values they embody and the quality of experience they create. This is a tough sell when companies are seeking to win over and retain customers whose trust in institutions and brands has grown fragile. At the same time, technology promises to deliver unprecedented insight and efficiency–but risks reducing creativity to algorithmic mediocrity.

This closed-door roundtable brought together chief marketing officers (CMOs) to discuss how marketing leaders are reshaping brand trust and driving creativity with data and AI.

The discussion explored:

• What are the common denominators across enduring brands? What sets them apart?
• How can brands cultivate credibility when consumers are more sceptical, more informed and less forgiving than ever before?
• How can CMOs ensure that technology sharpens, rather than dilutes, the creative spark that makes storytelling resonate?
• What strategies can marketing leaders adopt to move past the cycle of chasing trends and instead build long-term customer value and brand resilience?