How To Dodge The CEO Summit Circus

How do you know which of the many CEO gabfest invites that crowd your email inboxes with their enthusiastic glossy invitations—easily three or four a day—are worth your while? More than 1,000 CEO conferences and events are held globally each year, according to the Conference Board.

Post Covid-19, many posited that CEOs would permanently shun in-person attendance conference, trade shows and industry forums. Bill Gates predicted that fully 50 percent of business travel would be replaced by video conferencing. Similarly, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky told CNN, “Traditional business travel will never return the way it was… The bar is higher to get on a plane to do a meeting.”

But the doomsayers were wrong. Business travel and conference activity are soaring. McKinsey reports business travel largely up six percent over pandemic peaks to $1.5 trillion. American Express Global Business Travel’s 2025 Global Meetings and Events Forecast reports that 66 percent of meeting-planning professionals expect in-person meeting spending to grow in the future.

I founded the world’s first school for incumbent CEOs 37 years ago—long before programs by the WEF/Davos, Chief Executive, Forbes, Fortune, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Semafor, The Atlantic, The Conference Board, Microsoft, CNBC and others. I helped most of these later entrants launch their programs. After having hosted and helped facilitate hundreds of CEO forums, I have some insight into what qualities are worthy of your time, travel and trust.

Hidden Commercial Purpose: In the classic John Cleese (of Monty Python) and Antony Jay film Meetings Bloody Meetings, the protagonist erupts in anger when asked for the purpose of a meeting and barks back: “Purpose? The purpose of a meeting is… to meet… that’s it. Just to meet.” Often, an event’s true agenda is to sell access to the ear of the CEO, which means you’ll get ambushed by vendors at every turn. Avoid strongarmed sales pitches in favor of events where sponsors look to reach new clients by providing useful frameworks and answers to challenges that are shared.

Size of the Forum: A format that entails more than 100 attendees sitting neatly in rows in a large auditorium or hotel ballrooms dilutes the value of the event. You could have the same opportunity for meaningful formal interaction watching Book Notes on CSPAN at home.

Spiderweb of Network Events: Frequent coffee breaks and receptions labelled as network opportunities where you’ll be pursued by aggressive job seekers and salespeople should be avoided like the plague. Strategic topic-defined sessions where you can learn something are far more valuable than résumé-driven speed dating.

Match of Stature: When an event oversells the credentials and accomplishments of fellow participants, CEOs can inadvertantly find themselves teaching a pool of would-be protégés. Don’t be lulled into serving on a panel with those billed as content experts who are actually consultants new to the topic or even VIPs with celebrity stature but who lack expertise in the theme at hand.

Passive vs. Active Engagement: Screen out meetings where the format involves listening to rehearsed pitches from disconnected panelists or spectating while reporters or vendors interview a celebrity on inside gossip or a self-promoting saga. Debates between peer CEOs or experts discussing alternative paths to reach common goals are infinitely more valuable. As much as alumni love to salute their alma maters, there is no single best way to solve a business problem. Panels should be real-life case studies that present innovative options and foster active audience exchanges.

The renowned Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith told me during a student/faculty governance meeting in 1975, “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.”