Back

Expert Events

From AI Ambition to Enterprise Value: Five Shifts Redefining the Enterprise in 2027

Name: From AI Ambition to Enterprise Value: Five Shifts Redefining the Enterprise in 2027
Start: 2026-12-02T18:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-12-02T21:00:00+00:00
Location: London, TBD

Join Blend and IBM for an exclusive executive dinner exploring five transformative shifts set to redefine enterprise AI in 2027. Discover how business leaders are moving beyond AI experimentation to drive meaningful growth, strengthen governance, prioritise investments, build competitive advantage and reshape operating models for long-term business value.

London, TBD

December 2, 2026

to December 2, 2026

6:00 pm

- 9:00 pm

About this event

The enterprise AI conversation is entering a new phase. Experimentation is giving way to expectation, and leaders are increasingly being asked to demonstrate not simply where AI can be deployed, but where it can create meaningful growth, improve decision-making and reshape how the organisation operates.

Looking towards 2027, that shift raises harder questions. Where will AI create genuinely new sources of growth rather than incremental efficiency? How much autonomy can organisations give AI without losing control or accountability? Which AI investments deserve to scale – and which should be stopped? And as competitors gain access to increasingly similar models and capabilities, where will sustainable differentiation actually come from?

Join Blend and IBM for an intimate executive dinner informed by research from the IBM Institute for Business Value, exploring five enterprise shifts poised to shape the next phase of AI adoption. Through candid, peer-led discussion, we’ll examine how leaders are turning AI ambition into business value, governing greater autonomy, making tougher investment decisions, building differentiated advantage and redesigning operating models for an enterprise in which AI becomes part of how work gets done.

Our speakers

Chris Oldacre

Sales & Technical Director | IBM UKI

An established and proven business leader, currently working with one of the most focused and talented Sales teams in the tech sector to create a world-class customer experience. A passionate advocate for an inclusive workplace and STEM education as an enabler of social mobility, and immensely proud to be the first Chair at Doncaster UTC, which opened in September 2020 with the mission of giving Doncaster’s young people routes into the Digital and Advanced Engineering sectors.

Julia Belle

Head of London Community | Blend

Julia is a broadcaster, political commentator, corporate event host and business trainer. She has been covering news, current affairs and entertainment for BBC Three for three years and before this she featured weekly on BBC 5 Live – discussing the newspaper headlines and the latest breaking news.

She hosted a BBC election show, diving into key voter topics, as well as a TED Talk titled “The Secret to Being Right” which was instantly selected amongst TED’s “Editor’s Picks.”

She has interviewed some of the most influential figures in politics and business, on a range of topics from general elections to generative AI.

She runs the London community of Blend as well as the members’ exclusive Blend Book Club, interviewing prolific business authors and sharing key learnings from a range of titles covering topics like leadership, negotiation, DEI, productivity and handling difficult issues.

Wendy Newlove

IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) Lead. IBV Performance Data and Benchmarking | IBM UKI

Wendy Newlove leads the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) in UK and Ireland, where she works with IBM’s top clients to unlock business value and navigate technology-enabled change. As an IBM recognized performance measurement and benchmarking expert, she helps client’s pinpoint and quantify opportunities to optimize their business performance. She performs large global primary research studies to uncover drivers of superior performance. With over 30 years of experience in consulting and government intelligence and investigations, her professional interests include risk, fraud, cybersecurity, data governance, and innovation. She is also a Non-Executive Director of England Squash and coaches women in their careers and businesses.

Key themes & discussion topics

From AI Efficiency to Enterprise Growth
How organisations can move beyond productivity gains and cost reduction to unlock new revenue streams, drive innovation and create meaningful business value through AI.

Designing AI Governance, Trust and Accountability
How enterprises can embed effective controls, human oversight and accountability into AI-enabled processes as systems become increasingly autonomous.

Prioritising AI Investments for Maximum Impact
How leaders can evaluate their AI portfolios, identify which initiatives deserve to scale and make difficult decisions about projects that fail to deliver measurable value.

Building Competitive Advantage in an AI-Driven Enterprise
How organisations can differentiate themselves through proprietary data, domain expertise and operating model transformation as AI capabilities become increasingly accessible.

Event agenda

Cocktails & networking

6:00 – 6:30 PM

Opening remarks & panel discussion

6:30 – 7:15 PM

Dinner & guided discussion

7:15 – 8:45 PM

Event wrap-up & group reflection

8:45 – 9:00 PM

Why should you attend?

Explore five key shifts shaping enterprise AI in 2027, informed by research from the IBM Institute for Business Value, and discover what they mean for your organisation.

Learn how to move beyond experimentation and productivity gains to identify AI opportunities that drive meaningful growth, innovation and long-term business impact.

Connect with CIOs, CTOs, COOs, CDOs and fellow technology executives to share experiences, challenge assumptions and discuss the realities of scaling AI across the enterprise.

Gain practical perspectives on AI governance, investment prioritisation and operating model transformation to help your organisation remain competitive in an increasingly AI-driven landscape.

Who should attend

This discussion is designed for CIOs, CTOs, COOs, CDOs, and senior IT, Infrastructure, AI and Digital Transformation leaders across large enterprises navigating the next stage of AI adoption and enterprise transformation.

Venue

London, TBD

London
United Kingdom

Apply to participate