PROGRAM

🌟Opening of SHE Conference 2026 
The conference begins with a ceremonial opening led by the Signal Corps, creating a shared moment of energy, focus and purpose. More than a symbolic start, it is an invitation to engage with the challenges and opportunities that define our time.
 
Welcome Address
Following the opening ceremony, the Mayor of Oslo welcomes participants and reflects on the importance of leadership, collaboration and progress in a rapidly changing world.
​
Why it matters

The opening session sets the tone for the day ahead. It connects this year's theme, Recode the Future. Create Change, to the realities shaping business and society today.

We operate in a world marked by accelerating change, increasing complexity and unprecedented opportunity. From the very beginning, the ambition is clear: not only to understand the future, but to actively contribute to shaping it.

Creating Change: Leadership, Sustainability & the Human Edge 
​The ability to navigate complexity, challenge assumptions and lead with clarity has never been more important.

This stage brings together global perspectives, business insight and human leadership to explore the forces shaping our world. Through thought provoking conversations and practical insights, we examine what it takes to create meaningful change in a time defined by uncertainty, transformation and opportunity.
 

• How to See the World from a Different Perspective
  Speakers: Andreas Graf & Tom-Erik Heimen 
  What if the greatest barrier to progress is not what we do, but how we see the world?In this opening session, Andreas Graf and Tom Erik Heimen challenge conventional thinking and invite the audience to rethink how they interpret the world around them. By shifting perspective, leaders can uncover new opportunities, make better decisions and create stronger outcomes. To recode the future, we must first recode the way we think.
   

• Navigating the New Reality
  Host: Torbjørn Røe Isaksen
  Health, capital, climate, technology and security are more interconnected than ever. A disruption in one area can quickly affect the others. This session explores how leaders can navigate geopolitical shifts, the rapid development of AI, growing societal polarization and evolving security threats, while building trust, inclusion and resilience.In an increasingly complex world, an organizations success depends on the ability to combine systems thinking with strong human foundation.
   

• Reclaiming Energy: How to Stay Human in a High-Performance World
  High performance is often measured by output. Sustainable performance, however, depends on people.This session challenges traditional views on productivity, energy and well being. How can organisations create environments where people deliver results while maintaining engagement, motivation and focus over time?
   

• Human Leadership: Leading with Courage and Impact​
  Host: Lars Erik Lund, Veidekke
  The most powerful leaders understand that putting people first is not a compromise. It is a competitive advantage. Trust, inclusion and genuine engagement have become essential drivers of resilience, innovation and long term success. In this session, experienced leaders share lessons learned, practical insights and personal reflections on how to lead in complex environments, where expectations are rising, change is constant, and the stakes are higher than ever.
   

• Climate Leadership: Who will win the green economy?
  Sustainability is no longer optional, it is a core business priority. This session explores how organisations will need to orient themselves to win, navigating regulatory pressures, investor demands, risk management, and importantly the role of AI in making sustainability a competitive advantage. 

Shaping the Future: Capital, Technology & Competitive Advantage
In a world where industries are reshaped in real time, leaders must understand the systems that define stability, growth and risk. We explore how capital flows, geopolitical shifts and critical infrastructure — such as healthcare systems — are evolving under increasing pressure.
From investment decisions to societal resilience, the sessions provide insight into how organisations can navigate uncertainty and build stronger foundations for the future.
 

• Power, Capital & Control: Investing in an Uncertain World
  Host: Andy Chen
  ​Global power is shifting, and capital is moving with it. Geopolitical tensions, inflationary pressures and market volatility are redefining the investment landscape. This session explores how capital is flowing across regions and industries, where new risks are emerging, and how organisations can position themselves for growth in an increasingly uncertain world.
   

• Health Is Infrastructure: Women's Health May Be Europe's Most Overlooked Growth Strategy
  Host: Chelsea Ranger
  Women's health is often framed as a healthcare issue. In reality, it is a workforce issue, a leadership issue, an economic issue, and increasingly a geopolitical issue. As Europe faces demographic decline, talent shortages, rising healthcare costs, and slowing productivity growth, one question becomes impossible to ignore: What is the cost of an unhealthy female workforce? This conversation brings together leaders from business, policy, science, and innovation to explore why women's health may be one of the most powerful and overlooked drivers of future economic resilience and growth.
   

• AI, Mobility & the Future of Work
  Host: Torgeir Waterhouse
  AI is transforming how we work, move and operate, and the pace of change is accelerating.
  In this session we explore how AI is reshaping industries, redefining roles and creating both new opportunities and new risks. The question is no longer whether AI will impact your organisation, but how prepared you are to adapt and lead.​
  ​​

• Finance for All: Unlocking Access & Opportunity
  Host: Kristin Skaug 
  Access to capital remains one of the most powerful drivers of growth and  inclusion. This session  explores how financial literacy, access to investments and broader participation can strengthen both individuals and economies. Sustainable growth depends on creating opportunities for more people to take part, contribute and succeed, not fewer.

          

​

​

Partner Sessions & Curated Experiences:
Deep Dives, New Perspectives & Real Connection
While global forces create pressure, they also create opportunity. From AI and the future of work to the transformation of real estate and access to capital, the sessions highlight how change is already creating new opportunities across industries. Because the organisations that succeed are not those that wait, but those who act.
​

• Health & Technology: Responsible AI, Data Sharing & Trust in Practice
  ​Hosted by: Twoday 
  AI is set to play a defining role in healthcare over the next decade. However, the question is not just how the technology is developed, but who gets to build and shape it. Technology is never neutral, and AI systems reflect the data they are trained on and the perspectives of those who build them. Healthcare is a predominantly female workforce, while the technology sector continues to struggle with diversity. What happens when the people building the solutions are not the same as those using them? This session brings together policymakers, healthcare leaders and technology experts to explore what responsible AI in healthcare truly requires, and how collaboration across sectors can help build more inclusive, trustworthy and effective healthcare services for the future.
   

• Adoption is a tool. Adaptation is a strategy
  Hosted by: Arkwright
  Why AI creates productivity, but leadership creates value. This session explores how leadership strategies unlocks the real value of AI. 
  👉 AI: two-headed efficiency bomb. How AI replaces work and amplifies talent.
  👉 Jevon's Paradox: Which markets will structurally grow vs decline through AI?
  👉 Parkinson's Law:  Why this becomes the management challenge for the decade, turning AI productivity into P&L effects.
   

• The New Leadership Reality: Leading Through Change
  Hosted by: AS3 Executive and Capus
  How do you lead when the rules of the game are constantly changing? In this session, some of Norway’s most experienced leadership profiles come together for an open conversation about leading under pressure, making difficult decisions, and creating direction and execution in a time of continuous change.
  👉 A space for reflection, discussion and real leadership insights.
  
  Raising Venture Capital – Norwegian and International Funds Compared:
  Hosted by: Thommessen
  Norwegian and international VC funds differ in how they invest, structure deals and work with founders. Together with Lumo Labs and Sandwater, Thommessen will discuss what founders should consider when raising capital across markets.
  👉 What founders need to know when fundraising across markets.
  
  The New Leadership Reality: Leading Through Change
  Hosted by: Panamera and Amesto
  A closed session for CEOs and senior leaders.An exclusive space for strategic dialogue, exchange of perspectives and honest conversations about leadership and decision-making in complex environments.
  👉 By invitation only.
   

• From Knowledge to Value Creation (Afterwork)
  ​Hosted by: SEB
  We conclude the day with an informal gathering that combines insight, conversation and networking. Following a short panel discussion, participants are invited to connect, reflect and continue the conversations from the conference in a more relaxed setting.
  👉 By invitation only.

​

​