Milken Institute Announces Asia Summit 2026, Championing Intelligent Leadership in the AI Era

In its 13th year, this year’s Asia Summit has adopted artificial intelligence (AI) as its main theme, presenting a series of open panel sessions and exclusive discussions to explore the topic. Amid rising global geopolitical tensions and rapid technological advancement, the Milken Institute is once again convening its annual Asia Summit. The forum brings together more than 1,500 executives, business leaders, investors, policymakers, philanthropists, and innovators to examine strategic issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region. The Milken Institute Asia Summit 2026 will be held from 7–9 October 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. Under the theme ‘Leading with Intelligence’, the three-day forum emphasises the importance for leaders to harness technology in decision-making during the AI era. It will feature approximately 80 keynote addresses, panel discussions, and exclusive roundtable forums, bringing together decision-makers from business, finance, philanthropy, health, and technology to exchange ideas and build collaborations that can drive investment, innovation, and sustainable growth. All public panel sessions will be accessible via live stream on the Milken Institute website. The programme features a distinguished line-up of speakers from the executive, policymaking, and global investment communities, including Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group; Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton; Hanno Kirner, CEO of Dyson; Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates; Toto Wolff, team principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team; and Rohit Sipahimalani, chief investment officer of Temasek. Laura Deal Lacey, executive vice president, International, Milken Institute, stated that as nations and industries race to lead in strategic technologies, capital, and talent amid economic uncertainty, the need for a trusted forum where global leaders can engage in open and constructive dialogue has become more urgent. She noted that the Asia Summit serves as a platform for cross-sector leaders from around the world to exchange ideas, build consensus, and foster collaboration that will drive investment, innovation, and solutions for the region’s long-term prosperity. Building on discussions from this year’s Global Conference, which addressed AI’s role in transforming capital, infrastructure, and public policy, the Asia Summit will place AI as a key agenda item. A dedicated programme on Friday will examine the investment, infrastructure, and policy decisions that will shape the next phase of AI development. The forum will bring together investors, technology creators, corporate leaders, and policymakers to explore global capital flows, the evolution of AI-based business models, and the long-term implications of AI for capital markets, productivity, and overall economic growth. Kevin Lu, PhD, chair of Asia, Milken Institute, highlighted Asia’s increasingly solid position as a driver of global technological innovation, capital development, and industrial transformation, citing China’s role in advancing global AI governance and strengthening international cooperation, Japan’s new investment strategies in the AI and semiconductor sectors, and South Korea’s massive investments in the memory chip and AI data centre industries. He added that these developments are redefining the global economy and directly impacting strategic decision-making by institutional investors and business leaders, further cementing Asia’s role in determining the direction of next-generation growth. He expressed anticipation in convening the Institute’s global network in Singapore to examine these dynamics and build the collaborations, investments, and policies that will define the next phase of growth in the region.