Peter is a leadership expert, trainer, coach, and mindset speaker who helps leaders and teams grow. With a background in psychology, he supports organizations in navigating change, strengthening collaboration, and creating environments where people can truly thrive.

Your Host on the Mainstage

At Leadership Horizon 2026, Peter guides participants through the entire program with a mix of expertise, energy, and humor. His positive spirit and natural ability to connect people bring lightness to complex topics, create smooth transitions between sessions, and ensure that the mainstage feels inspiring, welcoming, and alive throughout the day.

Ricardo Cabete is an Emotional Intelligence and authentic leadership specialist who has worked with leaders in 23+ countries, including Amazon, Shell, SAP, and Novartis. As a former rock singer, he blends energy and empathy to show why emotions fuel meaningful change.

Artificial Intelligence vs. Emotional Intelligence: The Ultimate Battle

On stage, Ricardo represents Emotional Intelligence — and “Sara,” an AI avatar, embodies Artificial Intelligence. What begins as a clash between human heart and machine logic quickly becomes a deeper question: Will the future be a fight… or a partnership?
This immersive keynote blends technology, humor, and emotion to challenge how we think about leadership in an AI-driven world. Expect energy, empathy, and a fresh perspective on what truly remains human.

Gunther Fürstberger is the CEO of MDI and a global leadership expert with more than 20 years of experience supporting organizations through transformation. He has worked with leaders across Europe, the U.S., and Asia, focusing on sustainable leadership and the future of work.

Leading in Times of Convergence

Five breakthrough technologies are transforming organizations at a pace most leadership models aren’t built for. As CEO of MDI and Leadership Expert for global companies, Gunther Fürstberger opens the day by trying to respond to this complexity with a human-centered leadership approach. Leaders should strive for orientation, stay ethical, and become more effective when AI, robotics, biotech, quantum tech and green tech reshape how we work. Practical, forward-looking, and grounded in real client experience.

Claude MacDonald is recognized as an expert in the field of sales culture transformation. Over the past 25 years, Claude has trained and coached more than 25,000 managers, professionals, and employees from prominent organizations in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

The Leadership Skill No AI Can Replace: Practice

Small moments can make or break a customer conversation — yet most teams rarely practice. Claude MacDonald shows why increasing the practice-to-play ratio is one of the most powerful leadership habits in the AI era. Rooted in 25+ years of experience transforming sales cultures, he reveals how consistent preparation builds confidence, clarity, and stronger customer interactions. You’ll also experience how AI-driven simulations developed with MDI make practice easier, more accessible, and more impactful.
A practical, energizing session for leaders who want their teams to learn faster, adapt faster, and perform with greater consistency.

Johanna is an organisational development and AI solutions consultant who helps teams and organisations strengthen culture, leadership, and collaboration. As the founder of her own practice, she works at the intersection of people, digitalisation, and AI and guides organisations.

AI Labs for Leadership Development

At Leadership Horizon, Johanna Glechner joins Rafael Ungvari to host two AI Labs designed to bring artificial intelligence directly into leadership development. These interactive sessions allow participants to explore how AI supports learning transfer, strengthens decision-making, and accelerates skill development in a practical, hands-on way. Through short demos, real business cases, and guided try-outs, participants gain a clear and realistic view of how AI can be integrated into modern leadership and people development. The labs create space to experiment, reflect, and apply—so leaders leave with actionable ideas they can use immediately in their own teams and organisations.

Iris is a learning professional at MDI, where she designs leadership learning journeys for international organisations. She supports leaders in navigating complexity and change through immersive learning methods such as VR. Before joining MDI, Iris worked in the Innovation Hub of Raiffeisen.

VR Skill Labs: Inclusion & Complexity

At Leadership Horizon 2026, Iris will guide two immersive VR Skill Labs where participants practise real leadership challenges in a safe, experiential environment. One lab focuses on inclusive leadership in action; the other on navigating complexity and speed. Her hands-on workshops enable participants to step into realistic scenarios, practise key leadership behaviours, and explore challenges they would normally only discuss. Through VR-supported reflection and guided facilitation, attendees experience leadership in an engaging, memorable, and deeply practical way.

Rafael is an AI Product & Solution Lead with a strong focus on translating artificial intelligence into usable, scalable solutions for organisations. He works closely with teams to design AI-driven products and learning tools that support leadership, decision-making, and performance in real business contexts.

AI Labs for Leadership Development

At Leadership Horizon, Rafael Ungvari joins Johanna Glechner to host two AI Labs that bring artificial intelligence directly into leadership development practice. Drawing on his experience in AI product design and solution architecture, Rafael provides concrete use cases, live demonstrations, and practical frameworks that show how AI can enhance learning transfer, improve decisions, and support skill development.
Together, the labs combine technical insight with human-centered learning design, creating a space where leaders can experiment, reflect, and leave with clear, actionable ideas for applying AI in their own teams and organisations.

Behind the scenes, things are moving fast. We’re currently deep in conversations with international speakers, forward-thinking companies, and strong partners who all share one question: what does leadership really need next?

Stay tuned !

While we’re not ready to reveal names just yet, we can say this much: new voices, fresh perspectives, and bold ideas are coming together. Topics we’ve been exploring range from human–AI collaboration and decision-making under pressure to culture, trust, and what remains distinctly human in leadership as technology accelerates. We’re also shaping a new panel format that brings these themes into dialogue: diverse backgrounds, different angles, and honest conversations that go beyond polished keynotes.

Early next year, we’ll start sharing more. Step by step. Speaker by speaker.