Send Press Release
  • Global Data Innovation

Digital Trust Summit Lands in Brussels as Europe Enters AI Implementation Phase

  • As Europe moves from writing AI rules to implementing them, the Digital Trust Summit (Brussels, 24 June 2026) will bring together policymakers, business leaders and technology experts to examine the next phase of the so-called “Brussels Effect”. With some AI Act obligations approaching and parts of the wider implementation timetable being adjusted, the Summit will explore how Europe’s focus on trust, transparency, cybersecurity, copyright and accountability is shaping global standards for artificial intelligence. The central question is no longer whether AI should be regulated, but how organisations can turn regulatory principles into practical systems that earn public trust while supporting innovation and growth.

[PRESSWIRE] BRUSSELS, Belgium – 17 June 2026 — The Digital Trust Summit Brussels 2026 will take place on 24 June 2026 at TheMerode, bringing together CEOs, board leaders, EU policymakers, regulators and senior technology experts at a pivotal moment for European AI governance, as businesses face near-term transparency obligations under the EU AI Act while parts of the wider implementation timetable are being delayed.

The Summit takes place just weeks before new EU AI Act transparency rules start applying on 2 August 2026. These rules will require companies to be clearer when people are interacting with AI, or when content has been generated or changed by AI. The message from the Summit is that companies should use that time wisely to build the right governance, security and accountability around AI.

The Summit will also highlight the continued importance of the so-called “Brussels effect”: Europe’s ability to shape global digital standards through clear rules on trust, transparency, cybersecurity, copyright and accountability. As other markets debate how to govern AI, the EU’s direction offers businesses a framework for building systems that are not only innovative, but also safer, more reliable and more trusted.

Participants listed for the Brussels programme include Members of the European Parliament across major political groups, including Dr. Sergey Lagodinsky MEP (Greens/EFA, Germany), Eva Maydell MEP (EPP, Bulgaria), Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová MEP (Renew Europe, Slovakia) and Brando Benifei MEP (S&D, Italy); and senior European Commission officials including Despina Spanou, Deputy Director-General at DG CONNECT, and Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director-General at DG CONNECT.

The programme will also include voices from business, technology, civil society and media, including representatives of technology companies such as Microsoft, and senior executives such as Kavitha Mariappan, Chief Transformation Officer at Rubrik; Global Board of Directors, USIBC; Advisory Board Member, New York University School of Law Center for Cybersecurity; Nikki Hexum, Co-Founder and CEO of RSL Media; Stijn Christiaens, Founder and Chief Data Citizen at Collibra (Netherlands); Guylaine Saint Juste, President and CEO of NABA, Inc.; and Erika Staël von Holstein, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Re-Imagine Europa. Members of the media will moderate panels, including Gian Volpicelli, European Technology Reporter at Bloomberg.

“AI trust is now a leadership issue,” said Dominique Shelton Leipzig, CEO of Global Data Innovation and founder of the Digital Trust Summit. “The organizations that succeed will be those that can govern AI, secure it, and earn confidence from boards, regulators, employees and the public. The Summit exists to bring these communities together before fragmented governance and weak controls undermine the promise of the technology.”

Dominique Shelton Leipzig founded the Digital Trust Summit after decades advising leaders on privacy, cybersecurity, data governance and responsible technology. Her work has shown that AI risks are beginning to repeat earlier cybersecurity mistakes: fast deployment, uneven controls, unclear accountability and delayed governance. The Summit is designed as a course correction, giving leaders a practical forum to build the trust infrastructure needed for AI that works.

The Digital Trust Summit Brussels 2026 will convene voices from business, policy, technology and civil society to examine the next phase of trusted AI implementation, including AI Act readiness, board governance, cyber resilience, agentic AI risk, public confidence and the conditions for durable innovation.

About the Digital Trust Summit
The Digital Trust Summit Brussels 2026 is an invitation-only forum for CEOs, board members, policymakers, regulators and senior global leaders focused on “AI Success Solutions in an Unstable World.” It is hosted by Global Data Innovation and NewFrames in coordination with the Association of Civic Tech Europe, with TheMerode as location sponsor.

Press contact


Email: trustsummit@globaldatainnovation.com
Website: https://www.globaldatainnovation.com/2026-summit