Summit at a glance
1. Worth Being Part Of
1.1 Key Numbers
The Global Virtual MarTech Summit September 2026 brought together approximately 1,000 marketing, digital, data and technology professionals across APAC and EMEA.
Under the theme “The Real-Time Customer: Connecting Data, AI and Customer Engagement Across APAC and EMEA”, the summit explored how brands can turn technology and customer intelligence into more relevant experiences.
Key highlights:
- 30 speakers delivered 10 live sessions and 480 minutes of content.
- 96 live Q&A interactions encouraged discussion around customer data, AI, personalisation and marketing effectiveness.
- Seven hours of community engagement supported knowledge sharing across APAC and EMEA.
1.2 Who Attended?
The summit attracted a senior, cross-industry audience of marketing and technology professionals.
- Substantially all attendees were at manager-level or above, with 22.5% at Director and 20.3% at Head-level, including 13.7% Chiefs and 8.7% VPs.
- 50.4% represented organisations with more than 1,000 employees.
- Banking and financial services formed the largest industry group, followed by retail & eCommerce, IT & telecommunications and manufacturing.
- The audience represented a diverse range of industries, including hospitality, consumer goods, consultancy, insurance, education and professional services. Notable attending brands included Home Depot, Carrefour, Plaza Premium, Google, Bayer, Dow, L’Oréal, JLL and Bosch, bringing valuable cross-industry perspectives to the summit.
The audience brought together enterprise perspectives and industry-specific experience, creating opportunities for learning across markets.
Attendee Demographics:
1.3 Be Part of the Next Global Conversation
Following the September 2026 edition, The MarTech Summit continues to bring together marketing and technology communities across regions through its global virtual series.
For partners seeking brand visibility, thought leadership opportunities and access to senior MarTech decision-makers, our virtual events provide a platform for industry engagement.
Next edition: Global Virtual MarTech Summit | 20 January 2027
Partnership enquiries: sponsor@themartechsummit.com
2. A Stage That Delivered
2.1 Knowledge Shared Across APAC & EMEA
INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT | CUSTOMER DATA
Connecting Data for a More Complete Customer View
Creating relevant customer experiences requires more than collecting information across channels. Organisations must find ways to connect fragmented data, build a clearer understanding of customer behaviour and translate insights into timely action.
Key considerations:
- Breaking down organisational and technology silos helps teams move from isolated insights to joined-up customer journeys.
- Data quality, privacy and responsible governance remain essential to customer trust.
- Aszafaika Ladidinanda, Head of Growth & Performance Marketing, Modinity: Launch customer experiences, learn from responses and share insights across departments rather than waiting for a perfect customer profile.
INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT | CUSTOMER DATA & AI READINESS
This keynote explored how brands can create trusted, connected customer data foundations that support AI adoption without compromising privacy or flexibility.
Ross Macrae Field Chief Technology Officer, APJ, Tealium’s Key takeaways:
- AI-ready data: Unify fragmented customer identities and signals into reliable data for AI models and agents.
- Built-in governance: Embed privacy, consent and data protection without slowing innovation.
- Flexible infrastructure: Connect data warehouses, MarTech and AI platforms without vendor lock-in.
INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT | [REGIONAL STRATEGY] One Region, Many Markets: Scaling Customer Experiences Across APAC
The discussion explored how global brands can maintain a consistent identity while adapting to APAC’s diverse markets, cultures and customer expectations.
Key takeaways:
- Shalini Seneviratne, Director, Marketing, Kimberly-Clark: Brand consistency: Keep the core brand promise consistent while adapting experiences to local markets.
- Erika Bianco, Head of Marketing, EMEA & APAC, MarketAxess: Global strategy, local execution: Think globally while enabling locally relevant marketing.
- Missy Santos, Director, Brand & Communications, International Markets, Tala: Localisation through trust: Involve local teams as strategic partners to create culturally relevant experiences beyond translation.
INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT | [MEASUREMENT & ROI] Proving the Commercial Impact of Customer Relevance
As marketing budgets face increasing scrutiny, demonstrating the business value of personalisation and customer engagement has become essential. This session examined how organisations can move beyond traditional engagement metrics to connect customer relevance with measurable commercial outcomes.
Key takeaways:
- Marta Torres Vilas, Chief Marketing Officer, Alma Corp: Starting with the basics: Prioritising customer needs and optimising existing channels before investing in new technology, while measuring success through clear commercial outcomes.
- Gerben Busch, Director, CRM, Welkoop: Turning data into business value: Unifying customer data, defining meaningful KPIs and optimising the MarTech stack to improve customer experiences and unlock growth.
- Jorge Bueso, Customer Insights Lead, Elektrobit: Measuring commercial impact: Evaluating data, AI and customer insights by the business decisions they influence, rather than the reports or content they produce.
- Ankesh Agarwal, Customer Experience Lead, Aldar: Making CX commercially accountable: Connecting customer experience initiatives to measurable business outcomes through clear objectives, small-scale pilots and strong business cases.
INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT | [CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT] Turning Customer Insight into Meaningful Engagement
Understanding customers is only valuable when insights translate into meaningful interactions. This session explored how brands can bridge the gap between customer intelligence and engagement strategies, creating more personalised, timely and consistent experiences across the customer journey.
Key takeaways:
- Richard Meurlin, Head of Growth Marketing, Nordnet Bank – Building lasting relationships: Creating meaningful customer engagement by delivering genuine value that strengthens trust and long-term relationships.
- Guilherme Galvao, Global Automated Programs & Journey Orchestration Manager, Dow: Turning insights into action: Understanding what customers are trying to achieve in the moment to deliver more relevant and purposeful interactions.
- Firuze Çiftçi Nederlof, Marketing Automation Product Owner, Dow: Creating relevant experiences: Moving beyond individual campaigns to deliver helpful, timely and personalised experiences that customers remember.
INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT | [FIRST-PARTY DATA] Turning First-Party Signals into Actionable Intelligence
As privacy expectations evolve and third-party data becomes less dependable, first-party data is increasingly important to effective marketing strategies. This session explored how brands can capture, connect and activate customer signals to generate actionable intelligence and deliver more relevant experiences.
Key takeaways:
- James Karuga, Group Brand Marketing Manager, JA Resorts & Hotels: Turning first-party data into action: Focusing on activating existing customer data to improve decisions, optimise customer journeys and deliver measurable business outcomes.
- Rogier Tjong-A-Hung, CRM Team Lead, About You: Building a testing culture: Encouraging continuous experimentation and recognising that the value of different data types varies across industries to drive more effective marketing strategies.
Engagement Highlights
The APAC and EMEA programmes were designed to provide opportunities for live learning and interaction, allowing marketing professionals to explore shared challenges and hear perspectives from across regions.
The virtual format supported a more accessible exchange of knowledge, connecting professionals without the geographical limitations of an in-person event.
2.2 Take the Virtual Stage Next Time
Do you have a case study, practical experience or industry perspective worth sharing with the global MarTech community?
The MarTech Summit continues to welcome marketing, digital, data, customer experience and technology leaders who can bring fresh thinking, real-world challenges and actionable insights to the conversation.
Whether exploring the impact of AI, customer data strategies, marketing innovation or digital transformation, our virtual summits offer opportunities to share expertise with a global professional audience.
Apply to speak or recommend a speaker for next year’s edition:
3. A Global Conversation Worth Joining
Beyond the content delivered through the virtual programme, the Global Virtual MarTech Summit demonstrated the value of connecting marketing professionals across regions and industries.
By bringing APAC and EMEA perspectives together in one event, the summit provided an opportunity to explore how organisations are responding to similar challenges within different business environments and customer markets.
3.1 Connecting Perspectives Across Regions
One of the defining strengths of the summit was its international outlook.
Through two dedicated regional programmes, participants could explore the evolving MarTech landscape from both APAC and EMEA perspectives.
- Two regional programmes connected marketing and technology communities across APAC and EMEA.
- Approximately 1,000 attendees joined the event, demonstrating interest in practical MarTech insights and shared learning.
- A senior audience, with 95.8% holding manager-level positions or above, brought professional experience and leadership perspectives to the virtual environment.
- Broad industry representation encouraged consideration of different approaches to customer engagement, data strategy and marketing transformation.
The virtual experience reinforced an important message: while markets may differ in their customer behaviours, regulatory environments and technology maturity, many of the challenges facing marketing leaders are increasingly shared.
From AI integration to data connectivity and customer retention, the event highlighted the importance of learning from perspectives beyond an organisation’s own industry or region.
3.2 Continue the Learning Beyond the Livestream
The conversations do not have to end when the livestream finishes.
For those looking to revisit key topics, explore additional perspectives or continue building their MarTech knowledge, BEETc On-Screen provides access to on-demand learning content from across The MarTech Summit series.
Whether you attended live or missed a session, the platform offers opportunities to revisit expert discussions and discover further insights into the technologies and strategies shaping modern marketing.
Explore more MarTech content: https://themartechsummit.com/content-library/
4. Engage With Us
A heartfelt thank you to all our speakers, sponsors, partners and attendees for being part of the Global Virtual MarTech Summit September 2026.
We are grateful to everyone who contributed their time, knowledge and perspectives to making this global virtual experience possible.
Thank you, APAC & EMEA!
The Global Virtual MarTech Summit returns on 20 January 2027.
Explore our wider calendar of upcoming editions: https://themartechsummit.com/events/
Where to Find the Event Highlights
Session recordings: Watch the sessions https://old.beetc.io/on-screen/
4.1 Stay Connected
Follow The MarTech Summit for event highlights, speaker updates, upcoming editions and community news across our global series.
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We look forward to welcoming you to another edition of The MarTech Summit soon!
By: Charley, October 2026
