Workshops
Peter Merholz's hands-on half day, Leading Design Through Shifting Times, at BrainStation. Access is on the all-access pass or a separate workshop ticket — the 3 Day Summit Pass starts at 4pm registration.
Workshop detailsThree days,in blocks
A draft to plan your days around. Each block is a room, a format and a mood.
Times are indicative and can move. Mainstage talks are recorded with speaker control; roundtables, interactive sessions and socials are not.
Day 01 · 5 blocksTue 17 November ↘Day 02 · 5 blocksWed 18 November ↘Day 03 · 6 blocksThu 19 November ↘Main Stage Pass · Nov 18Get tickets ↘
2026 partners
Big shoutout to our friends for their support.
Day 01 — Tue 17 November
Arrive, register, open the question.
BrainStation · the workshop, then the opening evening
Registration, badge pickup & welcome drinks
Collect the badge you will wear for all three days, then a first drink. First conversations start here.
Summit kickoff
The DLS hosts open the seventh edition and put the year's question on the table, so the roundtables start with context rather than cold.
Roundtables
8–12 peers per table, under the Chatham House Rule. Use what you hear, never say who said it.
Opening social & networking.
The room meets. No format, no name-badge networking — just the people you will spend the next two days with.
Day 02 — Wed 18 November
A panel, then a full day of talks.
TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 2
Venue opens, coffee & arrival
Doors at 9, talks at 10. Bring the badge you picked up on day one.
Opening panel, then talks
The day opens with the panel at 10, then the morning's mainstage talks. Speakers and titles published as each slot is locked in.
Lunch
With the room.
Talks by speakers
Afternoon mainstage block. Recorded with speaker control.
Summit Social.
The whole summit in one room after the talks. The conversations after the microphones are off.
Day 03 — Thu 19 November
Work the questions, close with a direction.
Intuit · interactive sessions, done at 2
Breakfast, arrival & check-in
With the room.
Interactive session 1
Hands-on, in smaller rooms — seven parallel breakout rooms of around 20–25 people are planned. Hosts and rooms published as they are locked in.
Coffee & networking break
Refill and compare notes.
Interactive session 2
The second hands-on block in the breakout rooms. Hosts and rooms published as they are locked in.
Lunch
With the room.
Community closing & departure.
What came out of the breakout rooms, shared with everyone. The summit ends at 2.
How the days work
Six formats. One room.
Talks, panels, roundtables, interactive sessions and the socials are all inside the summit pass. The day 1 workshop needs the all-access pass or a separate workshop ticket. 2025 workshop hosts are on the sixth-edition recap.
FormatTalks
Main-stage stories without the conference theatre.
FormatPanels
Debate the parts that do not have clean answers.
FormatWorkshops
Apply the thinking to your own organisation. On the all-access pass, or a separate workshop ticket.
FormatRoundtables
8–12 peers, off the record, under the Chatham House Rule.
FormatInteractive sessions
Two hands-on blocks on day three, working the questions in a smaller room.
FormatSocials
The conversations after the microphones are off.
Confirmed so far
This year’s voices, not the full lineup.
8 leaders are confirmed for the seventh edition. Session titles will be announced when the programme is ready.
ConfirmedVuokko Aro
Chief Design Officer · Monzo
2026ConfirmedCynthia Savard
VP of UX · Shopify
2026ConfirmedAmy Thibodeau
Chief Design Officer · Gusto
2026ConfirmedChristian Rohrer
VP of Design · TD Bank
2026ConfirmedPeter Merholz
Consultant & Author · Humanism at Scale
2026ConfirmedCliff Kuang
Senior Staff Designer · Google DeepMind
2026ConfirmedKatie Kovalcin
IC Design Leader · Gusto
2026ConfirmedBryanne Gilkinson
Previously, Global Senior Director, Company Transformation · Adidas
20263-day sold out · Main Stage openThe 3-day pass is gone.
The 3-day pass is gone.
The main stage isn’t.
Every 3-day and all-access pass has sold out. The Main Stage Pass is US$399 for Wed · Nov 18: the opening panel, every mainstage talk, lunch and the Summit Social. Roundtables and interactive sessions stay with 3-day holders; the Nov 17 workshop has its own ticket.
Get the Main Stage Pass · US$399 ↗Already have a 3-day pass? Add the Peter Merholz workshop for US$299 ↗
New to DLS? See what the summit is about ↗
Need sign-off? Take it to your manager ↗
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