On 15 January 2026, the second Human2Human Summit brought one day and nine sessions of keynotes, roundtables and networking to the Al Multaqua Ballroom at Dubai World Trade Centre. There was no exhibition floor. The day was built around content and conversation, and in our view that puts more weight than usual on the people holding the microphone.
This piece introduces the seven named speakers of 2026 and the organisations behind them. It is deliberately about who was in the room, not who said what. For the substance of the day, start with the Summit recap.
The line-up at a glance
| Speaker | Organisation or field | Sector |
|---|---|---|
| Enrico Gallorini | GRS Research & Strategy | Host and organiser |
| Geoff Dickinson | dmg events | Exhibitions |
| Prof. Gianluca Salviotti | SDA Bocconi School of Management | Business education |
| Sascha Triemer | Aquaventure World, Atlantis Dubai | Visitor attractions |
| Diego Cortese | Dubai World Trade Centre | Venues |
| Ted Bloom | Messe Frankfurt Middle East | Trade fairs |
| Joe Drury | Festivals and live events | Live events |
Seven voices
Enrico Gallorini, GRS Research & Strategy
Enrico Gallorini is CEO of GRS Research & Strategy, the research and strategy firm that organises H2H, and he hosted the day. GRS builds the summit around one idea: that face-to-face connection becomes more valuable, not less, as AI spreads.
Geoff Dickinson, dmg events
Geoff Dickinson is CEO of dmg events, an organiser of large-scale exhibitions. This is the world of the big business show: large floors, exhibitors and visitors from many markets, and a great deal of business done in a short, intense window.
Prof. Gianluca Salviotti, SDA Bocconi School of Management
SDA Bocconi School of Management is a business school based in Milan. We think an academic voice gives a leadership forum something it cannot easily supply for itself: distance from the day-to-day, and the habit of testing assumptions.
Sascha Triemer, Aquaventure World, Atlantis Dubai
Aquaventure World is the waterpark at Atlantis Dubai. Visitor attractions tend to judge themselves on the whole day, from arrival and the queue to the final ride and the journey home, and on whether the family chooses to come back.
Diego Cortese, Dubai World Trade Centre
Dubai World Trade Centre hosted H2H 2026, and its name appeared on the stage screens as Anchor Partner. A venue sees many kinds of live format from the inside. That gives it an unusually broad view of what works.
Ted Bloom, Messe Frankfurt Middle East
Messe Frankfurt Middle East is the regional arm of the German trade fair organiser Messe Frankfurt. Its position, an international trade-fair business working in a regional market, raises a question many members will recognise: what travels, and what has to be built locally?
Joe Drury, festivals and live events
Joe Drury brings the perspective of festivals and live events. Festival audiences come for atmosphere, music and each other, not for a transaction. To our mind, that makes the sector a demanding test of whether an in-person experience is truly worth the trip.
Why this mix matters
Count the business models: two exhibition organisers, a venue, a visitor attraction, festivals and a business school, with a research firm in the host's chair. That is an unusual spread for a single stage, and it is exactly what sets H2H apart.
Our view is that this is the point of the summit rather than a feature of it. These sectors rarely share a room, yet they face the same questions: how audiences are changing, what people expect from an in-person experience, and how AI and technology can strengthen human connection rather than replace it. The 2026 keynote themes reflected that: next-generation audiences, the role of technology in human connection, and the future of live-engagement ecosystems.
As we see it, each sector has had to answer those questions under different pressures:
- Exhibitions and trade fairs design around outcomes, relationships and a short, focused visit.
- Visitor attractions design around emotion, flow and the whole day.
- Venues see both from the inside and carry the operational lessons between them.
- Festivals test whether people will travel for a shared moment alone.
- Academia offers the frameworks to compare all of the above honestly.
A theme-park operator and a trade-show organiser may have more in common than they think. How often, we wonder, are they serving the same people on different days of the week?
The stage was only half the conversation. The roundtables on stakeholder collaboration, AI and human synergies, and lessons shared across industries carried the cross-sector exchange off the stage and onto the tables. If human connection really is "the ultimate currency", as the organisers put it, then the people who trade in it have every reason to compare how they spend it.
Join the conversation
Which of these perspectives is closest to your own business, and which one do you learn the most from? If you could add one voice to the stage in Dubai, which sector would it come from?
- Share your suggestions for future themes and speakers through Get involved.
- Find a peer from a different sector on Connect and compare notes.
- Revisit the day in The Summit recap or the photo story.
- A 2027 Dubai edition is planned, date still to be announced: follow it on What's next and Speakers, or ask Amal anything about H2H.