Futurisma 2026: the future doesn't call for more strategy
On Tuesday 2 June, Branddoctors held the 2026 edition of Futurisma at Kanaal30 in Utrecht. Executives, entrepreneurs and changemakers from both profit and non-profit organisations came together for a full day built around one question: how do you set direction in a period of continuous transformation?
The format is a deliberate choice. Futurisma is explicitly not positioned as a conference but as a knowledge festival and a moment of reflection - a day for the questions that get pushed aside in the pressure of daily operations. How do you position an organisation in a fundamentally changing economy? How do you use AI without losing what makes your organisation human? How do you hold course while staying connected to your people?
The programme combined plenary sessions on the main stage with break-outs designed for reflection and practical translation, and left as much room for the encounters outside the programme as for the content inside it. The audience was drawn from directors, managers, strategists, marketing leads, HR leaders and communication professionals.
"We see a fascinating paradox," says Guido Dongen of Branddoctors, organiser of Futurisma. "Organisations have access to unprecedented volumes of data and predictive models, yet feel less certain about their course." A day of dashboards and scenario planning does not resolve that. A day of confrontation with other perspectives might."
Twelve speakers took the stage, from science, economics, ethics, sport and business. Transition professor Jan Rotmans made the case that classical change management no longer works. Economist and author Paul Schenderling pressed delegates to be explicit about what they intend to protect. Public philosopher Bas Haring addressed the assumptions that pass for analysis. AI ethicist Joris Krijger examined how to deploy AI without losing the human element. Three-time Olympic medallist Edith Bosch made personal leadership the precondition for moving through complexity together. Executives including Katja Hoorn of Esdégé-Reigersdaal, Merijn Goris of Willem II and TommyTomato founder Bas Turk brought the argument back to operational reality, alongside Jan Koopmann, Stefan Kersten, Aafje Nijman and Jasper Dijkerman.
What connected them was the thesis Branddoctors set out to test: the future does not call for more strategy, but for leaders willing to make bold moves from a position of connection - with their people, with society and with themselves. For a strategic consultancy, running an event on that premise is also a demonstration of it.