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Angela Bohlen went to her first Global Ethics Summit last year with a colleague from Duke Energy. “We agreed that we were glad we stepped away from our day job,” she said afterward. “This was my first time at this conference. It was very well done, and I learned a ton.” That’s the kind of review Ethisphere often receives from first-time attendees, and we love to hear it, because we want to use every moment of the Summit to help everyone who attends advance their acumen and feel like their time with us was well-spent.
The 18th Global Ethics Summit runs March 30 through April 1, 2027, at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park, with a full virtual option for anyone who can’t be there in person. If you’ve never gone, or you went once and are deciding whether it earns a second trip, here are five reasons to save your seat now.
1. It’s the most senior room in ethics and compliance
Last year, 65% of the in-person crowd was director-level or above, and 39.7% were C-suite or senior leadership. Regulators shared the stage with chief ethics and compliance officers, general counsel, and the people who brief boards for a living. “Great experience, full of great professionals with really impressive profiles,” said Luis Flores of Hitachi Energy after attending. “We will definitely be back for upcoming years.”
2. The 2027 theme is Human-Centered, AI-Assisted
That’s the title of the opening plenary, and that theme of how to balance machine precision with human ownership and evaluation runs through our sessions on AI governance, AI-assisted investigations, third-party monitoring, board reporting, and training. Attendees rated AI and technology in compliance as the top topic in last year’s session survey. This year, we’re going even deeper, with programming that specifically addresses how to balance AI’s risk and reward within E&C, informed by the direct experience from within best-in-class E&C programs. Our treatment of AI as a topic is focused very much on the practical.
3. You leave with something to use, not something to file away
The format centers around breakout blocks, closed-door peer conversations, hands-on workshops, and member-led case studies that walk through how a program got built and sharing challenges, solves, and learnings. Last year’s standout sessions were the applied ones, including “From Fear to Trust” on retaliation and “Could AI Be Your New Investigations Partner?” The average session scored 4.7 out of 5, and 90% of attendees said they left with practical takeaways. “Such a great conference, direct value add to my day-to-day responsibilities,” said Dianne Ramos of Guardian Life Insurance.
4. People show up, and they talk
Compliance is a field where real talk and candid insights are the coin of the realm, and that’s where the Global Ethics Summit truly delivers. Last year’s summit scored a 95.5% in-person show-up rate, and attendees themselves rated the overall experience 9 out of 10, based on the quality of their conversations, how much they learned, and the straightforward insights they received. Global Ethics Summit attendees show up to learn and share their knowledge, whether it’s attending keynotes, participating in peer-to-peer sessions, or networking with fellow Business Ethics Leadership Alliance members and other E&C professionals. The exchange of experience and ideas is the driving force here. Or to borrow from Ethisphere Chief Strategy Officer Erica Salmon Byrne, “I want you to leave here with four new ideas, two new friends, and three new stories.” Four new ideas how to advance your program, two new peers with whom to exchage best practices, and three new stories of what works.
5. There are different ways to be in the room
If you can’t travel that week at all, the virtual pass carries live keynotes, moderated Q&A with speakers, and full replay access, built for the screen rather than just streamed at it. “I attended virtually and thought the technology platform was stellar and the production quality was superb,” said Nancy Phillips of KPMG. It’s a legitimate way to connect with your peers and take a deep dive into the innovations and trends that are shaping the E&C field. There will be certain content experiences you cannot access as a virtual attendee, however, so if you want to get the fullest experience possible, stepping into the room in person in Atlanta is the way to go.
Registration for the 2027 Global Ethics Summit is open now at attendges.com. The Super Early Bird rate runs through Sept. 30, and it’s the cheapest this year will get.
Author Bio
Bill Coffin | Editor-in-Chief, Ethisphere Magazine, Ethisphere
Bill Coffin is an internationally recognized writer and editorial leader in the fields of ethics, compliance, insurance and risk management. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune, as well as Compliance Week, National Underwriter, Risk Management, Best’s Review and other B2B media. Previously, Bill served as Director, Senior Editor at AIG, leading content strategy for one of the world’s largest insurance companies.
