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Luxury Outlook Summit

Why Jan. 14-15 are key days for luxury professionals

December 17, 2025

Rolls-Royce represents the epitome of craftsmanship with the seats of its Centenary Private Collection cars. Image credit: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Rolls-Royce represents the epitome of craftsmanship with the seats of its Centenary Private Collection cars. Image credit: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

 

By Luxury Roundtable Intelligence

The global luxury business is at an inflection point where demand is strong at the high-end from an ever-growing wealthy class, and flat at the aspirational level. Throw in the ongoing geopolitical challenges and U.S. government tariffs and antipathy to tourists. Then add the tech frenemy in the mix, AI. What should luxury marketers and professionals do? Where should they turn?

Luxury Roundtable’s Luxury Outlook Summit 2026 in New York on Jan. 14-15 takes these concerns and opportunities into account.

Day 1 is dedicated to releasing ground-breaking research from Kearney, UBS and Luxury Institute, and dialogues with leaders at role-model luxury brands such as Rolls-Royce, Ritz-Carlton and Phillips. Expert-studded panels and a keynote on China – for years luxury’s global engine of growth – will round out that day.

Now Day 2 is equally interesting, because AI is front and center of all deliberations, with a top McKinsey partner opening the day. It is also the world’s first AI in Luxury Summit, addressing the opportunities and threats that come with adopting the technology within companies and for interactions with customers and prospects. We have platforms, agencies, brands, consultancies and legal experts offering tips and strategic direction on embracing AI, whether with verve or caution.

A particular panel that is a must-attend is the legal session. Do you know how nigh-impossible it is to copyright anything – article, film or art – that was produced on an AI engine? AI poses significant risks to trademarking and IP protection if the rules are not understood, exposing luxury brands and individuals to the specter of litigation. Our panelists – Rania Sedhom of Sedhom Law Group, Milt Springut of Herrick, Andy Lustigman and Mary Grieco of Olshan Frome Wolosky, and Pierre Debbas of Romer Debbas – are well-versed in fashion, real estate, advertising, marketing and luxury laws, include those pertaining to trademark and IP.

All told, we have 40-plus senior luxury experts speaking across 20-plus sessions on two days offering insights, projections and strategy guidance on how to navigate 2026. Do check out our agenda below.

Do check the agenda for Luxury Roundtable’s Luxury Outlook Summit 2026 in New York on Jan. 14-15. Join us and network with influential luxury marketers and professionals who are setting the tone in their sectors!

AGENDA

Schedule

| 8:00 am – 4:30 p.m.

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14

Emphasis on brand-new research, data and forecasts for the luxury business, discussions with brands and retailers, how affluent and wealthy consumer behavior is evolving, the collector mindset and what it means for high luxury, China's role in 2026 as a growth engine and a deep-dive sector-by-sector analysis.

| 8:00 am

Breakfast and Registration

Tank up on nourishment, coffee and water for a day of extensive learning and networking. Get a jump on the day by networking early with fellow delegates and speakers

| 8:15 am

Welcome: Reviving Consumer Desire and Business Growth

The task is clear for luxury marketers, retailers and professionals in 2026: their marketing, messaging and CX have to rise above the cacophony of geopolitics and trade wars to vie for the attention of wealthy and UHNW consumers as well as the cautious aspirational class that fuels considerable sales in the business.

Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

Eric P. Berger, senior vice president of wealth management, Gramercy Wealth Management, UBS Financial Services

| 8:30 am

Global State of Luxury: Outlook and What's Next

KEYNOTE

What is the state of luxury globally? Where are the pockets of demand for brands and retailers? Which sectors show more promise of return to growth? How are consumers in key geographical markets shopping and buying luxury goods and services? What type of marketing and retailing resonates with aspirational, HNW and UHNW shoppers? What is the evolving consumer mindset? What strategic moves will define growth in the year ahead? In 2026, what opportunities and challenges will luxury marketers face?

Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, partner – fashion and luxury lead for the Americas, Kearney

Katie Thomas, lead, Consumer Institute, Kearney

| 9:15 am

Reviving Desire and Demand Across Markets, Generations and Product Lines

PANEL

What will luxury brands and retailers need to do to entice aspirational, wealthy and UHNW customers back to the market? What strategies and tactics will work in 2026 in an environment driven by negative headlines over military and trade wars? How should luxury marketers and professionals approach customer acquisition and retention as AI changes the rules for product discovery, reputation management and eventually retail and ecommerce? What type of marketing and retail resonates with younger generations? How will women who are set to inherit unprecedented wealthy from older family members approach luxury consumption and investment?

Guillaume Benezech, senior director for global brand management, The Ritz-Carlton and Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Melissa Krueger, CEO, Classic Vacations

Caitlin Austin, senior vice president of marketing, Exclusive Resorts

Bobby Bonett, president, Sandow Design Group

Anna Zarro, president, Macklowe Properties' One Wall Street

Milt Springut, partner, Herrick

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 10:00 am

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Americas CEO on Luxury's Essence: Quality, Design, Exclusivity and Elegance

British automaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has set the bar for high luxury for 122 years, never straying from its rigorous adherence to quality, design and aesthetics, exclusivity, elegance and attention to detail. How will the brand stay true to its values in 2026, especially in its largest global market?

Jon Colbeth, president/CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Americas

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 10:30 am

Networking Break

Mingle and network with fellow delegates and speakers, grab a coffee, stretch your legs.

| 11:00 am

What Do Affluent and Wealthy Customers Want from Luxury Brands and Retailers?

So much is said of what upscale customers want from their interactions with luxury brands and retailers: privacy, lack of friction, unique experiences and extreme attention to detail. But what else – and how else – can luxury brands and retailers satisfy the needs and wants of affluent and wealthy customers who have it all? What should these marketers do to continue to engage with their customer base and retain their loyalty in a market rife with intense competition?

Leona Qi, president, VistaJet

Matthew Bauer, president, Madison Avenue Business Improvement District

Alyce Panico, CEO, luxe collective group

Marie Driscoll, CEO, Driscoll Advisors, and adjunct professor, The New School and Fashion Institute of Technology

Cristina Cheever, chief curator, Cheever Curated

Nancy Gale, CEO, Jamah

NJ Falk, managing partner, Athletic Propulsion Labs

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 11:45 am

China: Shift in Values as Market Matures

PRESENTATION

The Chinese market, for long, has been the engine of growth for luxury brands. Now, there is a perceptible consumer shift with use of sophisticated mobile shopping and payment options coupled with engaging bricks-and-mortar retail locations and pop-ups. How should luxury brands engage with Chinese luxury customers with the rising demand for wellness and wellbeing, unique experiences and quality education for children? How to capture the attention of domestic customers as well as Chinese affluent and wealthy customers traveling overseas, whether to neighbors in Asia or to Europe and North America? How should luxury brands recalibrate their messaging in a Chinese domestic environment where opulence and ostentation are increasingly under official scrutiny as Chinese even as asserts itself on the world stage? What can the world learn from one of the most digitally savvy consumers in terms of marketing, retailing and communications?

Jacques Roizen, managing director for consulting, DLG (Digital Luxury Group)

| 12:30 pm

Sponsored Networking Lunch

Break for lunch, network with fellow delegates and speakers, stretch your legs, catch up on emails and texts.

| 1:15 pm

Fireside Chat with Luxury Brand or Retailer

FIRESIDE CHAT

TBA

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 1:45 pm

The Collector Mindset: Art and Watches

While wealthy and UHNW consumers are heavily invested in property, stocks, jewelry and crypto, the passion for art and watches continues. How has the collector sentiment evolved with these asset classes? What types of art and watches resonate with collectors, and what does that say for the collector market?

Paul Boutros, deputy chairman and head of watches for the Americas, Phillips

Scott Nussbaum, deputy chairman for the Americas and senior international specialist – modern and contemporary art

| 2:15 pm

What is Motivating the World's Billionaires?

A UBS Presentation

A new generation of billionaires is emerging that includes entrepreneurs innovating at scale across sectors and markets, even as the great wealth transfer intensifies with heirs inheriting more than ever before. The world’s largest wealth manager confirms the second-highest number of self-made individuals became billionaires in 2025 in the entire history of its famed study analyzing the wealthiest cohort worldwide. Bucking the hype around AI, these billionaires are creating businesses not just in technology but also across a broad spectrum of traditional sectors, mainly in the United States and China, per the newly released Billionaire Ambitions 2025 report from UBS. What do the findings mean for purveyors of luxury goods, services and experiences to the UHNW? How should they shape their strategy for such a wealthy audience, keeping in mind their penchant for privacy and exclusivity?

| 2:45 pm

Networking Break

Mingle and network with fellow delegates and speakers, grab a coffee, stretch your legs.

| 3:00 pm

UBS: US Consumer Macro Trends and the High-End Consumer

KEYNOTE

What is the overall health of the U.S. consumer, arguably the world's leading spender? What is the state of wealth creation within the upper-income cohorts? What are the spending trends within business categories and segments? What impact are the U.S. tariffs having on the affluent and wealthy consumer?

Sunny Mehra, CIO equity strategist – U.S. consumer, UBS Financial Services

| 3:30 pm

Outlook 2026: Sectors and Markets Likely to Shine

CLOSING KEYNOTE

Punting to the future, how will sectors such as fashion and leather goods, beauty, retail, art and auctions, watches and jewelry, cars, jets and yachts, real estate and design, wines and spirits, health and wellness, travel and hospitality, and marketing perform in 2026?

Milton Pedraza, CEO, Luxury Institute

| 4:00 pm

Closing Remarks: Day 1

What delegates must do next in the 30-, 60- and 90-day context.

Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

DAY 2: THURSDAY, JANUARY 15

Emphasis on AI and how it will impact the business of luxury, with a focus on research and forecasts, AI use case, platform overview, AI in marketing and retail, building private AI experiences, how companies are deploying AI, agentic AI, reputation management and the legal dos and don'ts with AI.

| 8:00 am

Breakfast and Registration

Tank up on nourishment, coffee and water for a day of extensive learning and networking. Get a jump on the day by networking early with fellow delegates and speakers.

| 8:15 am

Welcome: Embracing the AI Advantage to Grow Your Business and Professional Prospects

It's only a matter of time before the proper application of artificial intelligence complemented by the human touch will be the difference between success and failure – for organizations as well as professionals looking to future-proof their prospects.

Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

Eric P. Berger, senior vice president of wealth management, Gramercy Wealth Management, UBS Financial Services

| 8:30 am

State of AI in Luxury: Now, New and Next

KEYNOTE

What strides is AI making in sectors such as real estate, design, luxury goods and services and other allied sectors that will change the way organizations produce and market their offerings? What impact is AI's adoption having on the role of luxury professionals as they seek to acquire and retain customers for their firms?

Alex Wolkomir, partner, McKinsey & Company

| 9:15 am

The AI Use Case: Context and Utility

AI can properly be regarded as the fourth tech wave since the 1990s, with the Internet's World Wide Web, ecommerce and mobile being the predecessors and even progenitors. What role does AI play in discovery, lead generation, dynamic pricing and transactions as well as reputation management, personalization, creative, content creation, CRM and marketing? How to track and measure AI's effectiveness post-execution? How should luxury organizations – be they brands, brokerages, networks or design firms – develop the architecture, data warehouses and infrastructure of AI that plugs into upgraded legacy systems? Do chatbots have a place in the luxury ecosystem? How to guarantee quality and reliable AI-generated code? How to develop the talent pool for AI? What is the long-term strategy to align innovation with customer value and ROI?

Jared Antin, executive director and licensed associate real estate broker, Brown Harris Stevens

Shanna Gatanis, CEO and principal designer, Shanna Gatanis Design Studio

Nate Robert-Eze, founder, VSN and Path

Charisma Glassman, partner, vice president and global head of retail, consumer and ecommerce advisory, Genpact

Melissa Krueger, CEO, Classic Vacations

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 9:50 am

The Platform Overview: AI Engines and Apps

KEYNOTE

The AI revolution has spawned a multitude of engines and apps that proliferate by the day. How to identify the platforms that make the most sense to integrate in an organization's workflow as well as the luxury professional's toolbox? Is it safer to stick to plug-and-play solutions over in-house options?

Drew Thompson, founder/CEO, Signal & Scale

| 10:30 am

Networking Break

Mingle and network with fellow delegates and speakers, grab a coffee, stretch your legs.

| 11:00 am

AI in Marketing: Deployment for Mundane-to-Complex Initiatives

Artificial intelligence, be it generative AI or agentic, will soon be the blood that courses through marketing's veins. How can AI help marketing in its primary goal: creating awareness and desire for a product or service through targeted outreach to gain and retain customers? How should luxury professionals, especially agents, brokers, sales associates, managers and leaders, turn to AI for customization of content and creative, dynamic websites and apps, customer segmentation and targeting, database mining and marketing, and research and trend analysis? What role do chatbots play in a business that requires elevated customer service? How can AI help with CRM, search engine and generative engine optimization?

David Berkowitz, founder and chief AI marketer, High Caliber AI, and chief community officer, Marketecture Media; author, Using AI for Marketing

| 11:45 am

Building Trusted, Personalized and Private AI Experiences that Elevate Brand Value

Luxury has always balanced craftsmanship with intimacy. Incorporating AI should enhance, not weaken, that relationship. What are the practical ways to embed AI into product design, concierge services and marketing using generative and predictive intelligence to boost human artistry, while making sure that every digital interaction feels personalized, secure and trustworthy?

Michael J. Becker, CEO, Identity Praxis, and adjunct professor for strategic mobile marketing, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

| 12:15 pm

Sponsored Networking Lunch

Break for lunch, network with fellow delegates and speakers, stretch your legs, catch up on emails and texts.

| 1:00 pm

UBS: How Companies are Deploying AI

PRESENTATION

Corporate America and even companies overseas have never adapted to a technology as swiftly as they have done to absorb AI within their organizations. How are they using AI? Which areas has AI been deployed in and to what end? And what are the potential opportunities looking ahead for use of AI?

Sunny Mehra, CIO equity strategist – U.S. consumer, UBS Financial Services

| 1:30 pm

Agentic AI: Future of Intelligence

Agentic AI will meet its full potential when artificial general intelligence (AGI) is achieved. At that point – and it's when, and not if – AI will match or surpass human intelligence. So here are the questions that luxury professionals and organizations will face: How will agentic AI reshape work and workflows? What forms of verification, configuration and assurance will come into play to deliver safe and reliable agentic AI adoption? What sort of training will be needed to upskill for agentic AI use? Most important, how far should agentic AI go and how will it define work for professionals and organizations?

Stuart Greif, chief strategy and innovation officer, Forbes Travel Guide

David Berkowitz, founder and chief AI marketer, High Caliber AI, and chief community officer, Marketecture Media; author, Using AI for Marketing

Marie Driscoll, CEO, Driscoll Advisors, and adjunct professor, The New School and Fashion Institute of Technology

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 2:15 pm

Networking Break

Mingle and network with fellow delegates and speakers, grab a coffee, stretch your legs.

| 2:30 pm

Reputation Management: How to Become the Agent, Sales Professional or Brand that AI Recommends in Your Market

The nature of search is fast-changing with older engines such as Google now offering up AI-generated summaries as the first search result and newer upstarts such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Perplexity's Claude becoming the first point of queries for information and research. So how should luxury professionals – real estate agents and brokers or sales associates and managers at luxury brands across all sectors – become one of the top picks delivered in AI search results? What should these professionals and organizations do to optimize their digital presence online and on mobile to gain visibility and top ranking when consumers query and prompt AI engines?

Molly McKinley, CEO, Redtail Creative, and entrepreneur in residence, Meredith College

Karen Stone, associate broker, Coldwell Banker (Park City, UT) and The Agency (New York)

Jared Antin, executive director and licensed associate real estate broker, Brown Harris Stevens

Alex Wolkomir, partner, McKinsey& Company

Seth Rao, chief technology officer, SecReliant

Cheryl Fenelle Dixon, CEO, Perfectly Clear Communications

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 3:15 pm

AI and Legal Liability

The legal exposure in AI has already been tested with numerous lawsuits underway, from Elon Musk's suit against OpenAI to The New York Times' case against the same OpenAI, among many others alleging IP theft, copyright violation and trade-secrets violations. The fight between generative AI and copyright law will intensify as creative organizations vigorously resist the use of their work for training AI models. But lay users may also become exposed as autonomous AI assistants reshape the digital landscape. How should luxury professionals and organizations allocate responsibility when AI causes harm? What is the governance structure to ensure transparency, accountability, security, performance and high standards? How to account for evolving U.S., E.U. and Asian regulations? What caveats should AI users heed? What are the ethics walls?

Pierre E. Debbas, managing partner, Romer Debbas

Rania V. Sedhom, principal and managing partner, Sedhom Law Group

Andrew B. Lustigman, co-managing partner, Olshan Frome Wolosky

Mary Grieco, partner, Olshan Frome Wolosky

Milt Springut, partner, Herrick

In Conversation with Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

| 4:00 pm

Closing Remarks: The Road Ahead for 2026

What delegates must do next in the 30-, 60- and 90-day context.

Mickey ALAM KHAN, CEO, Luxury Roundtable and Luxboro

 

 

 
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