8:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

The Great INMA Vail Hike(s)

We have 50+ Vail Roundtable participants and spouse/guests who aim to join us for a Tuesday morning guided hike — a big enough contingent to break us into groups for three hikes and one walk. The hikers will meet in The Sonnenalp lobby at 8:45 a.m. for 9:00 a.m. departures. For hikers, wear long pants and long sleeves to keep bugs away. If you prefer shorts or t-shirts, bring sunscreen. Brimmed hats and sunglasses are strongly suggested as well as hiking shoes with good tread. The walkers will meet in The Sonnenalp lobby at 9:45 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. departure.

Vail Mountain (a walk): For non-hikers, we offer an 11-minute walk to Eagle Bahn gondola in Lionshead, taking the gondola to the top of Vail Mountain, soaking in the views with a short walk, then a steady one-mile walk via trails atop Vail Mountain to Gondola One where we will take a ride down Vail Mountain directly into Vail Village. In total, this is about three miles (4.8 kms) of walking.

Meadow Mountain (moderate hike): Meadow Mountain Trail has a bit of everything: The trail passes through serene meadows with great views of the Gore Range, the majestic Minturn Formation, and cuts in and out of shady aspen groves. In the 1920s, the meadows were the property of the Evercrisp Lettuce Company; Minturn was “the lettuce capital of America.”

Grouse Lake Trail (intermediate hike): The hike follows Grouse Creek through a balmy mossy forest with plenty of chances to cross over the creek and catch some spray. Geologic activity is quite unique here as it blends Minturn's sedimentary rock with large granite deposits from glacial retreat. Named for the large gentle bird that is brown in summer and changes to white in the winter, they are quite common in the area.

Pitkin Lake Trail (advanced hike): The north side of the Vail valley has several steep and rewarding trails leading all the way from the valley to the high alpine; known for being the most difficult hike in the area. Less crowded than its more popular neighbouring trails, Pitkin offers the opportunity to enjoy the solitude the Holy Cross Wilderness offers. While quite rigorous, the trail rewards those who persevere with incredible views of mature aspen groves, spruce-fir forests and a series of moraines from an ancient glacial retreat. The area is steeped in history as the Holy Cross Wilderness celebrates its 50th year of designated wilderness.

Departure location: Sonnenalp Lobby

3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Registration and welcome coffee

4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Session 1: Welcome, introductions, and icebreakers

If connecting our group of 50 CEOs is one of the goals of the Vail Roundtable, introductions are in order. In this opening session, learn who is in the room, why they’re in the room, and what unique insights they bring and want to hear.

Session leaders:
Siv Juvik Tveitnes, President, INMA (CEO, Schibsted)
Earl J. Wilkinson, Executive Director and CEO, INMA

Location: Bavaria Room (Lower Level) at The Sonnenalp

5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Welcome reception poolside at The Sonnenalp

Be welcomed to Vail poolside in the scenic riverside backyard of The Sonnenalp. Meet with peers from media companies around the world and take in the natural beauty surrounding you. We promise: Speeches will be kept to a minimum as you soak in the river view and mountains and greenery that are hallmarks of this time of year in Vail.

Location: The Sonnenalp

7:30 p.m.-Onwards

Evening free

Make your Vail Village dinner reservations in advance. Suggestions for the evening: Almresi (German), Matsuhisa (sushi), Left Bank (French), Mountain Standard (wood-burning grill), La Nonna (Italian), Pepi's (Austrian), Russell’s (steak), El Segundo (taqueria), Slope Room (organic alpine bistro), Sweet Basil (American), Swiss Chalet (fondue). If you're just looking for drinks, check out Chasing Rabbits (ask for the speakeasy), which is a two-minute walk from The Sonnenalp.

8:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.

Continental breakfast

Join fellow Roundtable participants for an INMA-hosted continental breakfast before we kickstart programming.

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

Session 2: Scarcity will decide who profits from news

The recent Berlin World Congress argued brand decides the future of news. The Vail Roundtable asks the harder CEO question: If AI makes content, marketing, and efficiency abundant and free, value flows only to the scarce — trust, relationships, judgment. This opening Roundtable presentation frames the central decision every CEO now faces: what to defend, what to automate, and where to invest.

Session leader:
Earl J. Wilkinson, Executive Director and CEO, INMA

10:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m.

Coffee break

Take a break, meet someone new, ask questions of speakers. Text or telephone if you must.

10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Session 3: Redesigning for AI: Strategic decisions media leaders need to make now

AI is reshaping how information is created, discovered, distributed, and monetised — and the decisions media leaders make now will determine whether their organisations remain visible, valuable, and sustainable. This session examines the forces changing the news industry, including the rise of AI agents and bots as a new class of audience, the structural questions publishers must answer about where value will be created, and sets the context for the deeper discussions that follow.

Jodie Hopperton, Product & Tech Initiative Lead, INMA

Location: Bavaria Room (Lower Level) at The Sonnenalp

12:15 p.m.-1:15 p.m.

Lunch

Continue the INMA conversations over a buffet lunch at Ludwig's at The Sonnenalp.

Location: Ludwig's at The Sonnenalp

1:15 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Session 4: The new rules of the machine: Models, copyright, and the licensing reset

The ground beneath AI licensing is shifting. Sovereign AI ambitions are rewriting national priorities, open standards are gaining teeth, and copyright battles are moving from courtrooms to negotiating tables. INMA maps what happens next for news media companies: which licensing models will survive, where leverage actually sits, and what CEOs should demand before signing anything in 2027.

Session leader:
Robert Whitehead, Digital Platform Initiative Lead, INMA

Location: Bavaria Room (Lower Level) at The Sonnenalp

2:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Coffee break

Take a break, meet someone new, ask questions of speakers. Text or telephone if you must.

3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Session 5: The AI-first CEO: How AI changes the work of media leaders

AI is changing more than products and newsrooms. It can change executive work itself. This session explores how media CEOs use AI to think better, learn faster, automate routine work, prepare for decisions, and redesign their personal operating systems. Participants will exchange practical workflows, tools, prompts, and habits they can adopt immediately.

Session leader:
Greg Piechota, Researcher-in-Residence, INMA

Location: Bavaria Room (Lower Level) at The Sonnenalp

4:30 p.m.-4:45 p.m.

Wrap-up and takeaways

We will conclude today's programme with a smart distillation and key takeaways.

6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Bowling, bites, and bonds at Deca + Bol

Wind down the first day of the INMA CEO Roundtable with an evening of relaxed competition and camaraderie at Deca + Bol, Vail’s chic bowling and dining destination in Solaris Plaza. This modern venue blends 10 custom bowling lanes with an upscale restaurant and lively cocktail bar — perfect for mixing strikes, stories, and strategy. Whether you’re aiming for a perfect game, sampling creative cocktails, or enjoying the gourmet fare at Deca, this is the night to connect with peers in a setting that’s as sophisticated as it is fun.

8:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.

Continental breakfast

Join Roundtable participants for continental breakfast before diving into today's agenda.

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

Session 6: From inventory to outcomes: Transforming advertising and the revenue team

Moving advertising from an inventory business to a partnerships-and-outcomes business isn't just positioning, it's structural. Which parts are worth defending, and for whom? Through scenarios by publisher type, we'll weigh programmatic, the AI squeeze on the middle funnel, creator disruption, data and INMA benchmark signals to map what's defensible and what's not, and how to restructure teams to lead and win.

Session leader:
Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA

10:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m.

Coffee break

Take a break, meet someone new, ask questions of speakers. Text or telephone if you must.

10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Session 7: Building a super user-first news organisation: From chasing clicks to compounding relationships

Most news organisations optimise for ad impressions or subscription conversions, yet a small group of “super users” drives outsized engagement, revenue from both ads and subscriptions, and more. Drawing on INMA's research into super users and reach-loyalty dynamics in fragmented funnels, this session argues the real strategic asset in an AI-mediated ecosystem isn’t traffic, advertising or subscriptions alone but rather a growing stock of super users.

Session leaders:
Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA
Greg Piechota, Researcher-in-Residence, INMA

Location: Bavaria Room (Lower Level) at The Sonnenalp

12:15 p.m.-1:15 p.m.

Lunch

Lunch on the Go, pick up your boxed lunch in the lobby of our meeting space. Weather permitting, enjoy a meal and some free-time outdoors. If you have a spouse/partner with you, grab a lunch for them as well.

Location: The Sonnenalp

1:15 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Session 8: The next newsroom: Strategy, structure, and liquid content

The article was the defining product of the news industry for more than a century. But what if it is no longer the right unit of value? As AI makes information and analysis increasingly abundant, media leaders face a more fundamental question: what are we actually selling, and what should we be building next? This session explores the concept of “liquid content” — journalism that adapts to different user needs, contexts, and formats rather than being confined to a single story. The implications extend far beyond product strategy, challenging assumptions about newsroom structures, decision-making and content in an AI-driven future.

Session leader:
Sonali Verma, Newsroom Transformation Initiative Lead, INMA

Location: Bavaria Room (Lower Level) at The Sonnenalp

2:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Coffee break

Take a break, meet someone new, ask questions of speakers. Text or telephone if you must.

2:45 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Session 9: Fund it like you believe it: Re-thinking investment in young audiences

Young audiences didn't leave, they never arrived, and when they finally show up, your product isn't built for them. The funnel that built modern publishing assumes people migrate from platform to homepage. For this audience, that's not happening, because platforms aren't a bridge, they're a habitat. Nobody has this fully figured out, including the people telling you they do. This session is about what's actually defensible to try once you drop that assumption and whether you're willing to fund a long game instead of chasing a shortcut that doesn't exist.

Session leader:
Kerstin Hasse, Young Audiences Initiative Lead, INMA

Location: Bavaria Room (Lower Level) at The Sonnenalp

4:00 p.m.-4:15 p.m.

Takeaways of the day and Roundtable wrap-up

We will conclude today's programme with a smart distillation and key takeaways of the day and a wrap-up of The Roundtable.

5:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Small-group dinners in Vail

INMA will make reservations at seven Vail Village restaurants, and guests who opt in will enjoy a final evening with peers and subject-matter experts. INMA will provide dinner options closer to the Vail Roundtable dates.

8:00 p.m.-Onwards

Drinks at the Sonnenalp

“Drinks on INMA” will be at the King's Lounge at The Sonnenalp — always lively and featuring local musicians. Please wear your INMA pin for bar service.