Forbes Australia’s Women’s Summit is set to return in 2026, with Lancôme revealed as presenting partner.
Now in its third year, the Forbes Australia Women’s Summit, themed “Building What’s Next”, aims to brings together the brightest minds and bold ideas for one day dedicated to the women designing the future.
The Summit is dedicated to unlocking new thinking and translating ideas into impact. Delving deep into “What’s next”, the Summit features leaders, founders, creators and innovators sharing the ideas and strategies shaping the decade ahead.
Sarah O’Carroll, editor-in-chief, Forbes Australia told B&T: “Launching the Forbes Women’s Summit, the idea was to mobilize a global network of female founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders who will come together really and support each other.”
“The gap of how women sometimes are portrayed and how they are actually operating is still too wide. What we’ve seen is women want connection and want business content. They invest in content and real substance around the business conversation, as well as building that community.”
“I think sometimes people default to stereotypes and they might package women’s content around lifestyle or wellness.”
“What we’re seeing now is that many of these women are leading and managing huge amounts of capital. They are running global businesses.” O’Carroll added.
Melanie Craig, brand director at Lancôme said: “We are incredibly proud to be the official presenting partner of the Forbes Australia Women’s Summit,”
“This partnership is a powerful reflection of Lancôme’s commitment to celebrating female leadership and empowerment on a global stage. We are especially excited to share our pioneering work in Longevity Science, which represents the next frontier of skin health and vitality. At its core, our research is about more than beauty. It’s about resilience and ensuring women feel their most vibrant at every stage of life. It is a privilege to support a platform that inspires the trailblazers of today and tomorrow.”
O’Carroll told B&T: “They’re a global beauty icon. We have that deep history and legacy on both brands. What they really want to align with is Forbes premium storytelling and being able to connect with our growing community of Forbes women”
Forbes Australia group director, head of commercial, media and advertising, Stephanie Antonis, said: “Forbes Australia is building one of the most influential communities of women in the country. Partnering with Lancôme for the 2026 Women’s Summit brings a global beauty icon into a deeply engaged, high-intent environment, and reinforces the confidence blue-chip brands have in our brand as a platform for premium storytelling, brand building and growth.”
Forbes Australia has also revealed Commonwealth Private as platinum partner of the Women’s Summit, and Cartier W0men’s Initiative as a spotlight partner
Speakers at the Forbes Australia 2026 Women’s Summit include:
- Megan Gale, friend of the brand for Lancôme
- Geraldine Slattery, president Australia, BHP
- Satya Tammareddy, head of go-to-market, Australia and New Zealand, OpenAI
- Bruna Papandrea, producer, founder and CEO, Made Up Stories
- Kayla Itsines, Author, entrepreneur, co-founder, Sweat
- Monica Saunders-Weinberg, co-vice chair, Terrace Tower Group
- Susie Grehl, executive general manager – wealth & private, CBA
- Chloe Fisher, entrepreneur, author, podcaster and content creator
- Katrina Leslie, founder and chairman, swipejobs
- Bahar Etminan, founder and editor, Ageless Radiance Club
- Trish Botha, managing director, Australian Indigenous AI Solutions
- Annie Liao, founder, Build Club
- Grace Toombs, founder, June Health
- Alexis Fernandez-Preiska, neuroscientist, performance coach and podcaster, Do You F***ing Mind?
