2026 Interactive Roundtable Discussions

Tuesday, September 29

4:00 pm Execution Under Pressure: Identifying Failure Points in Development and Change Initiatives
Mike Myers, Founder & President, ID4 Consulting
Even the most well-designed development programs and strategic initiatives can fall short in execution. This interactive working group will focus on understanding why implementation fails—and how to identify risks early before they derail outcomes. Participants will break into small groups to explore:

The most common drivers of execution failure in development programs and portfolio initiatives
“Unicorn” or unpredictable events that can disrupt even the strongest plans
Early warning signs that a program or initiative is at risk, from unrealistic assumptions to emerging operational or safety challenges

Through facilitated discussion, attendees will share real-world experiences, compare patterns across organizations, and identify practical approaches to improving execution and mitigating risk. The session will conclude with a synthesis of key takeaways and actionable insights that participants can bring back to strengthen execution across their own programs and portfolios.

Wednesday, September 30

Beyond the Data: The Human Side of Governance
Kundini Amin, Head, Portfolio Leadership, Analytics & Insights (PLAI), Biogen
Elena Spencer, Head of Research Governance & Portfolio Management, Biogen
As portfolio management practices continue to mature through advanced data, analytics, and tooling, this session focuses on the equally critical human and structural elements that enable those insights to translate into real decisions. Using a People + Process + Data governance framework, the session explores how trust, facilitation, meeting design, and decision documentation shape what actually happens in governance forums. During this interactive discussion, participants will examine the behavioral and operational realities that influence decision quality - such as whether stakeholders feel safe to speak up, whether shared understanding is truly achieved in the room, and how decisions made collaboratively are accurately reflected in outcomes and follow‑through. Through real‑world examples and facilitated breakout discussions, participants will explore practical techniques for strengthening governance design so that portfolio decisions are not only well‑informed, but also clearly understood, aligned, and effectively executed.

Session Objectives
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

Recognize common human and process failure points in portfolio governance - even when data is strong
Apply practical techniques to improve psychological safety, shared understanding, and decision clarity
Identify 1–2 changes they can make immediately to their governance forums, meetings, or decision artifacts