Image: Experience Design Summit organizer (XMP).
Experience Design Summit 2026: Full Agenda for the Istanbul CX Event
The Experience Design Summit 2026 takes place in Istanbul on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, from 09:00 to 17:00 at Point Hotel Barbaros in the Sisli district. The event is organized by Experience Management Partner (XMP).
Event details, capacity information, and the agenda below are based on the summit page, the official event website, and the event listing.
From the 2025 gathering to a full-day summit
The event is scheduled one week before CX Day. CXPA’s 2026 CX Day falls on Tuesday, 6 October, while the summit takes place on Tuesday, 29 September.
The first summit was held on 9 October 2025 at Han Spaces in Etiler. It brought together more than 100 customer-experience managers, directors, and vice presidents for a half-day program. The organizer reports a 4.78 out of 4.8 event rating and an NPS of +87.
For 2026, the event has expanded to a full day with more than 12 speakers and 250 seats. The organizer says the event has reached capacity and registration is closed.
Organizer and audience
The summit is curated by Gökhan Kara, CCXP and founder of XMP. According to the organizer, Kara has led more than 20 events with the CXPA Istanbul community over approximately eight years.
The program is designed for leaders and managers working across customer experience and related disciplines. Its speakers oversee customer, user, patient, passenger, and employee experiences at major organizations in Turkey.
Full agenda
The schedule below is published by the organizer and may change on the day.
- 09:00–09:30 Arrival and networking
- 09:30–09:50 Opening — Gökhan Kara, CCXP (XMP)
- 09:50–10:50 The present and future of CX: Oya Geron (CoMindLab); Karolin Kuyumcu (FutureBright); Eda Bayraktar (Storytelling Academy UK)
- 10:50–11:20 Coffee
- 11:20–11:40 Eren Kocaoğlu (Lupitor) on agentic AI
- 11:40–12:40 Employee experience and culture: Ömer Barbaros Yiş (Karaca International); Görkem Ihlamur (Koç Holding); Duygu Kayaman (Microsoft, accessibility)
- 12:40–13:40 Lunch
- 13:40–14:05 Panel — humans, technology, AI: Cem Şatana (Pisano), Aydın Aksoy (Škoda Türkiye – Yüce Auto), Özgecan Dabanca (Aktif Bank), Müge Maşat (Türk Telekom), Emin Özden (Evam)
- 14:05–15:05 Verticals 1: Erdem Sağlamer (Allianz); Hande Yılık Turnalı (Garanti BBVA); Büşra Doğan Boysan (Tepe Kurumsal, B2B)
- 15:05–15:35 Coffee
- 15:35–16:35 Verticals 2: Gonca Sofuoğlu Temiz (Ford Otosan); Kürşat Şanlı (Memorial, patient experience); Mustafa Dalcı (Userspots)
- 16:35–16:50 Close — Gökhan Kara
The master of ceremonies is Çiğdem Över of Co Creat. The program spans customer and employee experience, accessibility, patient experience, B2B experience, and the role of AI in experience design.
Registration, tickets, and venue
The summit’s 250-person capacity is full, and ticket sales are closed. The organizer previously listed an individual ticket at TRY 19,500 plus VAT; early-booking and group discounts ended in August. Event questions can be sent to gokhankaracx@gmail.com.
Point Hotel Barbaros is located in Istanbul’s Sisli district at 29 Yildiz Posta Avenue, Esentepe.
What CX leaders can expect
The agenda approaches experience as a design decision rather than a single metric. Sessions examine what organizations should establish before placing AI in front of customers, how employee experience supports the customer promise, and how experience design differs across insurance, banking, B2B services, automotive, and healthcare.
For updates or schedule changes, consult the summit page, the official event website, or the XMP announcement.