About Summit of Minds
The Summits of Minds, powered by the Monthly Barometer for its community members, combine high-level, cutting edge content with inspiring contributors sourced from public life, politics, business, academia, and civil society. These gatherings, held over a number of days, in outstanding locations, afford participants direct access to diverse individuals and ideas, based on the ‘strength of weak ties’ and serendipitous encounters in an atmosphere of mutual trust, partnership, and open conversation.
Bringing leaders together on the mountain peaks of Mont Blanc – a new concept to engage and embolden. An informal 3-day gathering of top leaders, entrepreneurs and investors inspired by walking, talking and thinking in the mountains.
The Summit of Minds is a new concept. The conventional formula of most conferences is thrown out of the window.
The SOM engages and emboldens leaders to Think the Unthinkable and share experiences.
TtU Directors Nik Gowing and Chris Langdon led 46 hours of intense exchanges among the peaks around Mont Blanc above Chamonix in France.
In this informal, inspiring atmosphere leaders explored frankly their own challenges.
At a time of acute disruption the gathering shows how big new ideas emerge on how business and politics can thrive at a time of radical uncertainty and push back on multiple issues from the public.
The agenda is set within a loose framework. It invents itself as the weekend progresses. To stimulate face-to-face engagement the ‘Take Off’ and ‘Take Away’ sessions had a diamond shaped seating plan. It eliminated status and hierarchy so that every voice was heard.
Most important, the spontaneous conversations and inspired flashes of new insight gained while traveling on the Montenvers rack railway or walking beneath the spectacular Aiguille de Midi could have happened in no other way.
Our Latest Client Examples
Explore the latest from Thinking the Unthinkable. From global conferences and summits, to town hall meetings. Click on an example below to learn more about the work we do.
Exeter Climate Forum | Exeter, 2026
Thinking the Unthinkable partnered with the University of Exeter to deliver a thought-provoking session exploring one of the biggest barriers to climate action: how to communicate effectively in an increasingly polarised and misinformation-rich environment.
UK Nature Summit | York, 2026
The UK Nature Summit 2026, was hosted by Environment Bank at the historic Castle Howard Estate in North Yorkshire and moderated by Nik Gowing. The event brought together business leaders, investors, sustainability professionals and nature experts to examine how organisations can move from nature ambition to meaningful action.
CWZ Climate & Nature: Achieving Restoration at Scale | Zurich, 2026
At the opening of Climate Week Zurich 2026, Nik Gowing was invited to moderate a flagship session focused on one of the most persistent challenges in climate action: how to move from knowledge to implementation at scale.
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