Fortune Selects Detroit as Host City for the Fortune 500 Innovation Forum Nov. 16-17

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Mar 11, 2026, 10:00 ET

Fortune convenes Fortune 500 leaders on the future of innovation during America's semiquincentennial anniversary

Fortune launches year-long "250 Years of Innovation" content series across digital platforms and in print

U.S. Chamber of Commerce to serve as Institutional Partner;
Points of Light as Impact Partner

NEW YORK, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortune today announced it will host the Fortune 500 Innovation Forum in Detroit Nov. 16–17. The Forum will bring together leaders and luminaries from business and the public sector to explore new paths to prosperity during the unprecedented AI transformation and at this pivotal time for America and the world. Held under the content theme "America Leads," the Forum will serve as the capstone event of Fortune's year-long editorial initiative – a sweeping exploration of the companies, leaders, and ideas shaping the next era of business.

The two-day gathering will take place at The Department at Hudson's, a landmark event space in Detroit's revitalized downtown that represents the city's entrepreneurial spirit and energy. Fortune will convene CEOs and other leaders at Fortune 500 companies, with a special focus on the more than 200 companies that have thrived for a century or more, alongside startup founders, investors, policymakers, and nonprofit and cultural leaders.

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will harness the strengths of Fortune's 96-year-history of award-winning reporting, branded content, and live journalism teams to shine a light on the institutions that have helped shape the American economy, reinvented themselves through eras of disruption, and continue to define the future of capitalism.  Fortune will also draw on its leading editorial communities — including Fortune Brainstorm, Fortune Most Powerful Women, and Fortune CEO Initiative — to help guide Forum conversations and programming.

Mainstage sessions, peer-to-peer roundtables, and activities will be framed around four key business levers: talent, operations, customers, and community. Fortune editors and participants will discuss and debate how the public and private sectors can work together to drive growth across the American economy through job creation, infrastructure development, education and more.

In the months leading up to the 2026 Fortune 500 Innovation Forum, Fortune—under the banner 250 Years of American Innovation—will showcase stories of business pioneers and industry titans, landmark moments of innovation as well as failure and rebirth, and key trends and figures that have shaped America's role in global commerce. The multi-platform initiative will reach audiences with series content in Fortune Magazine, on Fortune.com, Fortune's social platforms, through vodcasts such as Fortune 500 Titans and Disruptors of Industry; and on the Fortune YouTube channel.

On June 3^rd, Fortune will publish its Fortune 500 ™ ranking for 2026, the 72^nd year of the iconic annual list of the largest corporations in the United States.

Live journalism at the Fortune 500 Innovation Forum and accompanying content this year will be directed by its editorial and Live Media leadership, including Alyson Shontell, Fortune's Editor-in-Chief and Chief Content Officer; and Diane Brady, Executive Editorial Director, Fortune. Forum co-chairs include Brady, Fortune Executive Editors Lee Clifford and Matt Heimer, and Fortune Live Media Editorial Director Kristin Stoller. They will be joined by Fortune Live Media Editorial Directors Ellie Austin (Fortune Most Powerful Women) and Andrew Nusca (Fortune Brainstorm); and Fortune Next to Lead (NXTL) Editor, Ruth Umoh.

"The trajectory of U.S. business over 250 years is a testament to American dynamism and the nation's capacity for innovation," said Fortune's Shontell. "Throughout the year and in Detroit, Fortune will help tell the remarkable story of business and point to the dynamic future for its leading companies and visionary leaders, and in particular define the challenges and opportunities represented by the historic AI transformation."

"Our goal is to bring together the leaders who continue to make the U.S. an unparalleled engine of innovation and growth," said Fortune's Brady. "How are they tackling the toughest challenges and biggest opportunities in the age of AI? We anticipate a rich discussion about what's needed to create future prosperity and growth."

Institutional Partners for the Forum include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business organization representing businesses of every size and sector, and a leading advocate for American free enterprise.

"Fueled by the innovative spirit inherent in our free enterprise system, American businesses have served people, solved problems, and strengthened society for 250 years," said Suzanne P. Clark, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "We look forward to partnering with Fortune in Detroit—a city that has continually reinvented American innovation—to chart the path forward at such a critical and transformational period in our history."

Impact Partners for the Forum include Points of Light, the nonpartisan nonprofit that is the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service.

Confirmed sponsors of the 2026 Fortune 500 Innovation Forum include Indeed and Salesforce. Additional sponsors and programming updates will be announced in the coming months.

For more information, including the full agenda and speakers list, visit the event website here.

About Fortune:
Fortune is the premier global media company for global business leaders, built on a 96-year-old legacy of trusted, award-winning journalism. Independently owned, Fortune tells the story of business, spanning legacy companies to the world's new generation of innovators. Fortune measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks, and holds companies accountable, in regions around the world. Its iconic rankings include Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, Most Powerful Women, and World's Most Admired Companies. Fortune builds world-class communities by convening industry thought leaders for exclusive summits and conferences, including the Fortune Global Forum , Fortune Brainstorm Tech, and Fortune Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com.