Global Wellness Summit Unveils Packed Agenda for Conference in Phuket, Thailand November 10-13

Over 70 experts will explore the future of the "Science, Art and Soul of Wellness"—from the newest directions in longevity, hospitality, architecture, design and real estate—to how ancient practices, spirituality, human connection and creativity are getting a modern reinvention

MIAMI, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Wellness Summit ™ (GWS), the foremost gathering of leaders in the global wellness economy, today released the full agenda for its historic 20th annual event taking place November 10-13 at the Angsana Laguna Phuket in Thailand.

View the full agenda and all speakers HERE.

The event will celebrate—and analyze lessons learned from—these last 20 years of extraordinary growth for the industry, while bringing together dozens of high-profile thinkers to predict what the next 20 years may bring. The expansive agenda, under the theme, "The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness," illustrates that wellness is again at a pivotal moment.

Science and the new focus on longevity and healthspan have dominated the industry in recent years. Globally renowned doctors and researchers will discuss how longevity itself is now at a crossroads, with new demands for less hype and more evidence-based pathways. They will also forecast a future that is more integrative than solely clinical, more collective and accessible than individualistic and elitist.

If more scientific––and less science fiction––approaches to healthy longevity are firmly on the agenda, a powerful line-up of experts will discuss how the "art" and "soul" of wellness will have an equally forceful, fast-evolving future in the industry. Keynotes will explore how art, music, film and new models of immersive entertainment can be deployed to impact wellbeing. At the same time, high-profile designers and real estate developers will discuss innovations in how spaces, destinations, and even cities, can transform human wellbeing, whether environments purpose-built to drive connection or regulate our nervous systems.

Speakers will tackle how the "soul" of wellness––ancient wisdom systems, spirituality, purpose, deep human connection and nature––are not just resurgent in an era of clinical over-optimization, but getting a radical reimagining. Importantly, innovators will also share how the science, art and soul of wellness are finally converging in new concepts and destinations.

Each day, attendees will experience firsthand the art and soul of wellness—from the profound lessons of a revered Buddhist monk for the industry's future, to a moving chanting ceremony from Thai schoolgirls, to film premieres from the BBC, ArtLink and Louie Schwartzberg, and new music from Myndstream. There will also be heartfelt tributes to Susie Ellis, who is stepping away from her role as GWS CEO, honoring her visionary role in shaping the modern wellness industry.

To set the momentous, inspiring tone, the Summit will be opened by Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana, the Queen of Thailand.

"The agenda was designed as a deep immersion in the many ways that science, art and soul will reshape the future wellness industry," said Nancy Davis, GWS chief creative officer and executive director. "But just as important was to create a meaningful, moving experience for attendees, through performance, music, film … and so many surprises. We've woven a tapestry of big thinkers and big moments."

ON THE AGENDA:

The 2026 Summit has an especially strong focus on transformations underway in medical wellness, longevity and healthspan; hospitality and travel; and design, the arts and the built environment.

I) SCIENCE

Keynotes will lay out what evidence-based and women-inclusive pathways to healthy longevity look like; why more integrative medical wellness represents the future; and how a new focus on healthspan is disrupting everything from health insurance to workplace wellness.

Kenneth R. Pelletier, MD, PhD, clinical professor of medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and a longevity expert decades before it became an obsession: "Live Long & Prosper: Sorting Fact from Fantasy in Human Longevity"

Andrea Maier, MD, PHD, director of the NUS Academy for Healthy Longevity and leader of the team named one of 20 finalists for the $101 million XPRIZE Healthspan Competition: "Health Optimization: Integrating Consumer-Led Health and Precision Geromedicine"

John Schoonbee, MD, global chief medical officer, Swiss RE: "An Insurance Giant Bets on Wellness"

Tanupol Virunhagarun, MD, CEO of Group 8 (BDMS Wellness Clinic, BDMS Wellness Resort, BDMS Silver), Bangkok Dusit Medical Services: "Advancing Scientific Wellness in the New WellEra"

Christopher Asandra, MD, founder, chief medical officer, AsandraMD: "The Women's Health Conversation Nobody Wants to Have"

Dan Buettner, founder, Blue Zones: "I Built It, Sold It, and Bought It Back … What's Next?" 

George Gaitanos, PhD, chief operating and scientific officer, Chenot: "Reframing Longevity: A Dynamic State of Everyday Health"

Anna Bjurstam, founder, Wahayla: "Beyond the Hype: Rethinking Longevity and the Business of Wellness"

Simone Gibertoni, CEO, Clinique La Prairie: "Authentic Expansion: Bringing Clinique La Prairie to Phuket"

Melody Nakhle, global chief marketing officer, Amway: "Beyond Longevity: Rethinking What It Means to Live Well"

Denise Bober, SVP of Human Resources, The Breakers, Palm Beach: "From Hire to Retire: Longevity in a Working Life"

Diego Carrete, chief wellness officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank: "Banking on Wellness"

Julie "DJ Hesta Prynn" Slavin, DJ and licensed clinical therapist, music connection therapy: "A Quiet Revolution: A Case for Putting Hearing on Your Longevity Playlist"

II) ART

Experts will delve into everything from cutting-edge, immersive "well-tainment" to a new global movement that places Indigenous cultures and crafts at the heart of wellbeing, as well as the eye-opening ways that architects, designers and developers are rethinking the built environment around human health.

Thomas Heatherwick, founder, design director, Heatherwick Studio: "The Architecture of Indifference: What Boring Buildings Are Doing to Us"

Deron Triff, founder, Project VELUM: "Immersive Entertainment: The Science-Backed Blueprint for the Next Frontier in Wellness"

Tal Danai, founder, creative director, ArtLink: Film Premiere—"Stories That Move Us"

Jonathan Emery, CEO, Aldar Development: "Building Cities, Caring for Individuals"

Bernhard Bohnenberger, co-founder, CEO, Discover Collection: "Can You Design a Place People Feel They Belong?"

David Delrahim, founder, COCUN Wellness Resorts and Communities, Proudputh Liptapanlop, executive director, Proud Real Estate, and Ari Peralta, director, Arigami, discuss: "Future Wellness Cities: Cultural Capital & Wellness-Led Urban Developments."  

III) SOUL

A diverse slate of speakers will examine how ancient wellness, spirituality, purpose, human connection and nature are not just poised for a renaissance but a major reinvention.

Ho Kwon Ping, founder, executive chairman, Banyan Group: "From Paradise to Purpose: The Evolution of Wellness Hospitality"

Ajahn Jayasāro, Buddhist monk, spiritual teacher, author: "What Remains When We Stop Trying to Improve Ourselves"

Anna Bjurstam, with Ronald Akili, co-founder, Desa Potato Head (Bali) and Huy Hoang, founder, Shishi-Iwa House (Japan): "The Anti-Resort: Can Hospitality Have a Point of View?"

Lisa Von Tang, founder, creative director, Lisa Von Tang, with Colin Low, CEO of investment firm, Patience Lifestyle and Lexie Rodriguez, VP of Lifestyle, Capella Hotel Group: "Building Community: The New Currency of Hospitality Brands"

Krip Rojanastien, chairman, CEO, Chiva-Som International Health Resorts: "Can a Wellness Destination Keep Its Soul as It Scales?"

Neil Jacobs, founder, Wild Origins: "The Next Chapter in Global Hospitality"

Shunya, co-founder, Tianren Culture, Hong Kong: "The Inner World: The Spirit of Wellness"

Renee Moorefield, PhD, founder, CEO, Wisdom Works Group with Eva McLellan, global healthcare executive and co-founder of the Unlocking Eve Foundation: "Cultures That Flourish in a Fractured World"

Ramona Chiriac, VP, Global Impact, Therme Group: "Wellness for Millions, Not Millionaires"

Lindsay Madden-Nadeau, senior director wellness strategy & development, Red Sea Global, with choreographer, Bilal Allaf: "The Art of Living Well: Movement, Memory and the Wisdom of Place"

Marina Efraimoglou, owner, founder, Greece's Euphoria Retreat: "Why Longevity Needs an Ithaka"

Jessica Jesse, founder and CEO, BuDhaGirl, founder, Zen Collective: "The Architecture of Intention" 

SCIENCE+ART+SOUL: THE NEW CONVERGENCE

From new business models to new government policies, keynotes will explore the far more integrative future for wellness ahead.

June Cohen, author, media and technology pioneer: "The Great Remembering: How Powerful Ancient Practices Are Reinventing Modern Wellness"

Pongsadhorn Pokpermdee, MD, PhD, director general, Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health: "Thailand's Wellness Future: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Medicine"

William E. Heinecke, founder, chairman, Minor International: "The Hospitality Empire That Refuses to Stand Still"

Narong Pattamasaevi (father), founder, chairman, Montara Hospitality Group, Poonsri Pichayaphanich (mother) vice chair, Niyom Pattamasaevi Foundation and Kittisak Pattamasaevi (son) president, CEO, Montara Hospitality Group: "A Family's Legacy of Care: Trisara, Tri Vananda & More"

Jiří Dvořák, MD, PhD, professor of neurology, Schulthess Clinic Zurich and BDMS Wellness Clinic: "Lifespan. Healthspan. Playspan."

THE BIG SHIFTS:

Keynotes will identify the powerful, "big picture" shifts unfolding in wellness.

B. Joseph Pine II, bestselling author, speaker, management advisor and co-founder, Strategic Horizons, will explain the rise of "The Transformation Economy and Its Impact on the Wellness Economy"

Ingo Schweder, founder, CEO, GOCO Hospitality, Rakesh Patel, CEO, founder, Alta Capital Real Estate and Professor Gerry Bodeker, member, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, will tackle: "Beyond the Wellness Boom: Where Is the Industry Really Heading—and Who Will Shape Its Future?"

Dave McCaughan, founder, BIBLIOSEXUAL, will identify lessons learned from 20 years of advertising wellness, while Kelly Kovack, founder, CEO of BeautyMatter and Nick Vaus, founder, Free The Birds, will analyze the last 20 years of beauty and wellness, while making bold predictions for the next 20.

New Research: The Global Wellness Institute unveils the 2026 Global Wellness Economy Monitor, its most in-depth report ever, providing new data and insights on the global wellness market.

Unmatched Networking: From 160 "table topics" at lunch with industry leaders to expert-led after-dinner conversations to amazing open-air dinners and beachfront celebrations, the 2026 Summit offers delegates so many ways to connect.

Apply to attend the Summit. 

Accredited media can apply to attend here.

About the Global Wellness Summit: The Global Wellness Summit brings together leaders and visionaries to positively shape the future of the $6.8 trillion global wellness economy. In addition to an annual conference held at a different location around the globe, GWS also hosts annual in-person events such as the Wellness Real Estate & Communities Symposium and the New York Media Event, where its Future of Wellness report is unveiled, a prediction of the top wellness trends for the year that is oft-quoted in the media. The GWS also hosts virtual gatherings, including Wellness Master Classes. The 20th annual Global Wellness Summit will be held in Phuket, Thailand, November 10-13, 2026.

SOURCE Global Wellness Summit