What You Missed at the 11th Rewards, Benefits & Wellbeing Summit
"Easily the best work event I have been to." We loved hearing that from one of our delegates in Lisbon last week. The 11th Rewards, Benefits & Wellbeing Summit has come and gone - but the conversations, connections, and ideas it sparked are just getting started. Read the recap here.
3–5 June 2026 | Dolce CampoReal, Lisbon
Last week, the rolling hills of Torres Vedras provided the backdrop for the 11th Rewards, Benefits & Wellbeing Summit - three days of genuine connection, thought-provoking conversation, and the kind of peer-to-peer learning that you simply can't replicate in a conference hall.
Hosted by Summit Events at the stunning Dolce CampoReal Hotel just outside Lisbon, this invitation-only gathering brought together senior Reward, Benefits, and Wellbeing professionals from some of the UK and Ireland's leading organisations, alongside a carefully selected group of solution providers - all united by a shared commitment to shaping better workplaces.
"Easily the best work event I have been to. The Summit team were wonderful and welcoming - everything was incredibly well organised and the vibe was impeccable. I'd love to return." — Global Employee Benefits Manager, Lime
A Summit That Started Early - and With Good Reason
With a national strike in Portugal planned to coincide with the original travel window, the Summit Events team took swift action - arranging for all attendees to travel out a day early to ensure the programme could run without disruption. It was a decision that set the tone perfectly: thoughtful, proactive, and entirely in keeping with the high-touch approach that has become a hallmark of these events.
The Summit kicked off with a relaxed networking lunch followed by wine tasting and Portuguese tart workshop. Everyone came together for the welcome drinks reception sponsored by Doctor Care Anywhere, and dinner at the CampoReal sponsored by Happl. The evening closed with an opening keynote from John Peters - former RAF pilot, Gulf War prisoner of war, best-selling author, and performance coach - a fitting, thought-provoking start to a summit focused on human potential.
Three Days of Insight, Connection, and Practical Learning
The heart of the summit is its programme - a carefully balanced mix of pre-matched one-to-one meetings, strategy group sessions, and speaker presentations that tackle the topics most pressing for today's reward and wellbeing leaders.
This year's content didn't shy away from the big themes. Over Thursday and Friday, delegates heard from eight expert speakers across sessions spanning the most urgent topics in the profession:
- Simon H., Group Head of Reward at GLORY — AI in Reward & Benefits: What's Possible, What's Changing, and What We Must Rethink
- Steve Cottle, Global Partnerships Director at Lyra Health — Mental Health in the Workplace: Why Traditional Approaches No Longer Meet the Needs of Today's Workforce
- Matthew Gregson, Executive Director at Howden — Data & Decision-Making: What It Takes to Run a Great Benefits Programme in 2026
- Diana Fayad, Head of C&B Internationals at GE Vernova — Total Rewards Shaping the New Leadership Model
- Jeremy Dennis, Director of Compensation & Benefits at Akamai Technologies — EU Pay Transparency
- Tony Nevin, VP Total Reward EMEA at Aristocrat — Engagement: A Successful Use Case
- Rich Ormond & Charlie Parnell, Commercial Lead and Co-Founder at Money Guided — Financial Wellbeing: We Need to Talk
- Natalie Quilter, Head of Reward, Wellbeing & Benefits at The Hyde Group — Who Cares? You Should
"The strategy sessions were particularly effective in encouraging reflection and forward-thinking, helping to shape ideas around future approaches within the reward and wellbeing space." — Head of People Experience, Trussell
Meetings That Matter
At the core of the Summit Events format are the pre-matched one-to-one meetings - structured, purposeful conversations arranged in advance to ensure genuine relevance on both sides. For many attendees, it's this element that sets the summit apart from anything else on the market.
"This was my first time attending and I found it really productive. I really like the structure versus the more traditional conference style. The purposeful meetings were very productive - I've already arranged further conversations outside of the summit itself." — Global Total Rewards Director, MMGY Global
"I loved the format. There is a great balance of networking, presentations, learnings and ice breakers. The organisers are very professional and everything went very smoothly." — Head of Compensation & Benefits, GE Vernova
Thursday evening saw the group head out to ADEGAMÃE, a winery set in the vineyards of the Lisbon wine region, for dinner - a memorable setting for the conversations that spill naturally beyond the working day
The Community at the Heart of It All
What keeps people coming back to the Rewards, Benefits & Wellbeing Summit - now in its 11th edition - is something that's hard to manufacture: a genuine sense of community. The feeling of being among peers who truly understand your challenges, and the relationships that outlast the three days.
"This year's summit was truly outstanding. It was fantastic to connect with so many delegates who share similar challenges and ambitions. I left feeling motivated and full of new ideas." — Reward Operations Manager, easyJet
"The Summit was a fantastic, genuinely inclusive networking event. It created a great environment to meet delegates on a one-to-one basis, build meaningful relationships, and connect with other suppliers in a way that felt both natural and valuable." — Account Executive, Enterprise, Carrot
Thank You
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us in Lisbon - our delegates, solution providers, speakers, and sponsors. We are especially grateful to our Lead Sponsor, Origin, who sponsored the closing lunch on Friday, bringing the summit to a wonderful close.
Interested in joining us at a future Summit? Here is what we have coming up: