_> Events
EXEC DINNERS_
>> Exclusive gatherings for engineering leaders. No sales pitches - pure knowledge exchange under Chatham House rules.The Vibe: Sharp, strategic, and grounded in the reality of 2026. We're trading the "what if" for the "how to."
132+
Leaders Attended
Select CTOs, Heads of Engineering, and Product & Tech Leaders shaping digital platforms.
15
Events Hosted
Intimate dinners across London, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Austin.
Confidential
Discussions
Safe space to share challenges openly. Learn from peers.
_> Upcoming Events
Berlin Executive Dinner 6.0: Building Smarter in 2026
Engineering culture isn't built in slides. Join our Executive Dinner for practical insights rooted in experience.
Where Product, Tech & Growth Culture Collide - great products don't happen by accident. They're built by teams that move fast, think boldly, and trust each other.
Join another in our series of private dinners for select CTOs, Heads of Engineering, and Product & Tech Leaders shaping the future of digital platforms. No fluff - just real conversations about what it takes to scale teams, ship under pressure, and lead with clarity.
No panels. No pitches. Just sharp, strategic conversations around hiring in lean markets, building in compliance-heavy domains, and aligning technical execution with business outcomes.
Expect real stories, honest failures, and frameworks that work - all over great food and with people who operate at your pace.
Strictly invite-only. Space is limited. Request your seat.
Topics
London Executive Dinner 8.0: Building Smarter for 2026
Engineering culture isn't built in slides. Join our Executive Dinner for practical insights rooted in experience.
Where Product, Tech & Growth Culture Collide - great products don't happen by accident. They're built by teams that move fast, think boldly, and trust each other.
Join another in our series of private dinners for select CTOs, Heads of Engineering, and Product & Tech Leaders shaping the future of digital platforms. No fluff - just real conversations about what it takes to scale teams, ship under pressure, and lead with clarity.
No panels. No pitches. Just sharp, strategic conversations around hiring in lean markets, building in compliance-heavy domains, and aligning technical execution with business outcomes.
Expect real stories, honest failures, and frameworks that work - all over great food and with people who operate at your pace.
Strictly invite-only. Space is limited. Request your seat.
Topics
_> About
What are EXEC DINNERS?
EXEC DINNERS are private dinners for select CTOs, Heads of Engineering, and Product & Tech Leaders shaping the future of digital platforms. No fluff - just real conversations about what it takes to scale teams, ship under pressure, and lead with clarity. No panels. No pitches. Just sharp, strategic conversations around hiring in lean markets, building in compliance-heavy domains, and aligning technical execution with business outcomes. Expect real stories, honest failures, and frameworks that work - all over great food and with people who operate at your pace.
The Format
- Curated group of 6-14 engineering leaders
- Premium venue with fine dining experience
- Themed discussions led by industry practitioners
- No sales pitches - pure knowledge exchange
- Confidential discussions for candid conversation
Who Attends
- CTOs and Heads of Engineering
- Product & Tech Leaders from scale-ups and enterprises
- Leaders shaping the future of digital platforms
- Engineering leaders who operate at your pace
Open Discussion
No sales, pure knowledge
Confidential
Safe space for candid talks
Peer Network
Connect with fellow leaders
Real Insights
Battle-tested strategies
>>> Past dinners
_> Moments from our previous EXEC DINNERS - intimate gatherings for engineering leaders.
_> Past Events
Event History
Insights and highlights from our previous EXEC DINNERS • 132+ attendees across 15 events
Berlin Executive Dinner 5.0
"ChatGPT is an RPG for dumb people to make them think they're intelligent - one of the hot takes that sparked debate on managing 'fast fashion' code vs getting buried by it."
- Fast Code as the new Fast Fashion: discussing 'disposable code' and whether craft coding is becoming a niche luxury
- The AI Halo effect: debating the danger of inherently trusting LLM-generated code
- Culture discussion: Is culture actually top-down, or a myth leaders tell themselves?
London Executive Dinner 7.0
"The consensus was that outside of a limited few traditionalists, human-made entertainment will eventually go the way of vinyl records for the vast majority."
- Debating if AI is creative and whether we even care anymore
- The death of the keyboard: voice notes and talking to apps killing typing skills
- Engineering lab-grown meat vs engineering human behavior change
Berlin Executive Dinner 4.0
"What is going to carry us through is the eventual suspension of disbelief - with healthy skepticism and curiosity about AI's role in strategy and creativity."
- AI audiobooks that adapt to your pace and preferences for personalized listening
- AI doing our 'technical laundry' so we can be more creative - or stealing creativity too?
- The market's tilt toward generalists
London Executive Dinner 6.0
"AI was called 'the new microchip' - except this time it's not tucked away on a board, it's loud, visible, and in everyone's hands."
- Companies collecting data for 20 years only now figuring out what to do with it
- Theme parks mapping visitor behavior to impact revenue
- Card activity patterns that can predict divorces
London Executive Dinner 5.0
"We kept the conversation beyond the hype and focused on real-life use-cases, team rewiring, and the hard lessons from AI hallucinations and false starts."
- Trust-vs-ROI dilemma: If your flight was 50% off, but flown by AI... would you still get on?
- Real-life AI use-cases, team rewiring, and hard lessons from hallucinations
- Introductions wrapped up three hours in due to engrossing discussion
London CTO Private Dinner 4.0
- Fostering creative problem-solving and rapid adaptation to new technologies
- Strategies for recruiting, developing, and retaining top engineering talent
- CTO's role in aligning technical capabilities with business objectives
London CTO Private Dinner 3.0
"London was buzzing with innovation as the brightest tech leaders dove deep into the essence of a true winning engineering culture."
- Deploying straight to production and the mindset shift it requires
- The importance of processes and procedures when scaling the company
- Software dev companies vs freelancers: preventing cultural dilution
Berlin CTO Beer-to-Peer 1.0
"A perfect opportunity to connect, share, and grow together - specifically curated for CTOs and engineering leaders at the forefront of technological innovation."
- Engaging conversation, shared experiences, and a relaxed atmosphere
- A hub for leaders to share struggles and exchange valuable advice
- Stimulating discussions over beer in a great networking atmosphere
London CTO Private Dinner 2.0
- Challenges and opportunities of utilizing AI to communicate and uphold company culture
- How AI can assist with building a development and production team given project characteristics
- Addressing skill gaps within development teams using AI
Copenhagen CTO Private Dinner 1.0
- When is the right time to scale? Staying cost-effective while scaling
- The importance of hiring in maintaining the engineering culture
- Models of scaling technical teams - lessons from growing a team from X to XX to XXX people
Berlin CTO Private Dinner 3.0
- When is the right time to scale? Staying cost-effective while scaling
- The importance of hiring in maintaining the engineering culture
- Models of scaling technical teams - lessons from growing a team from X to XX to XXX people
Berlin CTO Private Dinner 2.0
- When is the right time to scale? Staying cost-effective while scaling
- The importance of hiring in maintaining the engineering culture
- Models of scaling technical teams - lessons from growing a team from X to XX to XXX people
Berlin CTO Private Dinner 1.0
- When is the right time to scale? Staying cost-effective while scaling
- The importance of hiring in maintaining the engineering culture
- Models of scaling technical teams - lessons from growing a team from X to XX to XXX people
London Startup CTO Private Dinner 1.0
- When it's the right time to scale? Staying cost-effective while scaling
- The importance of hiring in maintaining the engineering culture
- Models of scaling technical teams - lessons from growing a team from X to XX to XXX people
Austin CTO Private Dinner 1.0
- Private C-level dinner for CTOs in Austin
- Part of Apptension US launch
- 100% NPS from participants
_> Insights
Key Takeaways from Our Community
"ChatGPT is an RPG for dumb people to make them think they're intelligent - one of the hot takes that sparked debate on managing 'fast fashion' code vs getting buried by it."
"The consensus was that outside of a limited few traditionalists, human-made entertainment will eventually go the way of vinyl records for the vast majority."
"What is going to carry us through is the eventual suspension of disbelief - with healthy skepticism and curiosity about AI's role in strategy and creativity."
"AI was called 'the new microchip' - except this time it's not tucked away on a board, it's loud, visible, and in everyone's hands."