Smile and House of Boards invite board members and C-level decision makers to an exclusive evening dedicated to Digital Autonomy on Thursday 3 December 2026 at The National Golf Brussels in Sterrebeek.<\/p>\n
Digital independence, sovereignty and open-source integration have become questions of governance and resilience \u2014 not just IT.<\/p>\n
This session offers strategic perspectives, real experience from peers and an open debate to help guide future decisions. Networking is at the heart of the evening, which closes with a three-course dinner offered by Smile.<\/p>\n Under the US CLOUD Act, American authorities can require US-based providers to hand over data \u2014 wherever in the world it is stored.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Access to mailboxes, cloud and work environments can be restricted by decisions taken outside Europe. Continuity is no longer a given.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rising attacks and breaches make concentration on a few dominant platforms a strategic risk, not only a technical one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Licence and cloud costs keep climbing while switching gets harder. Many companies hesitate over the perceived cost of change \u2014 yet alternatives protect both your data and your budget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n NIS2, DORA and growing EU pressure for sovereignty are raising the bar. Insurers and institutions will increasingly set conditions on how and where you run your systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Open-source and European solutions for cloud, operating systems, mail and collaboration are becoming mainstream \u2014 and agentic AI can run on sovereign architectures too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Digital autonomy touches risk governance, continuity, compliance and capital allocation \u2014 the core of the board’s duty of care.<\/p>\n In every budget round, boards decide what to invest in; many do not yet know where their dependencies lie. Every board should be asking:<\/p>\n 16:00<\/strong> 16:30<\/strong> 17:00\u201317:40<\/strong> Measuring digital independence (KPIs, audit frameworks), digital resilience (cybersecurity, risk governance, vendor lock-in) and transition strategies. Four panellists, followed by Q&A.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 17:45\u201318:25<\/strong> Governing autonomous AI agents, industrialising AI from proof of concept to scalable business value, and open-source architectures that keep data secure. Four panellists, followed by Q&A.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 18:30<\/strong> Indicative timing \u2014 the final programme will follow with your confirmation.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n The National Golf Brussels<\/strong> Set on the former Sterrebeek racecourse, one of Belgium’s finest championship golf courses \u2014 in a green setting a few minutes from Brussels and Brussels Airport.<\/p>\n Smile has formally asked House of Boards to suggest two speakers for each of the two panel sessions \u2014 four speakers in total. Each panel brings together four voices sharing real experience: what worked, what did not, and the lessons learned along the way. Below is an overview of both panels, their key topics and the profiles we are looking for.<\/p>\n 2 speakers from HoB<\/strong><\/p>\n C-level executives, Board Chairs or Independent Directors with experience in corporate IT strategy, risk governance or digital transformation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 2 speakers from HoB<\/strong><\/p>\n CIOs, CTOs, Chief Digital or AI Officers, or Directors supervising enterprise AI implementation and data governance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Seats are limited, so please send your suggestions as soon as possible. Questions? We are happy to help at team@houseofboards.eu<\/a>.<\/p>\n Propose a speaker<\/a><\/p>\n Thank you very much \u2014 we look forward to your suggestions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8924,"template":"","class_list":["post-8923","events","type-events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"meta_all":{"rank_math_internal_links_processed":["1","1"],"cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","locatie-event":"The National Golf Brussels","adres-event":"Du Roy de Blicquylaan 7, 1933 Sterrebeek","samenvatting":"An exclusive evening for board members and C-level decision makers exploring digital sovereignty, resilience and the future of sovereign AI.","prijs":" Participation is free of charge<\/p>\n","event_startdatum":"1796256000","event_starttijd":"16:00","wanneer":" Thursday 3 Dec 2026<\/strong> Founded in 1991, Smile is the European leader in open-source digital services, with more than 2,000 experts in 9 countries.<\/p>\n Smile helps organisations keep full control over their technology choices and digital assets with sovereign, open and scalable solutions \u2014 from digital and e-commerce platforms and business applications to data, embedded systems and infrastructure.<\/p>\n The Smile Group includes SensioLabs, creator of the Symfony framework, and alter way. In Belgium, Smile is based in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe.<\/p>\n https:\/\/smile.eu<\/a><\/p>\n House of Boards is a Belgian network of some 400 directors and board members, working on company architecture, governance, talent and capital \u2014 discreetly connecting business owners, boards and investors.<\/p>\n","website_organisator":"","externe_link":"mailto:jules.daunay@sensiolabs.com?cc=team@houseofboards.eu&subject=Registration%20Digital%20Autonomy","tekst_in_knop_bij_externe_link":"Reserve my seat","formulier":"","galerij":"","gdpr":"","extra_info":" Date:<\/strong> Thursday 3 December 2026<\/p>\n Time:<\/strong> From 16:00, dinner at 18:30<\/p>\n Location:<\/strong> The National Golf Brussels Participation:<\/strong> Free of charge<\/p>\n Availability:<\/strong> Limited to 100 seats, first come, first served<\/p>\n Dinner:<\/strong> Three-course dinner offered by Smile<\/p>\n To reserve your seat, email Jules Daunay de Chaisemartin \u2014 jules.daunay@sensiolabs.com<\/a>, with a copy to team@houseofboards.eu.<\/p>\n Please mention your name, company and function, and whether you will join the dinner.<\/p>\n Would you like to receive the printed event booklet? Let Esma El Harti (esma.elharti@smile.eu<\/a>) know.<\/p>\n Reserve my seat<\/a><\/p>\n We look forward to welcoming you on 3 December.<\/p>\n","rank_math_analytic_object_id":"528","rank_math_seo_score":"11"},"meta_all_flat":{"rank_math_internal_links_processed.0":"1","rank_math_internal_links_processed.1":"1","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","locatie-event":"The National Golf Brussels","adres-event":"Du Roy de Blicquylaan 7, 1933 Sterrebeek","samenvatting":"An exclusive evening for board members and C-level decision makers exploring digital sovereignty, resilience and the future of sovereign AI.","prijs":" Participation is free of charge<\/p>\n","event_startdatum":"1796256000","event_starttijd":"16:00","wanneer":" Thursday 3 Dec 2026<\/strong> Founded in 1991, Smile is the European leader in open-source digital services, with more than 2,000 experts in 9 countries.<\/p>\n Smile helps organisations keep full control over their technology choices and digital assets with sovereign, open and scalable solutions \u2014 from digital and e-commerce platforms and business applications to data, embedded systems and infrastructure.<\/p>\n The Smile Group includes SensioLabs, creator of the Symfony framework, and alter way. In Belgium, Smile is based in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe.<\/p>\n https:\/\/smile.eu<\/a><\/p>\n House of Boards is a Belgian network of some 400 directors and board members, working on company architecture, governance, talent and capital \u2014 discreetly connecting business owners, boards and investors.<\/p>\n","website_organisator":"","externe_link":"mailto:jules.daunay@sensiolabs.com?cc=team@houseofboards.eu&subject=Registration%20Digital%20Autonomy","tekst_in_knop_bij_externe_link":"Reserve my seat","formulier":"","galerij":"","gdpr":"","extra_info":" Date:<\/strong> Thursday 3 December 2026<\/p>\n Time:<\/strong> From 16:00, dinner at 18:30<\/p>\n Location:<\/strong> The National Golf Brussels Participation:<\/strong> Free of charge<\/p>\n Availability:<\/strong> Limited to 100 seats, first come, first served<\/p>\n Dinner:<\/strong> Three-course dinner offered by Smile<\/p>\n To reserve your seat, email Jules Daunay de Chaisemartin \u2014 jules.daunay@sensiolabs.com<\/a>, with a copy to team@houseofboards.eu.<\/p>\n Please mention your name, company and function, and whether you will join the dinner.<\/p>\n Would you like to receive the printed event booklet? Let Esma El Harti (esma.elharti@smile.eu<\/a>) know.<\/p>\nWhy digital autonomy matters now<\/h2>\n
Who can access your data?<\/h3>\n
Geopolitical exposure<\/h3>\n
Cyber threats and data breaches<\/h3>\n
Lock-in and rising prices<\/h3>\n
Regulators and insurers<\/h3>\n
European alternatives are ready<\/h3>\n
Why this is a board responsibility<\/h2>\n
\n
Programme<\/h2>\n
\nWelcome and registration<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nOpening by Smile and House of Boards<\/strong>
\nKeynote speaker to be confirmed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nPanel 1: Navigating the transition to digital autonomy<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nPanel 2: Sovereign AI in action: agentic AI, orchestration and open source<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThree-course dinner and networking<\/strong>
\nDinner offered by Smile.<\/p>\nThe venue<\/h2>\n
\nDu Roy de Blicquylaan 7, 1933 Sterrebeek<\/p>\nCall for speakers<\/h2>\n
Four seats on stage for our network<\/h3>\n
Panel 1 \u2014 Navigating the transition to digital autonomy<\/h3>\n
Key topics<\/h4>\n
\n
Profiles sought<\/h4>\n
Panel 2 \u2014 Sovereign AI in action: agentic AI, orchestration and open source<\/h3>\n
Key topics<\/h4>\n
\n
Profiles sought<\/h4>\n
How it works<\/h3>\n
\n
\nSend the name, company, function and panel of preference, with a short bio or LinkedIn profile, to team@houseofboards.eu<\/a>.<\/li>\n
\nHouse of Boards and Smile compose both panels together and confirm the speakers.<\/li>\n
\nBefore the event, panellists meet in a preparation session with the other panellists to align on the discussion.<\/li>\n
\nPanel 1 runs 17:00\u201317:40, panel 2 17:45\u201318:25, each followed by Q&A, then dinner and networking.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\nFrom 16:00, dinner 18:30<\/p>\n","organisator":"Smile & House of Boards","beschrijving_organisator":"About Smile<\/h3>\n
About House of Boards<\/h3>\n
Practical information<\/h4>\n
\nDu Roy de Blicquylaan 7
\n1933 Sterrebeek, Belgium<\/p>\nRegistration<\/h4>\n
\nFrom 16:00, dinner 18:30<\/p>\n","organisator":"Smile & House of Boards","beschrijving_organisator":"About Smile<\/h3>\n
About House of Boards<\/h3>\n
Practical information<\/h4>\n
\nDu Roy de Blicquylaan 7
\n1933 Sterrebeek, Belgium<\/p>\nRegistration<\/h4>\n