- IEDC, Bled
- August 31, 2026
- The Conversation Moves to Execution
Moving to Execution
Brussels defined the challenge. Bled builds the mechanism – through methodology, a structured pipeline of scale-ready companies, and direct interaction between capital, policy, and industry.
In March 2026, Future 500 – Champions of Growth convened in Brussels. Around the table: European policymakers, institutional investors, banks, capital-market actors, industry leaders, and founders. One central question on the table:
How can Europe build global champions at scale and keep them European?
The answers were uncomfortable. And clarifying.
“Europe does not suffer from a shortage of innovation. The challenge is turning that innovation into companies that scale globally.” – Kerstin Jorna, Director-General, DG GROW
Europe has the science, the talent, the founders, and the industrial base. The challenge is not at the start. It begins the moment a company moves from growth to scale — and finds that the ecosystem around it was not built for that moment.
Capital exists. It is not always where it needs to be.
“The issue is not the availability of capital – it is its mobilisation at the scale and speed required.” — Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner for Financial Services
The gap is not only about money. It is about timing, ticket size, risk appetite, market depth, and the coordination – or lack of it – between public and private capital at the critical inflection point.
Champions of Growth – Brussels 2026 marks both a milestone and a starting point — initiating deeper, sustained engagement between Europe’s growth companies and its decision-making core.
As Europe navigates the next decade of industrial transformation, digitalisation, and strategic autonomy, the ability to scale will be decisive. This event is dedicated to ensuring that the conversation moves from ambition to implementation.
“We are very good at identifying promising companies. We are less effective at supporting them when scaling decisions actually happen.” – Michiel Scheffer, European Innovation Council
Europe does not need another list. It needs structured signals – the kind that investors, corporates, and policymakers can act on with confidence, at the moment that matters.
“Europe has the ingredients. What is missing is the mechanism that brings them together into execution.” – Peter Bosek, CEO, Erste Group
Brussels confirmed what many already sensed: the diagnosis is complete. What Europe needs now is a practical mechanism – a methodology, a company pipeline, a working format, and a direct interface between capital, policy, and industry.
Where Brussels set the frame, Bled will build the architecture.
The Future 500 Forum in Bled on 31 August 2026 is not a follow-up event. It is a working session – the first moment where the strategic conversation becomes a structured act.
At Bled, you will witness:
- The first public presentation of the Future 500 methodology
- The reveal of Future 100 Slovenia – a signal, not a ranking
- High-level plenary on competitiveness and the conditions for scaling
- Curated working sessions on capital, deep tech, market access, talent, and industrial transformation
- Structured matchmaking between companies, investors, corporates, and policymakers
From Brussels, one message was clear: Europe does not need more recognition of the problem. It needs a structured way to act on it. That is what Future 500 is building.
This is not a broad audience. It is a relevant one.
Future 500 Forum 31 August 2026 Bled, Slovenia.
In partnership with the Bled Strategic Forum.
