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This is how Virtuosi League engaged the world’s top CMOs using Kahoot! 360 at The Forum 2026

Discover how Kahoot! 360 energized and challenged a curated group of world-leading Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), tapping into shared marketing nostalgia, awakening their competitive spirit to create connections, and opening the discussions about why engagement between brands and audiences is crucial in the era of AI.

Location: Carmel Valley Ranch, California, United States

Industry: Leadership Development

Use cases: Conferences, Events & Webinars, Content Gamification, Marketing & Communications

Heide Palermo

EVP of Experience and Growth at Virtousi League

As EVP of Experience and Growth at Virtousi League, she focuses on leadership development and community engagement. Her background serving CMOs and the marketing community enables her to create bespoke programming and unrivaled development experiences that help leaders reflect, learn, and grow.

What happens when the leaders of the world’s most famous brands, from Apple and Amazon to Nike and Nvidia, gather in one room to discuss the challenges of today? At the Virtuosi League’s invitation-only 2026 Forum, the focus was on one urgent question: How do you lead when the world is changing so fast? Held at Carmel Valley Ranch, “Leadership in the Age of Disruption” brought together more than 100 CMOs and senior leaders to share real-world solutions for growth in a volatile market.

Building a community of transformative leadership

Over the years, Virtuosi League has been dedicated to building a community of transformative leadership. The League crafts bespoke development programs designed specifically for CMOs and Senior Marketing Leaders navigating the complexities of the modern enterprise.

The 2026 forum focused on four themes: 1) Enterprise Leadership in an Era of Transformation, 2) Human and Machine: Redefining Culture, Redefining Growth and Marketing Fundamentals, 3) Redefining Growth and Marketing Fundamentals, and 4) Societal Impact, Cultural Credibility, and Ethical Leadership.

The event hosted plenary sessions led by industry leaders such as Antonio Lucio (Chief Marketing & Corporate Affairs Officer, HP Inc.), Lara Balazs (Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Global Marketing at Adobe), Gary Vaynerchuk (CEO & Chairman at VaynerMedia, and CEO/Founder at VeeFriends) Jane Wakely (Chief Consumer and Marketing Officer and Chief Growth Officer, International Foods at PepsiCo), David Sable (CEO of Y&R), Rishad Tobaccowala (Chief Growth Officer at Publicis Groupe), and Tiffany R. Warren (Executive VP, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Sony Music Group).

At the end of these plenary sessions, the attendees worked together to share perspectives and determine what is working and what is not in a volatile economic environment, impacted by AI and shifts in consumer decision-making.

High Stakes and High Engagement with Kahoot! 360

As part of the opening evening on Feb 9, 2026, Heide Palermo, EVP, Experience and Growth at Virtuosi League, used Kahoot! 360 to kick off the night and engage the industry titans in the room.

“We designed that moment very intentionally, and the idea actually came from one of our community members, Nick Tran (the best ideas for what will resonate usually come from the community itself!) We were tackling very real challenges over those two days, so creating a moment that was genuinely fun—and hilarious to watch—helped participants get to know each other in a different light and deepen relationships even more.”

Heide Palermo, EVP, Experience and Growth at Virtuosi League

About the Kahoot! session, Nick Tran, President & CMO of First Round (Diageo x Main Street Advisors JV) and former head of Marketing for TikTok, explained why brands can rely on engagement and gamification platforms such as Kahoot! 360 to better retain information.

“Engagement goes beyond impressions or clicks. When audiences interact with a brand experience, they are more likely to retain the message, associate it with positive emotion, and feel a sense of involvement. Participation deepens memory and builds affinity in a way passive consumption simply cannot.”

Nick Tran, President & CMO of First Round (Diageo x Main Street Advisors JV) and former head of Marketing for TikTok

Interactive Leadership and Human Connection

The use of Kahoot! 360 at such a high-profile event proved a key point of the Forum: as AI accelerates how we work, creating real human connection becomes even more critical. By using a simple, interactive tool, the Virtuosi Leap Forum turned a standard dinner into a powerful moment of shared learning.

A group of CMO's and Senior marketing leaders celebrate at a podium after winning a kahoot.

For these industry experts, the Kahoot! session was more than just a break. It was a way to share their deep knowledge, share experiences, and connect with each other. Regarding the use of Kahoot! 360 during the evening, Nick Tran also pointed out different ways brands can introduce Kahoot! into their marketing and communication strategies.

“Live events and launches can include branded trivia sessions tied to product stories or campaign themes, with prizes or exclusive access incentives. Community engagement can feature live competitions with ambassadors or creators, turning followers into active participants rather than spectators. While retail activations can use QR codes at the point of sale to trigger instant-play discount experiences.”

Nick Tran, President & CMO of First Round (Diageo x Main Street Advisors JV) and former head of Marketing for TikTok

The use of Kahoot! 360 thus transitioned seamlessly from a memorable opening to a concrete example of how to drive deep involvement and engagement, and to build the community of transformative leadership that the Virtuosi Leap seeks to cultivate.

Interested in discovering how Kahoot! can help you boost employee engagement
and productivity? Learn more at kahoot360.com or book a meeting with our sales team.

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