Marcus Evans announces Medical Device Manufacturing Summit 2026
Event organiser Marcus Evans has announced that the Medical Device Manufacturing & R&D Summit 2026 will take place from November 2–3, 2026, at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa in San Diego, California. The summit will bring together senior manufacturing and R&D executives from the medical device industry across the Americas for an intensive two-day programme of peer exchange, strategic insight, and high-level networking.
The event operates on an invitation-only basis to ensure that every attendee is a qualified, senior-level executive with direct influence over their organisation’s manufacturing, R&D, supply chain, or operational strategy. Marcus Evans states that this selective approach is intended to create an environment where candid, high-value conversations can take place, free from the noise of larger trade events. Executives from organisations including Philips, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Edwards Lifesciences, GE Healthcare, Alcon, BD, and Smith & Nephew are among those confirmed to participate.
The 2026 agenda has been designed around six strategic priorities that are believed to be reshaping the medical device landscape. The integration of artificial intelligence across manufacturing and R&D operations sits at the forefront, with sessions exploring how AI, automation, and advanced analytics are enabling smarter decision-making and accelerating product development cycles. Supply chain resilience is another critical focus, as executives continue to navigate tariff pressures, geopolitical volatility, and the lingering effects of global disruption on sourcing and logistics networks.
The programme also includes sessions on investment prioritisation and forecasting in an increasingly competitive market. Sessions on data strategy will examine how organisations can convert vast volumes of operational and clinical data into actionable intelligence that drives measurable outcomes. Regulatory preparedness and cybersecurity risk management will be explored in depth, reflecting the growing complexity of the compliance landscape across the product lifecycle. Rounding out the agenda is a focused discussion on cost efficiency and long-term competitiveness, a challenge that resonates across every segment of the industry.
The summit will feature a faculty of senior executives whose collective experience spans the full breadth of medical device manufacturing and R&D. Confirmed speakers include Mary Byrne, VP of Integrated Supply Chain at Philips; Greg Wright, SVP of R&D Surgical Structural Heart at Edwards Lifesciences; Biten Kathrani, Global Head of Product Innovation at J&J MedTech; Greg Putira, VP of Operations at Medtronic; and Sharon Rozzi, Senior Director of Risk and Resilience, Supply Chain at Johnson & Johnson. The Advisory Board includes senior leaders from Agilent Technologies, FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas, and STERIS Corporation, lending further depth and credibility to the programme.
