As part of the final session of the Cosmic Conference 2026, we turn the lens inward to reflect on a simple question:

What does impact really look like?

In this conversation, the Centaur team shares real stories from the past year — across organizations, communities, and within our own team — bringing to life how leadership, capability, and culture translate into meaningful outcomes.

Moderated by Sabah Al Nakouzi, this session explores:

• How organizations move from strategy to execution
• What it takes to build leadership capability that lasts
• Why psychological safety is essential to performance
• How leadership teams operate as a true unit
• The role of community in scaling knowledge and impact
• What it means to truly practice what we preach as a team

Featuring contributions from the Cosmic Centaurs team, including Marilyn Zakhour, Marie Nakhle, Tala Odeh, and others.

This session closes a 3-week journey where we brought together leaders, experts, and practitioners to explore how organizations can endure, adapt, and ultimately thrive in times of uncertainty.

About Cosmic Centaurs
Cosmic Centaurs is an organizational and leadership development consultancy that helps leaders build organizations that perform, grow, and create lasting impact.

In a world where the future cannot be predicted, how should leaders think about strategy, governance, and decision-making?

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour speaks with José Santos about what it means to lead and govern at the edge of uncertainty.

Challenging conventional thinking, José draws a clear distinction between risk and true uncertainty—and explains why treating one as the other leads to flawed decisions and fragile organizations.

The conversation shifts the focus from prediction to design: how boards create the boundaries within which leaders can act, and how managers can operate, innovate, and remain entrepreneurial without relying on forecasts.

From governance frameworks to leadership mindset shifts, this episode offers a deeper lens on how organizations can function—and thrive—when the future is unknowable.

This episode is part of the 2026 Cosmic Conference by Cosmic Centaurs, focused on helping leaders build organizations that can endure, adapt, and thrive.

In a world where disruption is no longer an exception but the norm, what distinguishes organizations that fragment under pressure from those that emerge stronger?

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour speaks with Loïc Moutault about what it takes to build organizations that are both resilient and ready.

Drawing on decades of global leadership, Loïc reflects on how crises have evolved into a constant condition, what leaders often misunderstand about preparedness, and how organizations can build the structures, reflexes, and capabilities needed to navigate the unknown.

The conversation moves beyond response into transformation—exploring how moments of disruption can become sources of long-term strength, alignment, and renewed performance.

From leadership team dynamics to the personal demands of leading through uncertainty, this episode offers a grounded perspective on what leadership truly requires today.

This episode is part of the 2026 Cosmic Conference by Cosmic Centaurs, focused on helping leaders build organizations that can endure, adapt, and thrive.

The UAE’s response to COVID-19 has become a global case study, not just for how it managed the crisis, but for how it emerged stronger.

In this episode, Peter Zemsky, Professor of Strategy & Innovation at INSEAD and CEO of Lexarius, shares insights from his research into what made that response effective.

The conversation explores how leaders navigated difficult trade-offs, integrated expertise into decision-making, and coordinated across systems in moments of uncertainty. It also looks at what organizations can learn from this experience today, from building crisis-ready capabilities to rethinking how leaders develop people in a world shaped by rapid change and AI.

This episode is part of the 2026 Cosmic Conference: Grounded & Limitless – Leading Organizations that Survive & Thrive, hosted by Cosmic Centaurs, an organizational and leadership development consultancy supporting leaders to build stronger, more adaptive organizations.

Most organizations only discover their true capabilities when they are tested.

In this episode, Dr. Saleh Al-Tamimi reflects on leading one of Saudi Arabia’s largest healthcare systems through both COVID-19 and a broader national transformation.

This is a conversation about what pressure reveals, what it builds, and how leaders can turn short-term responses into long-term strength.

We explore how systems scale under constraint, why innovation and efficiency go hand in hand, and what it takes to build organizations that can sustain performance beyond the leader.

Along the way, Dr. Al-Tamimi shares practical leadership practices around presence, trust, and empowerment, as well as personal reflections on resilience, burnout, and staying grounded in high-stakes environments.

Topics covered:

• Leading through crisis vs. leading through transformation
• Scaling capacity and capability under pressure
• Building agility that lasts beyond urgency
• Innovation as a driver of efficiency
• Leadership at scale: trust, visibility, and empowerment
• Staying grounded as a leader over time

About the Organizer
Cosmic Centaurs helps leaders and organizations navigate complexity, build capability, and drive meaningful change across the GCC.

Leadership in moments of transformation is often framed as a question of scale.

But what does it take to build at a global level while everything around you is still evolving?
When ambition is accelerating faster than systems, talent, and even industries themselves?

In these conditions, leadership shifts. It is no longer just about growth, but about building, integrating, and scaling all at once, often without precedent.

In Riyādah: From National Vision to Global Impact, Rajit Nanda, CEO of DataVolt, joins Marilyn Zakhour for a conversation on what it truly means to lead at the intersection of national ambition and global execution.

Riyādah, meaning leadership in Arabic, reflects a mindset. One that moves beyond participation to shaping industries, systems, and outcomes on a global stage.

In this session, you will gain:

A clearer understanding of what makes leading in the GCC uniquely complex today
Insight into how leaders build and scale simultaneously without relying on legacy playbooks
Practical ways to navigate decision-making when clarity does not mean certainty
A deeper perspective on integrating diverse teams, disciplines, and cultures into one system
Lessons on how regional ambition, speed, and relationships translate into global impact

This is a conversation for leaders who are not just growing organizations, but are building them to matter beyond borders.

🗓️ Tuesday, April 14, 2026
⏰ 4:00 PM Dubai time (GMT+4)

About the Organizer
Cosmic Centaurs is an Organizational and Leadership Development consultancy helping leaders and leadership teams make better decisions and effect sustainable change.

We created the Cosmic Conference as a free, open platform for learning, reflection, and connection. Each year, we gather thousands of leaders, thinkers, and practitioners to explore the questions and challenges that matter most to leadership today. Rooted in our belief that knowledge should be shared, the conference is our way of equipping leaders with fresh perspectives, practical tools, and a supportive community.

Leadership is often framed as an individual pursuit. In reality, especially in uncertain contexts, it is deeply shaped by the communities around us.

In this session from the 7th Cosmic Conference, Individual & Collective: The Power of Community, Tala Odeh is joined by Wafa Al Obaidat, Founder & CEO of Playbook, to explore how community influences how leaders think, decide, and move forward.

Drawing on her experience building a global community of over 800 members across 100+ countries, Wafa shares how intentional communities go beyond connection, becoming spaces where leaders find clarity, support, and opportunity.

Together, they unpack:

• The difference between networks and true communities
• What leaders need from community when navigating complexity
• How strong communities are intentionally designed and sustained
• The rituals, norms, and behaviors that bring community to life
• How community compounds over time to shape decisions and outcomes

The conversation also brings to life real stories from the Playbook ecosystem, where community has led to investments, partnerships, and career-defining opportunities.

This session is part of Week 3: Thrive, exploring how leaders can turn the lessons of crisis into a competitive advantage and emerge stronger, more connected, and better prepared for the future.

Not all crises are the same.

When uncertainty is prolonged, the rules of leadership change. There are no clear timelines, no reliable benchmarks, and often no precedent to guide decision-making. Leaders are required to act while the ground is still moving, balancing immediate pressures with the need to build for an unknown future.

In this episode, Claudia Zeisberger, Professor at INSEAD and expert in private capital and turnaround management, joins Marilyn Zakhour for a deep conversation on what it takes to lead when the crisis doesn’t end.

Together, they explore:

• How prolonged crises fundamentally reshape decision-making and risk
• Why waiting for a “return to normal” can become a strategic trap
• How leaders can rethink core business assumptions under pressure
• The importance of scenario planning, cash awareness, and structural flexibility
• What enables organizations to adapt, innovate, and move forward in uncertainty
• The role of leadership, culture, and communication in navigating complexity

This episode is part of the Cosmic Conference series, exploring how leaders can move beyond reacting to crisis and instead use it as a moment to reshape what comes next.