DIY and the new world order

Personalities and well-known names from the international DIY store scene, as well as a number of new faces and some insider tips – this is how you could perhaps describe the list of speakers at the upcoming Global DIY Summit. This world congress of DIY stores is now taking place for the eleventh time. For the first time, it is being held in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

The traditional store tour on the previous day, 11 June 2025, will get things started. This will be followed by two days of discussions on the important current issues facing the DIY industry. The motto of the entire event is ‘A new world order: Redefining DIY for a global future’.

The highlight will certainly be the presentation of the Global DIY Lifetime Award at the gala evening on 12 June: Reinhard Wolff, managing partner of Wolfcraft and president of the manufacturers' association Hima, will be honoured for his commitment to the industry.

Alongside the organisers, Edra President and Kingfisher CEO Thierry Garnier, of course, Managing Director John Herbert and Iñaki Maillard, Managing Director Global DIY-Summit and Managing Director of the event subsidiary FEK, are also known from previous years' summits, including Ken Hughes, sustainability expert Jamie Pitcairn from Ricardo and transformation expert Rik Vera. Francisco Torres from Sodimac, Paul Martin, a former KPMG employee and now a freelance consultant, and strategy consultants Bob Chermin and Duncan Simmonds from OC&C have also taken to the stage.

A rather more insider tip for the international audience is Alexander Kremer, garden centre operator board member of the German trade association BHB; he is quite well-known German DIY and gardening scene. Graham Bell, who worked for Screwfix for ten years and now works for the parent company Kingfisher, will also be speaking at the summit for the first time.

François Yared, who heads the marketplace services of Europe's largest DIY group, will be speaking on behalf of Adeo. Henkel and Google will also be represented with lectures.

In addition, the organisers have invited a number of experts who will provide impetus from an external perspective. Speakers include, for example, Sony Kapoor, Professor of Geoeconomics, Climate and Finance, the futurologist Magnus Lindkvist and – as he is billed – the climate comedian Stuart Glodsmith. The farewell session will be hosted by motivational speaker Heinrich Wagner. His topic: ‘A blind man with vision’.

The Global DIY Summit has already taken place twice on the Iberian Peninsula – in Madrid in 2014 and in Barcelona in 2018 – but never before in Portugal. In Lisbon, the DIY industry will be meeting in the Meo Arena. The event complex has won multiple awards. Its proximity to the airport makes it very accessible for international events.