Leaders from across the health ecosystem – spanning research hospitals, academia, and industry – gathered at the London Stock Exchange Group on Thursday 5 February 2026 for the launch of Brand Finance’s Global Top 250 Hospitals 2026 report. The event created a space for open discussion around how reputation, collaboration, and innovation are reshaping the global healthcare landscape. The conversations explored the forces influencing modern healthcare, from shifting economic pressures to the growing need for trusted partnerships that can accelerate meaningful change.
David Haigh, Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, introduced delegates to the broader context behind the research, reflecting on how academic medical centres (AMCs) are increasingly central to a healthcare economy where intangible assets, research capability, and institutional reputation drive long term value.
Hugo Hensley, Valuation Director at Brand Finance, revealed the findings of the Global Top 250 Hospitals 2026 report, which found Johns Hopkins Medicine retained its position as the world’s strongest hospital brand for the second consecutive year, followed by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Singapore General Hospital entering the top ten, and leaders such as University Health Network, Charité, and Groote Schuur Hospital recognised for excellence across care delivery, research, and teaching.
Central to the event was keynote speaker Hugh Montgomery OBE, Director of the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance, who highlighted the evolving role of AMCs at the intersection of clinical excellence, research leadership, and national economic impact. As healthcare systems face rising demand and constrained resources, he reinforced the importance of protecting clinical academia, warning that the ability to run trials, engage patients, and generate new ideas depends on maintaining strong academic foundations. As Montgomery cautioned:
“The smallest wobble can completely collapse a reputation, and it’s virtually impossible to rebuild.”
He emphasised the fragile nature of trust within healthcare systems and further stressed the economic and societal value of research led institutions, noting that:
“If we wither on the vine, the clinical academics who can run trials, find patients, originate ideas, all that value disappears.”
The first panel discussion expanded on these themes by exploring how AMCs translate reputation into strategic advantage. Muhanned Kadi, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, reflected on how clear institutional positioning and strong communications strategies help hospitals build global recognition and attract international partnerships. Alongside contributions from brand and reputation specialists including Gabriel Cohen, Chief Marketing Officer at Monigle, the panel examined how AMCs must balance clinical credibility with effective storytelling to engage patients, partners, and policymakers in an increasingly competitive healthcare landscape.
Building on this perspective, the second keynote from Hugo Tewson, Chair and Co-Founder of Digostics, explored the practical realities of innovation and the role of collaboration in bringing new technologies to market. Through a detailed case study, he demonstrated how healthcare innovation rarely follows a linear path, instead developing through a gradual process of partnership building that combines clinical insight with design expertise, strategic investment, and institutional endorsement. His experience illustrated how interconnected relationships help young companies navigate long development cycles and complex regulatory frameworks, while enabling academic partners to translate research into tangible patient outcomes.
The discussion then moved into the closing panel, where speakers explored broader system challenges facing healthcare and the evolving role of AMCs within a shifting global landscape. Panellists highlighted the importance of prevention and population health, noting that sustainable healthcare systems will depend on research that keeps people healthier for longer rather than focusing solely on treatment. The discussion reinforced the wider theme that strong institutional credibility enables AMCs to extend their impact beyond individual organisations, contributing to more resilient healthcare ecosystems through collaboration across sectors.
The insights shared throughout the event analysed a healthcare sector in transition, where collaboration and credibility increasingly shape the pace and direction of innovation. As healthcare organisations adapt to a more interconnected and globally competitive environment, AMCs are likely to remain at the centre of progress, balancing scientific advancement with the trust required to bring new ideas into practice.
The discussions at the London Stock Exchange Group made clear that building resilient healthcare systems will depend not only on breakthrough technologies but also on the strength of the relationships and reputations that support them.
Thank you to all our panellists and speakers.
