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MEET OUR MAIN STAGE SPEAKERS
Main Anchor
James Aslett
Head of Education
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Session Title:
‘BUILD’ing a More Diverse Web3 Industry
Session Synopsis:
The size of the global blockchain market is expected to grow from $4.93 billion in 2021 to more than $200 billion by 2028. We believe that blockchain should be built by the masses, not the few, to ensure the benefits are experienced by all. Join us as we discuss our work in making the industry more accessible to people from all backgrounds. We’re doing this through increasing education and vocational training as well as investing in research, development and innovation, to scale life changing blockchain solutions addressing the toughest social challenges of our generation.
About James
Leading educational projects at Binance to create a more diverse and inclusive Web3 industry.
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Inderpal Bhandari
Global Chief Data Officer
Session Title:
Accelerating Data & AI Transformation Journey
Session Synopsis:
Inderpal Bhandari from IBM discusses digital transformation with data & AI and how to turn data into Business Value.
About Inderpal
Inderpal Bhandari is the IBM Global Chief Data Officer, where he has leveraged his extensive experience to lead IBM’s data strategy to ensure IBM remains the number one AI and hybrid cloud provider for the enterprise. Under his leadership, the Cognitive Enterprise Blueprint was created, a roadmap for IBM’s clients on their own transformation journeys. Inderpal brings to IBM more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles at such leading companies as Cambia Health Solutions and Express Scripts/Medco Health Solutions. Prior to joining IBM, Inderpal served as Senior Vice President and Chief Data Officer of Cambia Health Solutions where he led the development of Cambia’s data strategy and drove the transformation of the company’s consumer experience strategies. Inderpal is an expert in transforming data into business value and improved customer experiences by delivering strategic, innovative capabilities that use analytic insights to enable growth and productivity. In 2017, he was named U.S. Chief Data Officer of the Year by the CDO Club, and has been featured as an industry expert by Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, US News & World Report, CNN and FOX. In 2022, Inderpal was appointed to Walgreens Boots Alliance’s board of directors.
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Ansgar Koene
Global AI Ethics and
Regulatory Leader
Session Title:
AI Governance, Standards and Regulation for a Trustworthy AI ecosystem
Session Synopsis:
The increasing use of algorithmic decision-making technologies, such as AI, in industry, commerce and public service provision are giving rise to concerns about potential negative impacts on individuals and the wider socio-economic fabric of society. This talk will review current initiatives towards the development of AI governance frameworks, ethics and oversight related standards and regulations, and discuss the role each of these can play within a wider ecosystem of trustworthiness for the use of AI.
About Ansgar
Dr. Ansgar Koene is Global AI Ethics and Regulatory Leader at EY, where he leads the AI related public policy team and contributes to the work on AI governance and EY’s Trusted AI framework. As part of this work, he represents EY on the OECD Network for Experts on AI and the Business at OECD Committee on Digital Economic Policy. He is a trustee for the 5Rights foundation for the Rights of Young People Online and advises on AI and Data Ethics for AfroLeadership, a pan-African NGO. Ansgar has a multi-disciplinary research background, having worked and published on topics ranging from Policy and Governance of Algorithmic Systems (AI), data-privacy, AI Ethics, AI Standards, bio-inspired Robotics, AI and Computational Neuroscience to experimental Human Behaviour/Perception studies.
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Joana Pais Afonso
Culture & People Experience
Session Title:
How to design and lead a human centre people experience @ Deloitte
Session Synopsis:
In today’s transformed world, how can companies rise to the challenge to remain distinctly human in a technology-driven world and forced by a new hybrid work environment? In future of work, creating memorable experiences as well as being intentional about culture and purpose, is what will make employee experience worth talking about and evaluated by internal and external talent.
About Joana
She's an Employer Branding specialist with more than 18 years of experience in several industries such as Technology, Consulting, Events and Tourism. Joana worked previously in Digital Marketing, Sales and Employer Branding roles in other companies, such as OutSystems. She is a speaker and co-writer on Employee Experience and Talent Brand topics and has teached “Employer Branding” in Corporate Happiness MBA programs as also “Networking” and “Strategic Vision for Career Plan” modules at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics in Portugal. In 2015 she achieved a Digital Marketing Post-Graduation in IPAM (Portugal) and in 2004 a Tourism Management Master in ESCAET (France). She loves travelling and sports as well as spending time with her family.
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Christina Korp
Founder and CEO
Session Title:
How Space Technology Could Be the Key to Saving Planet Earth
Session Synopsis:
World leaders have been talking about the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for several years. However, there is a huge awareness gap about what’s possible between the mainstream world and those who are working hard on research and development in space. It’s time to connect those worlds to accelerate progress while it’s still possible.
She will showcase: the technology the world uses that they don’t realize originated from space tech & the current space technology that’s being used to monitor climate change and other SDGs.
About Christina
Christina Korp is an astronaut manager, space advisor, founder of SPACE For a Better World, and the president of Purpose Entertainment. For ten years she managed Apollo 11 astronauts. In May of 2022, Christina produced the AIM HIGHER GALA at the Science Museum in London with 11 astronauts from around the world celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 16 and the 1st annual Space Oscars. She works with Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke, former NASA astronauts Nicole Stott, and Susan Kilrain, and Inspiration4 Mission Pilot and SpaceX astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor. Christina is passionate about promoting inclusivity and diversity in space and tech. She founded SPACE For a Better World in 2020 to highlight the ways space benefits all life on Earth and how it could be the key to solving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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Peter van Wingerden
Chief Executive Officer
Session Title:
Transfarmation, the future of city farming
Session Synopsis:
Food security in a changing climate, how do we guarantee healthy food, is affordable, and available with the impact of climate change ahead of us?
Transforming, and wildering of cities into green/blue harmonies between humans, animals, and plants. Changing the current, polluting food system, creating awareness by producing local food.
About Peter
Peter van Wingerden is the CEO and founder of Floating Farm, a disruptive way of agriculture on the water, and food production close to consumers in a totally new approach (climate adaptive). Floating Farm designs and develop sustainable farms on rivers, ports, lakes, water reservoirs, and sea. The first Floating Farm is operational since 2019 and is based in The Netherlands (www.floatingfarm.nl). Producing healthy food inside and close to cities is reducing the footprint of food production dramatically in a positive way. It brings back social awareness and the connection of citizens to healthy and liveable cities.
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Nick Rosa
Metaverse Strategy Lead Europe
Session Title:
Understanding the Metaverse
Session Synopsis:
A comprehensive introduction to understanding the Metaverse, including its main experiential components and technology layers, what is real and what is not real, the ethical implications, the primary use cases, and why it is crucial for both customer interactions and enterprise transformation.
About Nick
Nick Rosa is a creative technologist, experience designer, and digital transformation specialist, who previously worked for Google, Spotify, IBM IX, Yahoo!, and Atari; and is now part of Accenture in their Metaverse Continuum Business Group where he is the Metaverse Strategy Lead for Europe & APAC. Nick is also the chairman of the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) council for Immersive Technologies; and a Director at the Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR) a non-profit entity producing the annual VR Awards. Nick’s first book “Understanding the Metaverse: A Business and Ethical Guide” will be published worldwide by Wiley on the 24th of October 2022.
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José Mariano
López-Urdiales
Founder and CEO
Session Title:
Turning Science Fiction into Business Fact, the Space Odyssey of Zero 2 Infinity
Session Synopsis:
I will walk the audience from the humble beginnings of Z2I to the successes and failures, trying to highlight the useful lessons learned.
About José
Sparked by a lifetime exposure to rockets, balloons, and Space Exploration projects in which his father was involved, Jose Mariano became an entrepreneur in 2009 when he founded Zero 2 Infinity to change the way we access Space. He's convinced that frequent and low-cost access to Space can be achieved without relying on new technologies by leveraging what already exists in a different way. Prior to building Zero 2 Infinity he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and gained experience at Boeing Phantom Works, the Boston Consulting Group, and the European Space Agency.
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Klaus Beetz
CEO
Session Title:
European Manufacturing System
Session Synopsis:
EIT Manufacturing is taking initiative by postulating the “European Manufacturing System” as a strategic objective for the European manufacturing industry, with universal implications. The “European Manufacturing System” is a vision to overcome traditional barriers, especially between enterprises, through an ecosystem approach. It features dual transition with sustainability as a decisive factor while integrating emerging enablers, and deep-tech technologies, e.g., artificial intelligence, quantum computing, smart sensors, VR/AR technologies, autonomous automation, trust-based cybersecurity, and collaborative robots.
About Klaus
Klaus looks back on more than three decades of industry experience in software and system engineering, including five years of an international delegation to Eastern Europe. Building on degrees in mathematics and philosophy, he started his professional career in software engineering at Nemetschek AG, a leading information technology company in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) sector. Over the years, he gathered extensive intercultural experience in numerous international projects. Among other duties, he was a member of the board of trustees at the European Software Institute (ESI), a member of the executive board of Digital Europe (DE), member of the steering group at the Eureka cluster” Information Technology for European Advancement” (ITEA) and member of the board of the Alliance Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI). From 2011 to 2015 he was delegated as Director for Business Creation & Entrepreneurship to the Innovation Community EIT Digital within the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and since the 1st of January 2020, he is the CEO of EIT Manufacturing. "
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Amaia Celaya Alvarez
Session Title:
Towards a climate resilient-smart world
Session Synopsis:
Resilience is not a condition but a state. Resilience holds a dynamic nature, maintained only when the system evolves, adapts, and transforms to current and future challenges. 2 - We need a plan for our future, which must be resilient and smart. 3 - Smart-resilience promotes inclusiveness and fosters the comprehensive and meaningful participation of all, particularly those in vulnerable situations.
About Amaia
Director of the master Design for Resilience at ELISAVA School and co-founder of KOSMA, Amaia has a background in architecture, urban and humanitarian action, and over 25 years of experience in disaster and climate resilience and sustainability, including her contribution to the ERCC and the European Research Executive Agency in the European Commission and her role as advisor for United Nations (UN-Habitat and UN-IOM) since 2016, in cities in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
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Tess Kermode
Session Title:
Food for thought: Can sharing save the world?
Session Synopsis:
Food waste is one of the biggest challenges facing us today, with between 33%-50% of food produced globally never eaten while 1 in 9 people on the planet is starving or malnourished. Tess Kermode will shed light on just how serious it is and how we can solve it together. She will also cover OLIO's journey in tackling the problem of food waste and why OLIO's mission is expanding beyond food waste to tackle all sorts of waste in our homes and local communities by redefining the way we consume.
About Tess
Tess is the Director of International Strategy and Operations at OLIO - an app that tackles the enormous problem of waste in homes and communities by connecting neighbors and businesses with each other so that surplus food and other household items can be given away, not thrown away. OLIO's Food Waste Heroes program enables businesses to reach zero edible food waste locations, through a network of over 45,000 trained volunteers. OLIO has recently passed some major milestones including 6 million people have joined the community, and the environmental impact of their sharing reaching the equivalent of taking 100 million car miles off the road and saving 5 billion liters of water. Before OLIO, Tess led Business Development for Sustainability at Uber, EMEA.
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Session Title:
Noble purpose as a growth accelerator for businesses
Session Synopsis:
In this session, we will go over the current opportunity to find accelerators around executing data insights with ESG KPIs in mind, we will define what noble purpose data means, will see a real story, and wrap up with guidance on how to get started delivering value.
About Blanca
Blanca Galletero is the Group Vice President of Channels, Alliances, and GTM Europe at Splunk. She is responsible for leading the Partners Organization in EMEA to create value in every interaction within the Splunk ecosystem. Blanca is also the Leader of the Cybersecurity, Data, and AI cluster for Women in Tech Spain, with the mission to connect, provide visibility, and promote career opportunities for executive women in digital and STEM careers. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and is passionate about apiculture (beekeeping).
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Session Title:
The Wearable Metaverse
Session Synopsis:
The world is beginning to engage with Virtual and Augmented Reality Experiences where autonomy and agency are central to the experience, and in such worlds TOUCH holds the key to creating believable interactions in a far more immersive way than ever before. The combination of multi-sensory media and cross-sensory sensations also opens interactive media to be experienced by much wider and more inclusive audiences. Full immersive experiences are the future of entertainment, gaming, fashion, and this is only possible by engaging users on every level. Join Ryan Genz, CEO of the world first wearable technology fashion brand CUTECIRCUIT, as he discusses their groundbreaking approach to wearable technology, futuristic haptics, and creating immersive experiences with their award-winning SoundShirt and HugShirt product ranges.
About Ryan
Ryan is co-founder and CEO of CuteCircuit, the world’s first Wearable Technology fashion brand, and a pioneer in the field of Augmented Reality. CuteCircuit creates interactive fashion and wearable haptics that are at the forefront of the digital and physical intersection: using technology to create multi-sensory media, emotional connectedness, and startling new immersive experiences. Designs and innovations have been exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, World Economic Forum in Davos, and in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine arts Boston, and the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago, among many others. Awards include UNESCO Netexplo Award, AWE Auggie Award, and twice TIME Best Inventions of the Year. Ryan holds numerous patents in the areas of 3D Audio Technology and Wearable Technology.
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Adela Cioroiu
Session Title:
Building Strategic Intelligence
Session Synopsis:
In today’s world, individuals and organizations can find it difficult to keep up with the latest trends or to make sense of the countless transformations taking place around them. How can we navigate a world increasingly characterized by complexity, uncertainty, and information overflow? How can we leverage human and machine intelligence to develop our capability to systematically identify, make-sense, and monitor trends and signals needed for evidenced based decision-making?
About Adela
Adela Cioroiu is a Strategic Intelligence Lead at the World Economic Forum. With over 10 years’ experience in several industries such as Operations, Strategy, Consulting, and Technology, Adela is passionate about harnessing collective and contextual intelligence for collective action and help organizations make sense of complexity and shape their future. Together with her Strategic Intelligence team, she is responsible for the Forum’s strategic analysis capacity on global trends as well as its digital innovation strategy. The Strategic Intelligence platform (intelligence.weforum.org) is used by many companies, governments and international organizations as a tool for strategy development and to identify business opportunities. Before her role at the World Economic Forum, Adela was a management consultant at Kearney in London, working with organizations on global engagements across America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
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Cosmin-Ştefan Marinescu
Session Title:
The official opening message of The President of Romania, H.E. Klaus Iohannis, presented by Mr. Cosmin-Ștefan Marinescu, Presidential Adviser
About Mr. Cosmin - Ștefan Marinescu
Cosmin Marinescu (born 1976) is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE). He is a professor at the Department of Economics and Economic Policies. Cosmin Marinescu has been teaching since 1998 and holds a PhD in economics (2003). He has founded the first Romanian university course of study on Institutional Economics regarding the role of the institutions in economic development. He gained a postdoctoral scholarship (2011-2012) within the contest run by the National Institute of Economic Research “Costin C. Kirițescu” of the Academy of Romania. Furthermore, he won scientific contests as a project director, on topics regarding the institutions of the market economy, economic freedom and the institutional quality of the business environment. His research activity also materialised in various research opportunities abroad: Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne (June 2012), ESCP Europe Business School (June 2010), Middlesex University and London School of Economics (April 2008), Institut d’Administration des Entreprises, Lille (June 2002), Maison des Sciences Economiques (October 2001). As a founder president, he established the Center for Economics and Liberty – ECOL, an educational and research initiative, that aims to promote a better understanding of the principles behind a free economy and a democratic society. He published several books as a coordinator, author and coauthor, including Education: An Economic Perspective (2001), Liberalisation of Foreign Economic Exchanges (2003), Institutions and Prosperity. From Ethics to Efficiency (2004), Market Economy (2007), Economic Freedom and Property (2011), Transaction Costs and Economic Perfomace (2013). He coordinated the volume Capitalism. The Logic of Liberty (Humanitas, 2013) appreciated by prestigious economists in the international academic field. The Romanian Association of Economic Faculties awarded Cosmin Marinescu in 2008. He was vice-president of the Specialised Commission for Budget and Finances of the National Liberal Party (2013-2014) and contributed to the development of governing policies and programmes. He worked at the Ministry of Economy (2012) and at the Ministry of Public Finance (2013) as adviser to the minister and to the deputy prime minister on economic policy and fiscal-budgetary matters. Between June and December 2014, Cosmin Marinescu was the economic adviser to the President of the National Liberal Party, Klaus Iohannis. Cosmin Marinescu was appointed Presidential Adviser on 22 December 2014.
Sebastian Burduja
Session Title:
Digital Governmental Authorities panel discussion
About Mr. Burduja
Sebastian I. Burduja is the Romanian Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, and Member of Romanian Parliament. He holds a PhD in economics (Summa Cum Laude, ASE Bucharest), a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School and a master's degree in public policy (MPP) from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
He graduated Stanford University with special honors. Between 2012 and 2016 he worked as a Regional Development Expert at the World Bank in Washington D.C. Previously, he was a consultant for Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a strategic consulting firm specialized in countrywide projects.
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Mircea Geoană
Session Title:
Official opening of the second day
About Mr. Geoană
Mircea Geoană became NATO Deputy Secretary General in October 2019, after a distinguished domestic and international career. He is a strong advocate of transatlantic integration and has held a number of international positions, including OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in 2001 and personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Georgia in 2005. Mr. Geoană also served in various capacities as a diplomat and politician, including Ambassador to Washington, Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of Romanian Senate, and, in 2009, his party’s candidate to be President of Romania. He is also the founder of the Aspen Institute Romania and has published extensively on domestic and international affairs. Mr. Geoană is the first Deputy Secretary General from Romania, and the first from any of the countries that joined the Alliance after the end of the Cold War.
Iurie Țurcanu
Session Title:
Digital Governmental Authorities panel discussion
About Mr. Iurie
Iurie Țurcanu is the Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization of Moldova. He has over 15 years of experience in designing, developing and deploying large-scale IT solutions in the public and private sector and over 20 years of experience in software engineering. He led the e-Governance Agency of Moldova in a number of key positions such as CTO and CDO. Under his watch numerous enterprise governmental solutions such as MSign, MPass, MPay, MConnect, MNotify and many other were successfully defined, implemented and deployed at national scale. In 2019 Iurie was included in the top of the 100 most influential people in the world in digital governance (World's 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government).
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Sabin Sărmaș
Session Title:
Digital Governmental Authorities panel discussion
About Mr. Sărmaș
Mr. Sărmaș has developed his professional career in public and private organizations, always linked to the digital sector and the governance of the information and knowledge society. He is currently serving as member of the Romanian Parliament while acting as Chairman of the IT&C Commission within the Chamber of Deputies. Mr. Sabin Sărmaș has been nominated Designated President to Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 of The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) by the Government of Romania. Prior to these engagements, he was President of the National Authority for Digitalization between 2019 – 2021, being responsible for the coordination and implementation of national policies, strategies, and projects in the field of the information technology, communications, and digitalization of public services. His cross-sector activities were also linked to the private sector, as software engineer and business developer within various companies located in the city of Cluj-Napoca. Therefore, Mr. Sărmaș has acknowledged and tackled the challenges of the sector from a multi-stakeholder perspective, becoming known as transformational and visionary expert. Mr. Sabin Sărmaș graduated the Telecommunications Faculty within the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca as Diplomate Engineer, followed by academic fellowships at Vrije University of Brussels.
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Session Title:
Opening Speech Main Partner
About Florin
Florin Popa is Business to Business Director at Orange Romania, a position he’s held for the last 9 years, after a successful career in the telecom sector that started back in 2001. With the help of his team, Florin enables Orange to become the digital transformation partner for businesses and public authorities in Romania. Orange Business Services is the B2B division of Orange Romania and it gives companies and authorities support in implementing solutions from a rich portfolio of connectivity and ICT products and services. Under Florin’s management, the ICT revenues of Orange Romania have become the main growth engine for enterprise segment.
Florin Popa
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Vlad Stoica
Session Title:
Digital Governmental Authorities Opening Remarks
About Vlad
Vlad Stoica is President of the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications of Romania since October 13, 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Romanian law and he was member of the Bucharest Bar since 2009. During 2004-2009, he held several counselling positions to the Government of Romania, and during 2013-2015 he was Head of the Prime-Minister’s Chancellery. He has also taken postgraduate studies in political management.
Octavian Palade
Moderator
About Octavian
Octavian Palade is an experienced content strategist and a seasoned tech & business journalist, with over 12 years of experience in writing about startups and innovation. He’s pasionate about video production and he’s worked in online, print, TV and radio. He’s also the co-host of the IT Republic show on Radio Tananana and is passionate about gaming.
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