Speakers

Andrea Isoni

Chief AI Officer at AI Technologies, United Kingdom

Physicist and PhD from Imperial College, former Founders Factory (FF), Chief AI Officer at AI Technologies, a company specializing in AI and automation (clients in various sectors: Telecoms, Cybersecurity, Public Sector, Gaming, Energy). Board AI advisor for Waed Saudi Aramco and former AI Advisor of various funds, including Antler Venture Capital and Capital Enterprise. Committee member for IEEE and ISO Standards for AI policy. AI newsletter 'Human on AI' with 2900+ subscribers and a writer in AI ('Machine Learning for the Web' published by Packt in English and translated into Chinese and Korean more than 10,000+ copies). International AI speaker (including London, New York, Dubai, Frankfurt, Saudi Arabia) and invited to speak by governments (Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia).

Mohamed Moualhi

Research Engineer Directorate of Research and Development, Algeria

Mohamed Moualhi holds a Master’s degree in Software Engineering and is currently affiliated with the Software Implementation and Validation Laboratory in Algiers, Algeria. He specializes in machine learning, deep learning, and data-driven systems, with a particular focus on applying AI to real-world challenges. His early research centered on remote sensing and Earth observation, leveraging advanced models to address environmental and sustainability issues. Recently, his work has expanded toward exploring data governance, large language models, and the evolving dynamics of the digital economy. Through both academic and applied projects, Mohamed demonstrates a strong commitment to advancing ethical, transparent, and impactful uses of artificial intelligence for societal benefit.

Elisa Sai

Vice President - Analytics & AI Capgemini Invent London

Elisa is a VP in the Analytics and AI team in Capgemini Invent and has extensive experience in designing and delivering Data and AI transformation projects from mobilisation to go-live across private and public sector. She has explored different career paths (including oboe player and academia!) before focusing on delivering organisational and societal data driven value and insight. Elisa is also a strong advocate of gender diversity in Data, acting as a mentor and driving initiatives to increase female participation in STEM and data.

Abdul-Rahim Sabouni

CEO, Span Management Consulting

Prof. Abdul Rahim Sabouni is the CEO of Span Management Consulting and Chief Academic Advisor at the Emirates Scholars Research Center. A distinguished structural engineering professor and former university president, he holds a PhD from Cornell University, an MSc from George Washington University, and a professional certificate in academic leadership from Harvard University. With extensive expertise in design, construction management, and AI, he has held senior roles, including Design Expert for Abu Dhabi Municipality.

Ian Gatley

Group CTO at Vector Investment Capital, United Kingdom

Ian Gatley is a Group Chief Technology Officer in the London insurance market, leading data and AI transformation across multiple regulated entities. His work sits at the intersection of modern data platforms, operational resilience and the practical adoption of agentic AI. Turning "AI potential" into shipped capability. He advises senior leaders on governance, security, commercial value cases and the change mechanics required to scale AI responsibly, with a consistent focus on execution over complexity.

Nina Abide

Founder & CEO at FetalFirst, United Kingdom

Nina Abide is Founder & CEO of FetalFirst and a governance-first AI leader focused on taking advanced AI from prototype to real-world deployment in regulated environments. She specialises in responsible clinical AI: validation design, risk management, data protection, and operating models that make AI trustworthy and scalable across organisations. Nina brings a blend of hands-on build experience and enterprise leadership, with prior roles spanning data and AI strategy and delivery in industry. At FetalFirst, she is advancing a regulated clinical decision-support programme, with an Estonia-anchored pilot at Tartu University Hospital and a privacy-preserving deployment model designed for hospital secure environments, aligned with GDPR, HIPAA and ISO 27001 principles. Nina is a member of NVIDIA’s Inception program, holds an Executive MBA from London Business School, and is a Tech Nation Global Talent (Digital Technology) endorsee. She speaks on AI governance, accountability, and turning innovation into dependable, measurable outcomes.

Pedro Cosa

Founder and Managing Director at Data Minds Consulting Ltd, United Kingdom

Pedro is the Founder and Managing Director of Data Minds Consulting Ltd. A specialised advisory firm that supports leading organisations to realise maximum value from data and AI at scale. Data Minds provides consulting and advisory services covering Data Strategy, AI & Advanced Analytics, Data Monetisation and Digital Transformation across multiple sectors. Pedro has more than 20 years’ experience in data and analytics, creating commercial opportunities, driving innovation and helping organisations become more customer centric. He has set up multiple award-winning data functions and done work pioneering AI and advanced analytics across market-leading brands including British Gas, News UK, Warner Bros., Channel 4 and Vodafone.

Navin Manaswi

Founder at WoWExp, Switzerland

Navin Manaswi is a DeepTech entrepreneur, AI researcher, and global thought leader in Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Digital Twins, and Metaverse technologies. He is the Founder of WoWExp, a NASSCOM-recognized DeepTech company that pioneered India’s first Metaverse Meeting Platform (WoWMeet) and Virtual City (WoWCity), working with organizations such as PwC, Infosys, HUL, and Dell. Since 2023, his work has expanded into Generative AI, AI Agents, and industry-scale AI platforms across finance, automation, governance, and smart infrastructure. Navin has represented India at the United Nations ITU-T in Geneva, contributing to global standards on AI, cybersecurity, and digital twins. An educator and author, he actively trains CXOs, professionals, and students worldwide to democratize AI adoption and innovation.

Chitresh Sharma

Head of Data Science, L'Oréal Paris

A dedicated AI enthusiast and people-oriented professional with an extensive background in Data and AI Domain with 10+ patents. In my previous roles, I have spearheaded data-driven initiatives and embraced the title of a Data Scientist. A serendipitous event a few years ago ignited my passion for the digital and data sphere, and since then, I have thrived on the excitement of discovering innovative solutions that empower intelligent individuals to achieve extraordinary feats. Embodying the philosophy of "AI Leadership as a Service," I approach my work with a strategic mindset, ensuring that every project aligns with the highest standards of excellence.

Oonagh van den Berg

Founder & CEO at Virtual Risk Solutions, Portugal

Oonagh van den Berg is a globally recognised, award-winning compliance and financial crime risk expert with over 20 years of experience across financial services, regulatory, and risk domains. She has led complex compliance and governance initiatives in major global institutions, including top-tier banks and innovative fintech and crypto businesses, and has successfully navigated GRC structures, licensing and remediation programmes across jurisdictions. Oonagh is the Founder and CEO of Virtual Risk Solutions (VRS), a global GRC consultancy specialising in strategic compliance, risk transformation and control uplift. In addition she is the founder and CEO of RAW Compliance — a global social-enterprise platform dedicated to removing financial barriers in access to high-quality compliance training, mentorship, and thought leadership. She is the author of the best selling compliance book series "modernising compliance". She is a sought-after keynote speaker, educator and facilitator, actively contributes to industry dialogue on regulatory change, and advocates for ethical leadership, practical risk management and innovation in compliance practice.

Atif Siddiqui

Founder & CEO at Cradle Labs

Atif Siddiqui is an internationally recognized digital transformation and business strategy leader with nearly 20 years of experience driving enterprise-wide modernization across financial services and government sectors. He has led complex core system transformations, built large scale data platforms, and delivered world first technology implementations that established new benchmarks for innovation and governance. His work has consistently translated strategy into measurable impact, reducing time to market from months to days and scaling revenues more than tenfold within a year through operating model redesign, agile execution, and technology architecture excellence. Atif is the founder of Cradle Labs, a fractional consulting and technology advisory firm that supports organizations in digital and business transformation, data strategy, AI adoption, and business strategy. A Sloan Fellow from London Business School, he is widely regarded as a People, Process, and Technology architect committed to building resilient, future ready institutions.

Jil Ebanoidze

Founder FinBigTech and Supervisory Board Member, Bank Crystal

Jil Ebanoidze is a global fintech executive, board advisor, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience driving innovation at the intersection of finance, technology, and impact. She has led strategic roles at Booking.com, eBay, and Naspers, and has built cross-functional teams across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. She is the founder of a consulting firm that helps big tech, banks, and fintechs design and scale tech-driven financial products, with a strong focus on ESG and sustainable innovation. Jil also founded Maison AVAZA, a personal branding and female empowerment company that fuses fashion, wellness, and identity. In parallel, she works with government innovation centers across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa to mentor early-stage startups and shape inclusive digital ecosystems. She serves as Chairwoman of the Board at GIFT (Global Impact FinTech) and is a member of SER Topvrouwen, the Dutch Social and Economic Council’s initiative to connect top female executives to board and executive roles.

Devendra Sharma

Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Exadel London, UK

Devendra is the Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Exadel, where he helps global enterprises build AI systems that are trustworthy, scalable, and ready for real-world impact. With over 20 years of hands-on experience in Data, AI, cloud Arch, and governance, he has led major digital transformation programmes and developed operating models that embed responsibility and transparency into AI at scale. Previously, Devendra served as Global Head of Data, Analytics, (Gen)AI & Governance at BCG and held senior data and cloud leadership roles at HSBC. His work focuses on turning complex, fragmented data landscapes into intelligent systems that deliver measurable business impact and also designing practical frameworks that bring fairness, transparency, and accountability into everyday AI development, not just in theory, but in large-scale enterprise environments. Devendra's work sits at the intersection of innovation and responsibility, helping organizations adopt AI with confidence. At this event, he will share real lessons from the field on how to build Responsible AI that actually works in production.

Adepeju Deborah Bello

Cybersecurity/Cyberfraud R&D Analyst at Barclays, UK

Adepeju is a cybersecurity and financial crime prevention specialist with over nine years of experience across digital banking, fraud risk management, AML compliance, and AI-driven fraud detection. She currently works as a Cybersecurity and Cyber Fraud R&D Analyst in regulated financial services, where she designs and strengthens fraud controls, oversee SIEM and detection systems, and develop AI-enabled solutions to combat evolving financial crime threats. She is a UK Delegate for the Global Alliance for AI (GAFAI), championing responsible, human-centred AI across financial services, cybersecurity, and research communities. Her work focus on ethical AI adoption, model governance, bias mitigation, explainability, and embedding human-in-the-loop controls within high-risk systems. She is an active researcher and thought leader, she has published on AI-driven fraud detection, blockchain-enabled KYC/AML, and data protection, contributing to industry and academic discourse on secure and trustworthy AI. She also serves in advisory and innovation leadership capacities, bridging industry, academia, and policy to advance scalable, ethical, and impactful technology solutions that strengthen societal trust and financial integrity.

Andrei Nita

Chief Technology Officer, McKenzie Intelligence Services, London

Andrei Nita is a CTO and data strategy leader with 10+ years of experience building analytics and AI platforms for SaaS scale-ups. He most recently led Engineering, Data, and AI at McKenzie Intelligence Services, a B2B geospatial intelligence platform serving governments and Fortune 500 financial institutions. At McKenzie, he delivered a 300% increase in engineering throughput, a 60% reduction in cloud costs, and defined the five-year technology roadmap. Previously, as Director of Data & Analytics at Builder.ai (Series B–D), Andrei grew a data organization from one person to 15, built investor-grade SaaS metrics dashboards supporting Series B–D fundraising, and led AI/ML initiatives including NLP chatbots and knowledge graph migration. His technical foundation spans cloud architecture (AWS, Azure), modern data stacks (Snowflake, Airflow, Fivetran), and ML productionisation. Andrei holds an MSc in Intelligent Systems and combines deep technical credibility with board-level commercial fluency

Leszek Niewiadowski

Microsoft Technology Advisor, Onex Group

Leszek Niewiadowski is a Business Development Manager at Onex, working at the intersection of business and technology to help organizations get real value from the Microsoft ecosystem. He combines hands-on IT experience with a strong consulting mindset, translating complex technical capabilities into clear business outcomes for his clients. A long-time technology enthusiast, Leszek is particularly interested in how artificial intelligence can transform customer experience, sales, and service processes. He actively participates in events within the Microsoft ecosystem, where he shares practical lessons from digital transformation projects and enjoys connecting with people who are equally passionate about innovation.

Serhii Yakovenko

Engineering Leader, United Kingdom

Serhii Yakovenko is a senior engineering leader with over ten years of experience building high-performing teams, solving complex technical challenges, and driving quality-driven outcomes. Serhii specializes in platform initiatives and modern software development practices. He has successfully spearheaded company-wide improvements in engineering performance by integrating AI-powered systems into core developer infrastructure. Serhii is passionate about balancing technical excellence with team well-being, advocating for a collaborative approach where AI acts as a force multiplier for engineering organizations. His work focuses on scaling engineering standards while maintaining speed, trust, and long-term sustainability in large-scale environments. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to creating work environments where teams feel empowered to learn, grow, and innovate, ensuring that emerging technologies like generative AI are deployed as robust, production-grade infrastructure rather than experimental tools.

Divya Choudhary

Lead AI Research Scientist X, The Moonshot Factory, United States

Divya Choudhary is an Artificial Intelligence researcher and industry leader with over a decade of experience architecting cutting-edge solutions for complex global challenges. Currently driving breakthrough innovations at X, The Moonshot Factory, her expertise spans deep learning, computer vision, and generative AI systems. Divya excels at cross-pollinating technical breakthroughs across diverse industrial domains, including e-commerce analytics, logistics, real estate, legal and health intelligence. A prominent contributor in the global AI community, she serves as a reviewer and editor for premier conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR etc. She is a speaker on large language models and advanced computing, presenting at international stages like IJCAI and PyCon. Melding high-impact tech leadership with a holistic perspective, Divya is also a certified yoga instructor who advocates for mindfulness in high-performance environments and champions diversity in STEM. Her work consistently moves the needle in the world of AI.

Ignacio Ojeda Aguirre

Director of AI at Plexus, Spain

With more than 15+ years in the software ML/DL (AI) engineering industry, Ignacio served as data scientist and machine learning engineer for almost 10 years and 5 years managing big teams in the C-level. He has a degree in Physics with a master in machine learning and AI from the university of Columbia and served in the finance, biotechnology and telco industries mainly. He has a strong technical background in deep reinforcement learning and probabilistic deep learnings and deploying scalable MLOps/LLOps infrastructures.

Catalin Stoiovici

Engineering Leadership at PortSwigger

Catalin Stoiovici is a senior engineering leader at PortSwigger, the company behind Burp Suite, where he works on how teams build, test and ship software at pace. Over 20 years, he has grown engineering organisations from around 45 people to 150 and held senior engineering roles at NTT DATA UK&I, J.P. Morgan and Elsevier, largely in financial services and other regulated industries. He is also a charity trustee responsible for digital strategy, technology cost and security. He coaches CTOs and heads of engineering, and works on engineering operating models and the effect of AI across the software lifecycle.

Tara M. Batemon

Founder, Her and AI

Tara M. Batemon is an AI Confidence Strategist, educator, and learning leader dedicated to helping individuals and organizations adopt artificial intelligence with clarity, confidence, and purpose. With over 15 years of experience in learning and development, instructional design, and learner engagement, she specializes in translating complex AI concepts into practical, human-centered strategies that empower people to thrive in the age of AI. Tara is the founder of Her and AI, a media entity that equips women over 40 with the confidence to learn, apply, and lead with AI through workshops, digital learning experiences, AI empowered systems and community. She is also the creator of the L.E.A.R.N. Framework™, a practical approach to building lasting AI confidence through intentional learning and real-world application. A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Tara is passionate about making AI accessible, meaningful, and transformational for learners, professionals, educators, and business leaders worldwide.

Rashi Dhenia

Technical Project Analyst, Hitachi

Rashi Dhenia is a data analyst and AI systems researcher whose work centers on building enterprise data infrastructure that is both powerful and accountable. At Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas, she designs enterprise-scale BI systems and data-driven decision frameworks supporting forecasting, pricing, and operational strategy across the business. Her research on AI-driven data storage and retrieval optimization is documented in a pending US patent application, on which she is first named inventor, alongside a granted UK Design Patent. Her published work spans more than 20 IEEE-indexed papers with over 125 citations, and she serves as an IEEE peer reviewer and editorial board member across multiple journals. She has judged data and AI competitions including AI ATL, RoboTech, Hacklytics, and the SWE Recognition Awards. A Purdue University graduate in Computer Engineering and Quantitative Economics, she is also a Women in Data Science Worldwide Ambassador, advocating for greater representation of women in data and AI globally.

Olayinka Jimoh

Data Engineer/ Data Scientist, Sherwood Forest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Olayinka Jimoh is a Data Engineer and a Data Scientist whose career spans healthcare, startups, and data transformation initiatives with AI. Currently working within the NHS, he combines deep technical expertise with a unique multidisciplinary perspective gained from successfully transitioning across multiple professional roles throughout his career. This breadth of experience has enabled him to develop a strong understanding of how technology, people, and processes intersect to drive meaningful change. Olayinka is passionate about the practical application of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science to solve real-world challenges, particularly in healthcare. His work focuses on using data and AI to make healthcare better by turning complex information into clear insights, helping healthcare organisations make informed decisions, improve services, work more efficiently, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients. Having experienced the demands of both fast-paced startup environments and large public-sector organisations, he brings valuable insights into AI adoption, organisational change, and digital transformation. A strong advocate for the human side of AI, Olayinka believes that AI is not a replacement for expertise but an amplifier of capability. Drawing on his diverse background, he champions the power of transferable skills and demonstrates how AI can empower professionals to operate effectively across multiple disciplines

Cassandra Rounds

Senior Engineer, Arizona Public Service (APS), London

Cassandra Rounds is a senior engineer with 15 years of experience in transmission and distribution engineering within the electric utility industry, spanning design, field operations, and risk analysis. Outside of standard work responsibilities, she conducts independent research applying machine learning to infrastructure verification problems, combining deep domain expertise in utility systems with applied skills in computer vision and graph-based modeling. Cassandra's work focuses on building explainable AI systems that bridge engineering documentation and field reality. She is particularly interested in the intersection of domain expertise and applied machine learning, and in developing tools that earn trust from the operational teams who must rely on them.

Yekaterina Mijatovic

Principal Data Scientist, Data Society Group, London

Yekaterina (Katya) Mijatovic is a Principal Data Scientist at Data Society Group in Washington, DC, leading technical teams with focus in scientific computing, machine learning, and AI applications. A data science generalist in the past, Katya has focused on the Energy and Utilities industry, developing custom solutions and data products with engineers and their business needs in mind. Her experience spans multiple programming languages and data science tools. Katya finds joy in cooking for her family and having guests over. She may or may not have gotten in over her head with some home improvement projects in the past. This year Katya has finally started taking ice skating lessons, it only took her 30 years to take the plunge.

Natalia Kuroś

Senior AI & Microsoft365 Consultant, Onex Group, Poland

Natalia Kuroś is a Senior AI Consultant helping organizations turn AI ambitions into real business outcomes. She specializes in Microsoft 365 Copilot, AI agents, digital workplace transformation, and Adoption & Change Management, combining technical expertise with a strong focus on people and business value. Over the past several years, Natalia has supported organizations across industries in preparing their data, governance, processes, and employees for the AI era. She is particularly passionate about helping leaders answer one critical question before any AI initiative begins: why do you need this tool? Her work focuses on ensuring that technology adoption is driven by business goals and supported by the people who will use it. Natalia believes successful AI transformation is never just about switching on a solution. It's about enabling people, processes, and technology to evolve together.

Christopher Kenna

CEO & Founder, Media Stream AI Limited (MSAI), UK

Christopher Kenna is a British entrepreneur, military veteran, and Founder & CEO of Media Stream AI Limited (MSAI), a UK-based sovereign artificial intelligence company focused on developing large-scale AI infrastructure and proprietary AI technologies. Christopher leads MSAI’s development of the MOTHER AI ecosystem, including MOTHER LLM, MOTHER CORE and IntuiTV, an AI-powered broadcast and content platform. He is also driving the development and deployment of next-generation AI data centres across the UK, designed to support hyperscale GPU computing and the growing demand for high-performance AI infrastructure. Through MSAI, Christopher is focused on building sovereign AI capability, combining advanced compute infrastructure, proprietary models and real-world AI applications.

Frank Moreno Garcia

Chief Quantum & AI Strategy Officer Open AI/AI Office, Spain

Frank Moreno is an AI governance specialist and a leading voice in responsible artificial intelligence. He is a member of the OpenAI Expert Network and serves on the Chapter 2 Commission on Algorithmic Compliance and Transparency at the European Artificial Intelligence Office in Brussels. As the creator of the SAFE AI governance framework, Frank focuses on building secure, auditable and trustworthy AI systems for enterprise environments, enabling organizations to adopt advanced AI technologies with confidence and regulatory alignment. He is the founder of QuantumAIHub Institute (QAI) and director of TCQH, where he leads initiatives on AI adoption, quantum AI convergence, and executive education. Frank works with public institutions, global companies and innovation ecosystems to design AI strategies, assess systemic risks and implement governance architectures for autonomous agents and multimodal models. He is an international keynote speaker and advisor, helping leaders transform their organizations through responsible, future ready AI.

Leila Manel Khlidj

CS Research Engineer, Directorate of Research & Development, Algeria

Leila Manel Khlidj is a Research Engineer studying trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, data collection, and high-availability systems. Throughout her professional career at the Computer Science R&D Center, she has focused on distributed web intelligence, architecting multi-node frameworks to optimize high-volume data crawling and resilient collection. Bridging systems engineering with advanced AI research, her recent work heavily investigates Deepfake detection utilizing GRU and Transformer architectures. Notably, Leila has implemented advanced Explainable AI (XAI) modules to visualize feature importance and ensure the transparency and interpretability of temporal video features. Leila's expertise also extends to systems engineering, and she actively contributes to the academic community, recently co-authoring the conference paper “A Multi-Metric Scoring Framework for Resilient Microservice Orchestration in Kubernetes” at CLOSER 2026.

Ina Schöne

Founder, Data Privacy and AI

Ina Schöne is a certified ISO/IEC 42001:2023 Lead Auditor for Artificial Intelligence Management Systems. She is an AI Officer/Trainer, AI Business Professional, AI Design Master & Prompt Engineer, TÜV Rheinland-certified data protection officer and data protection auditor (GDPR). She teaches in the "Digital Product Management" program at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and is a lecturer in the "AI Manager" and "AI Officer" courses for the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and “AI-Auditors ISO/IEC42001”. She has been a supporter of the OECD Working Group and contributed to the "G7 Reporting Framework – Hiroshima AI Process (HAIP) International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems" with her report, thus achieving the first global milestone for "AI Transparency" together with 18 other companies. With a holistic understanding of the implementation of the new legal requirements for the digital world (GDPR, EU AI Act, Data Act, NIS II, CRA), she advises at the international level, in the national SME sector, and at the municipal level.

Oleh Petrivskyy

Founder & CEO, Binariks

Oleh Petrivskyy is Founder & CEO of Binariks, a software engineering company that builds products for healthcare, life sciences, fintech, and insurance. He has nearly three decades in software engineering and delivery leadership, from Project Manager to SVP of Global Delivery at SoftServe, and over a decade as Founder & CEO of Binariks. His teams build AI-driven, data-heavy products in regulated environments, including clinical decision support, EHR integrations, and interoperability layers on Epic, FHIR, and HL7. Through Binariks' COMPASS AI-SDLC framework, a seven-phase approach where AI accelerates delivery while people keep full control of the critical decisions, he shows how humans and AI work together, from decision support at the point of care to AI-assisted software delivery. Oleh writes and speaks regularly about why the collaboration model, not the model alone, decides whether AI is trusted and adopted. He holds an Executive MBA and an MS in Computer Science

Mokedemi Dounya

Directorate of Research and Development, Algeria

Dounya Mokedemi is an Artificial Intelligence researcher, holding both a State Engineer degree in Computer Science and a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. She specializes in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and ensuring the factual reliability of Large Language Models (LLMs). Her current research focuses on fine-grained hallucination detection through SelfVerifyTriplet, a framework leveraging weighted semantic triplets to enhance factual consistency in AI-generated content. She has participated in multiple collaborative projects integrating AI, further strengthening her expertise in practical applications of advanced AI systems. Her interests extend to explainable AI, knowledge extraction, and reasoning-based evaluation of LLMs. She aims to develop next-generation generative models capable of self-assessment and verifiable reasoning independently of external databases. Through her research and projects, Dounya is committed to advancing trustworthy and transparent AI for practical and societal benefit.

Hilary Roberts

Veritas Fox, UK

Hilary is the CTO of Veritas Fox, a company that aims to help companies comply with AI without slowing them down. He has over a decade of experience working in data, in both start-ups as well as larger organisations such as Meta. He has covered all data roles from data engineering to data science and management, and has set up high-performing data platforms and teams several times over.

Yuri Romanenkov

Academic Director, Next Generation Digital Strategy Programme, London Business School, UK

I am an expert in how the adoption of digital technology changes the competitive advantage of businesses. I work across product, go-to-market, and operations building integrated sets of strategic choices to use technology to win against the competition. My work is rooted in my research into digital platform economics and translates into the flagship Next Generation Digital Strategy programme at London Business School.

Andreas Pfeiffer

Co-founder and CEO, Prescient Labs

Andreas Pfeiffer is Co-founder and CEO of Prescient Labs, a process intelligence company helping organisations and consultancies identify where AI and automation can create measurable operational value. Prescient Labs combines structured operational data with unstructured data from stakeholder interviews and other sources to build detailed views of how work is actually performed, uncovering bottlenecks, inefficiencies and opportunities for transformation. Before founding Prescient Labs, Andreas worked in TMT private equity advisory at Orbit Partners and at AWS. He holds an MSc in Finance from the University of St Andrews and focuses on the intersection of data, AI and business transformation.

Eric Bidinger

Co-founder and CEO, Luca Labs, Inc.

Eric Bidinger is co-founder and CEO of Luca, the AI operating system for e-commerce brands, live today with clients across North America and Europe. Luca reconciles a brand's commerce, marketing, finance and banking data into one reasoning layer, then funds the opportunities it finds — intelligence and capital in a single system, which neither an analytics tool nor a lender can offer. Mastercard backed Luca before any venture investor did: an innovation grant, then a place inside two merchant programmes in Europe and the US. He spent seventeen years in private equity, making partner, after M&A at Goldman Sachs — a career underwriting companies on far worse data than a Shopify store produces in a week. He trained at Stanford in aerospace engineering and operations research, applying neural networks to aircraft optimisation twenty-five years ago. He has also co-founded a hydrogen-electric aircraft company and built an eco-resort in Mozambique entirely by hand.

Piush Vaish

Founder & CEO, Kojable

Piush Vaish is the Founder and CEO of Kojable, an AI Answer Alignment platform that helps companies understand and improve how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity describe, compare, and recommend them. A data scientist and repeat founder with more than 10 years of experience, Piush has built and brought AI, machine learning, and data products to market across cybersecurity, healthcare, travel, and AI search. Before founding Kojable, he held senior data science and machine learning roles at a high-growth cybersecurity company, a digital health unicorn, and one of the world's largest healthcare organisations.His work sits at the intersection of technology and product development, with a strong focus on experimentation and turning new AI capabilities into products that solve real customer problems. Piush regularly publishes original research and practical analysis on AI search, retrieval, citations, and Generative Engine Optimisation. Much of his work looks at how AI systems shape the way people discover, compare, and choose brands, products, and vendors. He also speaks about the growing role of AI recommendations in B2B buying journeys and what that means for product and marketing teams.

Maira Ata

Director AI, LeoReg Tech

Maira Ata is an Applied Scientist with a background spanning software development, data science, and AI, driven by a passion for building technology that is both impactful and accessible. Her work bridges research and real-world applications, turning complex ideas into practical solutions. Alongside building systems, she enjoys sharing knowledge through her platform QuantLeap, where she simplifies AI and data concepts and supports a growing community of learners. She actively contributes to open-source and open data initiatives, including FCA Open Data workshops. Curious and community-driven, Maira is committed to advancing open, trustworthy technology in the UK and beyond.

Kevin Okot-Ojok

Founder & CEO, ExitLab | AI, Liquidity Engineering, Governance and Portfolio Intelligence Strategist, United Kingdom

Kevin Okot-Ojok is the Founder and CEO of ExitLab, an AI-powered Liquidity Engineering and portfolio intelligence platform helping companies, investors and leadership teams become continuously investor-ready. His work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, data intelligence, governance, cybersecurity and enterprise value creation. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in commercial growth, digital transformation, compliance and international partnerships, Kevin focuses on turning fragmented operational and governance data into clear, decision-ready intelligence. Through ExitLab, he is developing AI systems that help organisations identify risk earlier, strengthen institutional readiness, reduce the burden of due diligence and make better-informed strategic decisions. Kevin advocates for responsible, human-led AI: technology that supports experienced professionals rather than replacing them. His approach prioritises trustworthy data, explainable insights, strong governance and AI systems designed around real organisational workflows. He is particularly interested in how data science and agentic AI can help businesses protect enterprise value, improve performance and build more credible pathways to investment, growth and successful exits.

Aaron Kalvani

AI Strategist | International Speaker & Adviser, UK

Aaron Kalvani is an international speaker and adviser working across artificial intelligence, responsible technology, data governance, defence and security. His work spans projects around the world, focused on turning emerging technologies into practical outcomes. His experience has taken him from war zones and the aftermath of earthquakes to flights across remote landscapes, underground mines and caves, before returning to boardrooms to discuss findings and applications. In some circles, this hands-on approach has earned him the description “the Indiana Jones of AI.” He has contributed to discussions with governments, international institutions, defence organisations, academia and industry, with engagements spanning the Houses of Parliament, the White House, the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Davos, Chatham House and the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. His focus is on using AI, data and emerging technologies to improve decision-making, translating technological ambition into practical, real-world results, across both field and boardroom environments worldwide today alike.

Igor Konopliastyi

COO at SPhotonix, The UK

Igor Konopliastyi is the Chief Operating Officer at SPhotonix, with more than 15 years of experience in technology commercialization, operations, fundraising, and business development. He is focused on building scalable companies, developing strong strategic partnerships, and bringing deep-tech innovations successfully to market.

Sergei Irisov

Head of IT and Digital Transformation, ZeroAvia Ltd

Sergei Irisov is a technology and digital transformation leader specialising in engineering, manufacturing and regulated product development. He works across PLM, ALM, ERP, MES, lifecycle traceability, configuration management, manufacturing readiness and IT governance.

Sergei combines technology leadership with practical operating model design, helping engineering organisations move beyond fragmented tools, spreadsheets and document-heavy processes towards controlled, scalable and evidence-based ways of working.

His experience includes leading international IT and digital transformation teams, supporting product lifecycle management, engineering change control, enterprise platform governance, internal digital products and manufacturing ramp-up.

Sergei writes and speaks about the practical side of digital transformation: why technology projects fail before implementation starts, how to build audit-ready traceability, how PLM, ALM, ERP and MES should connect, and why technology leadership must be closely aligned with product lifecycle, operations and business decision-making.

Maximus Lerois

Chief Wellness & Performance Strategist, ML Ventures LLC

Maximus Lerois is a best-selling author, Chief Wellness and Performance Strategist, psychotherapist, Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner, certified neuro-linguistic programming practitioner, and retired U.S. Marine with two tours in Afghanistan.

He helps leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, students, and high performers take back the pen and author what comes next.

As the creator of The Revision Method™ - Recognize, Reframe, Release, Rewrite - Maximus blends neuroscience, emotional intelligence, practical psychology, leadership development, and lived experience to help audiences identify the inner scripts shaping how they think, decide, lead, perform, and build legacy.

His work focuses on emotional mastery, nervous system regulation, identity revision, and human performance under pressure.

Through keynotes, workshops, books, and transformational experiences, Maximus gives audiences language, tools, and a practical framework for moving from survival-mode success into clarity, confidence, authorship, and sustainable impact.

His message is clear: technology may rapidly accelerate the future, but emotionally intelligent humans must lead it well.

Patricia Orji

Independent AI & Data Science Practitioner, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

Patricia “Trisha” Orji is an AI and Data Science practitioner with an MSc in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science from the University of Wolverhampton.

Her interests focus on practical, responsible, and human-centred applications of data and emerging technologies.

Her project experience includes developing a Retrieval Augmented Generation solution for a Nigerian SME and exploring data-driven products designed to improve access to useful information and support better decision-making.

She is particularly interested in understanding not only what can be built with AI, but when simpler data-driven approaches may provide a more transparent, effective, and appropriate solution.

Rune Køhler

Deputy Director and Principal Engineer, NATO AEW&C Force Mission Systems Engineering Centre

Rune Køhler is a senior NATO international civilian official and former Royal Danish Air Force officer with operational aviation and leadership experience. He holds a master’s degree from Copenhagen Business School, complementing his military education and professional training.

He serves as Deputy Director and Principal Engineer within the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force, leading a portfolio spanning capability delivery, technology insertion, mission-systems engineering and digital transformation, including the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence.

During his military career, he operated across four continents and flew combat missions in several NATO operations. He now applies that experience to how technology, data and AI can enable faster, better-informed decision-making in complex operational environments.

Combining an operator’s perspective with engineering rigour, Køhler translates technological ambition into operational advantage, bridging aviation, engineering and emerging technology to ensure new capabilities deliver practical value in demanding real-world environments.

Mert Esencan

Founder & CEO, Icosa Computing

Mert Esencan is the Founder and CEO of Icosa Computing, where he is building private, efficient, and practical AI that runs locally on users’ own hardware. His work focuses on AI reasoning, optimisation, and quantum-inspired approaches to improving the capabilities of smaller, more efficient AI models.

Mert has an interdisciplinary background in physics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and engineering. He studied Physics and Symbolic Systems at Stanford University, completed a master’s in Management Science and Engineering, and pursued doctoral research in quantum information and computation at the University of Oxford. Before founding Icosa Computing, he worked in quantum computing and frontier technology research, including at QC Ware and Fidelity Investments.

At Icosa, he leads research and product development around private, on-device AI and Combinatorial Reasoning, a physics-based approach to evaluating and selecting stronger AI reasoning paths. His work explores how AI can move beyond simply scaling larger language models towards systems that are more capable, efficient, private, and practical for real-world applications.

Gabriel Mayrink

Founder & Strategy and Innovation Advisor | Adjunct Professor

M. Corals | Luiss Business School

Gabriel Mayrink is a strategy and innovation executive with a global perspective and international experience across business, technology and academia. His work connects AI, venture building, investment and partnerships to help leaders navigate change and turn opportunities into business value.

Founder of M. Corals and Adjunct Professor at Luiss Business School, he brings technical depth and commercial judgement to questions of growth, transformation and long-term competitiveness.

He holds a PhD in Engineering from KU Leuven and pursued executive education at Harvard Business School.

Daramola Benjamin

Head of Engineering, Levered, UK

Daramola Benjamin is an applied economist and engineer and Head of Engineering at Levered. His current work is the Intent Graph, a schema and system architecture for identity, delegation, and correction in AI agent systems, closing the gap between what today's standards secure and what autonomous agents actually need.

This work has produced a full system architecture, a research paper, a published technical analysis of agentic identity and permissioning, and a competitive review of the space. He has spoken on this work at Practically AI, Manchester.

Daramola designs systems and builds product end to end, with a background spanning fintech, commerce, and SaaS that shaped how he approaches identity and delegation as a systems problem with real consequences when it goes wrong.