The 2026 speakers

Dr. Chema Alonso is currently the Vice President and Head of International Development at Cloudflare. He was previously the CDO (Chief Digital Officer), a member of the Executive Committee, and a member of the Cybersecurity Board at Telefonica. He was also a member of the Board of Telefónica Tech and the Board of Telefonica de España. He founded, worked at, and directed ElevenPaths, a Telefónica subsidiary focused on cybersecurity, where he served as CEO. Additionally, he founded, worked at, and directed Informática 64 for 14 years—a company focused on cybersecurity.
He holds a PhD in Computer Security from the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid, a Computer Engineering degree from URJC, and a Systems Computer Engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, which named him Honorary Ambassador of its School of Computer Science in 2012. In 2020, URJC awarded him an honorary doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa). You can contact Chema Alonso directly through his public inbox at https://www.mypublicinbox.com/ChemaAlonso, and you can request a virtual meeting with him at https://www.mypublicinbox.com/chemaalonso/videocall. These are the only channels he uses for contact.

I’m a computer scientist with 15+ years of experience in tech, blending a strong technical foundation with deep business acumen. My career has evolved across sales, business development, and artificial intelligence, allowing me to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives with real-world impact.
Currently, I serve as the GenAI Go-to-Market Lead for EMEA at Amazon Web Services, where I help organizations unlock the full potential of AI at scale.

Recognized as one the most influential professionals in AI in Europe and worldwide too, I’m a regular speaker at international conferences and collaborate with academic institutions as a lecturer in master’s and postgraduate programs. I also share insights with a LinkedIn community
of 200,000+ followers, fostering meaningful conversations around GenAI, business strategy, and ecosystem growth.

Howard Wright leads NVIDIA Inception at NVIDIA, the company's global program supporting startups building on NVIDIA's AI platform — He joined NVIDIA in 2024 after leading the startup program at Amazon Web Services as VP of Global Startups, where he contributed to the business reaching a $100B annual run rate. Earlier in his career he held leadership roles at Intel and Qualcomm, and was CEO of the startup C360 Technologies (immersive video, sports/entertainment)

His work centers on connecting early-stage and growth-stage AI founders with NVIDIA's technology, engineering support, and venture network — spanning recruitment into the Inception program, partnerships with VCs, and direct engagement with founders globally. He holds a BA in quantitative economics from Stanford (class of 1989). He has a direct, recent link to Barcelona's AI ecosystem: NVIDIA's collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center on the BSC AI Factory, which he referenced publicly following VivaTech 2026.

Jaime de Mora is CTO for Startups & Unicorns at Microsoft EMEA, where he works with the most disruptive companies across Europe to help them scale through AI, cloud, and cutting-edge technology. With over 15 years in the tech industry, he previously served as General Manager of Microsoft for Startups in Western Europe and as VP of Growth at Carto, where he transformed the platform into a global leader in geospatial data analytics. An active startup advisor across Europe, the US, and Latin America, and an MBA professor at IE Business School, Jaime is one of Spain's most connected voices at the intersection of AI, entrepreneurship, and startup ecosystems.

Ilyass El Mansouri is an Forward Deployed Engineering Manager at OpenAI who works at the intersection of frontier research and real-world deployment. He focuses on turning advanced AI systems into practical, scalable solutions, with a strong emphasis on agentic AI, knowledge graphs, and retrieval-augmented generation.

He represents the new generation of AI builders: technically deep, product-minded, and oriented toward production impact rather than theory. His profile is especially relevant for audiences interested in how sophisticated AI systems are designed, connected to data, and made reliable at scale.

On stage, Ilyass would bring a sharp, credible perspective on what it really takes to move from promising AI experiments to systems that perform in the real world. He is a strong fit for a keynote that wants to feel both forward-looking and grounded in practical execution.

Nicolas Cosqueric is CIO for Southern Europe at Danone, with a background in consumer products, retail, and large-scale IT transformation. He is a seasoned people leader focused on making IT a value-adding business partner, and he brings strong executive experience in shaping technology strategy inside a global enterprise.

His recent public remarks highlight a strong interest in the combination of data and AI as a driver of clarity, anticipation, and stronger team capabilities. That makes his profile especially relevant for conversations about enterprise AI adoption, digital transformation, and how large organizations build the operating model and skills needed to use AI effectively.

His perspective is particularly valuable for audiences interested in how major consumer brands apply AI and data to improve decision-making, organizational capability, and business performance.

Steffen Fuchs is a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and global leader of McKinsey's Industrials practice, based in Dallas. He has spent more than 25 years advising CEOs and boards, with prior managerial experience at DaimlerChrysler. His focus is AI-driven transformation in industrial sectors including automotive, semiconductors, energy, and transport. He leads McKinsey's Rewired AI Immersion programme for industrial companies and advises on pricing optimisation, factory yield improvement, demand sensing, and predictive service via AI.

Orsi Nagy is a Policy Analyst at the EU Policy Lab of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, working on technology foresight and AI . She works to translate emerging trends in AI and quantum technologies into policy-relevant analysis. She also designs AI literacy courses that use games, cartoons and active learning to develop critical thinking about human–AI interaction and support the implementation of AI.

Her background spans public policy, AI and cross-disciplinary innovation, with earlier experience in health and innovation. She brings a practitioner's view of how AI meets governance and regulation, of interest to audiences working on responsible AI, foresight, and critical AI literacy.

Ignasi Belda is Director of the Department of Experimentation and Applied Technology Laboratory at the Banco de España, where he works on the evaluation and development of emerging technologies for the financial sector. He previously served as the first Director General of the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence, AESIA, helping establish Spain's institutional approach to AI oversight.

An engineer, entrepreneur, and researcher, he holds doctorates in artificial intelligence applied to the life sciences and in science and technology law. He has founded several science- and technology-based companies, including MiWEndo Solutions, which develops technology for colorectal cancer diagnosis, and has also held leadership roles at the Barcelona Science Park.

His perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in AI governance, regulatory experimentation, responsible innovation, digital health, and the development of public institutions capable of guiding emerging technologies.

Dr. Jesús Barrasa is AI Field CTO at Neo4j, where he works with organisations combining large language models with knowledge graphs. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Representation, and brings over 20 years of experience across the data management space, split between industry and academic research. Before joining Neo4j in 2015, he worked at data integration companies including Denodo and Ontology Systems.

He co-authored the O'Reilly book "Building Knowledge Graphs: A Practitioner's Guide" and co-hosts the monthly webcast Going Meta, which explores semantics, knowledge graphs, and AI. His work centres on a practical problem in enterprise AI: model quality is rarely the bottleneck, but meaning that stays implicit and fragmented across systems is. Making semantics explicit through ontologies and graph structures changes how AI systems get designed, built, and operated.

His perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in GraphRAG, enterprise data architecture, semantic layers, and moving generative AI projects from pilot into production.

John Roche is Vice President of Platform Architecture at HP, leading platform design for high-performance computing and edge inference. With 25 years spanning complete platform design, ASIC development, firmware, and application development, he works closely with the world's leading SoC and GPU vendors on the design and co-design of AI systems. His focus: why token economics, data sovereignty, data physics, and latency are pushing a growing share of inference to the edge.

Ana Majó Crespo is Director of Strategic Sectors and Innovation at Barcelona Activa, where she works on economic development, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the growth of strategic sectors in Barcelona. An industrial engineer with master's degrees in business administration and communication management, she brings experience in strategic and change-management consulting, technology, smart cities, and public-private collaboration.

Her work focuses on designing and implementing innovation policies that connect institutions, companies, entrepreneurs, and communities. She previously contributed to Barcelona's 22@ innovation district and has led initiatives related to digital innovation, social and sustainable urban development, and the city's technology ecosystem.

Her perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in smart cities, digital transformation, urban innovation, economic development, and the role of collaboration in building Barcelona's future.

David Serral is the CIO of the Port of Barcelona, where he leads the organization's information systems and digital transformation strategy. He brings more than 20 years of experience in technology, with a career spanning the maritime, logistics, automotive, and transportation sectors.

His expertise covers IT strategy, automation, operations, supply chain management, and the implementation of emerging technologies in complex industrial environments. Before joining the Port of Barcelona, he held senior technology roles at APM Terminals Europe, TCB, and Mazel Group, giving him a strong understanding of how digital infrastructure can improve large-scale operations.

His perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in smart ports, logistics innovation, industrial automation, digital infrastructure, and the role of technology in transforming critical transportation systems.

Emma Cobos is Director of Innovation and Blue Economy Strategy at the Port of Barcelona, where she works on innovation, business strategy, and the transformation of one of Europe’s major maritime and logistics hubs. She has more than 15 years of experience at the Port, with a focus on innovation, logistics, business development, and sustainable growth.

Her work explores how ports can become more connected, efficient, and environmentally responsible through technology, open innovation, and collaboration with companies, institutions, and research organizations. She has also contributed to international discussions on blue economy, smart cities, maritime innovation, and the future of urban ports.

Her perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in smart ports, blue economy, sustainable logistics, urban innovation, and the role of technology in transforming critical infrastructure.

Christian Rebernik is the CEO, Founder, and Chancellor of Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences, where he is rethinking higher education around technology, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and purpose-driven learning. He brings more than 20 years of experience in technology leadership and entrepreneurship, with previous roles including CTO and Managing Director at N26, CTO at Parship, and founder of the digital health platform Vivy.

He has also helped build digital products such as ShareTheMeal for the United Nations World Food Programme and has supported startups as a mentor, advisor, and angel investor. At Tomorrow University, he focuses on integrating AI into education while developing the critical thinking, adaptability, leadership, and practical problem-solving skills that become increasingly important in an AI-driven world.

His perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in the future of education, AI-powered learning, technology leadership, and the skills needed to create meaningful impact in a rapidly changing world.

Anna Via is Head of AI at InfoJobs, where she leads AI strategy, adoption, and the core ML and GenAI team. She has over 10 years of experience across data science, AI, and digital products, with a career that moved from data science into AI product management.

She brings a practical product perspective on how AI gets built, tested, and integrated into real digital products, with a strong focus on evaluation, governance, and user impact. Her public writing and talks show a clear interest in applied AI, responsible deployment, and the connection between product thinking and technical execution.

Her perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in AI product strategy, GenAI in consumer platforms, and how teams can build useful AI systems without losing sight of quality and accountability.

Sophie Cornay is Business Unit Manager of the AI Lab at Qonto, where she leads the initiative for integrating agentic AI into financial operations for SMEs and self-employed workers across Europe. Before joining Qonto, she founded and ran Chosen for eight years, a B2B2C SaaS marketplace she grew to over 90,000 monthly users and €1M+ in annual revenue. That entrepreneurial experience gave her direct insight into operational friction points for business owners, particularly around daily cash flow and financial management.

At Qonto, she leads a startup embedded within the company, shipping AI agents directly into the product with a mission to eliminate the "second job" that administrative overhead creates for entrepreneurs. Her team is building on top of one of the most advanced in-house agent platforms in European fintech. Her work centers on agentic AI applied to concrete workflows: invoice management, payment tracking, operation categorization, and real-time financial visibility for SME operators. She emphasizes that AI assists, prepares, and clarifies, but does not displace human responsibility, especially in financial decisions.

Her perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in AI agents in financial services, product thinking around AI-native workflows, European fintech innovation, and how teams build AI that solves genuine operational pain rather than chasing conference applause.

Bruno Barbagli leads Amplitude's Southern Europe team, working with product and growth organisations across Spain, Italy, and France on digital analytics, experimentation, and product decision-making. His work sits at the point where product teams have to turn behavioural data into decisions they can defend.

He brings a practitioner's view of experimentation as an organisational capability rather than a tooling question: how teams define hypotheses, set guardrails, and agree decision criteria before they look at a result. He works regularly with the Southern European product community, including workshops and teaching at business schools, and has helped build Amplitude's presence across the region's product ecosystem.

His perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in product analytics, experimentation and growth strategy, and how AI is changing the loop between shipping a product and understanding how it is actually used.

Dr. Jordina Torrents Barrena is a globally recognized AI researcher and senior leader at HP Inc., where she leads innovation in advanced generative AI algorithms and edge AI deployment. She holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, where she developed computational tools for surgical planning and navigation. With more than 60 scientific publications and multiple patents, Dr. Torrents Barrena bridges academic excellence with real-world industrial impact. She has received numerous national and international awards, including the Google Women Techmakers, McKinsey's Next Generation Women Leaders, Ada Byron Award for Young Technologists, etc. In addition to her industry leadership, Dr. Torrents Barrena teaches courses in AI, Computer Science, and Business Leadership at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Universitat Ramon Llull, and Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Through her research, innovation, and teaching, she is helping shape a future in which intelligent systems empower both people and machines.

Pablo Rodríguez is a computer scientist, engineer, and innovation leader who serves as Director of Google’s Office of the CTO, where he focuses on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. He is also an ACM Fellow and IEEE Fellow, with a research career spanning distributed systems, networks, privacy, and digital platforms, supported by more than 30 patents and a strong record of scientific recognition.

Previously, Pablo served as an ambassador for Google X and as the founding CEO of Telefónica Alpha, Europe’s first moonshot factory, where he led the development of ambitious technology projects designed to address large-scale societal challenges. His work combines scientific depth, entrepreneurial execution, and a strong interest in the responsible development of AI and its impact on society.

His perspective is especially relevant for audiences interested in frontier AI, breakthrough innovation, responsible technology, and the relationship between scientific progress and human impact.

Shalini Goyal is a distinguished technology and business leader with over two decades of international experience across the financial services, technology, and healthcare sectors. Her career spans leadership roles at Amazon, JP Morgan, Optum Health, and other Fortune 500 companies, where she has led large-scale digital transformation, cloud adoption, and AI-driven initiatives.

Currently serving as an Executive Director at JP Morgan, she also actively advises startups and mentors engineers across global tech communities. A published author and global keynote speaker, Shalini empowers diverse tech communities, being deeply passionate about fostering inclusion in technology. She is preparing individuals and organizations to thrive in an AI-powered future.

Florian Kunzke has spent the last decade at the center of enterprise software's biggest bets.
As Global Director of AI Strategy at SAP, he drives SAP's AI and agent strategy and roadmap, prepares partnering and M&A decisions, and advises executive leadership on where the competitive landscape is heading.
After joining SAP in 2016 through the SAP Innovation Center Network, he helped pioneer technologies like machine learning, blockchain and quantum computing, before becoming instrumental in establishing SAP's platform strategy for Business Technology Platform (BTP).
What makes him a compelling voice on enterprise AI is his ability to look beyond the headlines and spot the nuances that matter: where technology is genuinely going, where enthusiasm outpaces reality, and what it takes for AI to deliver inside a large organization.
He's spoken at re:publica, BigBang KI Festival, AI Summit Kitzbühel, SAP Sapphire, and TRANSFORM, and writes regularly on the future of enterprise AI.

With over 15 years across Amazon, Unilever and P&G, I have directed large-scale digital, financial and operational transformations globally — managing multi million dollar portfolios and leading cross-functional and multinational teams across geographies. I build and scale AI-driven organizations — designing governance frameworks, deploying ML models and building the infrastructure that turns AI strategy into measurable business value.My work sits at the intersection of AI strategy, cloud architecture, ops and finance. Beyond the Corp world, I have experienced building and advising Fintech startups as Tech/AI advisor, and am a private multi-asset class Investor.

Nouamane Tazi is a Machine Learning Engineer at Hugging Face, focused on large-scale distributed LLM training. He is the lead author of the Ultra-Scale Playbook and a core developer of Nanotron, Hugging Face's open-source distributed training library. His work spans projects like StarCoder2, SmolLM3, and Mixture-of-Experts scaling. He is passionate about making large-scale training practical and accessible.

Alia Zafar is Director of HR & Facilities Management at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, bringing nearly three decades of experience across banking, energy, telecoms, and international development. A certified expert in Business AI from London Business School and Negotiation from Oxford, she is a keynote speaker on AI governance, digital transformation, and DEI at forums including London Tech Week and the Change Now Summit. Beyond her institutional role, Alia made history as the first woman elected to a cricket board in South Asia, and is a social entrepreneur, published author, and one of the global managers of the Hans Wahl Impact Entrepreneurs Community.