The 2026 speakers

David Chevalier is the Co-Founder and CEO of Surfe, a Paris-founded SaaS platform that connects CRMs with LinkedIn for revenue teams worldwide. Originally launched as Leadjet in 2020, Surfe raised €4 million in seed funding from 360 Capital and TS Ventures, and was selected by HubSpot as one of three partners to power its new Prospecting Agent. Before founding Surfe, David spent five years in M&A and leveraged finance at ODDO BHF. He holds a Master's from HEC Paris (X-HEC Entrepreneurs, Deep Tech Track) and was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's Learn2Launch program.

Luc Julia is a world-renowned AI expert and Chief Scientific Officer at Renault Group, where he drives innovation in autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence. Best known as the co-creator of Siri, he filed the original patents in 1997 and developed the pioneering voice assistant at Apple. His distinguished career includes CTO at Samsung Electronics, Chief Technologist at HP, and founding the Computer Human Interaction Center at SRI International. Author of the bestselling "Artificial Intelligence Does Not Exist," Julia holds dozens of patents in human-machine interaction.

Bala Arjunan Muthiah is Director of Engineering at Lyft, where he leads technical teams building scalable mobility infrastructure, combining deep engineering expertise with people-first leadership. A thoughtful leader dedicated to nurturing individual growth, Bala spent eight years (2011–2019) at SAP SuccessFactors in engineering management, architecting HR technology solutions and scaling global teams. His career began as Senior Software Engineer at Photon (2006–2011), building enterprise software systems. Bala holds two patents: Intelligent Recruiting Tool for Capturing and Storing Candidate Data (2013) and Automated Sourcing and Screening of Candidate Profiles (2013), reflecting his early work in AI-powered talent acquisition. Beyond his corporate role, Bala is a serial advisor and mentor: he co-founded disrpt.io (2019–2021), served on the Board of Advisors for Defy Ventures (2023–2024)—a nonprofit supporting formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs—and mentored startups at SAP.iO (2018–2019) and GrowthMentor. He completed Stanford Continuing Studies' Leadership for Collaborative Success program (2019) and holds certifications in Human-Computer Interaction (Coursera) and Scrum Master (Scrum Alliance). Educated at Anna University (Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics & Communication), Bala's philosophy centers on empowering teams to reach their full potential through trust, mentorship, and adaptive leadership. He speaks internationally on engineering culture, people development, and building high-performing teams in fast-paced tech environments.

Ben Previeux is the Head of Product Strategy and AI at Pigment, a business planning and performance management platform. In this role, Ben leads the development and execution of Pigment’s AI strategy, empowering businesses with innovative tools that lets them plan ahead, adapt to changing business conditions, and make faster decisions.

David Villalón’s profile blends an entrepreneurial spirit with a deep passion for technology. He specializes in AI implementation strategies for the corporate sector, focusing on business transformation, operations, and scalability. Today, David is recognized as one of Spain’s leading AI experts. At the helm of Maisa, he is driving the implementation of AI agents across enterprises, enabling them to skyrocket productivity by automating complex workflows. At just 29 years old, he closed a record-breaking €25 million seed round—the largest in Spanish history within the sector. Industry giants like Deloitte and Gartner have already featured Maisa in their reports as one of the international startups with the highest growth potential in the industry.

Luana is a keynote speaker, board member, and lecturer specializing in Legal Tech, AI, and Global Digital Governance. She advises businesses, governments, and
international institutions on designing AI governance strategies that move beyond regulatory compliance to foster ethical leadership, long-term resilience, and sustainable innovation.
With a strong background in digital policy, her work sits at the intersection of law, technology,
and society. Luana has played an influential role in shaping major digital regulations, including the EU AI Act and the DSA, and is widely recognized for advancing tech
accountability and responsible AI adoption.
Luana builds bridges between policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society to break down silos and ensure that AI serves people, not the other way around.
In recognition of her impact, she was named Best Legal Strategist in Responsible AI &
Regulatory Compliance by the Global Legal Association (2025) and Best Responsible AI Leader by the RAI (2024).

Xavier Papiol is one of Spain's most prominent voices at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, marketing, and retail. With over two decades of experience driving digital transformation, he currently serves as Chief Marketing & Digital Officer and Board Member at Conforama Iberia, where he leads Marketing, E-commerce, Marketplace, CRM, and AI strategy across Spain and Portugal.

Recognised as a LinkedIn AI Top Voice 2026, Xavier brings a rare combination of C-suite execution and hands-on AI expertise. Under his leadership, Conforama's e-commerce grew from €1M to over €50M, and the team achieved consecutive record-breaking results — including doubling online sales year-over-year.

Beyond the corporate world, Xavier is the Founder & CEO of AI4ADS, Spain's first AI Automation Agency, helping businesses optimise workflows, automate processes, and scale through intelligent systems. He is also a professor of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Advertising at BIGSEO's prestigious SEM Master programme.

A sought-after speaker on AI, agentic commerce, and the future of retail, Xavier has addressed audiences of 300+ professionals at events such as AI PromptDay Barcelona. His talks bridge cutting-edge research with practical, immediately actionable strategies for marketers, executives, and entrepreneurs.

Benjamin Samuels is the General Manager for EMEA at Invisible Technologies, the AI infrastructure company backed by $100 million in funding that helps enterprises deploy and operationalize AI at scale. Previously, Benjamin served as Chief Revenue Officer at WeWork, where he led global sales across 37 countries and played a central role in the company's NYSE listing and subsequent $16 billion restructuring. Before WeWork, he spent 15 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as Managing Director, heading Emerging Markets and Pan-European Sales. Benjamin holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and is a Limited Partner at GTMfund and Textbook Ventures.

Jeff is the co-founder of Sense & Respond Learning and 5x author including Lean UX, Sense & Respond and Who Does What By How Much. He helps teams build customer-centric AI teams and strategies making sure that whatever is produced delivers value to the customer and to the business. He has spoken to and trained teams on 5 continents and in nearly every industry.

He is a sought-after keynote speaker as well as a leading voice on AI product management, customer-centric product development and customer/product discovery. He helps organizations build the teams that can make objective, evidence-based decisions through hands-on workshops, trainings, speeches and coaching.

Piotr Godzinski is Director of Partnerships EMEA at Techstars, where he empowers startup ecosystems across Europe and the Middle East by connecting founders with accelerator programs, government partnerships, and strategic resources. A serial entrepreneur with 15+ years of building ventures, Piotr co-founded and exited Porowneo.pl, a Polish insurance aggregator that operated for over a decade, and co-founded Lizza, a Y Combinator-backed (W22) social eCommerce platform enabling anyone in Latin America to start a business with zero upfront investment. He also co-founded Finnu, which provided virtual asset-backed lending in Mexico. As a Techstars mentor and former Y Combinator alum, Piotr bridges founders, investors, and local ecosystem enablers with empathy and strategy. He holds a Master's degree in Entrepreneurship from Université Paris Dauphine-PSL and is multilingual in English, French, Polish, and Spanish. A sought-after voice on startup ecosystems, Piotr speaks at major events including Sarajevo Slush'D and serves as a judge for EU-Startups Pitch Competition.

Gerald Mullally is CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), Europe's leading quantum computing company, driving scalable quantum hardware for real-world AI, finance, and defense applications. Appointed permanent CEO in July 2025 after 14 months interim, Gerald spearheaded the launch of the world's first Quantum-AI Data Centre with NVIDIA and Digital Realty—systems deployed in London, Tokyo, New York, and Spain, featuring OQC's fastest-benchmarked architecture for low-latency compute. Under his leadership, OQC secured Series B funding from Chevron and Sumitomo Mitsui, expanded to the US (NYC's first quantum computer for Wall Street), and built the UK's first quantum error correction testbed. Ex-Director at UK Prime Minister’s Office & Cabinet Office (nearly a decade), Gerald scaled global gov-to-gov digital/data ops across 50+ countries in EMEA/APAC/Americas. With 15+ years at Accenture/PwC, he delivered strategy/tech for life sciences, finance, logistics, energy, and defense. MSc Economics/Public Policy (LSE), Gerald keynotes on quantum-AI synergy (e.g., J.P. Morgan Tech Stars: 15% fraud reduction case; NVIDIA spotlight: "OQC = next NVIDIA")—predicting 2028 milestone for million-operation error-free runs and energy-efficient supercomputing (35kW vs. 10-14MW). Vision: Quantum powers AI via synthetic data/ML acceleration.

Daniel Traça is Director General of Esade, one of Europe's most prestigious business schools, based in Barcelona. He holds a PhD in Economics from Columbia University and previously served as Dean of Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon, where he oversaw its rise in global rankings and the construction of a landmark new campus. A Visiting Professor at INSEAD and former consultant to the World Bank and the European Commission, Daniel is a leading voice on globalization, leadership, and the role of business education in preparing the next generation of leaders for an AI-driven world.

Hovig Etyemezian is the Head of Innovation at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, where he leads the organization's work on AI, digital inclusion, data innovation, and refugee-led solutions for over 112 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. Under his leadership, UNHCR's Innovation Service runs four global funds supporting projects from AI-powered early warning systems for displacement to digital livelihoods for refugee communities. Hovig has served in complex humanitarian emergencies across Lebanon, DR Congo, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Mauritania, and Tunisia. Prior to his humanitarian career, he worked in human rights, peacebuilding, and journalism. He studied at the University for Peace, a UN-mandated institution.

Anita Perera is an AI strategist specializing in knowledge management and real-world AI adoption. She focuses on turning AI from hype into practical value, by rethinking how organizations capture, share, and use knowledge. Known for connecting people and ideas across the European ecosystem, she brings an international, cross-sector perspective to real-world AI transformation.

Jon Howard is the Head of Generative AI at the BBC, where he leads the organization's transition from AI experimentation to a full generative AI function across products and content. With over 15 years at the BBC and a decade specializing in AI, conversational agents, and intelligent systems, Jon has delivered multiple award-winning innovations across brands including Doctor Who, CBeebies, Bitesize, and Radio 1. He co-authored the BBC's Machine Learning Engine Principles and currently leads work on AI-personalized audio experiences and industry-wide content attribution standards alongside the Financial Times, The Guardian, and Sky News.

Dr. Raul Villamarin Rodriguez is Vice President at Woxsen University in India and a globally recognized Cognitive Technologist who bridges cognitive science with artificial intelligence to design transformative human-centric systems. His pioneering research has yielded multiple patented innovations including the Unified Healthcare Intelligence System (UHIS) deployed across 47 healthcare institutions, the Intelligent Air Traffic Management System (IAMS) enabling 31% higher airspace capacity, and the Neural Personalized Academic Classification Engine (N-PACE) serving 1.2 million students across 340+ institutions. A registered expert at the European Commission and UNESCO, Dr. Rodriguez serves on the Editorial Board of World Summit AI and advises startups including PetThinQ Inc and SpaceBasic Inc. He has authored over 20 books, published 70+ peer-reviewed articles, and is a sought-after keynote speaker at conferences including Web Summit, LEAP, and AI Summit. His expertise spans quantum AI, multi-agent systems, computer vision, and behavioral engineering.

Mahe Bayireddi is the CEO and co-founder of Phenom, the leader in applied AI built to redesign work operations for hiring faster, developing better and retaining longer. Driven by a purpose to help a billion people find the right work, Mahe built WorkOps, an operating model that gives enterprises the precision to deploy autonomous agents at scale with the context that each role, industry, geography, and moment demands.

Under his leadership, Phenom has become one of Inc. 5000's fastest-growing private companies for six consecutive years, serving 700+ organizations with AI solutions that dramatically accelerate HR operations and condense processes that traditionally took weeks into minutes. Mahe advises some of the world's largest, most complex global brands on HR strategies, technology implementation, and advanced applications of AI across all talent personas.

Pedro Cuenca is a Machine Learning Engineer at Hugging Face, where he drives open-source innovation in multimodal AI, vision-language models, and developer tooling. He is a core contributor to the Hugging Face ecosystem with over 1,700 GitHub contributions across transformers, blog posts, Hugging Face.js, and diffusion workflows, and leads projects like FineVision – the largest open vision-language dataset with 17.3 million images. Pedro co-founded LateNiteSoft, creator of Camera+, a top photography app on iOS. Based in Spain, he holds certifications in Natural Language Understanding from Stanford and Machine Learning from the University of Washington. An influential voice in the AI community, Pedro shares cutting-edge insights on LLMs, reasoning models, and multimodal systems with 6,500+ followers on X and frequently speaks at events including Freepik's AI innovation series.

Hi,
I'm Enrique Calvo, Technology PM at GSMA.

On my day to day I generate new ideas that fit the business and transform them into real projects.

Yes, I'm a builder, but it's not what you think.
I build projects. I laverage AI to test new ideas and create new companies when they fit in the market and they are align with my values.

If you want to know how to use AI for your next idea or how to shape a whole new category, I’ll share some of the lessons I’ve gathered along the way very soon.

Dr. Kevin Kahn is a physicist and tech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Albatross AI, a Switzerland-based company pioneering perception models, a new class of AI that learns from live user behavior and infers intent in real time. Today, Albatross is processing tens of billions requests per year, and orchestrating 150+ million products.

Prior to Albatross, Kevin led machine learning platforms at Amazon and business development at a semiconductor startup acquired by Asahi Kasei. Kevin holds a PhD in applied physics from Imperial College London and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Darrell Etherington is Head of Network Development at OMERS Ventures, where he builds strategic relationships across the venture ecosystem, and founder of The Angle, an independent newsletter exploring technology, startups, and the innovation economy. Previously, Darrell spent over a decade at TechCrunch, rising from Writer (2012) to Managing Editor (2022–2024), covering space, science, health tech, automotive, mobility, and AI—earning a reputation for insightful analysis of technological shifts and startup strategy. His TechCrunch tenure was punctuated by two industry stints: as PR Manager at Apple (2015–2016), leading product communications for Canada, and as Head of Communications at Shopify (2018–2019), directing global strategic communications campaigns. Darrell's journalism career began at GigaOM (TheAppleBlog Editor) and BetaKit (founding Senior Writer), establishing him as a trusted voice on consumer tech, enterprise AI, and developer tools. A graduate of the University of Windsor (English & Creative Writing), Darrell applies a storyteller's lens to technology, speaking internationally on AI implementation, communications strategy, and venture ecosystems—including at ITU's AI for Good Summit. Now based in Toronto, he offers advisory and consulting services to startups, venture funds, and tech companies on AI tooling, narrative development, media training, product/UX, and fundraising. Darrell also hosts Original Content, a podcast dissecting media, tech, and culture.

Justin has helped more than 30 enterprise-scale companies unlock tens of millions in value through AI, innovation, and operational strategy. Along the way, he built three businesses (including one successful exit), co-patented several industrial machine learning applications, and led AI projects across sectors from energy to industrials.
Early in his career, he worked in Silicon Valley. First at a large network computing company, then at one of the earliest startups commercializing AI. Today, he is the founder of Humyn.ai, the bounty marketplace for AI projects, and The Longview Institute for AI Leadership. Justin also serves as Head of Research at the Australian Institute for Transformation & AI (AITAI).

Quentin Cozette is Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance at Cecurity, one of France’s trusted players in digital trust and data protection. His work bridges low-level hardware vulnerabilities with high-level regulatory challenges, drawing on hands-on experience in information systems security, risk management, and emerging AI regulation, including the EU AI Act. He offers a rare perspective that unites technical depth with governance insight, shedding light on the often overlooked material foundations of AI and the systemic risks hidden in hardware and firmware. His contributions to France’s national cybersecurity ecosystem, notably through ANSSI’s Mon Aide Cyber programme, place him at the crossroads of policy, infrastructure, and human-centric design, advocating for governance models that reflect the realities of contemporary technological ecosystems.

Zakaria Mansour is the CEO and co-founder of bsport, the leading all-in-one SaaS platform for boutique fitness and wellness studios, which has grown to serve clients across 20+ countries after closing a €30M Series B round backed by Octopus Ventures. A graduate of ESCP Europe and Jussieu (Fundamental Mathematics), Zakaria built bsport from the ground up in Barcelona, combining his passion for applied mathematics, technology, and the wellness industry to transform how thousands of studios manage, market, and grow their businesses. An active business angel and panelist at the EU-Startups Summit, he is a rising voice on AI-powered vertical SaaS, B2B growth, and building global startups from Southern Europe.

Leslie Ann Keeler is a leadership advisor and keynote speaker working at the intersection of leadership, human behavior, and emerging technology.

Her work bridges leadership psychology, nervous system science, and ancient wisdom, exploring what happens to people under pressure and how leaders think, communicate, and make decisions during periods of rapid change and uncertainty.

Drawing from more than 15 years across corporate, entrepreneurial, and high-growth environments, Leslie advises founders, executives, and organizations navigating modern leadership challenges.

Alongside her advisory and speaking work, she supports founders within the LvlUp Ventures ecosystem building in health, wellbeing, and human-centered AI.

Her work has been featured through TEDx, Web Summit, SXSW London, LinkedIn News, Entrepreneur, and NBC.