The 2026 speakers

Andreas Horn is VP AI & Growth at BLP Digital, an ETH Zurich spin-off building agentic AI automation for enterprises.

Before joining BLP Digital, he spent more than a decade at IBM, most recently as Head of AIOps for EMEA. He writes the Human in the Loop newsletter and is a highly visible voice in the AI space on LinkedIn, ranked among the top 1% globally in AI by Favikon. He is also the author of several books on AI, an university lecturer, and an international speaker focused on enterprise AI, agentic systems, and the practical adoption of emerging technologies.

I am Aurora Kapo, currently an AI Strategy Manager at HSBC UK, Co-President of Oxford AI Network and Transition Advisory Board member. I love driving innovative AI solutions and data-driven strategies. I hold an MSc in Statistical Science from the University of Oxford, with a strong background in econometrics, data science, and statistical analysis.

Passionate about AI and Innovation, I enjoy sharing insights on AI strategy, data-driven decision-making, and how businesses can navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

My journey — from Oxford, and now to a strategic leadership role in global finance, shows me every day that with dedication and resilience, anything is possible. I strive to embody the spirit of the modern, globally minded professional woman, and learn from other inspiring women around me.

With a commitment to harnessing the transformative power of AI for positive impact, I aim to be an inspiring voice for the future. I want to empower women locally and connect them globally and champion their role in shaping the future of technology.

Fernando Angulo is Senior Market Research Manager at Semrush, an Adobe company. He researches AI-search visibility, GEO, AEO, agentic search, and how generative engines mention and cite brands. He takes part in 50+ speaking engagements per year across 35+ countries and delivers sessions in English, Spanish, and Russian, with media features in CNBC and El Financiero · Bloomberg México. My research focuses on four pillars: Search-to-AI Migration, Zero-Click Economy, Global AI Adoption Patterns, and Predictive Commerce.

Hi! I have 10+ years of experience in the startup and scale-up world, focused on GTM. For the past 5 years, I’ve been at Notion, where I’ve built and scaled regional community and partnerships programs, hiring and leading high-performing teams along the way.

Oliver Patel is Head of Enterprise AI Governance at AstraZeneca and a recognized voice in responsible AI, bringing together expertise in AI governance, data privacy, and digital technology policy. He has led global enterprise governance efforts, translated complex regulatory topics for thousands of professionals, and built a strong reputation as an educator and public speaker.

With experience spanning academia, public policy, digital diplomacy, and enterprise AI, he sits at the intersection of strategy, compliance, and practical implementation. His work is especially relevant for organizations that want to adopt AI responsibly while staying ahead of regulation and building trust at scale.

On stage, Oliver would be a compelling keynote speaker for audiences looking for a clear, authoritative perspective on AI governance, AI literacy, and the EU AI Act. His ability to bridge technical and non-technical worlds makes him a strong fit for executive audiences and policy-minded conversations.

Wolf Boone is a Solution Specialist for Data & AI at Microsoft, based in Belgium, where he helps research-intensive organizations accelerate scientific discovery with AI. His work centres on Microsoft Discovery — Microsoft's generative-AI platform for science and engineering — bringing AI into the R&D workflow across sectors such as chemicals, advanced materials and life sciences. He also drives the Microsoft Belux Research Community, connecting academia, national research centres and private R&D labs.

Artavazd Mehrabyan is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Picsart, a globally recognized unicorn shaping the future of creativity. A technologist with more than 25 years of experience, Artavazd has a track record of building transformative platforms at the intersection of product, engineering, and AI. Since launching Picsart in 2011, he has spearheaded its evolution into a global creative ecosystem, leading international teams, driving AI innovation, and building a modular product platform. Beyond Picsart, he is an angel investor and mentor dedicated to fostering the next wave of technology startups.

Myriam Ben Farhat is VP of People Experience & Inclusion at Chess.com, one of the world's largest digital platforms with 250 million users, where she shapes leadership, culture, and human performance across a fully remote organization of 670 people spanning four continents. Previously Chief People Officer at Play Magnus Group, she built the People function from scratch through rapid international growth and the company's acquisition by Chess.com. An ICF-certified Executive Coach (PCC) and international keynote speaker, Myriam is a leading voice on human-centered leadership, emotional intelligence, and the future of work at the intersection of AI and organizational culture.

Marcos Valera is a Go-to-Market Manager at ElevenLabs, the AI voice and audio platform valued at $11 billion and backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and ICONIQ Growth. An entrepreneur since the age of 16, Marcos previously worked at Glovo and ran his own marketing agency before joining ElevenLabs, where he has led over 100 video and content projects. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a regular speaker and podcast guest on AI go-to-market strategy and the future of voice technology.

UX Director · 20+ yrs in enterprise, finance & gov · Design systems × AI · Speaker · Making coherent products in a world that moves too fast · Barcelona

As Head of Digitalization & IT for the Decarbonization segment, I drive AI-powered transformation and the shift toward agentic organizations. With more than 15 years in executive leadership, I have led global digital initiatives recognized with the Red Dot Design Award 2022 for the world’s best digital product, advancing sustainability and enterprise growth.

A four-time founder and then senior executive for growth-stage companies, Scott has built and led twelve international teams at C-level across product, growth, and marketing and helped deliver exits of $25M, $85M, and $700M, in these roles.

In EdTech, FinTech, and Gaming, Scott has held roles including CEO (ten years), CPO (five years), and CGO/CMO (twelve years),. An active mentor for Microsoft Ventures, Zeroth AI, the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, and many Techstars cohorts (Seattle, NYC, Paris, London, and Berlin), he lives the “give first” philosophy and helped many companies find PMF and/or their unique growth levers. Companies he has mentored have seen four exits, so far.

A US native, he has lived in Europe since 2013. Currently, the VP of Marketing for Holded, he leads the growth of this iconic Barcelona Brand.

Dr Laura Gilbert is the Senior Director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute, running the TBI AI Innovation Lab. From Sept 2020 to Jan 2025 Laura worked in 10 Downing Street as the founding director of both 10DS, the data science and analytics team, and the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI). Laura holds a doctorate in Particle Physics from the University of Oxford, undergraduate degrees from the University of Cambridge, and is a Visiting Professor at LSE.

Sam Jacobs is the Founder & CEO of Pavilion, the leading global community for over 10,000 high-performance go-to-market executives, including CROs, CMOs, CCOs, and Revenue Operations leaders at companies like Salesforce, HubSpot, Stripe, Snowflake, Klaviyo, and Square.

Through Pavilion, Sam helps build elite modern GTM operators by combining tactical peer support, executive education, financial fluency, and AI-powered go-to-market strategy. His work focuses on how leaders can operationalize AI, improve decision-making, and scale efficient growth in an increasingly complex B2B landscape.

Sam also co-hosts the Topline Podcast with AJ Bruno and Asad Zaman, where he explores the future of GTM, leadership, and company building. He is the bestselling author of Kind Folks Finish First, a book on building enduring companies through principled leadership and kindness.

Nicky Verd is a digital futurist, international keynote speaker, bestselling author and a leading voice on human centric AI, digital transformation, adaptability and the future of humanity. She helps organisations, leaders and governments navigate disruption by putting people at the centre of technological change. Through her keynotes, masterclasses, executive sessions and consulting work, Nicky challenges conventional thinking about competence, value creation and relevance in an AI-driven economy. Recognised by Thinkers360 as a Top 50 Global Thought Leader on Digital Disruption and the Future of Work, she is passionate about unlocking human potential and helping people thrive in an age of exponential change.

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.

Constance Nevoret is Co-CEO of Mantu, where she helps lead a global company of 12,000 people across more than 60 countries. She has built her career across the UK, Canada, and Europe, with experience spanning entrepreneurship, international expansion, and leadership in consulting and technology.

She is especially relevant to conversations about workforce transformation, leadership at scale, and the role of companies in reskilling people for an AI-driven economy. Her recent public remarks also show a strong focus on AI reskilling, responsible adoption, and the need for organizations to take the lead in preparing talent for change.

Her perspective is particularly valuable for audiences interested in how large organizations adapt to technological disruption while continuing to grow internationally.

Dr. Luc JULIA is a world-renowned AI expert. As the Chief Scientific Officer at Renault Group he drove innovation by installing the World-first LLM based Avatar in consumer cars. Best known as the co-creator of Siri, he filed the original patents in 1998 and developed the pioneering voice assistant at Apple. His distinguished career includes SVP Innovation at Samsung Electronics, Chief Technologist at HP, the creation of the Computer Human Interaction Center at SRI International and a number of start-ups in the Silicon
Valley. Author of the bestselling books "There is no such thing as Artificial Intelligence" and "The AI Illusion", JULIA is the recipient of the Legion of Honor, the highest order of France, is Officer of National Order of Merit and member of the French Academy of Technologies. He holds dozens of patents in AI, IoT and 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.

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.