Speakers
Václav Adamec
Founder and CEO, Gauss Algorithmic, Czech Republic
Dr. Eitan Adres
Senior Research Fellow at the Samuel Neaman Institute, Technion, Israel
Dr. Eitan Adres is a thought leader at the intersection of research, entrepreneurship, and strategic planning. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Samuel Neaman Institute, Dr. Adres combines his academic expertise with real-world experience as an entrepreneur in high-tech start-ups. His professional journey also includes serving as a member of the Israel Press Council, contributing to his broad perspective on globalization, economy, and societal trends.
Christian Engkrog Andersen
Investor and The Footprint Firm, Denmark
Christian is a partner in The Footprint Firm. He is an experienced strategy consultant, who joined The Footprint Firm in 2020 after a career in management consulting at QVARTZ/Bain & Company, working primarily with strategy and business transformation projects. Christian has solid experience from working with renewables industry and institutional investors, including private equity and infrastructure funds and family offices both on fund and portfolio level. Christian’s industry experience also covers engagements in telecommunications, medical technology and for public institutions among others. Besides this Christian has experience within economic consulting, especially socio-economic impact analyses within infrastructure, environment and tourism for public institutions and utilities. Moreover, Christian worked for top-tier boutique strategy consulting firm, Port Jackson Partners, in Sydney, Australia.
Lukáš Benzl
Director of the Czech Association of Artificial Intelligence
Lukáš Benzl is the Director of the Czech Artificial Intelligence Association and an expert in AI and its impact on businesses and individuals. With over 18 years of experience in technology companies and startups, he has worked in product and project management. In recent years, he has focused on artificial intelligence and its implications. In 2023, he founded the Czech Artificial Intelligence Association to support the development and education of AI in the Czech Republic. He is also a speaker on AI-related topics, including its role in finance.
Jan Bezdíček
Rockwell Automation; Director, System Architecture, Czech Republic, USA
Rickard Damm
Vice President Consumer AI Deutche Telecom, Germany
Rickard Damm is the Vice President of Consumer AI at Deutsche Telekom, leading initiatives to integrate AI capabilities for millions of customers. With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, he has held positions at Ericsson, Telia Company, and Deutsche Telekom, focusing on digital product innovation. His expertise spans areas such as streaming media, digital advertising, home experiences, consumer AI, and payment systems. Rickard is passionate about enhancing customer experiences and developing unique solutions for unmet needs and underserved markets. Originally from Sweden, he currently resides in Germany.
Emilia David
Senior AI Reporter, VentureBeat, USA
David is a Senior AI Reporter at VentureBeat, specializing in AI policy, responsible and ethical AI, and productivity platforms. Her journalism career spans various technology and business topics, including financial technology, capital markets, and consumer technology. David’s work has appeared in prominent publications such as The Verge, Insider, and CNBC.com. Her recent reporting covers significant developments in AI, including AWS’s innovations in prompt caching and hallucination detection, advancements in AI agent orchestration, and the evolving landscape of enterprise AI applications. David’s expertise bridges the gap between complex technological advancements and their practical implications for businesses and society.
Professor Ömer Sahin Ganiyusufoglu
QIAP Industrial Development Consultant at Qingdao International Academician Park (China)
Prof. h.c. Dr.-Ing. Ömer Şahin Ganiyusufoglu is an industrial development consultant at the Qingdao International Academician Park (QIAP), specializing in mechanical engineering and production technology. He is a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) and the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). His research interests include machine tools, industrial robotics, production systems, and strategic product planning and innovation. Prof. Ganiyusufoglu has also served as an honorary professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and as an advisory professor at Tongji University. He advocates for global research collaboration, emphasizing the importance of joint efforts in addressing global challenges.
Professor Michael Haenlein
ESCP Business School, France
Prof Haenlein is a Professor of Marketing at ESCP Business School, focusing on the impact of new technologies on firms and consumers. His research covers areas such as video gaming, artificial intelligence, social media, and influencer marketing. Haenlein’s work has been widely recognized, earning him the 2021 Jan-Benedict Steenkamp Award for long-term impact. He holds significant positions in major marketing associations, including the American Marketing Association and the European Marketing Academy. As one of the top 30 most cited marketing academics worldwide, Haenlein’s expertise bridges academic research with practical applications in the rapidly evolving field of marketing technology.
Professor Jan Hajič
Computational linguist & AI expert, Czech Republic
Jan Hajič is a professor of computational linguistics at Charles University in Prague, specializing in natural language processing (NLP) and machine translation. He has contributed significantly to linguistic annotation, speech processing, and AI-driven language technologies. His research has shaped key advancements in multilingual NLP and deep learning applications for language understanding.
Michal Hatina
Managing Director of LHH, Czech Republic
Michal Hatina is the Managing Director of LHH, part of The Adecco Group, a global HR leader headquartered in Zurich. With over 21 years at LHH, he helps organizations and individuals navigate workforce transformation, career transitions, and leadership development. A father of four, with children studying Data Science (Edinburgh) and Neuroscience (Oxford), he balances professional impact with personal commitment. Beyond corporate leadership, he is an early-stage investor in market expansion and business scaling. His expertise lies in aligning talent strategies with business needs, ensuring organizations remain agile and people future-ready in an evolving world of work.
Martin Hrdlička
Škoda Auto, Czech Republic
Milena Jabůrková
IBM, Government programs and vicepresident, Czech Confederation of Industry and Vice president Confederation of CZ Industry for Digital Economy, Czech Republic
Milena Jabůrková is an expert in digital economy and education, serving as the Director of Government Programs and a member of the leadership team at IBM Central Region for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. She studied social policy at Charles University and completed postgraduate studies in international politics and economics at Victoria University Manchester. She began her career in social services and later headed the Department of Social Services at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Before joining IBM, she represented Czech municipalities in negotiations with the government and the EU at the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic. Since 2017, she has been the Vice President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, focusing on digital economy and education.
Věra Jourová
Former EU Commissioner, who was responsible for the EU AI Act, Czech Republic
Věra Jourová is a Czech politician and lawyer who served as Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency (2019–2024). Previously, she was the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality (2014–2019) and briefly served as Minister for Regional Development of the Czech Republic in 2014. She holds a law degree from Charles University in Prague and a master’s degree in cultural theory. In 2019, Time magazine included her in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world for her role in the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Lukáš Kačena
prg.ai, Czech Republic
Professor Andreas Kaplan
Kühne Logistics University, Germany
Prof Kaplan is the President and Managing Director of Kühne Logistics University and Professor of Digital Transformation. His research focuses on society’s digitalization, particularly in areas of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and social networks. Kaplan’s seminal work defining “social media” has been consistently among the most downloaded publications in Elsevier’s Science Direct database. His extensive leadership experience in academia, including his former role as Rector and Provost of ESCP Business School, has provided him with deep insights into various European higher education systems, making him a sought-after advisor for institutions and edtech startups.
Martin Kobza
Česká Spořtelna, Board member, Czech Republic
Professor Vladik Kreinovich
Mathematician & computer scientist
Vladik Kreinovich is a professor of computer science at the University of Texas at El Paso, specializing in applied mathematics, interval computations, and uncertainty quantification. His research focuses on reliability analysis, fuzzy logic, and AI-driven decision-making, contributing to fields like engineering, geophysics, and economics.
Professor Peretz Lavie
Professor, 16th President of the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
Professor Peretz Lavie is a pioneering sleep researcher and former 15th president of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (2009–2019). He played a key role in expanding Technion globally, establishing the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute in New York and the Guangdong-Technion Israel Institute of Technology in China. Lavie founded Israel’s first sleep research laboratory, linking breathing disorders during sleep to hypertension and heart disease, and contributed to sleep medicine advancements, including the Watch-PAT diagnostic device. He has held leadership roles at Technion, including dean of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, and currently serves as professor emeritus and consultant to universities worldwide.
Professor Jay Lee
Clark Distinguished Professor, Director of Industrial AI Center, University of Maryland College Park, USA
Founding director of the Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS) as well as a founding director of Industrial AI Center. He was on leave to serve as vice chairman and board member of Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) during 2019-2021. Currently, he serves as member of the Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Production of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Board of Governors of the Manufacturing for the National Association of Manufacturing (NAM) Executive Leadership Board.
Professor Ilya Levin
Holon Institute of Technology, Israel
Ilya Levin is the Head of the School of Computer Science at Holon Institute of Technology, Israel, and Professor Emeritus at Tel Aviv University. His research interests encompass Computer Design, the Philosophy of Digital Technology, and Artificial Intelligence in Education. Founding Dean of the Computer Systems Department at the Holon Institute of Technology, Israel. His recent research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Computer Design, Cultural Studies of Information Society, Science, and Technology Education.
Edgar Martinez-Granada
Valeo, R&D manager for ADAS, Spain, Czech Republic
Professor Vladimír Mařík
CIIRC CTU, Czech Republic
Professor Vladimír Mařík is a pioneer in artificial intelligence and its industrial applications. As the founding director of the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics at CTU in Prague in 2012, he has played a key role in establishing this cutting-edge institution as a hub for innovation and collaboration between academia and industry. Since 2018, he has served as CIIRC’s Scientific Director, driving advancements in automation, decision-support systems, and AI solutions tailored to industrial challenges. With a career spanning partnership with global leaders like Airbus Industries and Rockwell Automation, Professor Mařík has been instrumental in developing industrial AI systems for production planning, diagnostics, and expert systems. In 1996 professor Mařík became one of the founders of CertiCon a.s., of which he has been the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Director since 2010. He is the author of over 170 scientific publications, co-editor of 15 books, and holder of 5 U.S. patents. His contributions have earned him numerous prestigious awards, including the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art and the Česká Hlava Innovation Prize.
Professor Vladimír Mařík is a pioneer in artificial intelligence and its industrial applications. As the founding director of the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics at CTU in Prague in 2012, he has played a key role in establishing this cutting-edge institution as a hub for innovation and collaboration between academia and industry. Since 2018, he has served as CIIRC’s Scientific Director, driving advancements in automation, decision-support systems, and AI solutions tailored to industrial challenges. With a career spanning partnership with global leaders like Airbus Industries and Rockwell Automation, Professor Mařík has been instrumental in developing industrial AI systems for production planning, diagnostics, and expert systems. In 1996 professor Mařík became one of the founders of CertiCon a.s., of which he has been the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Director since 2010. He is the author of over 170 scientific publications, co-editor of 15 books, and holder of 5 U.S. patents. His contributions have earned him numerous prestigious awards, including the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art and the Česká Hlava Innovation Prize.
Professor Duncan McFarlane
Cambridge University, Institute for Manufacturing, Great Britain
Prof McFarlane is the lead on the Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring programme which is investigating how low-cost, readily available digital technologies can be implemented to support growth and productivity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project addressed the common concern that many digital manufacturing solutions are designed for large companies and is now being applied in different regions in the UK and internationally.
Professor Sabina-Cristiana Necula
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania
Professor Necula is a Senior Researcher (CSIII) at the Research Department of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi. Her research focuses on semantic web technologies, decision support systems, and the application of artificial intelligence in business and accounting. Necula has published extensively in international journals and conferences, with over 50 citations on Google Scholar. Her work on implementing semantic search functionalities in decision-support systems has been recognized in the International Journal of Computers, Communications & Control. Dr. Necula has directed several research projects funded by CNCSIS and has conducted research stays at institutions across Europe, including Albert-Ludwigs Freiburg University and the Knowledge Media Institute at The Open University.
Eduard Palíšek
CEO, Siemens Czech Republic
Professor Vasile-Daniel Păvăloaia
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Romania
PhD Advisor in Business Information Systems and Artificial Intelligence for Business at the Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration. His research focuses on artificial intelligence applications in business, opinion mining on social media, and the impact of enterprise systems on industry transformation. Păvăloaia has published extensively in high-impact journals such as Sustainability, Electronics, and Frontiers in Psychology. He serves as Topic Editor for Electronics Journal and is a member of the Editorial board of Decision Making: Applications in Management and Engineering Journal.
Jiří Rusnok
Former governor of the Czech Central Bank
Jiří Rusnok is a Czech economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2014. He was also the Governor of the Czech National Bank (CNB) from 2016 to 2022. Earlier in his career, he held ministerial positions as the Minister of Finance (2001–2002) and Minister of Industry and Trade (2002–2003). A graduate of the University of Economics in Prague, he has been active in public administration, economic policy, and banking regulation. Throughout his career, Rusnok has played a key role in shaping the Czech Republic’s financial and economic policies.
Professor Alexandr Sidorkin
California State University Sacramento, USA
Chief AI Officer. AI applications in management and education. Founded research center for the study of innovation in education. International experience. Track record in strategic planning, shared governance, and accreditation Prolific scholar with 10 books and over 100 papers and chapters.
Professor Ing. Peter Sinčák
The Footprint Firm: co-founder, Slovakia
Prof. Peter Sinčák is an expert in artificial intelligence and a professor at the Technical University of Košice (TUKE), Slovakia. He holds an M.Sc. in Biocybernetics from TUKE and a Ph.D. in Cybernetics from the Czech Academy of Sciences. As a co-founder of the Center for Intelligent Technologies, he has contributed significantly to AI research, focusing on cloud-based AI, human-robot interaction, and AI applications in industry. He has led multiple international collaborations and EU-funded projects and is recognized as a senior member of IEEE. Throughout his career, he has delivered numerous invited lectures and played a key role in advancing AI education and research.
Professor Miroslav Svítek
Czech Technical University Prague, Czech Republic
Prof. Miroslav Svítek graduated in radioelectronic from Czech Technical University in Prague, in 1992. In 1996, he received the Ph.D. degree in radioelectronic at Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague. Since 2008, he has been Full professor in engineering informatics at Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Czech Technical University in Prague. In 2010 – 2018 he was Dean of Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Czech Technical University in Prague. Since 2018, he has been Visiting professor in smart cities at University of Texas at El Paso, USA. The focus of his research includes complex system sciences and their practical applications to Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Smart Cities and Smart Regions. Recently, prof. Svítek deals with new approaches to resiliency and sustainability taking into account environmental and social indicators. The concept “resiliency by design” can use the outputs of mathematical models and answer the question how to increase the urban resiliency and provide tailored-made emergency services in critical situations.
Jan Šedivý
CIIRC, ČVUT, Czech Republic
Josef Šivic
CIIRC ČVUT & INRIA – Willow Project; Board Member, ELLIS society, Czech Republic
Josef Šivic is a researcher at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics (CIIRC) at CTU in Prague, leading the Intelligent Machine Perception group and the ELLIS Unit Prague. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Oxford and conducted research at MIT and Inria Paris. His work focuses on computer vision, machine learning, and robotics. He has received multiple awards, including an ERC Advanced Grant in 2023 for his project FRONTIER, which aims to develop neural models for understanding dynamic 3D environments.
Michal Šmíd
Amazon, CEO Czech Republic, Czech Republic
Professor Christian Terwiesch
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Prof Terwiesch is the chair of Wharton’s Operations, Information, and Decisions department and co-director of Penn’s Mack Institute for Innovation Management. His research focuses on healthcare operations, innovation management, and new service delivery models. Terwiesch’s work, published in leading academic journals from Management Science to The New England Journal of Medicine, bridges business and healthcare disciplines. He is an award-winning educator with extensive experience in MBA teaching and executive education, contributing significantly to the fields of Operations Management and Innovation Management.
Professor A Min Tjoa
Vienna University of Technology, Austria
His main research interests lie in data warehousing, business intelligence, big data and text mining, semantic web, cyber-security, linked open data and environmental informatics, ICT and sustainability. Since 2008, he has been the Austrian delegate for the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) and served as an UN-CSTD chairperson (2018-2019) and as vice-chairperson (2015-2021). A Min Tjoa is active in the promotion of Digital Humanism (https://caiml.org.dighum) by fostering ethical interdisciplinary research and dialogue leading to the responsible development of AI technologies.
Professor David Tuček
University of Zlín (TBU), Czech Republic
He is a graduate of engineering studies in Technology and Management at the Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Technology in Zlín and a doctoral programme at the Faculty of Business at the same university in Brno. He graduated in 2007 at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín in Economics and Business Management. He is a professor of Economics and Management and the guarantor of a Master’s and Doctoral degree programme in Industrial Engineering. In addition to this area, his scientific research focuses on Business Process Management, economic evaluation of digital transformation processes and the impact of AI. He has led scientific projects and many projects for industrial practice, including co-authoring a utility model and a patent registered at the Industrial Property Office in the field of ergonomics.
Professor Valery Yakubovich
University of Pennsylvania, Mack Institute for Innovation Management, USA
Yakubovich serves as the Executive Director of the Mack Institute for Innovation Management, overseeing its programs and operations. His work focuses on enhancing synergy between research, teaching, and practice of innovation management, while fostering dialogue between corporations and academics. Yakubovich’s diverse academic background includes founding Penn’s Computational Social Science Lab and holding faculty positions at the Wharton School and ESSEC Business School. His research on organizational innovations and social networks, published in top journals and featured in major media outlets, bridges academic insights with practical applications in the field of innovation management.
Zdeněk Zajíček
President, Chamber of Commerce. Public administration, focused on digitalization
Zdeněk Zajíček is a legal expert and a key figure in the digitalization of public services in the Czech Republic. Born on May 10, 1967, in Prague, he graduated from the Faculty of Law in Prague. Over his 30-year career, he has contributed to numerous successful projects, including CzechPOINT, Data Mailboxes, Basic Registers, the State Treasury, Bank Identity, Digitalization of Construction Permits, and Digital Technical Maps, as well as the Law on the Right to Digital Services. He has served as Deputy Minister at the Ministries of Finance, Justice, and the Interior. Currently, he advises Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the Minister of Transport on digital transformation. He is also Vice President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, President of the ICT Union, and Deputy Chairman of the Government Council for the Information Society. In addition, he is a Prague City Councilor and the leader of the ODS councilors’ club, and in April 2022, he was elected Vice Chairman of the ODS party.
Jan Záruba
Founder and CEO, BitDCA, Czech Republic
