Hilde Hardeman is the Director-General of the Publications Office of the EU as of 1 December 2021. Prior to that, she served as Head of the European Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments. She joined the Commission in 1994 and, since then, she • held the position of Deputy Head of Cabinet to the Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment, and Competitiveness; • headed the Commission President's briefing team; • and was in charge of the units for relations with Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. Hilde holds a Ph.D. in Slavic philology and history from the University of Leuven, which she obtained after studies at Leuven, Stanford University, and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris. She was visiting professor at the College of Europe.

We help companies create charismatic virtual assistants. I am a strong believer in the “Age of Assistants” — virtual assistants becoming an indispensable connector between brands and their customers. What could be an easier way to start interacting with a brand than to just speak your wishes and questions out loud? I have extensive experience in consultancy for companies on their way into the Age of Assistants. With my team, I help brands discover the strategic potential of starting a true conversation with their customers, work out the way to get there efficiently, and navigate the challenges along the way.

Caroline Laurenson is the Managing Director of TL Tech Smart Home Solutions based in Scotland in the UK. TL Tech specialises in supporting people to maintain their independence in their own homes and are passionate about breaking down barriers to help people access digital solutions. In 2020, TL Tech pivoted its business to focus on supporting customers remotely in new innovative ways. In November 2020, Caroline and her team launched Kindspace, a voice application for Amazon Alexa that supports wellbeing, empowers self-care and helps to alleviate loneliness. More recently, TL Tech has been working with the Health and Social Care Alliance to create a voice-accessible version of ALISS – A Local Information System for Scotland. Caroline found entrepreneurship a little by accident during her own life pivot away from a career in the energy sector and when she’s not working on growing the business, you’ll find Caroline singing, sewing and inspiring others into STEM careers.

Shahar Erez, Co-Founder & CEO, Arato.ai Shahar Erez is a visionary leader with 25 years of experience in enterprise B2B, transitioning from software engineering to leading product, go-to-market, and strategy initiatives. He played key roles in developing Mercury Interactive’s APM platform (acquired by HP) and VMware’s Cloud Application product suite, while also leading investments in DevOps companies like Puppet Labs and JFrog. Shahar co-founded TheOrg and Stoke (acquired by Fiverr) before founding Arato, where he continues to innovate in AI and technology.

Jana Richter is Executive Vice President AI & Innovation at NFON AG, where she is responsible for developing and implementing the company's AI strategy. With over 20 years of experience in the technology sector, she brings extensive expertise in artificial intelligence and enterprise software. Before joining NFON, she led international AI teams at SAP, most recently as Vice President SAP Business AI Experiences, and played a key role in shaping the development of user-centric AI applications. Thanks to her many years of leadership and product experience, Jana Richter is now driving NFON's transformation into a leading provider of AI-based business communication solutions. Jana Richter ist Executive Vice President AI & Innovation bei NFON AG und verantwortet dort die Entwicklung und Umsetzung der KI-Strategie des Unternehmens. Mit über 20 Jahren Erfahrung im Technologiesektor bringt sie umfassende Expertise im Bereich künstliche Intelligenz und Unternehmenssoftware ein. Vor ihrem Wechsel zu NFON leitete sie internationale KI-Teams bei SAP, zuletzt als Vice President SAP Business AI Experiences, und prägte die Entwicklung nutzerzentrierter KI-Anwendungen maßgeblich. Dank ihrer langjährigen Führungs- und Produkterfahrung gestaltet Jana Richter heute den Wandel von NFON zu einem führenden Anbieter für KI-basierte Businesskommunikationslösungen.

Anni is an AI nerd, productivity hacker and Developer Evangelist at Twilio. Brewing rich developer experiences, blending AI with APIs, and serving the Python community across the UK and EMEA with a perfect mix of code and community. She's always hungry for the next great idea (and meal).

After 10 years in Telco and 10 years working in travel, leaving as the Global CX Director for TUI Group, Fabian changed his career path and now works for the government. As Chief Experience Officer for the City of The Hague he and his team are focused on creating public value, by listening to and acting on the Voice Of the Citizen. With their omnichannel strategy the focus will be on further digitalisation and use of AI where possible, whilst enhancing the experience with a human touch where necessary and desirable.

Andrew Harrison’s career has focused on the development and control of complex, innovative, technology-driven systems in Financial Services, Technology, and Public Sectors. He has worked with Deloitte, HSBC, Thomson Reuters F&R GRC (bought by LSEG), and startups, working professionally across the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. He currently serves as Agentic & GenAI Governance Advisor at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. in the Netherlands, having previously been an AI Engineer and AI Analytics Lead in Strategy & Innovation. His focus has been on controlled acceleration of GenAI within the bank, through governance upgrades, designing technical working groups, serving on the GenAI use case board, providing subject matter expertise, and practically implementing the EU AI Act. Currently he is setting up the Agentic AI governance framework for the bank. He is also co-founder/CEO of medtech startup SanguisAI. Andrew has a multidisciplinary background with Bachelor degrees in Psychology, Business, and Computer Science, and Masters in Occupational Psychology, International Relations and Artificial Intelligence. He marries deep technical and analytical understanding, with expertise in operational process design, and complex systems thinking. He is deeply passionate about all aspects of AI; technical developments, governance, law, risk management, policy, existential safety, and security.

Lloyd Buxton is Sales Director for UK&I and Europe at Omilia, where he partners with large enterprises to improve customer experience through Agentic CX. With more than two decades in CX, spanning data, customer engagement platforms and contact centre technology, Lloyd focuses on practical AI adoption that delivers real operational impact, better customer outcomes and clear ROI — not just innovation for innovation’s sake

Currently finding opportunities to leverage the benefits of large language models within customer servicing and engagement at Lloyds Banking Group, and working through the challenge of balancing those opportunities with the risks inherent in generative Al.Experience with chatbots includes creating a BIMA-nominated virtual Robbie Williams chatbot - Rokhot, creating voice-powered fan experiences for Alexa with Sony Music and Warner Bros, designing conversational flows for financial services, entertainment, technology and sports brands as well as training many conversation designers.

Chris is a product leader at Lebara, where he leads AI-driven customer experience transformation. He has delivered measurable impact through conversational AI and automation initiatives, including an 18% reduction in customer service costs, a 27% increase in resolution and containment rates, and a 32-point improvement in NPS over two years. His work sits at the intersection of product, operations, and user experience, with a focus on building AI systems that deliver sustainable business value in real-world environments.

Joanna Chochół is a Conversational AI Consultant at Heineken, where she leads initiatives that bridge digital transformation with human-centric design. Based in Kraków- Poland, Joanna plays a pivotal role in the Global Process Management team, driving innovation through AI-powered solutions like the Hoppy chatbot. Her work focuses on enhancing user engagement, streamlining support processes, and embedding AI into everyday business operations. She is Certified with Conversation Design Institute for AI Trainer & Conversation Design Modules.

Pim Zandee is the GPM BI Lead at Heineken, based in Amsterdam. With deep expertise in business intelligence and data governance, Pim leads the BI & Hoppy Chatbot strategy across global operations, ensuring data-driven decision-making and scalable analytics solutions. He is a key figure in the Hoppy program, serving as Product Owner and functional lead for its development and rollout Pim collaborates closely with cross-functional teams to align architecture, stakeholder engagement, and agile delivery. His leadership has been instrumental in shaping the roadmap for AI integration, including the stakeholder dashboard and role-based access models for global solution

Emma leads the UX Service at the University of Edinburgh, where she and her team transform user experiences of digital systems, services and products to align them to the needs, expectations and perceptions of students, staff and other key audiences. Obsessed with working transparently, Emma began contributing to the open-source Drupal community and now leads UX research for Drupal, particularly focusing on Drupal AI, to harness its magic and power to help improve experiences for content creators, designers, developers and all who use Drupal. Motivated by working collaboratively on shared problems to spark innovation, generate inspiration and ideate on solutions, Emma runs a community of practice for UX practitioners working in Higher Education as part of a sector body, UCISA.

Rodrigo de Andrade has over 15 years of experience leading AI and Data projects, with extensive expertise in business intelligence and analytics. He is currently a Senior Product Manager at IBM, where he has lead the AI evolution of Cognos Analytics and, more recently, to the development of a new BI agent, watsonx BI. Rodrigo is passionate about how AI and generative technologies are reshaping the way organizations use data, empowering business users to go from insights to action more effectively.

Ivona Gudelj is a Conversational AI Consultant at Raiffeisen Conversational AI Lab, where she is responsible for establishing conversation design principles and guidelines for the RBI Group. In addition, she provides support to teams in designing and managing AI assistants to ensure they meet industry standards. With a strong background in Conversational AI, Ivona has previously held key roles as a Program Manager and Conversation Designer, working with top-tier clients across various industries. Earlier, she pioneered the role of conversation designer in a global tech firm, where she launched a consulting service that earned her national recognition as Best Young Project Manager

Saad is a passionate data scientist with an insatiable curiosity for advancements in AI. With a knack for tackling complex challenges, they've consistently been at the forefront of technological developments, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the field of artificial intelligence. Saad holds master degree in AI & data science and has several years of experience in the field. He's LinkedIn's top AI voice and brings together their love for data science and AI, offering unique insights that blend technical expertise with creative thinking

Gabriele Iuculano boasts extensive expertise in embedded systems and AI. Leading a team as the test platform architect, Gabriele has been instrumental in architecting a sophisticated simulation system that underpins a cutting-edge test automation platform. He is committed to integrating AI-driven solutions, focusing on predictive maintenance systems to anticipate needs and prevent downtimes. He obtained his MSc in AI from the University of Leeds, demonstrating expertise in leveraging AI for system efficiencies. Gabriele aims to revolutionize current business through the power of new disruptive technologies such as AI.

Diego Gosmar serves as Chief AI Officer, specializing in Artificial Intelligence with a particular focus on Multi-Agent Systems, Generative Conversational AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Conversation Analysis, AI Agent Interoperability and Automation, as well as Sustainable and Ethical Conversational AI. He leads AI Competence Centers in both the Customer Care and Supply Chain domains. Diego is member of the Voiceinteroperability.ai and Trustmarkinitiative.ai from the  Linux Foundation AI & Data, two groups dedicated to the definition of standards and guidelines for Agentic Conversational AI ethical, scalable and responsible use. He is the author of the following publications related to AI (original researches): https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=3HtoxzsAAAAJ He is also the author of a Machine Learning Book available in multiple languages: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GFL6NVM He has been a trainer and speaker over the past two decades at various international events focused on innovation, telecommunications technologies, and artificial intelligence. Here it is a list of Diego’s speeches: https://www.gosmar.eu/index.html#events

I am currently a Senior Data Scientist at Oncodesign in Dijon. My work consists in using artificial intelligence to find new potential medical drugs. I am particularly interested in understanding how, through supervised and reinforcement learning, potential drugs can impact patient prognosis. I have experience in tabular data, computer vision, graph neural networks, and natural language processing.

Adrian brings years of experience developing and managing AI products in highly regulated environments. After three years working with open source AIML tools, his expertise brought him to Jaja Finance (a UK-based credit FinTech), where he manages a comprehensive conversational ecosystem: 1 RAG chatbot, 5 agents in production, 1 generative spending assistant, and a successful telephone chatbot with generative capabilities. As an ambassador for the UK’s Centre for GenAI Ops, Adrian further leads research into GenAI risk frameworks. On the 1st of September 2025, the centre will publish and propose the EDICT framework for internal development of risk protocols under Adrian’s guidance, aiming to support companies in LLM risk management regardless of size or use case.

As the Head of Applied AI, Global Delivery at Google, I lead a specialized team dedicated to spearheading large-scale transformation projects in the Conversational AI space. My work focuses on moving beyond theory into industrialized execution, delivering innovative solutions for transformation of customer service architectures for large Telecom Contact Centers,Shopping Assistants, Food Ordering systems, and AI-driven Auto AI experiences . I am passionate about leveraging the latest in AI to drive measurable business impact and redefine customer experiences at a global scale

As an NLP expert, my unique expertise lies in the conceptualising, designing, and developing of a linguistically text based conversational software agent (LING-CSA) using the functional linguistic theory – Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). My current research interest is the hybridisation of statistical NLP and linguistic NLP to refine the accuracy of the interpretation of meaning to provide a realistic dialogue with deep semantic knowledge. I have presented findings, articles and book chapters on the motivations, design, and evaluation of LING-CSA and challenges of hybridisation. My current research project is motivated by the grand challenges of healthcare, with the pre-screening of dementia via an intervention in the form of CA hybridisation solution with person-centred CA design with submitted application (ongoing review) with UKRI (EPRSC).

Alex is a curious mind and a lifelong learner intrigued by everything, from innovations, new tech marketing, AI, leadership, music, art, and everything in between. With 15+ years of experience in digital marketing and project management, Alex has worked for diverse agencies, in-house teams, and publishers. At the moment, Alex is the CTO at Tag Digital—an agency specialising in event marketing

Lead prompt engineer with experience driving GTM sprints tuning some of the world's most endearing AI assistants and chatbots on billion+ member social media platforms. Currently directs a Prompt Engineering Center of Excellence building marketing automations and tooling that drive revenue lift. 2X AI hackathon award winner and adversarial red team specialist with a keen interest in AI safety. Career SaaS marketer who pivoted to AI in 2022 and hasn't looked back.

Razvan-Petru Radu is a digital business and technology leader at the Publications Office of the European Union where he leads the Publications Office Portal providing EU citizens, governments and businesses with digital access to authentic information and data from the European Union. Razvan specializes in corporate web, digital dissemination and knowledge retrieval platforms as well as ICT & innovation strategy. With a master degree in information systems security management and another one in system engineering, Razvan has over 20 years leadership and innovation responsibilities in a highly qualified multi-national & multi-cultural workforce in both the public and private sectors. Razvan is very much involved in creating compelling networking opportunities to connect and build bridges between people, startups, large organizations or international institutions

Raquel is Senior Manager of CS Service Design & Operational Excellence at Booking.com, with 25+ years of experience shaping outstanding customer experiences. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, she drives smart, scalable CX solutions at the intersection of people, service, process, and technology. Passionate about digital innovation, Raquel  develops customer centric strategies for today’s fast-moving, AI and digital driven customer service landscape

Ričardas leads the development of Kodee, Hostinger’s AI assistant used by millions of customers. Kodee helps users troubleshoot issues, automate hosting tasks, and navigate our platform more easily. Ričardas has practical, hands-on experience building and scaling AI-driven support tools, and we believe his insights would resonate well with your audience.

Sydney Eneremadu is an experienced professional in Conversational AI, Generative AI, and Conversational Design. A visionary in advancing Conversational AI (CAI) and Generative AI (GenAI) technologies, Sydney is passionate about building thriving communities and preparing for the transformative future of these fields. Sydney is the Founder and CEO of The European Chatbot Summit and the Africa Chatbot Summit, two premier platforms dedicated to showcasing the potential of Conversational AI and Generative AI while accelerating their adoption. Through organizing industry-leading events, Sydney brings together innovators, thought leaders, government officials, and practitioners to explore cutting-edge advancements in CAI and GenAI technology. These efforts foster collaboration and drive progress across Europe and Africa.

Jörg studied MSc computer science at TU Wien and began his carreer as a technical consultant in the Microsoft Partner Network. In OMV he started as platform manager for the Hybrid Integration Platform. Now he soon also was appointed to Domain Architect for Artificial Intelligence at OMV Group IT and is now responsible for the technical design of reference architectures and the self-service AI platform, including the AI Hub.

Hannah Amliwala is a Data Scientist at Jaguar Land Rover, where they work at the intersection of advanced analytics, machine learning, and real-world automotive challenges. With a background in Mathematics they are passionate about using data to drive meaningful, human-centred innovation—while also challenging the hype that often surrounds AI. At JLR, Hannah has been involved in projects that span manufacturing and customer experience, giving them a unique perspective on both the potential and the pitfalls of AI in complex, high-stakes environments. They are a vocal advocate for responsible AI—emphasizing the importance of understanding the problem before applying the technology, and the need to keep people at the centre of every solution. Known for their clear, grounded communication style, Hannah brings a refreshing honesty to the AI conversation—especially around the challenges of adoption, the fear of job displacement, and the real-world consequences when AI goes wrong.