Mani Erfan is a chemical engineer, international entrepreneur, and industrial executive with more than 33 years of experience in the global catalyst sector. Based in Houston, Texas, he has founded and led companies in catalyst manufacturing, purification, and recycling. He launched a catalyst company from the ground up and expanded it into a global enterprise with cumulative product sales exceeding $700 million before its sale in 2020. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of a catalyst-recycling business generating approximately $8 million in annual revenue.

Erfan was born in Iran in 1966. His father was a commercial pilot who recorded around 38,000 flight hours throughout his career. In 1983, at the age of 17, he moved to the United States and quickly adapted to a new culture and education system. He began his studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida in 1984, completing 157 credit hours in less than four years. He graduated in August 1988 with high honors and a GPA of 3.88.

Erfan began his professional journey in Texas as a Process Engineer, evaluating chemical operations and recommending improvements. In 1990, he joined a Danish catalyst firm as a Sales Engineer responsible for a 26-state region. Within three years, he increased annual sales from $1.4 million to over $6 million and was promoted to Sales Manager, becoming the youngest to hold that role at the time.

In 1993, he became International Sales Manager at a Houston-based catalyst recycling company. Under his leadership, international revenue rose from $1 million to $11 million annually as operations expanded into new global markets. In 2000, he founded a new catalyst company with $50,000 in startup capital, growing it to peak annual sales of $40 million before its $38 million sale in 2020. He also established a consulting and industrial solutions firm that, by 2021, operated in more than 10 countries with annual revenue between $7.5 and $8 million.

Since 1992, he has led ministry efforts across several countries, founding a nonprofit organization, an online Bible college with 4,500 students, and support platforms reaching underserved communities. He has contributed several million dollars to charitable causes, donating $200,000 to $300,000 annually. Mani Erfan continues to lead in both industry and ministry.

Mani Erfan is a chemical engineer, international entrepreneur, and industrial executive with more than 33 years of experience in the global catalyst sector. Based in Houston, Texas, he has founded and led companies in catalyst manufacturing, purifica... Show more

Christina Aldan is a brand strategy consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and mentor. She offers businesses brand consulting and creative content for everyday media. With over 18 years of experience in the digital realm, Christina is highly regarded for her approach to business, partnering with clients to find unique strategies that ensure their goals are met. Christina builds connections through her keynote addresses, training workshops, and technological education. She uses these tools to help individuals and businesses cultivate value in everyday media. Christina has delivered talks on all 7 continents, presenting training workshops for the Microsoft MVP community, Las Vegas Raiders, Yale School of Public Health, international corporations, and conferences worldwide. Christina uses her charisma and expertise to inspire others by mentoring women in business like herself. She also has sat on state and local boards supporting women in tech, entrepreneurship, mental health, and children with learning disabilities.

She is the recipient of the Las Vegas Women in Tech Community Service Award, the Distinguished Woman of the Year Award in STEM. Learn more at: Luckygirliegirl.com.

Christina Aldan is a brand strategy consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and mentor. She offers businesses brand consulting and creative content for everyday media. With over 18 years of experience in the digital realm, Christina is highly regarded ... Show more

Melinda is an engineering leader and conference speaker with over 10 years experience of working with and managing teams of developers & managers and conference speaking. Since 2014, she has helped engineers, designers and product managers with their public speaking skills, through speaker coaching, workshops and talks about public speaking. She also works together with engineering leaders and engineering managers on how to build up internal employee evangelism & culture within their teams.

Melinda is an engineering leader and conference speaker with over 10 years experience of working with and managing teams of developers & managers and conference speaking. Since 2014, she has helped engineers, designers and product managers with their... Show more

Naila Rais is one of the youngest scholars in her twenties, an AI innovator, data strategist, and rising tech leader who's already building what many only dreams of. A winner of the Salesforce Quest: Customer AI 2024, recipient of the Distinguished Global Scholar Award at LoneStar College Tomball, Texas, and former AI intern at the Imageomics Institute, where she merged machine learning with biodiversity to power scientific discovery. She is also a leader & organizer of Microsoft Fabric User Group: Uttar Pradesh Power BI Club & serves as a WomenTech Circle Leader cum Ambassador, and drives digital strategy at the Sustainable Living Guide, where she’s led growth and engagement by 40%+. She's also the mind behind VoiceBridge (In-progress), an AI-powered tool for non-verbal communication, and has authored research in social strategy and inclusive AI. With honors degrees, publications, and leadership roles under her belt — all before 21 — Naila is proving that impact has no age limit.

Naila Rais is one of the youngest scholars in her twenties, an AI innovator, data strategist, and rising tech leader who's already building what many only dreams of. A winner of the Salesforce Quest: Customer AI 2024, recipient of the Distinguished G... Show more

As the CEO of Novacare AS, I have the overall responsibility for leading and developing the company, with a focus on delivering value to both our customers and employees. My role is about much more than just results—it’s about building relationships, inspiring our team, and ensuring that we are a solid and reliable partner for our clients. I take pride in leading a team of skilled professionals who deliver solutions every day that create real value for our customers.

Broad experience with 9 years in Norwegian Defence and many different roles as assistent platoon leader, projectmanager, responsible for education of soldiers and officers training school in logistics.

5 years in Norwegian police working with procurement and as projectmanager.

Worked in IT consultancy since 1999. I have had a number of different roles such as developer, projectmanager, clientmanager, salesmanager and department manager/leader for several companies Cinet, Avenir, Steria, Webstep and Ensō.

25 years off leadership experience.

Specialties: Managment, Human resources, IT, personnel responsibility, procurement, logistics, business development, recruitment

As the CEO of Novacare AS, I have the overall responsibility for leading and developing the company, with a focus on delivering value to both our customers and employees. My role is about much more than just results—it’s about building relationships,... Show more

🎯 Alejo Perna - Analista de Datos - Emprendedor - AI Developer

¡Hola! 👋 Soy Alejo Perna, tengo 19 años y me considero una persona innovadora y apasionada por la tecnología. Desde pequeño, mi motivación ha sido aprender constantemente, especialmente en el ámbito informático, donde me sumerjo en la lógica y la tecnología. 🧠✨

Me destaco por mi capacidad para resolver problemas complejos utilizando técnicas avanzadas de análisis de datos y desarrollo tecnológico. He trabajado en proyectos que integran tecnología e impacto social, combinando creatividad y eficiencia. 🚀

🎓 Educación y Formación

📘 Actualmente curso la Licenciatura en Sistemas en la UBA.
✨ He realizado múltiples cursos especializados en el mundo de los datos, adquiriendo habilidades en análisis, gestión y visualización de información, además de certificaciones en áreas clave como la inteligencia artificial, Big Data, y ciencia de datos. Estas formaciones han sido fundamentales para fortalecer mi perfil como analista de datos y aplicarlas en proyectos con impacto social y empresarial.

💼 Experiencia Profesional

Especialización Reciente:
- Transformación de datos en información estratégica para la toma de decisiones empresariales.
- Creación de dashboards interactivos y visualizaciones avanzadas con Power BI para facilitar el acceso a datos clave.
- Desarrollo de análisis personalizados y automatización de procesos con Python.
- Experiencia en limpieza, modelado y análisis exploratorio de datos para detectar patrones y generar insights accionables.
- Enfoque en resolver problemas complejos y ofrecer soluciones basadas en datos para impactar positivamente en el rendimiento empresarial.

He trabajado en diversos proyectos innovadores y de impacto social:

🤖 PUFFLE
Inteligencia artificial diseñada para potenciar el aprendizaje a través del método socrático, una dinámica educativa que promueve un diálogo enriquecedor y reflexivo. Entrenable con los materiales bibliográficos que el profesor sube, Puffle fomenta el pensamiento crítico en los estudiantes mediante preguntas reflexivas en tiempo real, impulsando su capacidad analítica y de razonamiento.

🌟 FinanciARG
Plataforma de crowdfunding:
Democratiza el acceso al financiamiento para empresas, ofreciendo beneficios exclusivos a los contribuyentes.
Fortalece la relación empresa-cliente, potenciando el crecimiento empresarial.

📚 podrIA
Aplicación educativa que utiliza inteligencia artificial para optimizar las técnicas de estudio, ofreciendo funcionalidades como planificación inteligente adaptada a tus tiempos y objetivos, y métodos para mejorar la concentración basados en el sistema Pomodoro. Con PODRÍA, estudiar se vuelve más eficiente, personalizado y motivador.

🏆 Logros y Reconocimientos

🏅Ganador de la Innovaton 2025 organizada por Promptear Argentina con el proyecto PodrIA.

🏅 Finalista en la Hackathon Hackit/BA 2024 (ITBA Computer Society) con el proyecto FinanciARG, logrando el Top 3 por su innovación y potencial.

🎤 Charla TED: "La Serendipia del Aleteo", explorando cómo pequeños cambios generan un gran impacto.
👉 Ver charla TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXPkO7Aq57g

🎤 Charla AWS Community Day Argentina: "IA, ¿Héroe o Amenaza?", analizando los desafíos éticos y ventajas de la IA.
👉 Ver charla: https://www.youtube.com/live/OOeMBiNKIQU?si=u4BWAwyoI-QfojPc

🎤 Charla en Cafayate organizada por Fehgra: "Mas alla de los likes, ¿Cómo construir conexiones reales?", espacio de diálogo sobre comunicación digital usando a los datos y a la IA como aliados.
👉 Nota: https://fehgra.org.ar/archivos/36519

🤝 Voluntariado
Mentor y Jurado en la Datathon de Río Cuarto:
- Análisis de datos con Python: Guié equipos en análisis y procesamiento de datos.
- Entrenamiento de modelos de IA: Ayudé a desarrollar y evaluar proyectos por innovación y precisión.

🎓 Conocimientos
🐍 Python (Google Colab, NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn)
📊 SQL, Power BI,
🗃️ Business Intelligence
🌐 HTML, CSS, JS
🎨 Figma (Diseño UI)
💡 Design Thinking

🌟 Frase que me define:
"La tecnología puede potenciar nuestras capacidades, pero son nuestras capacidades las que definen el potencial de la tecnología." 💻💡

🎯 Alejo Perna - Analista de Datos - Emprendedor - AI Developer ¡Hola! 👋 Soy Alejo Perna, tengo 19 años y me considero una persona innovadora y apasionada por la tecnología. Desde pequeño, mi motivación ha sido aprender constantemente, especialm... Show more

Ming Johanson works with businesses across the globe from training social media to managing (with her team) complex digital strategies that deliver tangible and desirable financial returns. She is dedicated to shaping the landscape for leaders to adapt their management, sales and marketing culture to fit into the modern day world of hyper-connectivity.

Recently recognised and awarded for her ongoing contribution to the technology industries in the 2019 Women In Technology Tech [+] 20 Awards. Ming is a passionate mental health Ambassador for R U OK? Day, a co-facilitator in Startup Weekend Perth and a regular Australian Media Commentator as a Tech Evangelist on a range of topics in Mental Health, Social Media & Technology. 

Ming Johanson works with businesses across the globe from training social media to managing (with her team) complex digital strategies that deliver tangible and desirable financial returns. She is dedicated to shaping the landscape for leaders to ada... Show more

Franz Nkemaka is a Gen-Z tech entrepreneur, IT coach, and automation expert with a strong focus on AI-driven software solutions. With over nine years of hands-on experience, he has evolved from a self-taught hacker into a sought-after IT trainer and consultant for enterprises and development teams.

He has trained 1,000+ developers, IT professionals, and business teams, working with organizations such as Deutsche Bahn, TÜV Nord, Deutsche Telekom, Bundeswehr, Big Dutchman, LMV Versicherung, and Austria’s Bundesrechenzentrum. Franz has also spoken at the Embedded Software Engineering (ESE) Congress, where he presented a talk on Rust for Embedded Systems to industry professionals and decision-makers.

Today, Franz leads Nextise GmbH, heading a team of 15+ members and collaborating with more than 20 AI and software developers. Through consulting, coaching, and his education platform Kodschul, he helps companies and engineers apply AI, automation, and modern web technologies in real-world scenarios.

His journey began in Cameroon, where he taught himself computer skills without internet access—spending countless hours in cybercafés and experimenting deeply with technology. A breakthrough in 2016 marked the start of rapid growth, setting the foundation for his international career.

Mission: Empowering businesses and developers to build scalable, future-proof solutions with AI, automation, and software engineering.

Franz Nkemaka is a Gen-Z tech entrepreneur, IT coach, and automation expert with a strong focus on AI-driven software solutions. With over nine years of hands-on experience, he has evolved from a self-taught hacker into a sought-after IT trainer and ... Show more

Ross Kernez, MBA, is a marketing strategist, product marketing leader, speaker, reputation expert, and technology executive. With a background in innovation, growth strategy, and digital transformation, he combines technical expertise with sharp business insight to drive impactful results

Ross Kernez, MBA, is a marketing strategist, product marketing leader, speaker, reputation expert, and technology executive. With a background in innovation, growth strategy, and digital transformation, he combines technical expertise with sharp busi... Show more

Patrick Walsh has more than 20 years of experience building security products and enterprise SaaS solutions. Most recently he ran an Engineering division at Oracle, delivering features and business results to the world's largest companies. Patrick now leads IronCore Labs, an application data protection platform that uses encryption to protect data stored in the cloud while keeping it searchable and usable to help customers meet increasingly stringent data protection requirements. Patrick has run threat research and engineering teams and overseen products ranging from anti-virus and intrusion prevention to enterprise cloud software. He is a long-time advocate for privacy and security and holds multiple patents on cryptography.

Patrick Walsh has more than 20 years of experience building security products and enterprise SaaS solutions. Most recently he ran an Engineering division at Oracle, delivering features and business results to the world's largest companies. Patrick no... Show more