Adriana Rivas is a business and technology executive specializing in retail operations, self-service strategy, and large-scale transformation across the U.S. and Latin America. With more than 15 years of experience leading cross-functional teams and implementing high-impact retail systems, she focuses on building business models that drive operational efficiency, enhance the customer experience, and enable sustainable growth for enterprise retailers.

Adriana is the founder of Biwitech, a company focused on developing next-generation retail technologies, including self-service systems, digital signage platforms, and high-efficiency POS solutions. Biwitech specializes in supporting supermarkets and high-volume retailers with technologies that improve pricing accuracy, streamline checkout processes, and enable effective digital transformation at the store level. Her work has contributed to measurable improvements in operational efficiency and customer experience across multiple markets.

Her professional achievements have earned national and international recognition. She is the author of the award-winning book "How to Implement Self-Service Without Failing," which received the Silver Award from the Nonfiction Authors Association and debuted as an Amazon #1 Hot New Release. In 2025, she was appointed as an Industry Judge for the Globee® Awards for Impact, evaluating business innovation and leadership worldwide.

Adriana also serves as a Global Ambassador and Circle Leader with WomenTech Network, supporting women in business, innovation, and technology leadership. Her expertise centers on operational strategy, self-service implementation frameworks, and business innovation for high-velocity retail environments.

Adriana Rivas is a business and technology executive specializing in retail operations, self-service strategy, and large-scale transformation across the U.S. and Latin America. With more than 15 years of experience leading cross-functional teams and ... Show more

Annu Augustine is a leading product management coach and consultant who works with product teams and leaders across Africa to build products that truly make an impact. She’s the founder of NedRock, a product management training and consulting company she started in 2016 to elevate the role of product in Africa.

With over 25 years of experience, starting out as a software engineer before moving into product - Annu has seen firsthand what it takes to bridge business goals with real user value. Her work focuses on helping teams adopt modern product discovery practices, and guiding companies to move from feature factories to empowered, outcome-driven teams.

Annu is a regular speaker at product conferences across the continent, known for bringing global best practices into the African context with honesty and practicality.

In recognition of her impact, she was named one of the 50 most inspiring South African women in STEM (2018) and later selected as one of 50 global product coaches to attend Marty Cagan’s exclusive product coaching workshop (2022).

She’s also the founder of the Cape Town Product Meetup, where she continues to grow and connect the local product community, and serves as a mentor and product advisor to emerging product leaders and startups across the continent.

Annu Augustine is a leading product management coach and consultant who works with product teams and leaders across Africa to build products that truly make an impact. She’s the founder of NedRock, a product management training and consulting company... Show more

As a Change Leader I am always seeking new ways to enhance the environment in which is Change delivered.

Whilst in Head of Change and Transformation roles I have sought to optimize ways of working to enable the Change Portfolio to deliver value with control, seeking to create the best Change conditions for all involved in delivering Change.

I am inspired by Enterprise Agility and Future Ways of Working thinking, which is changing the way we work in change, bringing us closer to the business and the customer. The Visual Agile Coach has given me the opportunity to combine the Agile Mindset with Visual Practices, creating a created a powerful framework for improved communication, engagement and delivery of value – and having fun!

As a Change Leader I am always seeking new ways to enhance the environment in which is Change delivered. Whilst in Head of Change and Transformation roles I have sought to optimize ways of working to enable the Change Portfolio to deliver value wi... Show more

Valery Penev has over a decade of experience in data warehouse consulting and data engineering at Adastra. He has worked in various industries with various clients, technologies, and positions (QA, QA Lead, ETL, ETL Lead, BA). Valery is goal-oriented and hard-working, with strong interpersonal and analytical skills. For the past six years, he has taken the role of Talent Manager and is responsible for growing ten people's expertise. In addition, he has been a lector at the Adastra Academy since 2016. Furthermore, he is involved in the recruitment process as a technical expert in the interviewing procedure.
He also co-founded a company for web services, "Out of the Box Ltd." in 2020.
His superpower is to be creative and always positive.

Valery Penev has over a decade of experience in data warehouse consulting and data engineering at Adastra. He has worked in various industries with various clients, technologies, and positions (QA, QA Lead, ETL, ETL Lead, BA). Valery is goal-oriented... Show more

MAURICIO ROJAS, MBA, MA, BSC

Mauricio has a solid academic background, including an Engineering Degree, an MBA and a Master’s Degree in Communications Management from the University of Southern California.

Before the Internet era, Mauricio spearheaded the Digital Transformation strategies and implementations for several companies. He leveraged AI to develop an Expert System that dramatically streamlined operations for assigning new movie titles to 1,200 video stores nationwide. This innovation reduced processing time from several days by specialized staff to just minutes, factoring in regional performance and customer preferences.

After serving in a management role at Latin America’s largest TV broadcasting company (sales > $1 billion), Mauricio relocated to Canada. There, he implemented ERP solutions for manufacturing, finance, and CRM systems with Oracle Corporation.

Mauricio later joined WSI, the world’s largest digital marketing and AI consulting organization. For nearly 20 years, he has guided businesses across Mexico, the USA, and Canada to expand their digital reach. Currently, he focuses on helping organizations uncover cost-saving and optimization opportunities by applying cutting-edge AI technologies.

MAURICIO ROJAS, MBA, MA, BSC Mauricio has a solid academic background, including an Engineering Degree, an MBA and a Master’s Degree in Communications Management from the University of Southern California. Before the Internet era, Mauricio spea... Show more

A speech is a speech, and a presentation is a presentation. If Carlos is talking, it’s more than a speech or presentation. It’s energy, engagement, and entertainment all wrapped up around a passion to serve his audience before, during, and after he is on stage. Whether he’s speaking on networking, entrepreneurship, diversity, or any of his other areas of expertise, he is all about his audience! He is also the author of Open Says Me: THE System That Can Open Any And All Opportunities In Your Career, and conversations about it’s topics have been shared with folks around the globe.

His successes include: American Airlines, Microsoft, Clemson University, Black Enterprise, and CVS Pharmacy just to name a few.

In addition to his business endeavors, Carlos teaches a semester of professional networking skills development to PhD candidates of the University of North Carolina – Charlotte’s Urban Education Collaborative and serves on the Board of Directors of the Steele Creek YMCA.

A speech is a speech, and a presentation is a presentation. If Carlos is talking, it’s more than a speech or presentation. It’s energy, engagement, and entertainment all wrapped up around a passion to serve his audience before, during, and after he i... Show more

Dr. Dorit Dor is one of the world’s leading figures in cybersecurity and technology. For nearly three decades, she served as Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer at Check Point Software Technologies, where she was instrumental in shaping the company’s R&D strategy and driving product innovation since joining in 1995.

A recognized thought leader, Dr. Dor regularly speaks at premier cybersecurity and technology conferences worldwide. She was awarded the Israel National Defense Prize in 1993 for her contributions to national security, reflecting her deep expertise in cyber defense.
Her impact extends beyond the corporate sector: she has been named one of Forbes Israel’s Most Influential Women, served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils, and held board positions with the CTA, Redis, and She Codes.

Dr. Dor holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University and is a member of the Technion Council.

Today, she is the Co-Founder of Qbeat Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on quantum technologies and a thought leader in the quantum space.

She is an active advocate for innovation in cybersecurity, AI, and quantum technologies, as well as a champion of leadership and diversity in tech. She also serves as a judge for startup competitions such as the RSA Innovation Sandbox, helping to spotlight and support the next generation of innovators.

Dr. Dorit Dor is one of the world’s leading figures in cybersecurity and technology. For nearly three decades, she served as Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer at Check Point Software Technologies, where she was instrumental in shapin... Show more

Shivam Joshi is an innovative entrepreneur and a leading corporate trainer in the fields of AI, ML,. At 18 years old, he founded Codons. Renowned as India's youngest corporate trainer for AI, Shivam has empowered professionals at industry giants such as LTI, HSBC, Global Logic, Axis Bank, and HCL. With profound expertise in AI, Data Science, and Analytics. He has graced the stage as a speaker at several prestigious events, including Google DEVFEST, GDSC, IEEE, and Tedx. He has also served as a judge at hackathons like SIH, Opinhacks, HackHive, Hackverse, Devhouse and WittyHacks, shaping the future of innovation. His international presence includes representing India as a delegate at the Expo2020 Dubai, IYSA Indonesia, IEEE Rising Star Las Vegas, Techspo New York.

Shivam Joshi is an innovative entrepreneur and a leading corporate trainer in the fields of AI, ML,. At 18 years old, he founded Codons. Renowned as India's youngest corporate trainer for AI, Shivam has empowered professionals at industry giants suc... Show more

Marco Heimeshoff is a trainer, speaker and software developer from Germany. He organizes KanDDDinsky, a conference about Domain-driven Design and the art of business software and co-founded the german DDD community in 2013 and VirtualDDD.com in 2019. Between consulting companies around the globe and his day job in building health care software, you'll find him speaking at conferences about DDD, socio-technical systems and first principles. With over a decade of experience, he is helping teams to change and learn in all things from code to culture and to master Domain-Driven Design, agile software development, functional programming and CQRS with event sourcing.

Marco Heimeshoff is a trainer, speaker and software developer from Germany. He organizes KanDDDinsky, a conference about Domain-driven Design and the art of business software and co-founded the german DDD community in 2013 and VirtualDDD.com in 2019.... Show more

Andrei is a Senior Product Manager at Azure API Management, where he helps customers manage and govern LLM APIs using AI Gateway. He previously held various cloud solution architect roles at Microsoft across Europe.

Andrei is a Senior Product Manager at Azure API Management, where he helps customers manage and govern LLM APIs using AI Gateway. He previously held various cloud solution architect roles at Microsoft across Europe. Show more