Humanities & Social Sciences

Esteemed speakers contributing their insights into human culture, behavior, and societal development

Simon Sablowski

Simon Sablowski

Simon Sablowski is an independent consultant and coach based in Berlin. He helps engineering and product leaders improve organisational effectiveness by addressing challenges in team structures, cross-team collaboration, decision-making and stakeholder alignment.

With over two decades of experience in software and product development, including engineering leadership and interim CTO roles, he has worked in coaching, training and organisational development since 2015. His clients include Siemens, SAP, Volkswagen, Bayer and the European Central Bank.

Simon Sablowski is an independent consultant and coach based in Berlin. He helps engineering and product leaders improve organisational effectiveness by addressing challenges in team structures, cross-team collaboration, decision-making and stakehold... Show more

Dr Tareq Genedy

Dr Tareq Genedy

Dr. Tareq Genedy is a leadership, governance and organizational excellence expert with more than 25 years of professional experience across executive education, consulting and university teaching. He has delivered leadership, performance, governance, customer experience and artificial intelligence programmes for public- and private-sector organizations across the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

He has taught MBA and undergraduate learners at several universities in the UAE and combines academic insight with practical organizational experience. His work focuses on building institutional readiness, responsible autonomy, accountability and sustainable performance.

Dr. Tareq is the author of *How Excellence Builds Autonomy*, which explores how governance, trust, capability and organizational maturity enable responsible empowerment. He is also the Founder and CEO of iSkills Consultancy FZE LLC in Dubai.

Dr. Tareq Genedy is a leadership, governance and organizational excellence expert with more than 25 years of professional experience across executive education, consulting and university teaching. He has delivered leadership, performance, governance,... Show more

Joe Hawkins

Joe Hawkins

Joe Hawkins, Ph.D., has worked in the field of student affairs for almost 20 years, with the vast majority of that experience in housing and residence life. His scholarship is grounded in educational philosophy and specifically examines the influence of neoliberal ideology on higher education policy and practice. He seeks to empower value-driven educational interventions by empowering professionals at all levels to think critically and ask bigger, better questions.

Joe Hawkins, Ph.D., has worked in the field of student affairs for almost 20 years, with the vast majority of that experience in housing and residence life. His scholarship is grounded in educational philosophy and specifically examines the influence... Show more

Rashmi Nagpal

Rashmi Nagpal

Rashmi is a AI Research Scientist at Poseidon and a researcher at MIT CSAIL, working in the intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. She has six years of industrial experience, having brought ideas to life at pre-seed startups and contributed to impactful redesigns and features at established industry giants. Beyond coding, Rashmi finds inspiration in capturing the wonders of the cosmos through her telescope and engaging in board games with friends.

Rashmi is a AI Research Scientist at Poseidon and a researcher at MIT CSAIL, working in the intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. She has six years of industrial experience, having brought ideas to life at pre-seed startups and c... Show more

Jennifer Novak

Jennifer Novak

Jennifer Novak is a Senior Manager - AI Adoption & Change at Myriad360, where she supports large-scale Microsoft 365 and AI enablement initiatives. She has partnered with dozens of organizations to drive measurable adoption through readiness assessments, stakeholder engagement, training strategy, and practical change planning that aligns with technical delivery. Jennifer is based in Maryland.

Jennifer Novak is a Senior Manager - AI Adoption & Change at Myriad360, where she supports large-scale Microsoft 365 and AI enablement initiatives. She has partnered with dozens of organizations to drive measurable adoption through readiness assessme... Show more

Celina Cocimano

Celina Cocimano

especialista en transformación emocional aplicada a la vida real, coach ontológica, escritora y conferencista argentina. Desde hace años trabaja acompañando a personas y organizaciones a comprender cómo las emociones, las creencias y los patrones de conducta influyen en la manera en que decidimos, atravesamos cambios y nos relacionamos con lo que nos pasa.
Es autora de siete libros, comunicadora y creadora de contenidos. Participa en medios, entrevistas y espacios de divulgación donde aborda el desarrollo humano desde una mirada directa y cotidiana, buscando bajar conceptos complejos a situaciones que todos podemos reconocer.
Una parte central de su trabajo está puesta en observar qué sucede con las personas cuando el contexto cambia más rápido que ellas. Desde ese lugar investiga y comunica sobre adaptación, identidad, toma de decisiones, automatismos y el impacto que las nuevas formas de trabajar y la tecnología tienen sobre nuestras capacidades humanas.
Su enfoque parte de una idea sencilla: incorporar nuevas herramientas no alcanza si no revisamos también desde qué versión de nosotros mismos las estamos utilizando.

especialista en transformación emocional aplicada a la vida real, coach ontológica, escritora y conferencista argentina. Desde hace años trabaja acompañando a personas y organizaciones a comprender cómo las emociones, las creencias y los patrones de ... Show more

Alex Corcoran

Alex Corcoran

Alex has over 20 years’ Human Resource experience in a number of industries globally, with the last 5 being in Tech and Financial Services. Her strengths lie in coaching, facilitating and accentuating 'people’ in People & Culture. With her life and work, Alex has learnt that people thrive the most when they are allowed to bring their most authentic selves to the table.

Being a corporate hippie at heart, she is passionate about supporting managers to be more holistic in their approach. Alex actively works with leaders at all levels to consider leadership from a different lens, bringing out super powers they didn’t know existed; consequently improving relationships with their employees and the performance of their teams.

Whether she's in a boardroom or on a beanbag, Alex brings the same energy: insightful, passionate, and always deeply connected with the people in the room.

Alex has over 20 years’ Human Resource experience in a number of industries globally, with the last 5 being in Tech and Financial Services. Her strengths lie in coaching, facilitating and accentuating 'people’ in People & Culture. With her life and w... Show more

Darrell Stern

Darrell Stern

Darrell Stern is an entrepreneur, actor, comedian, and AI video marketing expert known as the AI Video Jedi. A performer since childhood—including voicing Scooter Computer for Schoolhouse Rock!—Darrell has spent decades combining storytelling, entertainment, and marketing. As founder of Stern Storming and Stern Marketing Academy, he has created more than 28,000 videos and 128 online courses, helping businesses generate more than $97 million in revenue. Today, he teaches businesses how to use AI video, content, and local SEO to turn their expertise into powerful marketing.

Darrell Stern is an entrepreneur, actor, comedian, and AI video marketing expert known as the AI Video Jedi. A performer since childhood—including voicing Scooter Computer for Schoolhouse Rock!—Darrell has spent decades combining storytelling, entert... Show more

Andreas Stenhall

Andreas Stenhall

I'm Andreas Stenhall and my work passion is the Windows client in combination with security. I do consulting, I produce and teach my own courses, I lecture and I present, and my formal work title is trusted advisor and principal workplace architect at Coligo in Stockholm, Sweden. I'm also proud to be a Microsoft MVP since 2009. I have presented at BUILD, TechEd in the US and Europe, Experts Live Amsterdam, Workplace Ninjas Norway, and regional TechDays and various user groups and other events.

I'm Andreas Stenhall and my work passion is the Windows client in combination with security. I do consulting, I produce and teach my own courses, I lecture and I present, and my formal work title is trusted advisor and principal workplace architect a... Show more

Frank Köhne

Frank Köhne

Frank Köhne is co-head of viadee's Data Science division. He has a research background and has spent the last 15 years coordinating the company's collaborations with universities in the region, but he has also spent a lot of time on software development and architecture, often in insurance or logistics.
He is currently leading a BMBF-funded consortium with the goal of leveraging process workarounds in the context of Industry 4.0 for process innovation.

Frank Köhne is co-head of viadee's Data Science division. He has a research background and has spent the last 15 years coordinating the company's collaborations with universities in the region, but he has also spent a lot of time on software developm... Show more

Kingkane Malmquist

Kingkane Malmquist

Kingkane Malmquist, PhD, is a cybersecurity risk advisor specializing in Governance, Risk, and Compliance, with nearly two decades of experience navigating complex security and risk environments. She translates technical challenges into practical, evidence-based strategies that strengthen security and reduce organizational risk. Her distinctive perspective recognizes the influence of people and organizational culture on security outcomes.

Drawing on experience in healthcare’s highly regulated, high-risk environment, she brings a perspective that extends beyond traditional cybersecurity approaches. Her doctoral research provided evidence for this perspective, establishing the role of trusted peer influence in shaping security awareness, threat detection, and behavioral change. She applies the findings from this research to help organizations address the human and cultural drivers of cybersecurity risk, transforming security behavior from a persistent challenge into a measurable opportunity for sustainable risk reduction.

Combining academic rigor with hands-on leadership, she challenges conventional thinking and asks organizations a critical question: Are we solving the problem we actually have, or the problem we assume we have?

Kingkane Malmquist, PhD, is a cybersecurity risk advisor specializing in Governance, Risk, and Compliance, with nearly two decades of experience navigating complex security and risk environments. She translates technical challenges into practical, ev... Show more

Farees Fathima

Farees Fathima

Farees Fathima is a Global Responsible AI Leader and AI Governance Strategist at Carlsberg Group, where she drives the practical operationalisation of Responsible AI, AI risk management, assurance, and literacy across the global enterprise. With over 13 years of experience across Carlsberg, HSBC, Boston Scientific, and Accenture, she bridges the gap between high-level AI principles and high-velocity business execution.

At Carlsberg, Farees established and operationalised a lightweight AI Risk Management Framework that reduced assessment friction by 70% and accelerated safe AI adoption across eight global business units. She leads end-to-end lifecycle governance from ideation and experimentation to deployment and continuous monitoring with a strong focus on Generative AI, Agentic AI, and human oversight in increasingly autonomous systems.

An ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer and EXIN AI Certified Professional (AICP), Farees advises CIOs, CTOs, Legal, Privacy, and Risk leaders on translating emerging global regulations including the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, and ISO/IEC 42001 into actionable enterprise frameworks. As an active industry speaker and mentor, she empowers organizations and founders to build trustworthy, scalable AI systems that deliver tangible business value.

Farees Fathima is a Global Responsible AI Leader and AI Governance Strategist at Carlsberg Group, where she drives the practical operationalisation of Responsible AI, AI risk management, assurance, and literacy across the global enterprise. With over... Show more

Isaac Amponsah

Isaac Amponsah

Isaac Amponsah is a communications and PR professional with a BA in Communication Studies (Public Relations) and is currently pursuing an MA in Project Management. With zero engineering background, he considers that an advantage. Specializing in translating complex technical infrastructure into clear, practical value, he led the internal messaging strategy for a successful MCP pilot rollout during his internship

Isaac Amponsah is a communications and PR professional with a BA in Communication Studies (Public Relations) and is currently pursuing an MA in Project Management. With zero engineering background, he considers that an advantage. Specializing in tran... Show more

Nicolas Guillot

Nicolas Guillot

Hi! I’m Nicolas, a developer with over 25 years of experience, now working as a freelance mobile app developer.

My journey has taken me from programming MS-DOS games to building electronic test systems for the oil industry, before transitioning to mobile development in 2017.

Everything changed during an eco-volunteering mission in French Polynesia, where I monitored sea turtles. This experience inspired *“We Spot Turtles!”*, a side project that has since become one of my main activities as a freelancer.

In 2022, an unexpected encounter with an Australian helped propel the project onto the international stage, eventually leading to it being featured by Google in a global campaign.

Today, I build this solution using Flutter, co-organize the Flutter Nantes meetup, and aim to expand the impact of this application dedicated to sea turtle conservation worldwide.

Hi! I’m Nicolas, a developer with over 25 years of experience, now working as a freelance mobile app developer. My journey has taken me from programming MS-DOS games to building electronic test systems for the oil industry, before transitioning to... Show more

Micaela Dixon

Micaela Dixon

Micaela Dixon is a Senior Product Designer for AI & Growth at Picsart. As an AI Product Designer, Micaela is skilled in navigating challenges like data collection, model training and ensuring transparency in user interactions through UX. Advocating for ethical AI design, she has a focus on building inclusive technology that brings positive societal impact. She defined "AI Growth Design" as a discipline, guest lectures at Goldsmiths and City, University of London, and speaks internationally on designing trust into AI products.

Micaela Dixon is a Senior Product Designer for AI & Growth at Picsart. As an AI Product Designer, Micaela is skilled in navigating challenges like data collection, model training and ensuring transparency in user interactions through UX. Advocating f... Show more

James Ed Randson

James Ed Randson

Hello! My name is James Ed Randson, but you can call me Jim. I am a part-time software developer, package maintainer at OBS, and release engineer at openSUSE. I am also a GNU/Linux enthusiast and hobbyist sysadmin. Apart from my IT hobby and background, I am also a VTuber/VTaper and an independent journalist. I love computers and watching documentaries. Currently, I am just doing some stuff that is related to my job, even rarely get paid or really unpaid.

Hello! My name is James Ed Randson, but you can call me Jim. I am a part-time software developer, package maintainer at OBS, and release engineer at openSUSE. I am also a GNU/Linux enthusiast and hobbyist sysadmin. Apart from my IT hobby and backgrou... Show more

Tajah M. Gross, PhD

Tajah M. Gross, PhD

Dr. Tajah M. Gross is Founder & CEO of Ethilect, an AI governance, risk, and decision intelligence firm helping organizations confront the hidden human risks inside artificial intelligence systems. A recognized voice in responsible AI, escalation architecture, and operational oversight, she is known for translating complex AI risk into practical governance strategies leaders can actually use.

Her expertise spans agentic AI, autonomous decision systems, human oversight design, AI governance, and enterprise risk visibility. Through her signature frameworks, Question Everything and ReasonGate, Dr. Gross challenges organizations to rethink how AI decisions are monitored, escalated, interrupted, and trusted at scale.

Blending executive strategy with real-world implementation, she helps institutions design AI systems that remain observable, accountable, and human-centered under pressure—not just efficient. Dr. Gross has delivered high-impact sessions for nationally recognized venues including AI in the New Era, Nashville Microsoft Community Day, UN Blockchain Week, North Carolina A&T University, and Morgan State University.

Dr. Tajah M. Gross is Founder & CEO of Ethilect, an AI governance, risk, and decision intelligence firm helping organizations confront the hidden human risks inside artificial intelligence systems. A recognized voice in responsible AI, escalation arc... Show more

Zeki Ubor

Zeki Ubor

I am the founder of Mindvest Global Resources, an ecosystem built around a simple conviction: better outcomes require better people, better thinking and better systems.
My work brings together human development, unconventional learning, business development, design and practical execution.
Through initiatives including The Becoming Institute, Origin Thinking Platform and Elevation Studio, I have explored different ways of helping people move beyond information and into capability—learning how to think, make decisions, solve problems, build value and execute.

I am the founder of Mindvest Global Resources, an ecosystem built around a simple conviction: better outcomes require better people, better thinking and better systems. My work brings together human development, unconventional learning, business dev... Show more

Matt Stephenson

Matt Stephenson

Matt is a co-founder at IceGuard. He is also a founder of the Galaxy product at Starburst, and has lead infrastructure there for 4 years. His past includes working on deployment infrastructure at Amazon, Google App Engine and other GCP products at Google, and was a founder at Oracle Cloud of the Oracle Functions product. For fun, he flies airplanes, and builds The Man for Burningman each year.

Matt is a co-founder at IceGuard. He is also a founder of the Galaxy product at Starburst, and has lead infrastructure there for 4 years. His past includes working on deployment infrastructure at Amazon, Google App Engine and other GCP products at Go... Show more

Sean Reid

Sean Reid

I'm a developer, speaker, and educator with decades of experience in web/software development. I've worked with everyone from large global media companies to startups with no more than 5 people. The last few years have been largely dedicated to education and advocacy, trying to improve development process and communication across a wide span of experience and disciplines.

I'm a developer, speaker, and educator with decades of experience in web/software development. I've worked with everyone from large global media companies to startups with no more than 5 people. The last few years have been largely dedicated to educa... Show more

Anita Sevilla Ull

Anita Sevilla Ull

Anita Sevilla Ull es UX Lead con más de 10 años diseñando productos digitales.

No llegó al diseño por el diseño. Llegó por las personas.

Estudió psicología, se recibió en guión y dirección de cine, y se graduó en marketing. En cada etapa aprendió lo mismo desde ángulos distintos: cómo piensa la gente, qué la mueve y por qué se comporta como lo hace.

Fundó Comunidad UXUI en 2021, hoy la comunidad de UXers más grande del mundo hispanohablante.

Quiere vivir en un mundo más accesible, inclusivo y usable, y eso rige cada decisión que toma — en la vida, en la comunidad y en cómo diseña.

Anita Sevilla Ull es UX Lead con más de 10 años diseñando productos digitales. No llegó al diseño por el diseño. Llegó por las personas. Estudió psicología, se recibió en guión y dirección de cine, y se graduó en marketing. En cada etapa aprend... Show more

Alexandra Zakharova

Alexandra Zakharova

Alexandra Zakharova is a Senior Partner Solution Architect AI and Apps at Microsoft working closely with partners on AI adoption across the Microsoft Data and AI Platform. She has more than ten years of experience at the intersection of data artificial intelligence and human skills.
She has delivered over three hundred talks and training sessions worldwide and teaches at Sorbonne Nouvelle University. She is also a published author and frequently speaks about how data and AI professionals can remain relevant creative and irreplaceable in an AI driven world.

Alexandra Zakharova is a Senior Partner Solution Architect AI and Apps at Microsoft working closely with partners on AI adoption across the Microsoft Data and AI Platform. She has more than ten years of experience at the intersection of data artifici... Show more

Nina Weimann-Sandig

Nina Weimann-Sandig

Prof. Dr. Nina Weimann-Sandig ist Professorin für Soziologie und Empirische Sozialforschung an der ehs Dresden. Als hochschuldidaktische Beauftragte setzt Sie sich seit vielen Jahren mit allen Fragen rund um innovative Lehrentwicklung auseinander, insbesondere mit digitalen Formen des Lehrens und Lernens. Sie ist zudem didaktische Mentorin der Nachwuchsforschungsgruppe "MILE".

Prof. Dr. Nina Weimann-Sandig ist Professorin für Soziologie und Empirische Sozialforschung an der ehs Dresden. Als hochschuldidaktische Beauftragte setzt Sie sich seit vielen Jahren mit allen Fragen rund um innovative Lehrentwicklung auseinander, in... Show more

Amy Gutman MD, FACEP

Amy Gutman MD, FACEP

Dr. Amy Gutman, MD, FACEP, is a board-certified emergency physician, global keynote speaker, best-selling author, and executive performance coach helping leaders optimize the biology behind high performance. Founder of ToughLoveMD and author of the best-seller "Powerhouse Living: Lead Your Life Like a Resuscitation", Dr. Gutman teaches organizations how sleep, stress, metabolism, recovery, and cognitive load drive decision quality, resilience, retention, and results. A keynote favorite across healthcare, technology, cybersecurity, business, and leadership events, she consistently earns outstanding feedback from attendees and organizers for her high-energy, science-backed, conference-favorite sessions that leave audiences thinking differently — with immediately actionable personal and professional impacts. Her mission is simple: most leadership development treats performance as a mindset problem. She treats it as a biological operating system. Using her Cellular Leadership and Powerhouse Physiology frameworks, Dr. Gutman turns emergency medicine, executive leadership, and human performance science into practical strategies for clearer decisions, faster recovery, stronger teams, and sustained high performance.

Dr. Amy Gutman, MD, FACEP, is a board-certified emergency physician, global keynote speaker, best-selling author, and executive performance coach helping leaders optimize the biology behind high performance. Founder of ToughLoveMD and author of the b... Show more

Luisa Escalona

Luisa Escalona

With more than 18 years in the software industry, Luisa has evolved from being passionate about writing great code to focusing on building and nurturing high-performing teams. A Certified Encouragement Consultant and Empowering People in the Workplace Facilitator, she brings together deep technical expertise and a talent for fostering human-centered growth.

Since 2019, Luisa has delivered engaging talks and hands-on workshops that inspire teams and individuals to achieve their full potential. Her unique approach empowers organizations to drive both technological innovation and positive, sustainable change through collaboration and impactful leadership.

With more than 18 years in the software industry, Luisa has evolved from being passionate about writing great code to focusing on building and nurturing high-performing teams. A Certified Encouragement Consultant and Empowering People in the Workplac... Show more

Jonathan Ward

Jonathan Ward

Ex-CEO turned author, consultant, and educator, I have spent thirty years of international leadership experience at the intersection of AI, Business Agility, and DevOps. I'm the author of The Supercharged Enterprise: Strategic Adaptation for Growth and Resilience (Business Expert Press) and Developing Agile Coaches, and I've distilled that experience into the Blueprint for Enterprise Agility — a framework built on eight Leadership Behaviours and eight Operational Processes that I teach and apply directly in client transformations.

My current work focuses on where AI meets governance and portfolio management: I've developed and deliver a course treating Lean Portfolio Management combined with AI as a control system, with AI as the sensing and optimisation layer — alongside advisory work helping financial services and other regulated organisations govern AI responsibly. I believe, and have proven repeatedly, that Enterprise Agility done well produces measurable growth and profit, not just cultural change for its own sake.

I've operated at every level from board to project team, across Financial Services, Banking, Payments, Insurance, FMCG, TV, and Retail — leading large-scale agile transformations and applying AI directly in software development and testing environments. That range across people, process, technology, and now AI governance lets me craft change initiatives that hold up under real organisational pressure, not just in the deck.

Ex-CEO turned author, consultant, and educator, I have spent thirty years of international leadership experience at the intersection of AI, Business Agility, and DevOps. I'm the author of The Supercharged Enterprise: Strategic Adaptation for Growth a... Show more

Laura Spencer

Laura Spencer

Laura K. Spencer, Ed.D. leads AI adoption across a 2,500-person educational organization as Chief Academic Officer, where her portfolio covers curriculum, assessment, professional development, and IT. She has spent 26 years watching technology arrive in organizations, and most of that time watching what happens after the rollout ends. Her work focuses on the gap between deployment and actual impact, and on the diagnostic questions leaders skip before committing. She has delivered sessions at ISTE and Insight Jam, co-authored a course on legal and ethical boundaries in AI, and is a U.S. Army veteran.

Laura K. Spencer, Ed.D. leads AI adoption across a 2,500-person educational organization as Chief Academic Officer, where her portfolio covers curriculum, assessment, professional development, and IT. She has spent 26 years watching technology arrive... Show more

Lisa R. Triggs

Lisa R. Triggs

The Menopause Queen, Lisa R. Triggs is a Certified Menopause and Neuroscience Coach, Best-Selling Author, Motivational Speaker, and host of The Menopause Mindshift Self-Love Podcast. After improving more than 30 menopause symptoms through lifestyle changes, stress regulation, and neuroscience-based strategies, she developed The Menopause Mindshift methodology to help women work with their brain and body together. Lisa empowers women with practical, sustainable tools to lower stress, improve mental clarity and build the confidence to write their own story, define their own journey, and ulitmately unleash their inner queen.

The Menopause Queen, Lisa R. Triggs is a Certified Menopause and Neuroscience Coach, Best-Selling Author, Motivational Speaker, and host of The Menopause Mindshift Self-Love Podcast. After improving more than 30 menopause symptoms through lifestyle c... Show more

Jodie Levy

Jodie Levy

Jodie Levy was a founding member of the UK AI Security Institute and is a Visiting Fellow at Constellation. She works at the intersection of frontier AI security, misuse and technical governance, with research spanning multi-step misuse, agentic risk and enforceable safety controls. She has advised and engaged governments and international stakeholders on frontier AI risk, security and governance.

Jodie Levy was a founding member of the UK AI Security Institute and is a Visiting Fellow at Constellation. She works at the intersection of frontier AI security, misuse and technical governance, with research spanning multi-step misuse, agentic risk... Show more

Erik Thorelli

Erik Thorelli

Erik Thorelli is an Engineering Leader at Cisco Meraki, leading the mobile engineering organization. He's been developing React and React Native apps for almost a decade, from startups to corporates and across sectors (defense, pharma, green, fintech, networking, and IoT)...and seen some stuff. Erik teaches courses and lectures at universities, workshops, conferences, and local tech meetups.

Erik Thorelli is an Engineering Leader at Cisco Meraki, leading the mobile engineering organization. He's been developing React and React Native apps for almost a decade, from startups to corporates and across sectors (defense, pharma, green, fintech... Show more

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