Don Petsche is the founder and President of 1TEN, where he is building practical systems that help small defense contractors manage CMMC compliance. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Sensei, and experienced operating executive, Don specializes in translating complex requirements into clear, repeatable processes that organizations can actually sustain. His work focuses on control ownership, operational discipline, and closing the gap between written policies and everyday execution. He is also the author of *The Pattern Reader*, a book about recognizing the systems and organizational patterns behind persistent business problems.

Don Petsche is the founder and President of 1TEN, where he is building practical systems that help small defense contractors manage CMMC compliance. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Sensei, and experienced operating executive, Don specializes in tra... Show more

I started as a developer. I automated thousands of tests — because I had no interest in testing manually.
At some point I realized: the biggest problems in software teams are not technical. They are habit problems.

Today I guide companies through software modernization at Gepardec — and I give keynotes on the habits behind code quality, stress, and long-term performance.

My book FutureHabits is out fall 2026.

🎤 https://futurehabits.at/keynotes

I started as a developer. I automated thousands of tests — because I had no interest in testing manually. At some point I realized: the biggest problems in software teams are not technical. They are habit problems. Today I guide companies through... Show more

Erica is an AI cybersecurity architect and consultant, and was a software engineer and cybersecurity hobbyist for several years before becoming an application security red-teamer in 2018. Since then, she has been earning bug bounties, releasing new CVEs and original exploit techniques, training penetration testers and conducting R&D projects as a cybersecurity technical lead. Erica organizes 2600, a local hacker meetup, and has spoken about hacking, bot writing, and more at many conferences, including Black Hat Europe, SkyTalks, CactusCon, SnowTalks and DEF CON, the world's largest hacker conference. Find her on the DEF CON contest floor designing puzzles to create Lonely Hard Drive, Wall of Bribes, and Lonely Air Tag, or volunteering at Red Team Village. Erica holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Southern Maine.

Erica is an AI cybersecurity architect and consultant, and was a software engineer and cybersecurity hobbyist for several years before becoming an application security red-teamer in 2018. Since then, she has been earning bug bounties, releasing new C... Show more

Sangeetha Rai is a senior transformation executive and keynote speaker who helps leaders and teams navigate the human side of change, so transformation actually sticks instead of stalling out or burning people out along the way.

She has spoken at TEDx, Grace Hopper Celebration, and Customer Contact Week (CCW). Her TEDx talk, How to Conquer Stress and Do Hard Things, has been viewed more than 288,000 times. Her perspective is shaped by years of leading complex transformation across customer experience, operations, technology, and AI, inside large enterprises and growth-stage companies alike.

Sangeetha has led global organizations through the kind of change that looks straightforward on a strategy slide and gets hard fast in execution: new operating models, new technology, and new ways of working, all landing on real teams who have to make it work. Her focus is on closing that gap between what leadership announces and what actually happens on the ground.

Her talks explore navigating uncertainty, adopting new technology without losing the people meant to use it, building organizations that can scale, and the more personal side of change: how to keep moving through it without losing momentum or burning out.

Whether speaking to executives, frontline teams, or conference audiences, Sangeetha brings real operating experience, a candid style, and a practical perspective on what it really takes to make change work.

Sangeetha Rai is a senior transformation executive and keynote speaker who helps leaders and teams navigate the human side of change, so transformation actually sticks instead of stalling out or burning people out along the way. She has spoken at ... Show more

As a self-taught product designer, over the past 4 years of my design career, it's been a fun and rewarding experience helping start-up and cross-functional teams globally design and build products across the Fintech, Social commerce, Entertainment and Transportation industries with an impact on over 100's of users.

Currently, I am part of the product team at Rafiki.works fostering growth opportunities for freelancers in Africa. In addition, as a Mentor at Na'amal, a UK-based non-profit organisation for social good, I provide mentorship training for refugees and individuals in underrepresented communities with skills training and mentorship needed to strive in the digitised global labour market in collaboration with the World Bank.

As a self-taught product designer, over the past 4 years of my design career, it's been a fun and rewarding experience helping start-up and cross-functional teams globally design and build products across the Fintech, Social commerce, Entertainment a... Show more

Rahul Saluja is a board member, Forbes Technology Council member, and enterprise AI strategist focused on the gap between technically successful AI systems and measurable business outcomes.

He works with business and technology leaders on the ownership, investment, governance, and operating decisions required to move AI from experimentation into production. His work spans complex and regulated environments, with a particular focus on AI accountability, autonomy boundaries, and how organizations decide what to scale, redesign, or stop.

Rahul Saluja is a board member, Forbes Technology Council member, and enterprise AI strategist focused on the gap between technically successful AI systems and measurable business outcomes. He works with business and technology leaders on the owne... Show more

Sheng-Wen (Colin) Cheng is currently a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin with a background in system software, robotics, and embedded systems.

He holds a master’s degree in Robotics and has conducted research on quadrotor flight control systems using nonlinear control and sensor fusion techniques. His work has been licensed to the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) for scientific research purposes.

His technical interests include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), real-time systems, hardware–software integration, and virtualization systems.

Sheng-Wen (Colin) Cheng is currently a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin with a background in system software, robotics, and embedded systems. He holds a master’s degree in Robotics and has conducted research on quadrotor fligh... Show more

I am an experienced software developer and engineering leader, who loves learning and sharing.

I am an experienced software developer and engineering leader, who loves learning and sharing. Show more

Rebecca is a hands-on, human-centered, collaborative organizational change leader interested in developing great teams and culture, co-creating large-scale strategic vision, driving value nimbly, and a believer in integrating change strategies to develop organizational resiliency and competitive edge. She has 5+ years in cross-industry OCM for ERP implementations and tech adoption, as well as over 10 years in strategic and business communications, including 6 years of bilingual business communication & advocacy.

Rebecca is a hands-on, human-centered, collaborative organizational change leader interested in developing great teams and culture, co-creating large-scale strategic vision, driving value nimbly, and a believer in integrating change strategies to dev... Show more

Dr. Leah Zitter researches the neuroscience of human hacking. She holds a PhD in Research Psychology (behavioral neuroscience) and is CISSP-certified, with over a decade of experience researching and writing for FinTech and cybersecurity leaders including Google, AWS, and Yale Law School.

Reported by The Daily Mail to be the only female survivor of Judaism's most extreme religious community, Neturei Karta, Dr. Zitter draws on this lived experience alongside her doctoral training to bridge psychological deconditioning and cybersecurity. She is now building a specialized CogSec consulting practice, using her proprietary "As-Is" methodology to help organizations develop cognitive resilience against social engineering, deepfake scams, disinformation, and other human-centric threats.

Dr. Leah Zitter researches the neuroscience of human hacking. She holds a PhD in Research Psychology (behavioral neuroscience) and is CISSP-certified, with over a decade of experience researching and writing for FinTech and cybersecurity leaders incl... Show more

My name is Daniel Antonio García Escobar, I am 33 years old, and I go by the alias Dialéktico. I am an enthusiast of many disciplines and activities that have brought to life the still young project dialektico.com, my science communication website focused on machine learning topics.

Academically, I am a biomedical engineer with a focus on computing and mathematics, and currently a master’s student in Data Science at the University of Guadalajara. Professionally, I work as a Senior Data Scientist with more than nine years of experience in business intelligence, in both national and international companies. I also serve as a volunteer Communications Coordinator at AMEA, the Mexican Agency for Antarctic Studies.

I am a lover of literature, with several science fiction short stories published in magazines and books; a musician, gamer, and philosopher. My goal is to help people understand the theoretical foundations that underlie all the emerging magic of artificial intelligence.

My name is Daniel Antonio García Escobar, I am 33 years old, and I go by the alias Dialéktico. I am an enthusiast of many disciplines and activities that have brought to life the still young project dialektico.com, my science communication website fo... Show more

Jennifer Galantowicz is an executive leader, business development strategist, and keynote speaker with over 20 years of experience driving growth across healthcare operations, technology consulting, and senior living. Known for her engaging and actionable speaking style, Jennifer helps organizations, executive teams, and emerging leaders navigate complex growth, prevent burnout, and build high-performing cultures.

She specializes in translating high-level organizational strategy into human-centric leadership practices. Her signature presentations focus on sustainable leadership momentum, the psychology of incremental progress, and strategic cross-functional alignment.

Beyond her corporate leadership, Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors for NAMI St. Louis and is an active community advocate. Whether delivering an intimate workshop or addressing a ballroom, she blends data-backed frameworks with real-world executive storytelling to leave audiences energized, equipped, and ready to execute.

NAMI St. Louis - Board Member, NAMIWalks St. Louis co-chair (namistl.org)
Jewish Family Services - NORC volunteer
Marcy's Project - volunteer
Society for Information Management (SIM) member, SIM Women, #SheLeadsTech
Women We Admire (WWA) contributor, member, presenter

Jennifer Galantowicz is an executive leader, business development strategist, and keynote speaker with over 20 years of experience driving growth across healthcare operations, technology consulting, and senior living. Known for her engaging and actio... Show more

Ehud Bahat is a technology consultant and fractional product leader with over 20 years of experience in software engineering and R&D management. Holding an MBA certification, Ehud specializes in bridging the gap between technical execution and business value. Previously at Binah.ai, Ehud led a live webinars, drove innovative strartegic solutions, and spearheaded integrations with Polar and other wearables. Passionate about individual accountability in the data space, he empowers professionals to transition from passive analysts to proactive business leaders.

Ehud Bahat is a technology consultant and fractional product leader with over 20 years of experience in software engineering and R&D management. Holding an MBA certification, Ehud specializes in bridging the gap between technical execution and busine... Show more

Data scientist and AI Engineer expert with over 5 years of experience in the AI, Data & Robotics fields. A developer behind various national-level AI & Data Solutions innovations, including Generative AI technologies such as Large Language Models, Multimodal, and Multi-Agent systems.

Data scientist and AI Engineer expert with over 5 years of experience in the AI, Data & Robotics fields. A developer behind various national-level AI & Data Solutions innovations, including Generative AI technologies such as Large Language Models, Mu... Show more

Akaash Tripathee is an AI Engineer and Community Organizer at TFUG Ghaziabad. He helped grow TFUG Ghaziabad into one of the largest TensorFlow communities in Asia, reaching 10,000+ members and earning recognition from Google for Developers as a highly impactful community. An AWS Summer School scholar (250 out of 80,000 applicants), Akaash has organized 20+ community events, delivered 10+ technical talks and workshops, and mentored developers across hackathons and innovation programs, including the Guinness World Record–winning Agentic AI Day, TreeHacks, GSSoC, and Cyber Utsav. His work focuses on Generative AI, Gemini, Vertex AI, Agentic AI systems, and developer education

Akaash Tripathee is an AI Engineer and Community Organizer at TFUG Ghaziabad. He helped grow TFUG Ghaziabad into one of the largest TensorFlow communities in Asia, reaching 10,000+ members and earning recognition from Google for Developers as a highl... Show more

Senior Backend Engineer building scalable backend systems for data-intensive products. Сurrently at Fullinfo, he develops the backend for a B2B intelligence platform serving more than 1 million company profiles, using Go, TypeScript, GraphQL, and AWS. Previously, led a microservices transition for Metro Cash & Carry and architected a high-load baggage search backend for regional airports. Alongside his industry work, Shadi has a scientific publication in physica status solidi and holds an MSc in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics.

Senior Backend Engineer building scalable backend systems for data-intensive products. Сurrently at Fullinfo, he develops the backend for a B2B intelligence platform serving more than 1 million company profiles, using Go, TypeScript, GraphQL, and AWS... Show more

Michelle is a multipassionate portfolio careerist who intentionally lives on cross-boundary intersections, bringing together innovation, creative expression, and human well-being. As an Innovation Designer and Human Well-Being Insight Designer, she explores how people live, work, and thrive, translating complex insights into meaningful everyday practices and solutions. Her work as a Vision-to-Experience Curator connects ideas to real-world impact, helping individuals and organizations bring purposeful concepts to life.

She has led workshops, trainings, and sessions focused on leveraging creativity and technology to drive innovative thinking, collaborating with diverse teams to tackle complex challenges. Committed to building bridges between different perspectives, she thrives on turning bold ideas into actionable strategies that yield meaningful, sustainable impact in both the short and long term. Her aim is always to bring people together in ways that spark self-discovery, creative expression, and personal liberation—ultimately empowering every individual to step fully into their potential.

Alongside these roles, Michelle is an author, artist, and podcaster, using storytelling and creative expression to explore themes of purpose, resilience, and modern innovative work. Her multidisciplinary path reflects a commitment to curiosity, integrity, and designing a life that aligns with her values, vision of success, and purpose.

With experience across multiple sectors and creative fields, Michelle brings a grounded, integrated perspective to conversations about wellness, innovation, and entrepreneurship, offering insights shaped by both lived experience and intentional design.

Michelle is a multipassionate portfolio careerist who intentionally lives on cross-boundary intersections, bringing together innovation, creative expression, and human well-being. As an Innovation Designer and Human Well-Being Insight Designer, she e... Show more

Itunuoluwa builds data, ML and AI-powered solutions that drive business value. She trained first as a geologist, then pivoted to data science at Deloitte, completed an M.Sc. in Data Science at the University of Calgary, and is now working as a technology consultant at BDO Canada. Her work includes applied ML, data engineering, and LLM deployment with hands-on experience for clients across energy, telecoms, finance, and manufacturing industries.

Itunuoluwa builds data, ML and AI-powered solutions that drive business value. She trained first as a geologist, then pivoted to data science at Deloitte, completed an M.Sc. in Data Science at the University of Calgary, and is now working as a techno... Show more

Mathis Lucka has more than 8 years of experience in building AI applications. He co-founded Blue Guardrails, where he focuses on detecting and preventing hallucinations in generative AI applications. He's an expert in agentic AI systems and RAG applications.

Mathis Lucka has more than 8 years of experience in building AI applications. He co-founded Blue Guardrails, where he focuses on detecting and preventing hallucinations in generative AI applications. He's an expert in agentic AI systems and RAG appli... Show more

Ruby engineer with over 15 years creating robust, scalable back-end systems with a strong emphasis on clean, maintainable code. I'm an independent consultant, TDD and domain-driven design practitioner, author of the TCB gem, founder of wheretofocus.com.

Ruby engineer with over 15 years creating robust, scalable back-end systems with a strong emphasis on clean, maintainable code. I'm an independent consultant, TDD and domain-driven design practitioner, author of the TCB gem, founder of wheretofocus.c... Show more

Sarah is a Distinguished Engineer, and Area Tech Lead for AI and the Web Ecosystem for Chrome at Google. She's formerly Sr. Director of Engineering at Google, leading the Core Infrastructure teams that power Google apps (Search, YouTube, Workspace, Cloud, etc) on the Web, Android, iOS, Multiplatform, Experimentation, and Client Observability. She was Incident Commander for Core Developer Infrastructure at Google and led the Search mission for Core Developer, modernizing and innovating Google's internal tech stacks for the age of AI.

Sarah Drasner is an award-winning Speaker, and she was formerly VP at Netlify and Principal at Microsoft Azure. Sarah is an instructor at Master.dev, and has written two books.

Sarah is a Distinguished Engineer, and Area Tech Lead for AI and the Web Ecosystem for Chrome at Google. She's formerly Sr. Director of Engineering at Google, leading the Core Infrastructure teams that power Google apps (Search, YouTube, Workspace, C... Show more

Mateo is an expert at bridging cutting-edge AI research with practical developer tools. With a background in computational biology and experience in both research and engineering, he now focuses on making LLMs more useful by connecting them to systems developers already use. At Arcade, Mateo creates tutorials, SDKs, and open-source examples that help developers move beyond chatbots and into fully agentic applications.

Mateo is an expert at bridging cutting-edge AI research with practical developer tools. With a background in computational biology and experience in both research and engineering, he now focuses on making LLMs more useful by connecting them to system... Show more

I am an experienced software engineer, passionate about building solutions that create value for organizations.

In my career I’ve worked as a software developer, development team lead, and application development manager. In my current role as a software architect, I provide architectural designs, prototypes, patterns, standards, and mentoring for my team members and organization.

I am an experienced software engineer, passionate about building solutions that create value for organizations. In my career I’ve worked as a software developer, development team lead, and application development manager. In my current role as a s... Show more

Apaixonado por tecnologia e suas soluções, formado em Técnico de Informática para Internet e Tecnólogo em Banco de Dados pela FATEC de São José dos Campos. Nos últimos anos, dedicou-se à administração de servidores SQL Server, abrangendo desde a instalação de instâncias standalone, otimizações de queries SQL até projetos complexos migrações, upgrades e melhorias. Possui conhecimentos técnicos em High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR), utilizando tecnologias como Failover Cluster Instances (FCI), Availability Groups (AG), Log Shipping e Data Replication. Experiência em Cloud Computing na AWS, Azure e Google com foco em administração e migrações online ou offline por meio de estratégias como Rehosting e Replatforming voltado para serviços de dados em ambientes IaaS, PaaS e SaaS.

Apaixonado por tecnologia e suas soluções, formado em Técnico de Informática para Internet e Tecnólogo em Banco de Dados pela FATEC de São José dos Campos. Nos últimos anos, dedicou-se à administração de servidores SQL Server, abrangendo desde a inst... Show more

Philip Hillman is a Design and Product Leader with over 25 years in user experience (UX) and product design and over 12 years leading the design organisations behind them.

He builds design functions from the ground up. At Credit Suisse he created the bank's first dedicated, centralised, in-house UX function, growing it from zero to 17 and designing its entire operating model. He also brings operational structure and rigour to established ones, most recently leading design for a ~$15bn+ YouTube advertising product portfolio at Google.

He operates fluently from setting strategy and vision through to shipping and optimising product, with a service-design mindset and a career-long thread of harnessing AI in service of user and business goals. He excels in complex, highly regulated problem spaces, and brings an evidence-driven, research-led approach that delivers design solutions that create measurable commercial impact.

He has worked across financial services, adtech, government, e-commerce, and enterprise platforms, and is equally at home moving fast in a scale-up or building rigorous structure in a global enterprise.
Previously Head of UX Research & Design at Credit Suisse and Senior UX Design Lead & Manager at Amazon, with earlier roles including Tesco, Accenture and Barclays.

Learn more at www.philiphillman.com

Philip Hillman is a Design and Product Leader with over 25 years in user experience (UX) and product design and over 12 years leading the design organisations behind them. He builds design functions from the ground up. At Credit Suisse he created ... Show more

As a passionate software engineer and product manager, I thrive in the dynamic tech and gaming ecosystems. I bring a unique blend of technical and creative skills to the table. I possess a keen problem-solving mindset and a natural ability to think outside the box. My passion lies in making impactful contributions across various areas of technology. I am driven to build and manage innovative applications that drive positive change and address real-world challenges within the ecosystem.

As a passionate software engineer and product manager, I thrive in the dynamic tech and gaming ecosystems. I bring a unique blend of technical and creative skills to the table. I possess a keen problem-solving mindset and a natural ability to think o... Show more

Dr Ahmed I. Osman is a Senior Lecturer in Energy Engineering at Canterbury CC University, United Kingdom, and an internationally recognised expert in sustainable energy, carbon accounting, LCA/TEA, MRV, clean fuels, hydrogen, CCUS, biochar carbon removal and AI-assisted sustainability optimisation.

His work focuses on turning complex technical, environmental and techno-economic evidence into defensible decisions for research, policy, innovation funding and industrial deployment. He has authored 219 Scopus-indexed publications, with more than 32,000 citations, an h-index of 88 and 14 Highly Cited Papers. ScholarGPS ranked him #7 worldwide in Biomass in Environmental Chemistry and among the top 0.05% of scholars globally.

Dr Osman is Distinguished Editor of Environmental Chemistry Letters and serves in editorial roles with Scientific Reports and Molecular Catalysis. He is also a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and has acted as an evaluator or reviewer for EPSRC, ERC, SEAI, ANR, FFAR, The Research Council of Oman and the Canadian Poultry Research Council.

His applied work includes hydrogen systems, methanol and dimethyl ether pathways, CCUS, biochar carbon removal, LCA/TEA and MRV-ready clean-technology assessment. At AI Horizons 2026, he brings a practical cross-sector perspective on how AI can support evidence-grounded, auditable and governance-ready enterprise decisions.

Dr Ahmed I. Osman is a Senior Lecturer in Energy Engineering at Canterbury CC University, United Kingdom, and an internationally recognised expert in sustainable energy, carbon accounting, LCA/TEA, MRV, clean fuels, hydrogen, CCUS, biochar carbon rem... Show more

Dr. Michael T. George is an executive leader, keynote speaker, and author whose work sits at the intersection of organizational performance, strategic leadership, and human potential. As VP of Engineering & Technology at Avoq and as founder of software-as-a-service platforms ytxt.me and Revyewed, he brings more than 30 years of enterprise experience across consumer, retail, digital, and services-driven organizations.

He is the creator of The Detour Advantage™ — a practical framework developed and tested in real organizational settings during actual moments of disruption, pressure, and change. His forthcoming book of the same name is currently under negotiation with a literary agent and is scheduled for publication in 2026.

He speaks internationally to corporate, executive, and non-profit-based audiences. Every engagement is crafted specifically for the event and the audience.

Dr. Michael T. George is an executive leader, keynote speaker, and author whose work sits at the intersection of organizational performance, strategic leadership, and human potential. As VP of Engineering & Technology at Avoq and as founder of softwa... Show more

Martin is a Principal Architect and CTO for a number of not-for-profit organisations in Perth, Western Australia.

He has many years of experience in integration, particularly across the Microsoft Azure stack, as well as experience developing solutions for IoT and Digital Twins.

More recently, he has been involved in many projects in artificial intelligence and healthcare.

He is the organiser of the Perth Azure User Group, and a global administrator for both Global Azure as well as being a Microsoft MVP.

In his spare time, he likes to exercise and read, and wrangle his 3 kids.

Martin is a Principal Architect and CTO for a number of not-for-profit organisations in Perth, Western Australia. He has many years of experience in integration, particularly across the Microsoft Azure stack, as well as experience developing solut... Show more

"Terryn Valikodath is a senior consultant at Cisco Talos Incident Response with multiple years of experience in DF/IR, cybersecurity and IT administration. He has worked with a wide variety of organizations on their worst days and loves nothing more than battling the bad guys as a part of the vanguard.
Terryn has spoken at various cybersecurity conferences with a particular focus on merging soft skills with technical ability."

"Terryn Valikodath is a senior consultant at Cisco Talos Incident Response with multiple years of experience in DF/IR, cybersecurity and IT administration. He has worked with a wide variety of organizations on their worst days and loves nothing more... Show more