Speaker Details 2024

Dr. Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

Pressefoto (© BMWK / Dominik Butzmann)

Gaël de Maisonneuve, Consul Général & Directeur de l’Institut Français de Stuttgart

Thomas is a seasoned innovator and strategist at the intersection of business, academia, and political consulting. Formerly a Researcher at the ifo Institute for Economic Research, Head of Department at the National Academy of Science and Engineering, and Chief Strategy Officer of a DARPA-inspired innovation agency focused on national security, he led transformative projects enhancing Germany’s technological capabilities and resilience. He serves as a Sherpa for the Future Council of the Federal Chancellor and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network. At Achleitner Ventures, Thomas invests in promising technology start-ups and serves as Senior Advisor. He holds a PhD in economics and is a Certified Private Equity Analyst.

Achleitner Ventures is a Munich-based Family Office. As an active investor, we fund groundbreaking innovations and enjoy working with some of the brightest minds and best entrepreneurs.

Luisa Bomke, AI Reporter & Editor, Handelsblatt

Luisa Bomke was born in Lippstadt in 1995. After gaining her first journalistic experience in local editorial offices, she studied journalism and public relations at the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences in the Ruhr region from 2015 to 2018. She then spent three years as a press officer for FDP member of parliament and financial politician Frank Schäffler before completing the Georg von Holtzbrinck School for Business Journalists as a trainee at Handelsblatt and Wirtschaftswoche. She has been working as an AI editor for Handelsblatt since July 2023.

Handelsblatt is the largest business and financial newspaper in German. Around 200 editors, correspondents and permanent staff provide up-to-date, comprehensive and well-founded reporting around the globe. Handelsblatt is represented by more than 70 domestic and foreign correspondents on all continents and has one of the largest networks of correspondents in the German media.

Giulia Carsaniga, Policy Officer, European Commission, DG CNECT AI Office, unit A4 Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Policy Coordination

Giulia Carsaniga is Policy Officer at the European Commission’s AI Office, where she works on AI innovation and policy coordination. In particular, she is project officer for European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) in Germany and focuses on AI literacy and skills policies. Previously Giulia worked in consulting for German and EU public administrations in Berlin. Her academic background is in economics and public policy. She speaks fluently Italian, English, German, and French.

The European AI Office supports the development and use of trustworthy AI, while protecting against AI risks. The AI Office was established within the European Commission’s DG CNECT as the centre of AI expertise and forms the foundation for a single European AI governance system.

Fotografin Julia Wisswesser

Prof. Dr. Tobias Kämpf, Researcher, ISF Institute for Social Science Research Munich

Tobias Kämpf, Dr. phil. habil., is Professor of Social Sciences, Work and Digitalisation at the University of Labour (Frankfurt/Main). As a sociologist, he has been researching the digitalisation of society and the future of work at the ISF Munich for over 15 years. Empirical research trips have taken him several times to Silicon Valley, Bangalore (India) and Eastern Europe. He completed his doctorate at the Technical University of Munich on the globalisation of software development (2008) and his habilitation at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg on the digital transformation of modern working societies (2021). His current fields of research range from new business models and the transformation of companies to the future of work (i.e. AI and agile forms of organisation) to the consequences for employees and industrial relations.

The University of Labour (UoL) was founded in 2021 and is state-recognised. It is the first trade union-run university in Europe. With an interdisciplinary scientific approach, we focus on the changing world of work and the challenges for industrial relations. We want to empower people professionally and encourage them to shape the world of work in a fair and democratic way. In research and teaching, we take a clear stance in favour of solidarity and social sustainability in the world of work.

Olga Mordvinova, CEO, incontext.technology GmbH (INCTEC)

Olga Mordvinova is the founder and CEO of incontext.technology GmbH, a deep-tech company for smart automation in industry and infrastructure 4.0. In 2022 Olga has been selected as one of the top 50 female entrepreneurs in Germany. Before founding her company, she worked for IBM, SAP and ProsiebenSat1 in development and management in strategic areas and taught at the University of Heidelberg. Having a background in distributed computing and AI, Olga actively promotes the adoption of AI/ML in industry. She is also engaged in the popularization of STEM in schools and is a chair of the VDU Landesverband Baden.

incontext.technology GmbH (INCTEC) is a deep-tech company for smart automation in industry and infrastructure 4.0. It provides a product for smart monitoring to increase the effectiveness and reliability of plants and relevant processes. INCTEC was awarded several times: as ‘Top Service 2024’, ‘AI Champion BW 2021’, ‘Newcomer 2021 in Industry 4.0″ by Orange SE and was the winner of the prestigious SNCF/Orange competition 2019 in Paris.

Gennadi Schermann, CEO DIZ | Digitales Innovationszentrum GmbH

Gennadi is the CEO of DIZ | Digitales Innovationszentrum GmbH in Karlsruhe. As a business engineer with experience in China, Finland, and Greece, he drives the advancement of AI and cybersecurity in Europe, particularly through his role in the European Digital Innovation Hub AI and Cybersecurity (EDIH-AICS), recognized by the European Commission. He and his team have launched numerous innovation projects, including the Digital Hub applied AI Karlsruhe, recognized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Gennadi is passionate about playing the violin and piano and is actively involved in national and international committees and innovation boards. His work focuses on building ecosystems that promote collaboration among research institutions, businesses, startups, and the public sector.

DIZ | Digitales Innovationszentrum GmbH empowers companies and public organizations to leverage digital innovation. Specializing in AI, cybersecurity, and cutting-edge tech, DIZ drives collaboration between research, startups, and established businesses, ensuring the successful adoption of technologies

Dr. Daniel Vonderau, Vice Department Manager Cybersecurity and Law und Data Protection Officer, FZI Research Center for Information Technology

Daniel Vonderau works in the "Cybersecurity and Law" research division as vice head of department. His work focuses on IT and data protection issues and current legal regulation on information technology. As a legal scholar at the FZI, he can live out his passion for the legal understanding of technical issues. He has also been the FZI's Data Protection Officer since 2022.

As an independent foundation, the FZI Research Center for Information Technology has stood for applied cutting-edge research in the field of computer science and its application fields for over 35 years. The FZI researches and develops innovations for the benefit of society and offers excellent researchers a unique springboard to their professional future. For its partners from industry, business, science, associations, and the public sector, the FZI serves as an research, training and transfer institution.

Michael Denzler, Lead AI & Data Consultant, Zühlke

Michael is a Lead AI & Data Consultant at Zühlke. He brings an extensive AI engineering background from previous deep-tech positions, where he successfully brought AI projects from concept to production. Today, he empowers organizations to harness the full potential of AI at scale, with a particular focus on establishing robust AI governance. He enjoys when companies achieve real business value from AI technologies applied in a secure and responsible manner. Michael holds a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence.

Zühlke is a global innovation service provider. We empower ideas and create new business models by developing services and products based on new technologies – from initial vision through development, deployment, production, and beyond.

Ibrahim Halfaoui, AI Expert consultant, Tüv Süd

Ibrahim Halfaoui is a distinguished AI expert with a 12-year track record of pioneering contributions to the field. His expertise spans the development and deployment of AI models across various sectors, including automotive and insurance. Currently, he is focused on enhancing the quality and governance of AI technologies, ensuring they are reliable and beneficial for businesses. His previous roles include leading the Machine Learning department at Fadata Group Ltd and conducting advanced AI research at HUAWEI Ltd. Academically, Ibrahim holds a Ph.D. in AI and an MBA, underscoring his deep understanding of AI and strategic business applications.

TÜV SÜD is a renowned global service corporation specializing in testing, certification, auditing, and advisory services. Founded in 1866 with the aim of ensuring the safety of steam boilers, it has evolved into an organization committed to adding value and inspiring trust in a sustainable and digital future. With nearly 160 years of experience, TÜV SÜD continues to serve as a trusted partner, employing around 28,000 experts across more than 1,000 locations worldwide, dedicated to optimizing technology, systems, and expertise for the betterment of society and the environment.

Alireza Zamanian, Research engineer, Fraunhofer IKS

Alireza Zamanian has been a research engineer at Fraunhofer IKS since September 2021. He is doing his doctorate in computer science at the Technical University of Munich, where he is investigating reliable and interpretable analysis methods for missing data. At Fraunhofer IKS, his research focuses on the development and verification of AI models, with a focus on medical applications.

Safe Intelligence — this forms the core brand of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS. Connected cognitive systems drive innovation in many sectors, including mobility, healthcare, and automation in industry. Fraunhofer IKS is conducting research to ensure that these applications are reliable and verifiably safe. We consider resilience and intelligence to be part of the same process.

Saskia Bluhm, IT Project Manager, dmTECH GmbH

Saskia Bluhm is an IT project manager at dmTECH GmbH, focusing on the advantageous utilization and seamless process integration of instore sensorics and robotic technology within dm’s operations. Saskia holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). She has a background in management consulting and research, specifically in the areas of industrial goods, energy-behavioral studies, and user-centric design.

dmTECH is a technology company, operating as a 100% subsidiary of dm-drogerie markt, with a team of over 1200 employees. At dmTECH, technology is never an end in itself: Innovative solutions for dm’s online shop, customer and employee apps, as well as IT systems in dm stores, distribution centers, and the headquarters are developed to deliver the digital dm experience to customers and colleagues.

Jonas Reiling, CEO & Co-Founder, Ubica Robotics GmbH

Jonas Reiling is the CEO of Ubica Robotics and one of its co-founders. He studied Industrial Engineering and Management at KIT in Karlsruhe and has experience in automotive and retail for both innovation and product engineering. In his current role he facilitates Ubica to develop a product tailored to brick-and-mortar retail stores and managing a successful robotics startup with deep software integration.

Ubica develops autonomous mobile scanning robots that use advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence for image processing and recognition to create digital twins of retail stores in the form of semantic environmental models. These digital store twins represent the current setup of the stores and the stocking of shelves, linking them with semantic knowledge. Previously, parts of the information collected by the robot were gathered by employees with significant time investment, who can now attend to more customer oriented services. Primarily, these digital store twins enable detailed analyses and evaluations for operational and strategic applications and processes, facilitating the optimization of retail stores.

Florian Spohr, Head of Sales Centre-East France, aprex solutions

Florian SPOHR is Sales Manager at APREX Solutions. His atypical career path, enriched by practical experience in the fields of high technology, optronics and AI, has made him an expert in machine vision.

APREX Solutions is expert in machine vision and image analysis. It designs, develops and deploys complete systems, software and hardware, to automate and increase the reliability of Quality & Process control operations. Its technology combines state-of-the-art parametric algorithmic and AI methods. Its customers are manufacturers in all sectors, as well as research and innovation centres, which it supports at every stage of their projects.

Helen Landhäußer, Part of the managing directors team of Mader GmbH & Co. KG

Helen Landhäußer works on a mission for a sustainable usage of industrial utilities. She has been part of LOOXR since its foundation in 2018 - initially with a focus on GTM and business development until she took the role of CEO. She completed her bachelor's degree in business administration at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University, with an international management consultancy, P3 Group, as a partner. Afterwards she worked for the same company in the US and then completed her Master's degree in International Business in Cologne. In August 2024 she joined the management board of the parent company, Mader GmbH & Co. KG. Mader has the vision of “saving energy - for an enkelfähige future” by building Europe’s largest One-Stop-Shop for energy-efficient, industrial compressed air.

Mader GmbH & Co. KG, based near Stuttgart, has the vision of “saving energy - for an enkelfähige future”. Mader pursues a “holistic” approach that is unique in Germany and advises its customers comprehensively on the entire compressed air process and value chain - with a one-stop store approach for energy-efficient, industrial compressed air. In 2018, Mader spun off its digital start-up LOOXR.

Frédéric Cheviron, Head of Business Development, De Dietrich Process Systems 

Frederic Cheviron is Head of Business Development of the European Business Unit PGS (Pharma & Green Solutions) at De Dietrich Process Systems, with over 30 years of experience. He has proven expertise in setting up and managing multi-channel distribution, building long-term client relationships, and developing multi-million Euro revenues. Skilled in international sales, business

development, and leading multicultural teams in the pharmaceuticals, chemistry, and life sciences sectors, he has a strong track record in sales management, contract negotiation, and team building.

De Dietrich Process Systems is a global leader in process equipment and systems for the pharmaceutical, chemical, and fine chemical industries. They specialize in manufacturing and integrating solutions for reaction, filtration, drying, and thermal separation processes. With a focus on innovation and quality, De Dietrich provides cutting-edge technologies and services, ensuring efficient and safe production processes. Their expertise spans glass-lined and stainless-steel equipment, catering to complex industrial needs worldwide.

Philippe Robin, CEO and Co-founder, Alysophil

Philippe Robin is an experienced business leader, co-founder and president of Alysophil SAS, based in Strasbourg since 2019. Under his leadership, Alysophil excels in producing fine chemistry molecules, utilizing innovative technologies such as continuous flow processes and artificial intelligence. Previously, Philippe held executive positions at WeylChem US and Ineos, where he successfully implemented strategies for restructuring and improving industrial performance. A graduate of ENSIC Nancy, he possesses solid expertise in chemical engineering and strategic management.

Alysophil develops innovative concepts in industrial chemistry, producing high-value molecules by combining flow chemistry and artificial intelligence. These technologies accelerate development by identifying molecules to meet complex needs and implementing high-performance syntheses. This combination enables frugal, compact, mobile, and autonomous production units, enhancing safety, reducing environmental impact, costs, and improving independence. Based in Strasbourg, Alysophil employs 13 people.

Florian Leser, Head of Data Analytics & AI, KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse

Dr. Florian Leser has dedicated his career to technology-driven business innovation. He holds a diploma in Industrial Engineering from KIT (1994-1999) and a Dr. oec. from the University of St.Gallen (1999-2006). He was also visiting researcher at Stanford University and SAPLabs Palo Alto (2002-2003). His professional journey began at ERGO Group AG, where he contributed to IT, corporate and digital strategy. From 2019 to 2023, Dr. Leser has been head of data at ADAC. Since 2023 he serves as Head of Data Analytics and AI at KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse. When not immersed in his executive role, or fulfilling his role of husband and father two daughters in Frankfurt, you might spot him by the Main river, steadily honing his running skills.

With around 1.6 million policyholders, KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse is one of Germany's largest health insurers. It promotes health-conscious lifestyles with innovative programmes and offers quality-assured care. KKH combats billing fraud and is regularly awarded for service quality. Over 4,000 employees in more than 100 service centres support policyholders. The head office is in Hannover.

Matthieu Chailloux, AI Engineer, Hager Group

Matthieu is an AI Engineer at Hager Group, specializing in the development and deployment of an internal Generative AI platform. His primary focus is creating tailored conversational assistants for various business functions. In addition to his technical work, Matthieu is actively involved in democratizing generative AI to foster user adoption within the company.

Hager Group is a leading provider of solutions and services for electrotechnical installations in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings with 13,000 employees generating 3.2 billion Euros in sales. As an international independent company, Hager Group aims at sustainably shaping the electrical world of tomorrow and play a leading role in the field of energy management and distribution.

Tilmann Münch. Executive Management Schulz FLEXGROUP GmbH

Tilmann Münch is part of the executive management at Schulz FLEXGROUP GmbH, the largest owner-managed and independent UV flexo printing company in Europe. Founded in 1977, it specializes in the printing and finishing of flexible primary packaging for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, technical and non-food applications. The company uses latest production technology and safety infrastructure, validated processes and high-performance printing machines. Holistic sustainability, from technology to people, is its core principle.

After studying business administration with a focus on business informatics, Tilmann Münch held various positions in the fields of controlling, project management and digital transformation. Before joining Schulz FLEXGROUP, he was also CEO of Fachschriften-Verlag GmbH and Publishing Service GmbH.

Schulz FLEXGROUP GmbH, the largest owner-managed and independent UV flexo printing company in Europe. Founded in 1977, it specializes in the printing and finishing of flexible primary packaging for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, technical and non-food applications. The company uses latest production technology and safety infrastructure, validated processes and high-performance printing machines. Holistic sustainability, from technology to people, is its core principle.

Vivien Silvert, Project Manager, ARTE

Despite my degree in Psychology, I must admit I now spend more time trying to talk to computers than to my fellows. After working a few years in heavy industry, I went on to study software development and data science. I then worked at two startups before joining ARTE as a project manager in 2024. My projects focus on chatbots, content discovery, and video understanding.

For over 30 years, ARTE has been a cultural and European channel, recognized as a label of excellence and creativity across Europe, with a mission to bring Europeans closer through culture. Embracing its European dimension more than ever, ARTE, a pioneer in digital formats such as podcasts, HD, and replay, is now determined to harness AI in the right way.

Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg

Pressefoto (© Katja Bartolec)

Jan Frömberg, Technical Business Development Manager, Cloud&Heat Technologies GmbH

Jan Frömberg is an accomplished IT specialist with over a decade of diverse experience spanning both public and private sectors. He has worked on a variety of projects in areas such as manufacturing IT in semiconductor environments, software architecture, business intelligence, full-stack development, web applications, CI/CD pipelines, cloud computing, GIS, metadata management, search technologies, and Single Sign-On (SSO) implementations. Since joining Cloud&Heat Technologies in 2021, he has played an active role in significant initiatives like Gaia-X and was involved in the technical implementation of Germany's Online Access Act (OZG). With his expertise in complex technological landscapes and the ability to adapt to various IT disciplines, Jan is a valuable asset in driving innovation and digital transformation across industries.

Cloud&Heat Technologies is a Dresden-based cloud service and technology provider. With its vision of holistic, open and sustainable solutions, the company develops and operates scalable digital infrastructures. It specifically focusses on open source software, including OpenStack, in order to bring more transparency to the cloud market. Through innovative technologies the company resolves the conflict between increasing computing demand and sustainability.

Yann Lechelle, Co-founder CEO at Probabl

Yann Lechelle is an entrepreneur & tech executive, co-founder CEO at Probabl.ai, an INRIA spinoff whose mission is to distribute open source data science and machine learning technology globally around Scikit-learn and its 1.5 billion downloads. Previously, he was CEO at Scaleway, a leading regional cloud provider with unique European attributes and values. Over the past decades, he has founded, grown and exited a total of 6 tech startups, including Snips.ai, a privacy-by-design voice processing deep-tech acquired by Nasdaq-listed Sonos. Yann gives back to the community as an angel investors, as co-founding member of France Digitale and board member at HUB France AI, One-o-One and JEDI. Yann holds a Bachelor of Computer Science summa cum laude from AUP, as well as an MBA from INSEAD.

Our mission is to lead global innovation in data science by developing, maintaining, and sustaining an unparalleled suite of open-source tools, built around scikit-learn and its 1.5 billion downloads. Above and beyond products and solutions, we empower data scientists worldwide with support, training, and expertise to unlock the full potential of data-driven insights.

Lisa Oder, Editor, Tagesspiegel Background

Lisa Oder is an editor at Tagesspiegel Background and writes about digital infrastructure, sustainable digitalization and artificial intelligence. She has previously worked as a freelance author for Tagesspiegel Background and other media such as Handelsblatt and Forbes Advisor. She studied economics in Cologne, Mainz and Warsaw and is an alumnus of the Cologne School of Journalism for Politics and Economics.

Tagesspiegel Background provides all relevant news about current political debates, viewpoints from the industry and interesting facts about the players even before they are on the public agenda.

Dr. Till Riedel, Lab Lead TECO/SDIL, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Till Riedel is a computer scientist and Lab Lead at TECO at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He has been coordinating the Smart Data Innovation Lab (www.sdil.de) since 2015. There, he works on accelerating technology transfer in the fields of data analysis and artificial intelligence. He has co-authored more than 150 publications in areas such as the Internet of Things, machine learning and wearable computing. He is active in various national and international projects, headed the ethics monitoring for the EUHubs4Data project until the beginning of the year, coordinates the KIT's AI consulting for SMEs in Baden-Württemberg at the SmartDataSolution Centre and is currently technical co-lead for the data platform of the AI Alliance.

TECO was founded in 1993 at the University of Karlsruhe (now KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) for research and development in applied telematics in close co-operation with industry. KIT, ‘The Research University in the Helmholtz Association’, is one of the largest research institutions in Europe with over 10,000 employees and a budget of over EUR 1.1 billion.

Dr.-Ing. Philip Michael Haspel, Product Owner GenAI Techstack, EnBW AG

Dr.-Ing. Philip Haspel completed his doctorate in the field of simulation of turbulent reactive flows with a focus on renewable diesel fuels. He used machine learning algorithms to improve the efficiency and accuracy of his models. Since December 2024 he is Product Owner for the GenAI Techstack at EnBW AG. In this role, he is responsible for the development and provision of large language models (LLMs) and software blueprints. He also regularly holds workshops and lectures on the topics of Generative AI (GenAI) and Retrieval Augmented Generation. Dr. Haspel combines technical know-how with practical application and thus promotes innovation in the company by integrating the latest technologies and sharing knowledge.

EnBW AG (Energy Baden-Württemberg) is one of the largest energy supply companies in Germany. Based in Karlsruhe, EnBW supplies around 5.5 million customers with electricity, gas and water. The company relies heavily on renewable energies and innovative technologies to drive forward the Energiewende. EnBW is also involved in the areas of electromobility and digital infrastructure.

Philippe Valoggia, Senior Research and Technology Associate, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology

As Research and Development engineer, Philippe Valoggia explores how science and technology are shaped by and shape society. His work focuses on the development and use of responsible technologies. From this standpoint, he researches and creates methods to assess how these technologies affect people, society, and the planet. Philippe Valoggia is a full member of the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 and CEN-CLC JTC 21 subcommittees that are both related to Artificial Intelligence.

The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a mission-driven Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) that develops advanced technologies and delivers innovative products and services to industry and society.