Anja Hendel is a digital expert, computer scientist and supervisory board member, as well as Senior Adviser at the appliedAI Institute for Europe. She supports organisations in bringing new technologies such as AI into responsible and effective application. Her focus lies in assessing digital investments and IT architectures so that they not only modernise business models but also make them resilient and future-proof.

Dr. Paula González Avalos is Head of AI Academy at the appliedAI Institute for Europe. Through creative formats such as data visualisation and storytelling, she makes AI knowledge accessible and understandable for a broad audience. Her particular focus lies on ethics, reducing bias in the context of AI, and promoting diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.

Matthias supports companies in adopting and using AI solutions as a Senior Customer Success Manager at Blockbrain, helping them translate business requirements into practical applications. His focus is on integrating generative AI and AI agents into existing systems, data landscapes, and workflows, guiding customers from technical planning through implementation and rollout. He previously held global positions at HP Inc. and TRUMPF, bringing experience from international technology and industrial environments to his current role.

Florian Schleissinger leads key technology initiatives for Dieffenbacher’s Evoris platform, with a focus on digital solutions and industrial AI. He is responsible for turning machine data, plant knowledge, and AI capabilities into applications for the wood-based panel industry. His work focuses on creating practical value from AI by supporting people, decisions, and production processes in complex industrial environments.

With AI Rewired, Alena Keck is responsible for the company-wide transformation to an AI-native operating model at Vodafone Intelligent Solutions (VOIS).
For more than 15 years, she has been shaping the interface of business, technology and innovation in global companies in Europe and the USA – always with the aim of generating sustainable business value from transformation programs. Her AI experience ranges from analytics and forecasting platforms to digital omnichannel experiences with the first chatbots in customer service to transformation programs in autonomous driving – today with a clear focus on Agentic AI.
Her conviction: The success of AI is not determined by technology, but by the courage to change – and managers who lead the way instead of watching. Technology grows exponentially, organizations linearly. If you do not actively close this gap, you will pilot forever – instead of scaling.

As Managing Director of XL2 (a special joint venture between Audi and Capgemini), Felix Spitznagel is building and deploying the capabilities that enable Audi and other Volkswagen Group brands to accelerate their digital transformation journeys and embed AI at the heart of their business. With more than 25 years experience in IT leadership, Felix has a strong record of aligning technology with business value across a wide variety of domains, including HR, Finance, Supply Chain, and many others.

Claudia Rauscher is Manager for AI Security Engineering at Mercedes-Benz AG and brings over 15 years of cyber security experience to the field. Her focus lies in AI Security & Governance, observability, and translating risks reusable architecture
patterns that both secure and enable organizations. As a speaker, she explores how organizations can successfully balance rapid AI innovation with robust, resilient AI Security.

Christopher Dreher is Principal Offensive Security and Security Researcher with more than 15 years of experience in offensive security and application security. He focuses on AI-assisted security testing, agentic systems, automation, and making complex cybersecurity topics understandable and practical. As a speaker and builder, he explores how AI is changing both software development and the future of security.

Alexander Müller is Head of Innovation and Collaboration Supply Chain at Audi. He previously led logistics at Audi Sport and supply chain functions at Audi Brussels and Audi’s Neckarsulm preseries operations. His experience spans automotive logistics, production supply and innovation, combining operational leadership with an understanding of complex manufacturing environments.

Marc Ungeheuer is co-founder of CORTEXIO and leads product and technology. A previous founder, he is turning CORTEXIO’s vision of an industrial intelligence layer into practical software. He builds tools that help manufacturers solve problems and retain knowledge, aiming to strengthen European manufacturing competitiveness and support Europe’s long-term industrial sovereignty.

Maximilian Bücker is co-founder of CORTEXIO and leads sales and Go-to-Market. His experience includes industrial digitalization projects with Ford and BMW. He translates manufacturing challenges into practical solutions and works to make customer acquisition and deployment repeatable across factories, supporting CORTEXIO’s growth in complex industrial production environments.

Sandra Frings is a researcher and consultant at Fraunhofer IAO, specializing in Artificial Intelligence in customer service, sales, and industrial service environments.
She supports companies in identifying, evaluating, and implementing AI-based solutions, with a particular focus on machine and plant engineering. Her work combines applied research, business transformation, and practical implementation to help organizations unlock the value of AI-driven service and knowledge management.

Dr. Maximilian Feike manages the Service Ecosystem Innovation Team at
Fraunhofer KODIS in Heilbronn. His research and consulting focus on digital
business model innovation, AI-Adoption and Innovation Management. He supports
companies in unlocking the strategic potential of digital and cognitive service
systems.

Joschka Finkbeiner is Head of Strategy, Tech Innovation and R&D at thyssenkrupp Automotive Body Solutions. His professional background combines technical understanding with experience in strategy, business development and innovation. In addition, he founded and developed his own start-ups and thus brings entrepreneurial experience from the development of new business models. Today, he is responsible for strategic and technological development at thyssenkrupp Automotive Body Solutions and is particularly concerned with translating new technologies into industrial applications and products.

At thyssenkrupp Automotive Body Solutions, Jens Konukiewitz is driving the development of a new business area in the field of cognitive robotics. After various positions in strategy and transformation functions, his focus today is on transferring new technologies into industrial processes in such a way that functioning applications are created for customers on the shop floor. He accompanies the topic from the market and partner strategy through the first industrial pilot projects to the development of scalable customer offers. His career combines strategic business development with practical experience in planning, designing and implementing new factories and production systems.

Boas Dünkel focuses on turning the potential of AI into practical value in a global industrial company. By combining AI solution delivery with employee enablement, he empowers colleagues to build their own agents while fostering a culture of experimentation and learning, turning curiosity into business value.

AI and digitalization leader with over nine years of experience at Schaeffler. Currently leading the Admin AI Factory, focused on standardizing and scaling autonomous AI-driven process automation across the organization. Previously responsible for digitalization, ServiceNow solutions, RPA, and hyperautomation initiatives within Schaeffler’s global Shared Services organization.

Dr. Andreas Liebl is CEO and Founder of appliedAI Initiative, Europe’s largest initiative for the application of trustworthy AI. An economist by training with a background at McKinsey and in his own start-ups, he founded appliedAI at UnternehmerTUM in 2017 and today helps organisations drive responsible AI transformation that creates real business value. He advises bodies such as the Global Partnership on AI and the Bavarian AI Council and is a sought-after speaker at international events including DLD, NVIDIA GTC and the Handelsblatt AI Summit.

Max Vogelsberger leads AI transformation programs at appliedAI. He advises executive teams on AI strategy, operating models and use case portfolios. He assesses every initiative on adoption, commercial substance and technical readiness, and builds the governance that carries the survivors into production.

Dr. Janos Gabler is Head of Research & Engineering at the appliedAI Institute for Europe, where he works on translating the latest advances in machine learning and AI into practical applications. His areas of focus are numerical optimisation, software engineering, AI-assisted programming and agentic AI systems.

Lajla Fetic is Head of AI Public Interest & Policy at the appliedAI Institute for Europe. She is a leading expert in public interest tech, AI governance, and digital policy, advising policymakers at the EU, national, and local levels, as well as stakeholders in business and civil society, on AI for the common good. She has advised the European Parliament and the German Bundestag on the EU AI Act and authored several studies on regulation, regulatory sandboxes and digital sovereignty.

Benjamin Bastians is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Deutsche Telekom IoT and is responsible for IoT sales in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region (APAC). He drives the international expansion of Deutsche Telekom IoT, has full profit responsibility (P&L) for the global business and plays a key role in shaping the company’s strategic growth and international market presence.

With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Benjamin held various senior sales positions within Deutsche Telekom. He was responsible for major strategic international deals and established strong, long-term partnerships with business customers worldwide.
He was one of the driving forces behind the creation of T-IoT, a global go-to-market initiative of Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile US. As a result, business customers benefit from seamless, cross-border IoT connectivity and the combined strengths of two leading telecommunications providers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Beyond Europe and the US, Benjamin is driving the expansion of Deutsche Telekom IoT in the APAC region. By building strategic partnerships with the Bridge Alliance and other leading players in the regional IoT ecosystem, he positions the company as a trusted partner for the global scale of IoT connectivity.

Max Vogelsberger leads AI transformation programs at appliedAI. He advises executive teams on AI strategy, operating models and use case portfolios. He assesses every initiative on adoption, commercial substance and technical readiness, and builds the governance that carries the survivors into production.