Speakers 2026

Dr. Ibrahim Alshunaifi, a key figure in Saudi Arabia’s technological landscape, plays a pivotal role at the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR). With a rich background that includes a Master’s from ENSIETA and a Ph.D. from Université Paris Nanterre, he leverages his expertise to spearhead innovative projects at C4IR. His work focuses on advancing Industry 4.0 technologies, aimed at propelling the Kingdom’s SMEs into the digital era. As a certified SIRI Assessor and a strategic planner, Dr. Alshunaifi’s contributions are central to Saudi Arabia’s commitment to digital transformation and industrial modernization, showcasing his vision for a technologically advanced future.

Philipp Altrichter works as a Technical Sales Manager at Bosch Connected Industry, where he specialises in digitalisation solutions for manufacturing and product passport solutions based on semantic data management.

Prior to his current role at Bosch, he worked at Carl Zeiss MES Solutions GmbH, most recently as a Senior Consultant, where he gained extensive experience in consulting for MES solutions. He began his career at the WEH Group, where he held various positions in quality management and rose to the role of Head of Quality.

Reto Amsler has been working in information and cybersecurity for more than 25 years. He is co-founder of ALSEC Cyber Security Consulting AG, a company specialized in protecting critical infrastructures and Operational Technology (OT) environments, including SCADA and DCS systems.

Since the company’s foundation in 2019, he has been supporting organizations and operators of critical infrastructures in securing their IT and OT environments against cyber threats. His professional focus areas include governance, risk management, security architecture, and incident response.

In addition, Reto Amsler is actively involved as a trainer, speaker, and member of security groups and expert committees addressing topics such as OT security, cyber resilience, and regulatory requirements for critical infrastructures.

Johannes be Isa is a dedicated engineer who combines entrepreneurship and a scientific spirit. He is co-founder and managing director of the spin-off INOYAD Technologies, founded in 2019. The software company operates globally, developing and integrating innovative technologies for industrial companies and thereby contributing to more efficient production sites. The company also supports industrial companies in the training and development of employees in the context of Lean and Digital Manufacturing by designing and setting up innovation labs and simulations, including its own Smart Learning Factory solution. Prior to this, Johannes be Isa worked for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and headed multiple applied research projects in the production alliance for intelligent and resource-efficient production. He has already supported companies such as Bosch, Siemens and Volkswagen Group in their digital transformation and in setting up their smart factories. Through his work, he has already gained international project experience in Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. He received the Ph.D. degree for his work on dynamic production networks from Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Adel Ben Youssef is Professor of Economics at the Université Côte d’Azur and a member of the CNRS research laboratory (GREDEG – CNR UMR 7321). He is also an associate researcher at the Economic Research Forum in Cairo and the Global Labor Organization in Bonn. He is an international expert on digital and ecological transitions for many international institutions. He is a founding member of the African Association of Artificial Intelligence and Industry 4.0 (AISMA). In addition, he was a negotiator for Tunisia at COP 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 (2017-2024) in the field of climate finance. He has published more than 100 academic articles in various renowned international journals. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Platforms Journal (MDPI), Associate Editor of the journals Development and Sustainability in Economics and Finance (Springer) and Green and Low-Carbon Economy (GLCE). He is ranked among the top 4% of economists in the last 10 years by REPEC and the top 1% of economists by scholar GPS.

Leading ThinkAct Manufacturing – uniting French-Swiss industrial leaders across Industry 4.0 (digital twins, IoT, automation), Industrial AI (cobots, AI agents, logistics), and Integrated Supply Chains (traceability, resilience) to drive Europe’s reindustrialization.

Dassault Systèmes Marketing Manager Switzerland, advancing the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform mission: virtual twin experiences for sustainable innovation across manufacturing, infrastructure, life sciences, aerospace, automotive, energy, and high-tech industries – partnering with NVIDIA for Physical AI-powered transformation.

Raphaël Delstanche is a Senior Enterprise Account Executive at FlowFuse, where he leads GTM and partner strategy across Europe, helping industrial organisations bridge the gap between OT and IT by scaling Node-RED deployments to production. With a career built on deep-tech and industrial software sales — spanning IIoT, MQTT/Sparkplug B, and OPC-UA — he works daily at the intersection of factory-floor reality and emerging digital infrastructure.

Drawing on hands-on experience with manufacturers across BeNeLux, France, Switzerland, and Southern Europe, Raphaël brings a practitioner’s perspective to questions of AI augmentation in manufacturing: not as a theoretical promise, but as a deployment challenge requiring human judgment, workforce readiness, and ethical guardrails. At the panel on Human-Centricity, he will address how industrial teams can adopt AI-driven tools while keeping operators genuinely in the loop — and why that distinction defines the difference between automation and empowerment.

Simon Enderli is an experienced executive with over 20 years of expertise in economic development, business growth, and stakeholder engagement across both the private and public sectors. He currently serves as Head of the Bern Economic Development Agency, where he focuses on strengthening regional competitiveness, fostering innovation, and promoting investment. 

Previously, he led the Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation and served as President of the Swiss Entrepreneurs & Startup Association, playing a key role in advancing the Swiss startup ecosystem. His career includes senior positions in finance, international sales, and market development. Simon Enderli holds a degree in Business Economics and is fluent in German, English, and French. 

Alessandro Favalli is in charge of international business development and internationalization at MADE Competence Center Industry 4.0, a highly specialized hub with the mission to promote digital innovation and smart manufacturing within Italian SMEs. He has 30+ years experience as innovation consultant and international project manager, setting up and running international projects and ventures for private clients, public entities and multilateral agencies, with outspoken entrepreneurial attitude. His main interests include innovation, sustainable SMEs development and international cooperation.

Rafik Feki is an Industrial Development Officer with a demonstrated history in supporting business ecosystem, enterprise modernization and innovation, I4.0 and digital transformation, quality infrastructure, Aid for Trade. He joined the United Nations Industrial development organization (UNIDO) in 2007 where he formulated, raised financing and implemented several projects in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, North and Sub-Saharan Africa in different topics related to industrial development and digital transformation. Among others, he’s leading the Initiative related to the Alliance for I4.0 and Smart Manufacturing in Africa (AISMA) and overseeing several Programmes supporting the establishment of smart factories in Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Cote d’Ivoire, etc. Before joining UNIDO, he was a project manager for the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), supporting the implementation of a project in the area of SMEs upgrading and enhancement of local competitiveness.

Prof. Dr. María Franco is a Tenure-Track Professor in Circular Economy at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) (Department of Engineering and Information Technology) where she conducts research on sustainability transitions in industrial systems. She holds a doctorate from the University of Zurich, with complementary training at ETH Zurich and the University of Cambridge, and a joint master’s degree in System Dynamics and Business Administration by the University of Bergen, Radboud University Nijmegen, and the University of Palermo.

Her work sits at the intersection of circular economy and complex systems, combining life cycle assessment (LCA), greenhouse gas accounting (Scopes 1–3), and system dynamics simulation to evaluate circularity across products, value chains, and industrial ecosystems. Her research spans both technical and biological cycles, from assessing second-life potential in solar PV to circular pathways for low-carbon medical device manufacturing. She brings industry-relevant tools and quantitative insight to one of manufacturing’s most pressing transitions.

Pascal Gaggero is RUAG’s Head of Science and Technology and Switzerland’s Head of Delegation to the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG). In these dual roles, he focuses on leveraging deeptech and exploring cutting-edge technologies to enhance defense, security, and resilience. At RUAG, he leads the company’s venture clienting program, actively engaging with startups to drive innovation and impact. Pascal holds a Ph.D. in Micro and Nanosciences from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He brings more than 20 years of experience in technology development, research, and industrial product innovation to his leadership roles.

• Masters, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics & Control
• Experience in space, healthcare, industrial and mobile robots

Thomas Gfeller is the CEO of Switzerland Innovation since 2024. Prior to this assignment, Thomas was co-founder and chairman of the board of the Switzerland innovation Park in the city of Biel/Bienne where he also held the position of the Delegate for Economy. Aside he serves as a chairman or member of boards of directors in Swiss companies.

Thomas Gfeller, born in 1971, is Swiss Citizen and holds a PhD in philosophy and a degree in economics of the University of Berne. He started his professional career at the global strategy consulting firm Bain & Company.

Adam Gontarz graduated as a mechanical engineer at the TU Stuttgart. He worked as a research associate and did his PhD degree at the IWF at the ETH Zürich. Furthermore, he holds an Executive MBA degree from the ZHAW. At Swissmem, he has been responsible for the strategic and operational management of the industry sectors “Additive Manufacturing” and “Automotive”. Since April 2023, he became the Head of Digitalization, Innovation &Technology and a member of the Swissmem Executive Board. He is also founder and CEO of the ETH spin-off SIGMAtools GmbH, which offers innovative solutions in the field of data acquisition and analysis as well as resource optimization of complex mechatronic systems, machines and buildings. He brings with him a broad range of expertise and practical industry experience. At the same time, he is a guest lecturer for industrial communication, digitalization and innovation management at the OST and the HSLU.

Dominic Gorecky is a partner and executive board member at Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne AG. He co-founded and leads the Swiss Smart Factory, Switzerland’s first and foremost test and demonstration platform for Industry 4.0.

He also founded the International Smart Factory Academy (IFSA) and co-founded the Swiss Cobotics Competence Center (S3C), where he serves as President of the Board. S3C is a national hub for industrial and academic partners to collaboratively develop and test next-generation robotic solutions.

Previously, Dominic was the head of research for the Innovative Factory Systems department at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Kaiserslautern, Germany. In this role, he coordinated R&D for the living lab SmartFactoryKL.

Dominic contributes to the World Economic Forum (WEF) agenda and advises several Industry 4.0 start-ups. He co-founded the Swiss CxO Forum and chairs the International Smart Factory Summit.

In 2022, he was recognized as a Digital Shaper in Switzerland.

Dominic is passionate about driving responsible digital transformation for a sustainable society. He teaches various technology topics, including digital twins, cobotics, and IIoT in manufacturing. His PhD focused on the use of semantic technologies in the context of the digital factory.

Reto Grob is the CEO and Co-Founder of Augment IT AG, a Swiss company at the forefront of digital transformation in industrial sectors, leveraging cutting-edge augmented and artificial intelligence solutions. With a deep background in software engineering and innovation, he is committed to creating tangible value for shop floor workers by enhancing productivity, safety, and operational efficiency. Prior to founding Augment IT, he drove innovation at leading Swiss companies including Netcetera AG, Avaloq, and Swisscom, and gained valuable international experience working for five years in Japan’s mobile market as well as in Silicon Valley. His global perspective and hands-on approach have positioned Augment IT as a trusted partner in delivering impactful solutions across diverse industries.

Christian Haltiner is Managing Director of Dassault Systèmes for the strategic market Switzerland. He is also a member of the executive board of Dassault Systèmes EuroCentral. Christian has more than 20 years of experience in the IT sector and has a profound understanding of sale methodologies and partner management. After successful years as sales director at global market leaders like Canon or Microsoft, he joined the executive board of Rotring Data AG, where he got a deep understanding of modern innovation platforms, process optimization and manufacturing. He now focuses on the topics of “virtual twin” and digital continuity across all industries.

Sebastian Heuft is Senior Sustainability Manager in Procurement at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, based in Switzerland. He focuses on driving decarbonization, advancing resource efficiency, and integrating biodiversity into global supply chains.

With over 20 years of experience in procurement at Siemens, he has held multiple leadership roles across global category management and strategic sourcing. Today, he works on translating sustainability ambitions into actionable and scalable solutions – embedding sustainable decision making in an end-2-end carbon management process and fostering low-carbon strategies across complex supplier networks.

Sebastian is passionate about enabling sustainable products and shaping resilient, future-ready value chains at scale.

Nicolas Hojac, born in 1992 in Switzerland, is a professional alpinist and known for speed ascents and technical climbing. At 18, he climbed the Eiger North Face and went on to complete the legendary Alps North Face trilogy. He holds speed records on the Eiger and the Swiss Skyline, and has made first ascents in China, Patagonia, Nepal and Norway. In 2025, he and Philipp Brugger climbed the three north faces of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau in just 15 hours and 30 minutes. Breaking a record that had stood for over 20 years. Trained as a mechanical engineer, he brings precision, endurance, and deep passion to modern alpinism.

In his talk „Resilience & Mental Strength: Failure as part of the journey“, Nicolas draws on firsthand experience from the world’s most demanding environments and what they taught him about perseverance, adaptability, and pushing beyond what we believe is possible.

Karsten Hönisch is a customer-focused technical professional with extensive experience in customer service, technical support, and relationship management.

Originally from Stuttgart, Germany, he moved to Switzerland more than a decade ago and has since built a strong career in the industrial automation sector.

Over the past ten years, Karsten has worked closely with customers at Unitechnologies and IMA, developing deep industry knowledge and a strong understanding of technical requirements and customer needs.

 In 2025, he joined mta robotics AG as Head of Sales Components & Product Management. In this role, he focuses on the components business, including soldering and dispensing solutions, while leading customer service activities and ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction.

 Karsten is passionate about building long-term partnerships and supporting customers with practical, reliable solutions that help improve their processes and achieve lasting results.

Barbara Horvath is the co-founder of Inveel GmbH, a startup focusing on developing sensory skins for robots . Following her doctoral studies at NIMS in Japan, she embarked on a researcher journey, spending time at NIMS and CNRS (France) before joining the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland from 2015 to 2019. Transitioning to the corporate sector in 2020, she worked as an Engineer and later as Global Project Manager. In 2024 she founded Inveel where she serves as the CEO.

Professor Duck Young Kim is a full professor with the Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from POSTECH and the Ph.D. degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2006. He has solid industrial and academic experience as a Research Fellow with the DAEWOO Institute for Advanced Engineering, Yongin, South Korea, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Coventry, U.K., and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. He is currently a vice-president of the Society for Computational Design and Engineering, an associate editor of Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, and the director of the POSTECH-APPLE Manufacturing R&D Accelerator. His current research interests include industrial AI and autonomous manufacturing systems for the factories of the future.

Peter Krummenacher is a Swiss technology entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in web platforms. He is the Co-founder and CEO of BloqSens AG, a DPP Service Provider based at the SIPBB in Biel/Bienne specializing in Digital Product Passports (DPP) and Digital Battery Passports (DBP).

After successfully founding and leading two independent companies in the IT and sensor technology sectors, Krummenacher co-founded BloqSens in 2023 alongside Dr. Tobias Winter. He leverages this expertise to drive a secure, scalable, and industry-independent platform. Rather than a standalone application, his focus centers on building an open, interoperable ecosystem based on international standards to connect all supply chain participants.

An advocate for the circular economy and industrial data spaces like Catena-X, Krummenacher bridges the gap between regulatory requirements and practical software solutions, positioning BloqSens as a trusted technology partner and ecosystem enabler.

Dr. Milan Kumar is a distinguished figure in the field of global technology as a Global Chief Information and Digital Officer (CDIO), renowned as a TEDx speaker, educator, international author and startups mentor. He currently serves as the CIO of ZF Commercial Vehicles based in Bern, Switzerland. He has led multiple global Digital Transformation initiatives and passionate about “Data Monetization”. Throughout his career, Dr. Kumar has supported technology transformation of many Fortune 500 companies such as VOLKSWAGEN Group, ZF Group, BMW Group, General Motors, British Airways, Reliance, Atlas Copco, Morgan Stanley, WABCO etc.

Dr. Kumar’s academic achievements include a PhD in AI Management and completion of the “Driving Growth Through Innovation” at the Harvard Business School. He has been recognized with numerous awards, including the “Swiss CIO of the Year,” “Global Digital CIO,” and “CIO Excellence Award” from Economics Times.

Nikos is a Production and Management Engineer and has a PhD in Robotic Vision Systems. Since 2014 he has been working on the adoption of Industry4.0 and how these technologies can be applied in the factories seamlessly and effectively, participating in more than 70 EU funded projects. He has collaborated with more than 150 top organisations and manufacturers succeeding more than €80Million of funding for innovative Industry4.0 solutions. His vision is to make innovation easy for individuals and organisations by providing access to infrastructure, funding, data, network, experts, and live demonstrations so that they meet their true potentials. In 2016 Nikos co-founded CORE Innovation aiming at providing this opportunity to people and in 2020 co-founded CORE Innovation Center having succeeded more than €30M of funding. Now, he is working to build the Greek Smart Factory, a trusted platform to test and demo new technologies by joining forces with Academia, Tech providers, and industry. Nikos is a certified SIRI Assessor, able to assess manufacturing facilities and help companies in their Industry 4.0 journeys.

Stefan Lang is CEO of IRPD – Machine Tools in Additive Manufacturing and a seasoned sales and marketing professional with a background in international management and digital transformation.

He specializes in industrializing additive manufacturing and enabling companies to unlock its full potential. With a strong focus on sustainable growth, efficiency, and customer-centric solutions, he supports organizations in transforming their manufacturing strategies.

Stefan brings deep expertise in leveraging additive technologies to enhance supply chain robustness and production resilience. His work bridges technology, business strategy, and practical implementation—helping companies adapt to increasingly volatile markets.

In his presentations, he shares hands-on insights into how additive manufacturing can strengthen operational flexibility, reduce dependencies, and build more resilient production systems.

Expert in operational and cyber resilience, with a focus on comprehensive planning and pragmatic implementation to strengthen organizational robustness and business continuity.

Tomy Mändli is an industrial engineer specializing in industrial digitalization and the implementation of smart factory strategies. At iDIP Solution, he helps companies transform their production and business processes into scalable, data-driven structures, thereby achieving sustainable competitive advantages.

He combines technological expertise with business acumen, ensuring that digital initiatives are not only operationally effective but also strategically and financially viable. His focus is on the seamless integration of digital solutions into existing production and IT landscapes to increase transparency, unlock efficiency potential, and enable informed real-time decision-making.

A key component of his work is the development and scaling of digital products. Through the systematic use of data, new, marketable services and solutions are created that tap into additional revenue streams and strategically expand existing business areas. In this way, he supports companies in sustainably expanding their digital value creation and positioning themselves successfully in the market over the long term.

Milan Misic is Co-Founder and CTO of Quanteon, a Zurich-based company building the software and systems layer for critical infrastructure. Quanteon turns asset data, sensing and field robotics into auditable, defensible action across an asset’s entire lifecycle.

A full-stack systems engineer, Milan’s strength is that of a generalist: he sees across the whole stack and integrates many disciplines into one working product — the same logic by which Quanteon’s platform brings diverse robots and data sources together into a single, defensible operational decision.

Milan studied Computer Science at TU Munich and takes demanding systems from concept to production under real-world conditions.

Marc Müller is the co-founder and CEO of Companion.ch, a Swiss AI and data platform that helps companies automate administrative processes and improve the quality of their business data. He is convinced that modern AI technologies, such as large language models (LLMs), enable companies to fundamentally rethink existing workflows.

As a business and data analyst, he bridges the gap between technological possibilities and concrete business requirements, acting as a liaison between business and IT. He brings his practical experience and integration expertise to bear as a workshop leader, speaker, and university lecturer, with a clear focus on AI applications that deliver measurable benefits in everyday business operations.

Mauro Nart is the Founder and Managing Director of Pandia, where he leads product development, business development, sales, and customer success. Mauro is an experienced Customer Service Engineer with global assignments in commissioning, troubleshooting, and operator training within the packaging machinery sector. In his current role, he is responsible for strategic company leadership and the implementation of sustainable growth strategies. He brings strong expertise in sales, marketing, and scaling innovative solutions.

Olga Nielsen is CEO and Co-Founder of the Nordic Data Compliance Centre and Co-Founder of the soon-to-be-established Swiss-based company GPRCMatrix.ai. One of her focus areas is industrial data governance, eID and digital identity, AI compliance, cybersecurity, and digital and AI transformation within smart manufacturing and connected industrial ecosystems.

She specializes in translating complex regulatory and compliance requirements into practical, resilient, and audit-ready operational models for digital factories and AI-driven environments, creating tailored frameworks that work in practice and align with each organization’s operational and strategic needs across critical infrastructure, financial, pharmaceutical, and research sectors.

Olga is also recognized as the first DPO in Denmark to introduce DPO-as-a-Service. In addition to being an international speaker, she hosts the Confessions of a DPO podcast, focusing on the role of the DPO in governance, compliance, cybersecurity, and the impact of AI and digital transformation.

Björn Olbricht is Director Innovation Hubs EMEA at HARTING Technology Group, where he leads the development and execution of innovation strategies across multiple European locations. Björn Olbricht focuses on identifying emerging technologies, building strategic partnerships, and translating megatrends such as AI, electrification, and industrial digitalization into scalable business opportunities.

With extensive experience in innovation management, ecosystem development, and industrial connectivity, Björn Olbricht works at the intersection of technology, market needs, and business model innovation. Björn Olbricht plays a key role in shaping HARTING’s contribution to the factory of the future and the All Electric Society, with a strong emphasis on modular, connected, and resilient industrial systems.

Christian Piechnick is the CEO and co-founder of Wandelbots, a leading deep-tech software company revolutionizing industrial robotics. With a background in Media Informatics and Software Architecture from TU Dresden, he co-founded Wandelbots in 2018 to democratize robotics through intuitive, no-code solutions. Under his leadership, the company secured €120+ million in funding and launched NOVA, the first hardware-agnostic operating system for robots. Recognized as “Newcomer of the Year” by the German Startup Association in 2020, Piechnick continues to drive Wandelbots’ mission to make automation accessible to businesses worldwide.

• Masters, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics & Control
• Previous research position in AI and adaptive control

Prof. Dr. David Romero is a Professor of Advanced Manufacturing at the Departments of Industrial Engineering and Mechatronics of the Tecnológico de Monterrey University in Mexico and the Scientific Vice-chairman for the World Manufacturing Foundation. His research interests include: Circular Manufacturing, Service Engineering and Product-Service Systems, Cyber-Physical Systems and Human Systems, Advanced Production Management Systems, Green Virtual Enterprises, and Technology and Engineering Management in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He is a member of the Society of Collaborative Networks, the IFAC TC5.3 on Enterprise Integration and Networking, the IFIP WG5.7 on Advances in Production Management Systems, the IFIP WG5.12 on Architectures for Enterprise Integration, the IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society, and the IEEE Internet of Things Community. Furthermore, he is an Agenda Contributor at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Council on “Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains”, and a World Manufacturing Forum (WMF) Ambassador. He has published more than 200 journal and international conference articles. He serves on different technical and scientific committees and advisory boards in academia, industry, and government in the disciplines of business and industrial engineering. Nowadays, he is focused on promoting the concepts of the “Operator 4.0/5.0” and “Digital Lean Manufacturing”; the father of both terms.

Philipp Saurer has more than 15 years of experience in senior management roles across Europe and Asia. As Chief Digital and Strategic Project Officer at LNS Group, he leads the company’s strategic projects and digital transformation with a strong focus on maximizing customer centricity, building efficient processes, and developing new digital-driven business opportunities.

Prior to his current position, he spent over a decade in Asia, including senior positions at LNS Japan and earlier at HTM Corporation in Tokyo. He holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Digital Transformation from FHNW as well as a degree in Business Administration from the University of Bern. Drawing on hands-on leadership experience, he regularly speaks about digital transformation and corporate strategy from a practical, business-oriented perspective.

Alex Schäpper is an IoT Solutions Consultant at akenza, where he specializes in designing scalable architectures for complex customer projects. With a background in systems engineering, industrial automation, and cloud technologies, Alex uses the agnostic approach of akenza to simplify IoT and accelerate digital transformation.

Philipp Schmid is Sales Director and Head Manufacturing Industries at Swisscom, where he leads the technical strategy and industry business for the manufacturing and pharma sector. Before joining Swisscom, he headed the research and industrialization of Industry 4.0 and Machine Learning technologies at CSEM.

He holds an engineering degree in Microtechnology and a MAS in Management, Technology and Economics from ETH Zurich. His career includes roles at Roche and a research fellowship in Australia.

He serves on expert committees, acts as an innovation coach, and has been recognized twice as a “Digital Shaper”. Philipp is regarded as one of Switzerland’s key figures in digital transformation.

Marc Schwerdtner is an experienced leader at Siemens, with a strong international background in Lean manufacturing, digitalization, automation and factory planning.

Over the course of his career, he has held leadership roles across Europe, Asia, and America, driving transformation towards automation and digitalization in different industries. Currently he is the head of the Siemens factory in Zug, an awarded lead plant of the Siemens Smart Infrastructure business.

He possesses extensive knowledge in intercultural collaboration and specialises in creating and implementing manufacturing systems that are robust, flexible, and adaptable for unpredictable environments.

Felix Strenger is an experienced professional with a long-standing career at Bosch, where he currently serves as an AI Thought Leader for Bosch Connected Industry. In addition, he contributes his expertise as a Senior Expert Consultant for Lean Production and Industry 4.0.

His career at Bosch, spanning over 18 years, has included a variety of management roles. Prior to his current role, he worked as a Business Consultant in the field of business development and consultancy. He gained international experience as a Senior Manager in Italy, where he was responsible for the industrialisation of a new product.

Felix Strenger holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the renowned RWTH Aachen University.

As the Executive Director of SHRDC, Sook Ling Teh brings 22 years of experience in workforce and talent development. Passionate about advancing smart and sustainable manufacturing, she forges strategic collaborations with the Swiss Smart Factory and industry partners to co-create impactful upskilling programs. She empowers the Malaysian Smart Factory 4.0 team to design industry-relevant training solutions and deliver application-driven R&D support, enabling SMEs to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies and accelerate their digitalization and sustainability transitions.

Lars Tinapp leads EMEA Go-To-Market activities for Manufacturing and Robotics at NVIDIA, with a focus on ISVs and global systems integrators. He helps partners and customers translate Physical AI, simulation, digital twins and accelerated computing into executable industrial use cases. Across his career at NVIDIA, Microsoft and Google, Lars has worked at the intersection of engineering, ecosystem development and customer adoption, supporting teams in turning emerging technologies into practical solutions. 

Cybersecurity expert with experience in information security since the 1990s. With a background in chemistry from ETH Zurich, he combines technical expertise with a pragmatic approach to leadership and implementation.

Patrick Villiger is Co-Founder and Technical Advisor at huvi.swiss, a company specializing in infrastructure-independent remote systems for fast wildfire detection. With a solid background in robotics, software engineering, and the machine industry – including hands-on experience on the shop floor – Patrick combines deep technical know-how with practical industry insight.
He is also Co-Founder and CEO of Acceliox and SwissSoftware.Group, which deliver turnkey smart factory and energy management solutions to SMEs across Switzerland and Europe.

Prof. Dr. Toni Wäfler is lecturer and researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), School of Applied Psychology (APS), where he established the Institute “Humans in Complex Systems (MikS)”. The Institute conducts research projects in the domain of human factors, sociotechnical system design, occupational health, safety, and security. After studying psychology, business, and computer sciences at University of Zürich, he worked as a researcher at ETH Zürich. His main research topics include sociotechnical system design, human-machine function allocation, human-AI teaming, and digital transformation.

Jiazeng Wang is engineering solution director in Pony.ai. Pony.ai is an autonomous driving solution provider which is listed on NASDAQ and Hongkong market. His Role is mainly providing autonomous driving and automation solution to customer. His specialty is to understand customer application scenarios and painpoints then to use more sufficient and stable way to solve the issue. He has more than 20 years experience in Automotive industry and aim to deliver safety, efficient and comfortable product.

Pascal Weber is Co-Founder and CEO of Manukai AG. After doctoral research in applied AI at ETH Zürich and Harvard University, he started Manukai to take on CNC programming, the corner of factory automation no one had cracked. Pascal co-invented Manukai’s patent-pending architecture and has published research across high-performance computing, reinforcement learning, and optimization. The company began with a year of 200+ interviews with manufacturers to pinpoint the unsolved bottleneck. Today Manukai serves nine manufacturers, with a team of 14 engineers. Pascal argues that manufacturing has established best practices, and the next leap in productivity will come from AI that automates them on the shop floor.

Seungjoon Yang is a Professor at UNIST and a leading expert in artificial intelligence and computer vision. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He currently serves as Director of the Safe AI Research Center and Deputy Director of the UNIST Institute for Future Strategy.

His work focuses on the AI-driven transformation of manufacturing industries, with an emphasis on intelligent systems, real-world deployment, and human–AI collaboration in industrial environments. He leads the UNIST AI Innovation Park, advancing initiatives in smart manufacturing, while also driving major industry collaborations, including projects with Hyundai Heavy Industries on domain-specific AI for shipbuilding and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power on AI-based energy systems. His research has been published in top-tier venues such as IEEE TIP, CVPR, and AAAI.