Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is a law graduate, having received a Doctorate in Legal and Political Science in 1984. He was a tenured professor at the Faculty of Law of Lisbon University, and has taught throughout his career in various institutions of further education, in Portugal and abroad.

Previously, he worked as a journalist, as the editor of the Expresso newspaper between 1980 and 1983, and for the Seminário newspaper from 1983 to 1987. Subsequently, he appeared on the media as a political commentator on Portuguese TSF radio and, later, the TV stations RTP and TVI.

He works with various civic institutions and associations, as well as in the social sector, as founder, sponsor, director, or simply as a volunteer.

In 1976, he served as a deputy to the Constituent Assembly. He was part of the 8th Constitutional Government as Secretary of State of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and later, as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.

He has supported the Portuguese PSD (Social Democratic Party) since it was founded and was its president from 1996 to 1999, contributing decisively to government stability as leader of the opposition. In the international realm, he encouraged the PSD to join the European People's Party, in which he attained the position of Vice-President.

He has held various positions in local government, including Municipal Deputy, Metropolitan Deputy, Councillor and President of the Municipal Assemblies of Cascais, Lisbon, and Celorico de Basto.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was elected President of the Republic for the first time on 24 January 2016 and took office on 9 March.

He was re-elected for a second term on 24 January 2021 and took office on 9 March of the same year.

Teresa Ribera is the Vice President of the Government of Spain and the Minister of the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. Prior to that, Ms. Ribera was Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) from 2014 to 2018, which enabled the Institute to play a key role in the negotiation of the Paris Climate Agreement and the transition towards sustainable development. She served as the Spanish Secretary of State for Climate Change and Biodiversity from 2008 to 2011, responsible for Spanish environmental and climate policies, as well as the country's National Meteorological Agency. She has also been a public official of the Senior Corps of State Civil Administrators and has taught at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development.

He is widely recognized for bold and effective strategies to address complex challenges including the escape from extreme poverty, the global battle against human-induced climate change, international debt and financial crises, national economic reforms, and the control of pandemic and epidemic diseases.    

Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he holds the rank of University Professor, the university’s highest academic rank. Sachs held the position of Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University from 2002 to 2016. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Chair of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, Co-Chair of the UN Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Honorary Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at Sunway University, academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, and an SDG Advocate for UN Secretary General António Guterres. From 2001-18, Sachs served as Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (2001-7), Ban Ki-moon (2008-16), and António Guterres (2017-18). 

Sachs has authored and edited numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011).  Other books include To Move the World: JFK’s Quest for Peace (2013), The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair & Sustainable (2017),  A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism (2018), and most recently, The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020). 

Sachs was the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He was twice named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders.  Sachs has received 38 honorary doctorates.  In 2021, Sachs received the TÜBA Academy Prize from the Turkish Academy of Sciences, the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the Republic of France, and the Order of the Cross from Estonia, and honorary doctorates from Amrita University, Kerala, India, Macau University of Science and Technology, and the University of Siena, Italy.

Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, most recently as the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard.

António Costa Silva has a degree in Mining Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, a Master's degree in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College (University of London), and a PhD in Petroleum Reservoir Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and Imperial College.

He is Professor Emeritus of the Instituto Superior Técnico, where he did his aggregation in Planning and Integrated Management of Energy Resources.

At the invitation of the Portuguese Government, he prepared the Strategic Vision for the Economic Recovery Plan of Portugal 2020-2030 and chaired the National Monitoring Committee of the Recovery and Resilience Program since May 2021.

He was Chairman of the Executive Committee of Partex between 2004 and 2021.

He was Director of Reservoir and Production Engineering at Beicip-Franlab, the corporate branch of the French Petroleum Institute (Paris, 2001-2003) and Executive Director of Compagnie Géneral de Geophysique in Portugal (1998-2001). He began his professional career in 1980, at Sonangol (Angola), and from 1984 to 1997 he worked at Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços.

Throughout his career, he was responsible for the coordination of several international energy projects, particularly in the Middle East, Algeria, Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Angola.

He was selected in 2002 by the International Court of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce as an expert in charge of resolving the legal and technical dispute between two of the largest oil companies in the world, in a field off the China Sea.

He was, as of 2018, a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Aveiro, Chairman of the Fuel Board of ERSE, member of the Advisory Board of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Water Initiative of the Catholic University of Lisbon.   

He was a member of the Board of Trustees of ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and of the Advisory Board of the Gulbenkian Development Aid Program.

He has participated as an invited speaker at international conferences on strategy, energy and geopolitics and is the author of several publications and articles in the areas of energy, strategy, geopolitics and international relations.

Dr. Veerle Vandeweerd, a Belgian national, has more than 35 years of experience in global, national, and local Sustainable Development policy and program development and implementation, including 20+ years at the United Nations system.

She currently is leading several Sustainable Development entrepreneurial initiatives. She is the co-founder of the Global Sustainable Technology and Innovation Conference Series (G-STIC) and was its policy director from 2017 to 2019. In 2020, she set up the Covid Education Alliance (COVIDEA) and the Platform for Transformative Technologies (P4TT), offering collaborative platforms to identify and bring to the market, innovative and integrated industrial solutions that substantially can contribute to the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals.  She is a board member and the senior sustainability advisor to the Global Entrepreneurship Center (GEC) in Dusseldorf, Germany, a scale-up facility geared towards bringing to the market transformative companies that have the potential to substantially contribute to the achievement of the SDGs and climate goals. She serves on the board of several sustainable development organisations and has been supporting the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) from the very start.

At the UN, Dr. Vandeweerd held several senior positions at UNEP and directed for 8 years the UNDP Environment and Energy Group. She was the Special Advisor to the UN Global Compact, the leadership platform for responsible corporate policies and practices.

Before the UN, she taught at the University of Zambia, conducted research on African Sleeping sickness, and headed the environmental reporting department in the Flemish Government, Belgium.

Dr. Vandeweerd has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Antwerp, Belgium (cum Laude), a a master’s in chemistry and bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of Gent, Belgium.

Emmanouil Fragkos was elected as an MEP on 2019. He is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Full member of the Committee of Environment, Public health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Committee of International Trade (INTA) and substitute member of the Committee of Agricultural Development and of the Delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China.

He has been the responsible co-rapporteur on behalf of ECR for the reports: The future of EU-Africa trade relations, Generalized scheme of tariff preferences, Union environment action programme (2021-2030), EU/China Agreement: cooperation on and protection of geographical indications, Implementation of the common commercial policy – annual report 2018, Enforcement of international trade rules.

And co-rapporteur for the opinions: Implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy, A new EU-China strategy, A European strategy for critical raw materials, Union environment action programme (2021-2030), Just Transition Fund

Emmanouil Fragkos has studied and worked as a veterinarian. He is interested in the cross-sectoral application of innovation and technology.

Mário Campolargo is the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Administrative Modernisation for the Government of Portugal. Previously, he served as the Director-General of DIGIT (Directorate-General for Informatics) in the European Commission. Mário acted as Deputy Director‑General and was responsible for the development of digital services, digital workplace, cloud infrastructures and the implementation of the European Commission Digital Strategy.

He has occupied several positions in the European Commission Directorate General for Information and Communications Technology (DG CONNECT) as the Director for "Future Networks" (5G networks, IoT, Cloud and Next Generation Internet) and for "Emerging Technologies and Infrastructures". Before that, he was Head of Unit for eInfrastructures.

Before joining the European Commission, he worked for 12 years in the R&D Centre of Portugal Telecom as a researcher and a manager.

He holds a Degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Coimbra, a Master of Science in Computing Science from Imperial College London, a Post-graduate in Management from Solvay Business School Brussels and a European Studies Diploma from Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve.

Timmy Dooley is ALDE Party Co-President since 2022 and was Vice President since 2014. He serves as member of the Irish Senate since 2022 and held this position from 2002 to 2007. He was also member of the Irish Parliament (TD, Teachta Dála) from 2007 until 2020 as Opposition Spokesperson for Transport, Tourism and Sport (2011-2016), and Communications, Climate Action, and Environment (2016-2020).

Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner assumed the office of President of the German Environment Agency on 1 January 2020. He is also the Co-Director of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Prof. Messner previously served as Director of the Institute for Environment and Human Security of United Nations University (UNU-EHS) in Bonn, Germany, and Vice Rector of the United Nations University (UNU).

Prof. Messner is an internationally recognised expert on globalisation / global governance, transformation pathways to sustainability, decarbonization of the global economy, sustainability and digital change, and international cooperation and societal change.

He combines his research interests with teaching activities and is currently professor  of political science at the University of Duisburg-Essen. In his scientific career, Prof. Messner has chaired various different international research initiatives and is currently co-coordinator of “The World in 2050”, a global research consortium on the implementation of the Agenda 2030.

Prof. Messner is a member of Earth League, an alliance of prominent sustainability and earth system scholars. He has also been a member of a number of high-ranking policy advisory councils, including co-chairing the German Advisory Council on Global Change  (WBGU), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany and the Science Platform Sustainability 2030. He has also served as a member of the World Bank’s Global Knowledge Council and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.

Prior to becoming Director of UNU-EHS in October 2018, Prof. Messner had been Director of the German Development Institute since 2003. Under his leadership, the institute developed an excellent reputation for its scientific and policy-relevant research on global sustainable development. Prof. Messner has a PhD in political science (Dr. rer. pol.) and earned his post-doctoral qualifications at Freie Universität Berlin. He is the author / co-author of more than 300 publications. Examples of his recent work are “G20 und Global Governance” (Oxford University Press, 2018), “The evolution of human cooperation - lessons learned for the future of global governance” (Routledge, 2016), “Germany and the World 2030: What will change. How we must act.” (Econ 2018), “Global cooperation and the human factor in international relations” (Routledge, 2016), “Six Transformations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” (Nature Sustainability, 2019). Prof. Messner also served as the Academic Director of the University of Duisburg-Essen’s Institute for Development and Peace from 1995 to 2002. From 1995 to 2003, he worked as a private lecturer in the Faculty for Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen and Freie Universität Berlin. He was Professor of Political Science at the University of Munich in 2003.

In addition to being a mother tongue speaker of German, Prof. Messner is also fluent in English and Spanish.

Luisa Ribeiro Lopes has received degrees in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, and was a PhD student in Gender Studies at the University of Lisbon. She has been part of several national and international groups; she has worked for for the development of the Information Society, and was one of those responsible for the Azores: Digital Region project, was a member of the Mission for the Information Society, a founding partner of APDSI, a member of the Strategic Council of ACEPI and a member of the Executive Committee of MUDA - Movement for Active Digital Utilization.

She is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors at .PT, the entity responsible for the management of the national top level domain .pt, and General Coordinator of the National Digital Skills Initiative - INCoDe.2030. She is also a member of the National Board of DECO.

She currently participates in several initiatives for digital inclusion, namely of women, and believes that digital inclusion is social inclusion.

Mr. Amandeep Singh Gill was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as his Envoy on Technology in June 2022 and joined the Secretary-General’s senior leadership team as Under-SecretaryGeneral in mid-July 2022.

A thought leader on digital technology, Mr. Gill has a deep knowledge of digital technologies coupled with a solid understanding of how to leverage the digital transformation responsibly and inclusively for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Before taking up the position as Envoy on Technology, Mr. Gill was the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) project, based at the Graduate Institute, Geneva.

In 2018/19, Mr. Gill was Executive Director and co-lead of the United Nations Secretary-General’s HighLevel Panel on Digital Cooperation. Between 2016 and 2018, he was India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

Mr. Gill holds a PhD in international learning from King’s College London, a Bachelor of Technology in electronics and electrical communications from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and an Advanced Diploma in French history and language from Geneva University. He is fluent in English, French, Hindi and Punjabi. He is married to Ashma, an educationist, and has a son and a daughter

Luis Neves is CEO of the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) since 2017. Prior to that, from 2008-2017, Luis held the position of GeSI Chairman. Under Luis' leadership, GeSI has become a globally recognized “thought industry leader” organisation in the field of ICT- sustainability with strong focus on the enabling role and positive contribution of digital technologies to climate protection.

Before GeSI, Luis worked at Deutsche Telekom for over 15 years holding positions such as Head of Sustainable Development and Environment, VP of Corporate Responsibility and Chief Sustainability and Climate Protection Officer. Luis has also held positions and played relevant roles at European and international levels in organisations, such as the UN Global Compact Lead Group, Econsense - the German Sustainability Association, World Resources Forum Association and UNFCCC Momentum for Change Initiative.

Luis was born in Portugal and obtained a degree in History from the University of Lisbon.

Twitter: @luisfpneves

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-neves-5a670ba/

David Jensen is the coordinator of the Digital Transformation subrogramme at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In this capacity, he is responsible for helping to accelerate UNEP’s work on climate stability, nature protection and pollution prevention using data and digital technologies. He is also currently serving as UNEP’s focal point in the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) within the Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. He has been one of the key drivers behind the CODES Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age. David has been advising the UN Science Policy Business Forum on digitalizing sustainability since 2018 and was the co-author of a discussion paper entitled The Case for a Digital Ecosystem for the Environment. Within the digital space, David has co-founded numerous digital platforms including CODES, STRATA, MapX, Earthschool, AI for the Planet, the UN Biodiversity Lab, and the Environmental Peacebuilding Platform.

Prior to his work on digital transformation, David was the Head of Policy and Innovation at the Crisis Management Branch of UNEP. From 2009 to 2016, David was a thought leader in a new multidisciplinary field of environmental peacebuilding. This focused on the role of natural resources, environmental degradation and climate change as a conflict driver as well as an opportunity for collaboration between divided groups. David was one of the faculty members of the Massive Open Online Course on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace – offered by the SDG Academy. David is also a founding board member of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association and has appeared on TEDx in the talk: Natural resources and peacebuilding: is the United Nations united? A summary of his work in this field is available here.

David holds an MSc in Biology from Oxford University (UK) and an undergraduate degree in Geography and Political Science from the University of Victoria (Canada).

Professional in the ICT sector with more than 20 years of experience in new technologies, innovation project management and the public sector.

Graduate in Journalism and Diploma in Business Studies. Master's Degree in Business Communication and Digital Technologies at UPF-BSM. She has attended leadership programmes at ESADE (Vicens Vives Programme), IESE (Public Management Leadership Programme) and AED (Directors Programme).

She is an expert in defining key strategies for the digital business sector in the field of technology and also leads public policies aimed at promoting digital citizenship through Smart Cities, digital training, inclusion and empowerment programmes for society.

She works towards equal opportunities and bridging the digital gap, especially those aimed at promoting a greater presence of women in the technology sector. She is an ambassador and mentor for the international network Women in Tech.

She is currently Director General for Digital Society of the Government of Catalonia and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cybersecurity Agency. She has also been a member of the Board of Directors of ESADE Creapolis and is an Advisory Member and patron of different organisations such as the UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya), Barcelona Digital Talent- MWC, Women in Tech and Women in Mobile.

She has previously worked in strategic consulting for companies in the digital sector such as LaviniaTC and LTCProject. In 2011 she joined Sant Cugat Council, where she took on different responsibilities related to technology, innovation and economic promotion.  

André de Aragão Azevedo holds a law degree by the Classic University of Lisbon. In 1995, He worked in Macau as a lawyer and legal consultant, supporting the pre- and post-phase of the transition from Macao to the Chinese Administration. In 2005, he returned to Portugal to work in the National Assembly of the Republic, as a parliamentary advisor to the Committees on Constitutional Affairs, Business Foreigners and Ethics.

Between 2008 and 2011, he integrated the Ministry of Health with the functions of Chief of Office of the Secretary of State for Health. In 2012, he joined Microsoft Portugal with commercial management functions in the public sector and in 2017, he became an administrator with the responsibility of promoting the use of technologies as a transformation factor of organizations. He was in charge of coordinating the technological training plan of the ecosystem of startups and research centers based on cloud services, as well as the digital empowerment of citizens and professionals throughout their cycle of life. From 2019-2022 he served as the Secretary of State for Digital Transition for the Government of Portugal.

He is currently the Digital Development Partnerships Director of Microsoft International.

In April 2022, Pedro Tavares was appointed the Portuguese Secretary of State for Justice. Previously, he worked as General Coordinator at eBUPi - Simplified Land Digital Registry Mission Unit, the Portuguese public agency responsible for the expansion of a new cadastre and registry initiative using a digital approach (Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Environment). BUPi won several projects, namely Cities and Territories of the Future by the Portuguese Association for the Development of Communications (APDC); Best Digital Transformation Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society of Portugal (APDSI); Apolitical Global Public Service Team of the Year - Runner-Up; and has garnered an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) innovation best practice mention.

From 2015 to 2020, he served as a senior advisor for the cabinets of the Portuguese Minister of Justice and of the Secretary of State for Justice, where he managed different innovation and transformative projects and policies, including a Justice Innovation Lab, transparency and participation projects, or new digital citizen-centric services. He acted as the Ministry’s contact point for the OECD report on Justice Innovation in Portugal and for several international projects with the European Commission.

In the public sector, Pedro has worked on innovation projects such as the new concept for the citizens’ one-stop shops (Lojas de Cidadão), or the Citizens’ Portal. He has held different positions focusing on digital transformation and innovation, including roles managing digital services, communication, transparency and participation initiatives.

Pedro also worked in the private sector as marketing & innovation director at different IT companies, including Vision-Box, PHC Software and Inetum.

Additionally, he has been a digital marketing & communications trainer at INA and Lisbon Digital School, and a guest lecturer at Universidade Católica Portuguesa and Instituto Politécnico de Santarém.

Pedro holds a master’s degree in Digital by Universidade Nova de Lisboa, a post-graduation in Business Administration by ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics & Management, a BA in Communication Studies by Universidade Nova de Lisboa and an advanced course in Digital Innovation by The University of Chicago. 

Rear Admiral Mário José Simões Marques joined the Portuguese Naval School in 1980, having completed a degree in Naval Military Sciences – Navy. He holds a PhD in Engineering and Management, from the Instituto Superior Técnico / University of Lisbon, and a Master's in Computer Engineering, from the Faculty of Science and Technology / Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

He served in several naval units, from patrols to frigates as chief of service and mate, having integrated the first garrison of the frigate "Vasco da Gama". He commanded the corvettes "Jacinto Cândido" and "António Enes" (1999-2001).

On land, he served in Grupo n.º 1 de Escolas da Armada, between 1993 and 1999, where he was responsible for the design and coordination of the first editions of the national courses on the combat system of the Frigates "Vasco da Gama", coming to occupy the positions of deputy director and director of the School of Electrotechnics.

From September 2011 to October 2015 he was Chief of Staff to the Vice Admiral Superintendent of Material.

Outside the Navy, he served at the Directorate-General for Armament and Defense Equipment/MDN, as head of division (2001-2007), having been national representative in multiple national and international forums (namely, at NAMSO and at the NATO Movement and Transportation Group) and Program Officer in various acquisition programs.

Between May 2007 and July 2010, he was Liaison Officer at the US Joint Forces Command, in Norfolk, USA, working in the field of Concept Development & Experimentation, having participated in a wide variety of international projects related to interagency and comprehensive approaches.

He was promoted to the rank of Commodore on 17 September 2015, having been appointed Commander of General Support, a structure of the EMGFA that was activated with his inauguration on 13 October 2015.

Peter Lacy is the global sustainability services lead and chief responsibility officer, overseeing the integration of sustainability in all client work and ensuring the responsible business agenda across Accenture services and internal operations. Peter is a member of Accenture's Global Management Committee.

He leads sustainability services with clients and ecosystem partners, working across Accenture's service offerings to help clients create value and impact. Peter's work spans environmental, social and governance issues as they impact business, clients and ecosystems, as Accenture builds toward achieving the United Nations Global Compact's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. He directs market growth for sustainability services and demand for responsible business consulting.

Peter previously led Accenture Strategy in Europe and the Asia Pacific and helped launch the company's sustainability practice in 2008.

He has led the world's largest CEO studies on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General and co-led a global research program on digital transformation with the World Economic Forum, where he also sits on the Forum of Young Global Leaders foundation board.

Peter is the author of two books on the value of the circular economy: Waste to Wealth, an international best seller, and its follow-up, The Circular Economy Handbook.

Peter achieved First Class Honours at the University of Nottingham, winning the David and Elizabeth Marsden prize, and has been a Business Fellow at the University of Oxford since 2010. He has completed executive programs at Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Cambridge and the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).

He lives in London with his family.

Joost de Kluijver started Closing the Loop, a company that makes 'circularity for tech' tangible, appealing and understandable, today. He works with the technology sector and its stakeholders in turning circular ambitions into results. His company is known for its work in emerging markets, for its customer-centric approach towards circularity and the fact that it got some of the leading telecom brands on board for the path towards a closed loop industry. De Kluijver has been an entrepreneur for 12 years and has worked in consulting and for the Global Reporting Initiative in the past.

Sparking, facilitating and accelerating innovation has been the driver for Julia Schmalenberg ever since the beginning of her university studies. During her career, she has had the opportunity to look at innovation from different angles and perspectives - from start-up to corporate, from research to industry, from local to international, and from theory to practice. It is her conviction that innovation flourishes most at the intersection of domains, sectors and functions, and that collaboration among the different societal stakeholders is the key enabler.

Since January 2021, Julia has been working as Director of European R&I Ecosystems at Huawei and facilitates Huawei’s contribution to Europe’s twin transition. Her goal is to implement Huawei’s “In Europe, for Europe” paradigm by fostering open innovation for win-win benefits in thriving ecosystems and by making ICT the enabler of sustainable industrial transformation.

As senior policy advisor for Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in its Brussels office and Munich headquarters, Julia was leading Fraunhofer’s European activities in technology transfer, innovation and digital transformation of industry. Prior to her engagement in the policy sector, she was part of Fraunhofer’s Business Model Development in HQ. Additionally, Julia was working in EIT Digital, a pan-European innovation ecosystem funded by the EU, leading the German chapter of Business Developers and representing the German node of EIT Digital.

Her career started at the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship as New Venture Manager where she guided innovative, technology-oriented teams to economically viable business models and was a lecturer on innovation management and entrepreneurship.

She holds a degree with distinction both in Legal Studies (Dipl.-Jur.) with a focus on IPR and competition law from the University of Passau and Cardiff and in Technology Management (Dipl.-Ing.) from the University of Stuttgart.

Barend Mons is a molecular biologist by training and a leading FAIR data specialist from the Hague, Netherlands. For the first decade of his scientific career, he conducted fundamental research on malaria parasites and later on translational research for malaria vaccines. In 2000, he switched to advanced data stewardship and (biological) systems analytics. He is currently a professor in Leiden, Netherlands and best known for his innovations in scholarly collaboration, especially nanopublications, knowledge graph-based discovery and most recently, the FAIR data initiative and GO FAIR.

Since 2012, he has been a professor in biosemantics in the Department of Human Genetics at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and since May 2022 he has also been at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) in The Netherlands. In 2015, Barend was appointed chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the European Open Science Cloud. In 2017, Barend started the International Support and Coordination office of the GO FAIR initiative. He is also the elected president of CODATA, the standing committee on research data-related issues of the International Science Council. 

Since 2021, Barend is the Scientific Director of the GO FAIR Foundation. Barend is a member of the Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (ACTI). He is also the European representative of the Board on Research Data and Information (BRDI) at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine in the USA. Barend is a frequent keynote speaker about FAIR and open science around the world. He participates in various scientific advisory boards of international research projects.

Prof. dr. Barend Mons 

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3934-0072

Human Genetics Department at LUMC & LACDR

President of CODATA

Scientific Director of GO FAIR Foundation

Photo by Mariet Mons Photography

Vasco Vaz has a degree in Electrotechnical Engineering from ISEL with a specialization in Automation and Robotics. Having worked at CINEL and ATEC as coordinator with national and international projects, he has been connected to the  Worldskills competitions for a long time and has even participated in the profession of Industrial electronics. In the following years, Vasco Vaz took on the role of Vice-President of the Euroskills jury and President of the Jury at both Euroskills and Worldskills.

He is currently an Assistant Technical Delegate at Worldskills Portugal, responsible for technical implementation of professions’ championships and preparation of international teams.

Margarida has a Law degree and a Post-Graduate degree in European Studies from Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Católica de Lisboa.

She joined Vieira de Almeida (VdA) in 1988 and became the partner for its Social Economy & Human Rights practice area.

She is CEO of the Vasco Vieira de Almeida Foundation, and is also the VdA's partner responsible for the Pro Bono and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

Margarida also conducts extensive volunteer work, and is frequently involved in governing bodies of non-profit organizations - she has served as the President of GRACE-Responsible Business since January 2018.

Rodrigo Tavares is a Full Adjunct Professor (Professor Catedrático Convidado) at NOVA School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE), where he teaches postgraduate and executive courses and conducts research on finance and sustainability issues.

He is also the Founder and CEO of the UK-based Granito Group, a company that advances the sustainable economy through management consulting, financial advisory, and policy & research. He holds over 15 years of experience in government and international organizations working with foreign affairs and economic cooperation. From 2008-2010, he was annually invited by the UN Secretariat to write Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's annual reports on Africa's development. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Head of the Office of Foreign Affairs for the São Paulo State Government, in Brazil.

His academic path includes the universities of Harvard (Senior Research Fellow), Columbia (Research Fellow on a postdoc grant), Gothenburg (Ph.D.), and California, Berkeley (Visiting Research Fellow). He was also an Adjunct Professor at Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) in Brazil (2013-2018). Rodrigo is the author of 4 books on international relations and economic development (published by Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Lynne Rienner), and multiple book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. He has taken executive courses at Harvard University on negotiation (2006) and on global leadership (2021), and at Princeton University on energy transition (2022).

He is an op-ed columnist for Folha de S.Paulo (Brazil) on the topics of finance, economics and sustainability. He also writes regularly for the World Economic Forum’s website and for Quartz on these issues.

Sustainability expert. MIT Innovator 35U35, Forbes 30U30. Passionate about clean-tech technologies that make a difference.

Augusto holds a degree in Computer Sciences and Management, a Master in Business Administration and postgraduate degrees in Strategic Management of Information Systems, Leadership and Digital Transformation.

He has collaborated nationally and internationally for several companies and major projects, and has, in recent years, developed his career in the regulatory context, at ANACOM - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (Portuguese Regulatory Authority for electronic communications, postal services and space activities).

He aims to share his knowledge and more than 30 years of experience in management, consultancy, research and teaching within the scope of innovation, connectivity, telecommunications, information systems and digital transformation.

Dr. Corné (C.) Kempenaar is senior researcher precision agriculture at Wageningen University & Research, dept. Agro Systems Research, and Professor Smart Farming at Aeres University of Applied Sciences in Dronten. He has an MSc in plant protection and a PhD in Biological Weed control.  During his ca. 30-year research career, he contributed to the development of several precision agriculture applications, such as variable rate crop protection, fertilizer use and seeding, and autonomous navigation in arable crops. This all has resulted on several apps on Akkerweb GIS data platform. Currently, he is coordinating public private R&D projects on precision farming (PA2.0, DISAC and PA4.0). He also coordinates the National Fieldlab Precision Farming (NPPL) and involved in the Farm of the Future project. Since 2020, he is board member of the Dutch Pesticide Admission Authority CTGB. For more details, please see https://www.wur.nl/en/Dossiers/file/dossier-precision-agriculture.htm.

Clara is a biomedical engineer who discovered her passion for environmental sustainability while working at Microsoft. That is why, in addition to her work as a technical specialist, she created and co-leads the Portuguese Sustainability Community, while also being a Program Manager for the Worldwide Sustainability Community - a global group of +6000 Microsoft professionals committed to protecting Earth’s natural resources, creating positive environmental change, and ensuring Microsoft is operating with the most sustainable practices possible.

João Ricardo Moreira is a Board Director of NOS Comunicações, and is responsible for the Centre for Business Transformation, the NOS unit whose mission it is to support processes that will lead to the digital transformation of companies and government entities in Portugal. He has more than 20 years of experience (in marketing, sales, strategic planning and management control), has an in depth knowledge of the way businesses really work, and a clear vision of the challenges that large, medium and small size companies face. He has actively promoted processes involving open innovation. He has a Degree in Economics from the Economics Faculty of the University of Porto and an MBA from INSEAD.  

Assunção Cristas is an associate professor at the Nova School of Law. she also chairs Introduction of Law and the newly created chair of Law and Sustainability, as well as coordinating the school's Master's degree in Law and Economics of the Sea – The Governance of the Sea, where she teaches Ocean Policies. She is also the director of NOVA Ocean, a knowledge center created in 2021 to develop research in the area of the sea. She has also been dedicated to preparing the interdisciplinary degree "Ocean", which will add five Faculties to the NOVA University of Lisbon and the Universities of the Algarve and Évora. Her research interests focus on issues of sustainability, architecture, and legislative development.

She has been part of Vieira de Almeida since 2022 and is responsible for the ESG Integrated Services Platform and the Environment area, which includes the sea and agriculture. In this context, she has developed several works.

Additionally, between September 2009 and January 2020, she has held various political functions. From 2011 exclusively, she was the Portuguese Minister of Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Spatial Planning (2011-2013) and the Minister of Agriculture and the Sea (2013-2015); Member of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic (2009-2011 and 2015-2020); Chairman of the political party CDS-PP (2016-2020) and Vice-President (2009-2016); Councilor of the Lisbon City Council (2017-2021).

In the context of her work as Minister, she was responsible, among other things, for the institutional reorganization of various areas of administration, for participating in the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention, for negotiating the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, for the development of structuring legislation, such as the primary law for the planning and management of maritime space. In the area of the sea, she was responsible for the National Strategy of the Sea 2013-2020 and especially active in the international agenda, having organized and hosted the Lisbon the Blue Week (2015) which brought together 70 members of governments and multilateral agencies and approved a Declaration on the "Blue Economy".

Sebastiano Toffaletti has been the head of the European Digital SME Alliance’s secretariat since 2008. He holds a Master Degree in Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering from the University of Bologna. He authored several articles and position papers on topics such as Intellectual Property Rights, Standards, e-Skills, Net Neutrality and Cloud Computing, and serves as an expert in EU working groups and task forces, such as the EU Multi-stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardisation. He is currently chairman of the Working Group on SMEs at ECSO, the European Cybersecurity Organisation. Since 2014, Sebastiano is also a member of the ETSI Board. ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, produces standards for key global technologies such as GSM cell phone system, 3G, 4G, DECT, etc. Besides his mother tongue, Italian, he speaks fluently English, French and Spanish.

Andrés Ortolá is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina and has been travelling the world since he left 22 years ago. He has around 25 years of experience in the IT industry across several areas including consulting, sales, sales management and marketing. In 2000, Andres joined Microsoft and has held several positions including Principal Consultant, Regional Technology Leader and Regional Business Manager for Global Accounts. He later moved to Quest Software in Dubai, where he headed the Middle East operation. In 2010, he joined IBM where he first served as Director of Sales for Software then as Marketing Director, both for Middle East and Africa.  

Returning to Microsoft in 2014, Andres held roles in WW EPG as Field Enablement Director, Sales Excellence & Strategy Director for Asia time zone, and Enterprise Lead for Singapore. He joins the Portuguese team after leading the business in the Philippines for almost three years.  

Ivan Rejon is the Head of Strategy, Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs for Ericsson Spain & Portugal. Before joining Ericsson, Ivan worked at Oliver Wyman and Everis where he was the Partner of the Telecommunications strategy practice.

Ivan Rejon has a Telecommunications Engineering degree by Universidad Politécnica of Madrid and École Nationale Supérieure ses Télécommunications of Paris.He has also graduated from Stanford University in Management Science.

Ivan Rejon is a frequent speaker on how connectivity improves lives, redefines business, and pioneers a sustainable future and more inclusive societies.

Strong enthusiast of fast transition to digital, he focuses on improving people's life quality, organizational results, and contribute for a better and sustainable world. 

Since 2017, has been Director of Information Systems and Digital Transformation, accumulating with the responsibility of Chief Information Security Officer, from EPAL, SA (largest water company), projecting and leading the strategic plan for digital transformation, restructuring IT Team services and creating and certifying the information security strategy. 

Prior to that, he had more than 20 years of management experience developing transversal knowledge in IT. Having a degree in Engineering, a postgraduate degree in Cybersecurity and Cybercrime and an advanced specialization in Executive Management from Católica Lisbon Business & Economics.

Since the 90's, his career has always been in a multinational environment, in different countries, and various business areas, in groups such as Procter & Gamble and Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Over 10 years of work experience across technology and media, with a focus on corporate strategy. Led the strategic development of Google's economic impact and skilling initiatives in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) and the United States - including Google's Career Certificates.

Telmo Dias is a Lieutenant Commander in the Portuguese Navy. He graduated from the Naval Academy with a degree in naval military sciences and is currently finishing an MSc in Geographic Information Systems and Science at NOVA Information Management School. He also has a degree in Hydrography (International Federation of Surveyors/International Hydrographic Organization/International Cartographic Association Category A) and has field experience in planning and conducting hydrographic surveys and in processing bathymetric data. He currently works at the Technical-Scientific Data Management Centre of the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute, developing solutions for ocean digitization.

Déborah Goll is a project manager at the European DIGITAL SME Alliance, where she is leading DIGITAL SME’s work in EU-funded projects related to the topics of blockchain, circular manufacturing and sustainable ICT. She is notably in charge of DIGITAL SME’s engagement in the Pilot Project managing the Secretariat of the European Green Digital Coalition (EGDC) and coordinates the involvement of SME experts of the DIGITAL SME Focus Group ICT / EGDC WG5: SMEs into the work of the EGDC.

Santo Lico is the founder & CEO of Huna. He holds a degree in energy engineering from Politecnico di Milano followed by a master in Energy Management at MIP, the School of Management Milano. He gained experience in street lighting and energy efficiency working for utilities in Italy and Spain and has thus acquired a deep knowledge of this sector, developing a network stakeholders from suppliers, municipalities, authorities, to companies. Santo is responsible for overseeing Huna's major operations related to the development of technology and business.

José Crespo de Carvalho is a professor at the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) and President of ISCTE Executive Education. He was previously a professor at the Nova School of Business and Economics (NOVA SBE) in Lisbon and the Academic Director of NOVA's Executive Education program. José has also been the director and administrator of various national and multinational companies. From 2013 to 2016, he was the Director of the Portuguese Public Bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos and the Chairman of the Risk Committee. He has published 25 books and some academic papers. José has also done extensive executive training outside Portugal: at the Masschusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, Cranfield University, Stanford University, IE University, and Erasmus University.

Erik Swan is the director of Digital Business Exploration for the Husqvarna Group, where he focuses on digital innovation and new business model explorations. Since 2019, he has been leading the work developing solutions for remote sensing and AI such as the Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index – HUGSI which quantifies urban green space in global cities through satellite analysis.

Allen is the Global Digital Director at EDP, responsible for EDP's Digital Transformation. Previously, at EDP, he developed his activity in corporate marketing and energy planning. Prior to EDP, Allen worked for Portugal Telecom in the wholesale business unit as Head of Benchmark and Service Manager (2002 to 2008). He started his career as a researcher and math assistant teacher at IST University (2000 to 2003). His background is in electrical and telecommunications engineering and he holds an MBA from Nova University, Lisbon.

Tony Jin Yong is Vice President of Huawei West European Region. He has years of experience in the telecommunications sector and has served as Huawei CEO in several Latin American countries. He also served as Huawei CEO for Spain between 2015 and April 2021. He has a bachelor’s in telecom engineering. He started his career in Huawei 20 years ago, five of which were in China, eight in Latin America, and seven in Spain.

Since 2018, João has been the Chief Digital Officer of Novo Banco. He has orchestrated the entire bank's digital transformation, working in coordination with all departments across the bank to transform the way customers are served and the way employees work with the digital world. He is also a Non-Executive Board Member at Best Bank in Portugal – the digital-first subsidiary of Novo Banco. João was previously a Partner at McKinsey in Germany and a leader of their Digital Services practice for 17 years. Throughout his career, he focused on transforming businesses, operations and technology in financial institutions across Europe.

Pedro Costa Lima is Head of Sales of BrightCity, the NOS and Sonae Sierra company whose mission it is to deploy energy efficient solutions in Portuguese Municipalities. He has more than 25 years of experience covering areas such as finance, business development and sales in voth Telecommunication an Energy markets. Pedro combines an in depth knowledge of both private business and public actors, their differences and the way they can work together in concrete areas. He’s promoted a large array of energy-efficient solutions in the main Portuguese Municipalities. He has a Degree from Oporto Catholic University and an MBA from Lisbon Catholic University

Francisco Jaime Quesado is the general manager of the Innovation and Knowledge Society in Portugal, a public agency with the mission of coordinating the policies for information society and mobilising it through dissemination, qualification and research activities. It operates within Portugal’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education.

Declan Kirrane is the founder and Managing Director of ISC Intelligence in Science in Brussels. He has more than 25 years of experience disseminating scientific and research activities worldwide from organizations and governments. He has been involved in disseminating the research activities funded by the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development and Demonstration (FP) since 1994, the former Horizon Europe.

With the Financial Times, he was the launch editor of CORDIS, the European Commission’s research information Service. He was also Editor of the Commission’s Innovation and Technology Transfer Newsletter and CORDIS focus. His expertise covers ICT, Health, Defence, Space, Science Policy, GPRD legislation, EU R&D and Innovation policies, programmes and funding instruments. He has worked extensively on science policy evaluation methodologies and technology options for policy, and decision-makers use investment in science for broader economic development and competitiveness. With the Office of Science in the US Department of Energy, he Launched the Ford Foundation Bellagio Process on science policy evaluation methodologies.

He is closely involved in EU-Africa science and innovation relations and investments, particularly the EU’s investment strategy for Africa. The was closely involved in the South African government’s bid to host the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope, the SKA, South Africa and its partner countries succeeded in securing the rights to build the SKA in South Africa. He manages the Africa-Europe Science and Innovation Platform, AERAP.

Declan has been actively promoting a more assertive role for science within the context of the United Nations General Assembly since 2010. This has culminated in the annual Science Summit within the context of the General Assembly. The current version - SSUNGA7 - takes place from 13-30 September 2022.

As SafetyNet’s COO, Nadia Laabs brings a welcome order to the chaos that is the SafetyNet workshop. Nadia helps SafetyNet connect with people who might be interested in working with the company as well as guiding their business strategy. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering; her favourite fish is the one on her plate.

Rogério has been the president of the Portuguese Association for the Development of Communications (APDC) since January 2013. His professional career has always been linked to information and communication technologies. Between 1981 and 1994, he was a lecturer and professor at the Superior Technical Institute (IST) in Portugal. At Novabase, he was a member of the Board of Directors since 1994 and Chairman from 1998 to 2015, taking on the roles of Chairman and Managing Director between 1998 and 2009. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering, a master’s, and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from IST and was also a researcher at the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC) from 1984-1994, where he was in charge of the Information Systems Group.

Currently, he's also a member of the Portuguese National Confederation of Agriculture (CAN) as part of the Recuperation and Resiliency Plan of Portugal (PRR) since May 2021, a member of the "Management Committee" of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program (CMU), and a member of the Order of Engineers, the Academy of Engineers, and the Portuguese Institute of Management. In February 2006, he was awarded the Grande Oficial da Ordem do Mérito Agrícola, Comercial e Industrial, in the class of Industrial Merit by the President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio.

Jonathan Sowler is the Senior Vice President of Engineering, leading product delivery at Unbabel, a Portuguese Artificial Intelligence company that is transforming the way the world communicates across language barriers.  Jonathan was a founder and Chief Technology Officer of one of the Internet’s pioneer security companies and has a great track record of leading product delivery with strong privacy concerns in sectors including Finance and Government.

​​​​​​Alexandre is currently the founder and CEO of JAy!, a  digital Hub builder and accelerator (www.jaydhub.com). Alexandre studied Engineering and Industrial Management in Instituto Superior Técnico and later took a MBA from Nova Business School in Lisbon (spending a quarter at Coppead Business School in Brazil and another on at UCLA, US). He has more than 12 years of consulting experience, having worked in BCG and Oracle in projects worldwide. Before creating JAy!, Alexandre was the founder and CEO of Mercedes-Benz.io Portugal, the Hub of Daimler to develop digital marketing, sales and after-sales products worldwide.

Inês Oliveira is a professional with more than 20 years of experience. As a Portfolio Sales Executive at Unipartner, she drives innovation, helping clients within the financial, commercial and public sectors solve their digital transformation and business challenges.

Inês graduated university with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal and, since then, has been a great enthusiast about enabling users to explore and accelerate the full potential of innovative web and collaborative solutions.

Dennis Pamlin is an entrepreneur and founder of 21st Century Frontiers. His main skill is work with companies, governments and other organisations as a strategic economic, technology and innovation advisor in the area of sustainability. His background is in engineering, industrial economy and marketing.

Mr Pamlin worked as Global Policy Advisor for WWF from 1999 to 2009. During his tenure, Pamlin initiated WWFs Trade and Investment Programme work in the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and led the work with companies (especially high-tech companies such as ICT) as solution providers.

From 2010 to 2013 he was the Director for the Low Carbon Leaders Project under the UN Global Compact.

He is currently a Senior Associate at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Senior Advisor at RISE, a visiting research fellow at the Research Center of Journalism and Social Development at Renmin university, and advisor to Centre for Sustainable Development at Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

Current work includes work to establish a framework that can identify winners in a sustainable future, build a platform for global trend assessment, promote clusters capable of delivering transformative solutions, exploring the impact of our “digital twins” and develop tools that allow public procurement to support sustainable solutions. Pamlin is also leading work to develop tools for companies, organisations and cities to measure and report their positive impacts, focus on climate, water, health and poverty.

Georgios Kostakos is the Co-founder and Executive Director of the Brussels-based Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS), which focuses on the need for a new globalization narrative, rethinking education for the digital era, the establishment of a Global Resilience Council, and supporting SDG implementation. About half of his thirty-year-long work experience has been with the United Nations Secretariat, including with the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General, the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Erika Staël von Holstein (née Widegren) is Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Re-Imagine Europa (RIE), an international think tank that operates as the first incubator for new political ideas for Europe for the 21^st century.

Founded by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, in honour of his partnership and friendship with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and their efforts to define a future that goes beyond personal, national or partisan interests, RIE’s mission is to redefine how long-term vision and policies are developed using new technologies to foster a dynamic public discourse, collective intelligence and realistic solutions for the benefit of a stronger, fairer and more competitive Europe.

Together with Professor Manuel Castells, Erika Staël von Holstein leads the RIE Task Force on “Democracy in a Digital Society”, which brings together over one hundred international experts from academia, policy, media, civil society and industry to develop a blueprint of what a European model for the digital society could look like.

Erika Staël von Holstein has been working in the field of connecting science, society and policy for over a decade. She is fellow at PlusValue, a UK-based European company focusing on social innovation; she is board member of Citizen Communication Platform, a Swedish project to promote stronger communication with citizens; and member of the committee supporting the work of Luc Van den Brande, Special Adviser to President Jean- Claude Juncker, for the Report on the “Outreach towards Citizen” Strategy.

She has written and contributed to numerous reports, articles and opinion pieces, such as: “The Dream of Europe: Creative efforts to reimagine the EU” (OECD – The Forum Network, 2022); Reimagining Europe: engaging the younger generation is vital for the future” (EPFMA Bulletin 76, 2021); “Mechanisms that Shape Social Media and their Impact on Society” (2020) “Democracy in a Digital Society” (Re-Imagine Europa, 2019); “Citizen Engagement and Media Campaign on Chronic Diseases” (EISMD, 2016); “Have your say…about Science! Special Initiative for Citizen Engagement in Science” (EISMD, 2014); “The Role of the Media in Responsible Research and Innovation” (EISMD 2013); “European Research and Innovation – 2020: What can the leading institutions of civil society do for Europe?” (EISMD, 2010).

She is a frequent speaker and moderator at European conferences on these topics including: “Biennale Tecnologia” (Torino, 2022); Re-Imagine Europa Annual Forum 2022 “Emotions, Narratives and the Future of Europe”
(Brussels, May 2022); OECD High-level Roundtable ‘Rethinking Technology for Inclusive Transitions’ – Panel “Setting Goals and Agenda Through Foresight and Participatory Processes” (online event, December 2021); ETUC Rethinking “Rethinking Our Growth Model to Ensure a Job-Rich Recovery” (online event, September 2021); EPRS event “How should democracies respond to the disinformation dilemma?” (Brussels, February 2020); “Lessons from Europe” (Rio de Janeiro, July 2019); OECD High-level Meeting “Understanding the Economy and How to Make It Work Better for People” (Madrid – April 2019); RIE-ALLEA Forum on “Democracy in a Digital Society (Berlin – January 2019); OECD Forum 2018 (Paris – May 2018); Economic Ideas Forum 2017 (Brussels - November 2017); SAPEA International Science Conference"Crossing Boundaries: New Approaches to Science for Policy in Europe" (Tallinn - October 2017); European Parliament - European Innovation Summit (Brussels - November 2016); European Commission - 2^nd INGSA Conference on "Science and Policy Making: towards a new dialogue" (Brussels, September 2016).

Eduardo Ramos is a Senior Analyst at Green Mare Services since its foundation. With a professional background as a Nautical Watch Officer, Eduardo contributes with industry insights and knowledge on the International Rules and Regulations that drive shipping. Eduardo's responsibilities span across data analysis, coordination of product development and creation of tools to meet user's needs and requirements.

Aimée Aguilar is in charge of leading work on Climate Change Mitigation in the Environment, Transitions and Resilience Division of the Environment Directorate for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Her current work focuses on the implementation of the Systems Innovation for Net-Zero Process, which has been designed to help governments achieve the transformational change needed to reach international climate goals while improving wider well-being outcomes.

The OECD Systems Innovation for Net-Zero Process builds on system's thinking and triggers two key mind-set shifts: from means (e.g. GDP) to ends (well-being inclusive of planetary health); and from parts (e.g. improving vehicles) to systems (e.g. shifting away from car-dependency). In this way, it focuses climate action on redesigning systems so that, by their functioning, they improve well-being while reducing the energy and material demand, and thus reducing emissions.

Before leading the Climate Change Mitigation team, Aimée worked in the International Transport Forum at the OECD. Before starting her career at the OECD, she worked for the World Resources Institute.

Aimée holds a Bachelor in Economics from the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Economicas (Mexico), a Masters in International Political Economy from the Warwick University (UK) and a Maitresse in Sustainable Development from Dauphine Univeristé (France).

Angelo Fienga is Director, Sustainable Solutions at Cisco EMEAR, where he is responsible for defining strategies and solutions to help public and private companies achieve their Sustainability and Circular Economy goals.  

Angelo is an international leader with an excellent knowledge of the telecommunications and ICT industry in which he has worked for the last 25+ years. During his career he has developed extensive technical, marketing and pre-sales leadership skills both in Fortune 500 companies - Ericsson, Cisco Systems, Qualcomm - and in start-ups - Elsacom, Sky4Apps - achieving excellent results in the areas of technology and business development. 

In recent years Angelo has helped drive the strategy for highly disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud, Drones/edge intelligence and Unified Communications. Angelo is also co-author of an Open Patent on Circular Economy https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/1532/. 

Angelo holds a MSc degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome (La Sapienza), where he also obtained a Master in Data Intelligence and Decision Science in 2019. He also obtained the certification in Design Thinking both at Cisco and IDEOU and the Cisco Black Belt Certification in Data Science. 

Angelo lives in Rome, is married and has two daughters. 

João Nascimento has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and an MBA from The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova (2007-2008). With a wide experience in several technology sectors, he is currently Head of the Digital Global Unit, responsible for the technological and digital transformation of EDP´s group. Previously, he worked 24 years at Vodafone Group - in Portugal, Spain, and at a European level. He had planning and strategy responsibilities, landline and mobile network development, television broadcasting and Digital/IT, both nationally and internationally, and since 2017 he has held the position of Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone Portugal.

Mónica Canário, project manager at the Portuguese Association for Diversity and Inclusion (APPDI), has a degree in Political Science and a Master's in International Studies from the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL), having other specialisations in migration, Europe and the Middle East. She was the national coordinator of the HeForShe movement in Portugal between 2016 and 2019. Since 2014, she has been working on gender issues at the national and international level. She is currently attending a PhD in Political Science and International Relations at ISCTE-IUL and is a research assistant at the Centre for International Studies.

Michael Kuhndt is the Founder and Executive Director of the Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of international co-operation, development and sustainability.

He has managed impact driven programmes for numerous multinational companies, ministries, European and UN organisations in the fields of strategy development for sustainable supply chains and circular economy, sustainable lifestyles, upscaling of sustainable business models and triple bottom line innovations.

He has worked with organisations such as UNEP, UNIDO, Worldbank, ILO, the European Commission, European Environment Agency, World Economic Forum, World Business Council on Sustainable Development, the CCICD, GIZ, the Global Reporting Initiative GeSI, the Wuppertal Institute, triple innova and various other national and international initiatives and networks.

He is member of various international boards and expert groups and has published a range of interviews and articles.

Michael Kuhndt studied chemical engineering and environmental management and policy in Germany, Sweden and the USA.

Michael Kuhndt is a German national.

Ana Paula Marques is Executive Board Director of EDP, CEO of EDP Produção and CEO of EDP España, Board Member of EDP Renewables, EDP Brasil. In addition to her business responsibilities, she currently oversees Innovation & Ventures, IT & Digital, Regulation and Stakeholders Management.

Before joining EDP, Ana Paula was an Executive Board Member and Vice-President of NOS (a Telco public listed company), President of the Portuguese Association of Telecom Operators (APRITEL) and non-Executive Board Member of SportTV.

She started her career in Marketing at Procter & Gamble.

She has a degree in Economics and an MBA from Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) and is a guest professor at the Porto Business School and for the Faculdade de Economia do Porto.

Pourya Salehi is the Acting Head of Urban Research at the Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) World Secretariat, where he leads a team to drive forward evidence-based policy making and science-informed local action through initiating, maintaining, and fostering effective collaboration among relevant stakeholders across the globe. He is also the coordinator of ICLEI's Global Research & Innovation Strategy across 27 ICLEI offices which involves overseeing ICLEI'S Research & Innovation (R&I) activities, from partnership building to curating R&I-related events (such as the Research Symposia), designing R&I projects, co-developing peer-reviewed publications and other knowledge products with partners, and providing contributions to international agendas such as the updated Global Research and Action Agenda, UNCCD's Global Land Outlook, etc.

In addition to managing, coordinating, and overseeing several multi-national R&I projects and initiatives on multiple thematic topics, including climate innovation, digitalization, digital finance, nexus approaches, urban and environmental planning, and sustainable development assessment, Pourya represents the organization in R&I-related spaces. In early 2022, the Strategic Advisory Board of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) appointed him as the co-chair of GCoM's Research & Innovation Technical Working Group (R&I TWG). With an educational background in urban planning and management (B.Sc.), land management and property rights (M.Sc.), and digital innovation and finance (P.hD. research topic), Pourya has always been fascinated by innovative approaches to sustainable development. Pourya is also an accomplished author on various topics with his most recent publication being the Springer-published book, titled Resilient Smart Cities: Theoretical and Empirical Insights.

Anna Jezewska is a Senior Associate at the Carbon Trust specialising in the ICT sector. She supports corporate clients on their sustainability journeys through services including carbon footprinting and TCFD disclosure support. In addition to these areas, Anna focuses on supporting companies to quantify the positive climate impact their products and services produce for their customers. She is part of the Carbon Trust team leading the technical work for the European Parliament Pilot Project supporting the European Green Digital Coalition to develop a methodology for assessing the net environmental impact of digital solutions.

Anna holds a BS degree in Mathematical Sciences from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a masters in Economics from University of Cambridge.

Julien Willeme is Global Chief Counsel for Data & AI Strategy at Medtronic, where he supports the company’s R&D organization with a focus on AI and software development. Before being appointed to this role in 2021, Julien was Chief Counsel for the company’s surgical business in Asia Pacific. Julien started his career at the UK law firm Bird & Bird, in the Technology and Mergers & Acquisition practice. Julien holds a Masters in Law and an Advanced Masters in International Law from Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Dan Jeavons is the Vice President for Computational Science and Digital Innovation at Shell. He has played a key role in scaling digital technology across Shell's businesses. He has been recognised for his industry leading work in the area of Digital Transformation. In 2020, he was listed in the Constellation Research #BT150 and Truata’s Top 100 Data Visionaries. He led the multi-award winning Data Science Centre of Excellence since its inception in 2013, growing the team from the ground up over 180 individuals. The work of the team was most recently recognised as part of Constellation Research’s Supernova Awards in the Data to Insights category.  He was part of the team which developed the Shell.ai brand which is now externally recognised, and the work of his team and their impact has been regularly publicised in mainstream journals like Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. He has also developed effective technology partnerships for example with Microsoft, contributing to Shell’s strategic alliance which was announced in 2020, and with Baker Hughes & C3.ai leading to the announcement of the Open AI Energy Initiative (OAI) in 2021.

He began his working life as an Accenture consultant working in their Upstream practice before joining Shell In 2008. Subsequently, he worked in the CIO Office, and then in architecture before joining the Shell technology division in 2013.

Dan is passionate about digital innovation, data science in all forms and AI (all recurring themes throughout his career) but also has extensive experience in business process redesign, business transformation and change. He is married to Anne (a barrister) whom he met at university, and has 3 children, Joshua, Isaac and Eliana. He enjoys travelling, scuba diving and is a keen guitarist. He enjoys being able to apply expertise acquired within Shell in a charitable context as a trustee.

Ruben Eiras is the of Secretary General of Forum Oceano. In the last year and a half, he served as Coordinator for the Blue Economy, Innovation, Investment and Financing of Forum Oceano.

He is the mentor of the Ocean Stream start-up program at the Canadian-based Creative   Destruction Lab, as well as mentor of the Sustainable Ocean  Accelerator and coacher of European Commission's Blue  Invest Platform. He served as Director-General of Maritime Policy of the Ministry of the Sea of Portugal, promoting an innovative and sustainable blue economy and as Advisor for Industry, Innovation and Energy of the Minister of the Sea of Portugal. Prior to his career on the route of blue economy, he wasa Science and Technology Manager at Galp Energia  and  Director of the Energy Security Program of the Luso-American Foundation for Development. He holds a PhD in Energy Security Policy in the area of History, Defense and International Relations, from the Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e Empresa - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and the Military Academy.

He also holds the Executive Master's degree in Sustainable Energy Systems from the MIT-Portugal Program. He was a member of the Natural Gas Expert Group of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and  d the  SAS Working Group  on  Energy Security of the NATO Science and Technology Organization. Forum Oceano is a collective public utility that manages the Cluster of the Portuguese Sea, cluster of competitiveness recognized by the Government of Portugal. Maritime activities are dynamic and competitive segments of the economy, capable of valuing the Sea and its resources, generating value and creating qualified jobs, contributing to the strengthening of Portugal's position in the global economy.

Forum Oceano's mission is to strengthen strategic cooperation between actors - companies, RT&D centres, higher education institutions, public administration bodies - and to promote the competitiveness of the main value chains that use the Sea and marine resources as central elements of their activity in order to contribute sustainably to economic growth, exports and employment. Forum Oceano represents 50% of the Blue GDP in Portugal, with 125 associates from the various sectors of the activity of the Sea economy, as well as consolidated activities such as Fisheries and Aquaculture, Conservation, Fish Processing and Commercialization, Marine Industries, Ports, Maritime Transport and Logistics and Nautical Tourism, as well as emerging activities such as Ocean Renewable Energies,Marine Biotechnologies and Ocean Technologies.

Pedro Loupa is the co-founder of HumanityE, which is an inclusive and collaborative global movement based on the "Conscious Leadership" perspective that aims to inspire leaders and humanity to an awareness of true leadership and a conscious expansion on the planet. He is also working on building the first "Conscious Territory" in Portugal as a global lab in a Portuguese interior municipality. In 2018, Pedro launched a book "12 Steps to be a Conscious Leader" (spanish version: 12 pasos para ser lider consciente), that brings some fresh and new propositions to a transformation on leadership.

Pedro has lived more than 20 years in countries like Mexico, the United States, Spain, France, Colombia and Portugal, working with individuals and organizations in technology, sustainability and social projects.

In the last 10-15 years, he began a journey of introspection and self-awareness, through eastern philosophies and schools, masters, gurus and also therapies of various orientations. Since then, he has started a journey as a “researcher of himself” and consciousness. Pedro does seminars, workshops, retreats worldwide, especially in Latin America and Europe focusing on conscious leadership, corporate mindfulness and meditation and all aspects of research related to consciousness and organizations.

Sérgio Miguel Leandro has a PhD in Marine Biology and is a Resident Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal and the Dean of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology in Peniche, Portugal. Since 2022, he has been an integrated member of the Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences (MARE-Politécnico de Leiria), and scientific coordinator of the Peniche Marine Science and Technology Park - Smart Ocean. He is a member of the Directive Commission of the Order of Biologists since April 2021. Throughout his professional and scientific career, he has been developing a diverse set of projects and activities surrounding the sustainable use of marine resources following 4 lines of action: (1) R&D activities, (2) Literacy and science communication, (3) education and advanced training, and (4) societal interactions with marine life.

Pedro Araújo Manuel is a Portuguese tech entrepreneur and engineer, better known as founder of BitCliq, an innovative software company applying emergent technologies such as blockchain, computer vision and deep learning to improve food industries and supply chains.

He is an alumnus of Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa where he studied Electronics,

Telecommunications, Informatics and Computers Engineering, with a final specialization on Artificial Intelligence – Intelligent Physical Agents (IEEE/FIPA).

He is the mastermind behind Lota Digital, a blockchain seafood e-marketplace, connecting fishing boats at sea with commercial buyers over the internet, by implementing online auctions and deals, improving fish landing and speed, and quality control while making sea-to-table digital traceability available. These innovations were validated in a pilot project between 2019-2021 and are now being adopted in Portugal.

In 2019, Pedro and BitCliq were named Best Iberian AgTech Startup – Prémio Empreendedor XXI, by Grupo La Caixa/Banco BPI, following several awards and market validations, such as FLAD/EY Buzz USA, Green Project Awards – Industry 4.0 and European Commission’s Elevator Pitch – Ideias que Marcam.

In the seafood sector, Pedro and his team have more than 10 years of experience working with global partners and seafood leaders in Europe, Africa, Asia and Americas.

Daniel Azevedo is the Director of the Commodities and Trade team of Copa and Cogeca, an agricultural lobby representing almost 70 national farm organizations and cooperatives in Europe. He graduated from the University of Évora (Portugal) in Natural Resources Engineering and is currently the coordinator of the Copa and Cogeca Task Force on agricultural technology. He has previously worked for the Directorate-General of Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission after specializing in agro-environmental measures at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Daniel comes from a family producing wine and olive oil in Vila Real (Douro Region) in Portugal. @florindo_daniel

Chris Tuppen has been involved in sustainability for over thirty years. He runs Advancing Sustainability Ltd and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Suffolk. He was previously BT’s Chief Sustainability Officer. He has a special focus on climate change, the circular economy and the technology industry. He established the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) with UNEP and the ITU in 2001, and was GeSI’s first Chair. He has also been heavily involved in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, especially in the development of a comprehensive methodology for the measurement of circularity of durable products. He is currently a member of the BBC Sustainability Advisory Group; and a member of the Science Based Target Initiative’s technical advisory group. He was previously a member of the Executive Board of the Prince of Wales Accounting for Sustainability project and remains a member of their expert panel. 

Isabel Guerreiro is currently the head of Digital and Retail Europe at Banco Santander. She is also a supervisory board member at Santander Polska and executive board member at Santander Portugal.

She received her Master of Computer Science Engineering degree from Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal (IST) and a Master of Business Administration from the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).

Before joining Santander, in 2005, Isabel played several roles as an IT consultant.

Isabel has lived and worked in 4 different countries.

Patrícia Matos is the Director of Innovation for the Global Media Group in Portugal which owns 18 media titles such as Diário de Notícias, Jornal de Notícias, Rádio 'TSF', Men's Health, and Women's Health Portugal.

In the past, she served as the Parliamentary Assistant in the European Parliament of the non-attached Member of Parliament Francisco Guerreiro and worked as a news presenter of TVI and TVI 24, presenting the program 'Diário
da Manhã'.

She is currently a PhD candidate in Social Sciences, specializing in Political Science, at the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, in Lisbon and holds a Master in Political Science, at Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas.

Bryan Welch is Co-CEO of Silk Grass Holdings US, helping build a 37,000-acre network of regenerative farms and wildlife preserves in southern Belize. He also serves as the Founder and CEO of Centered Advisory Services, supporting purpose-driven executives with informed advice, consultation, collaboration and camaraderie. He is a veteran entrepreneur, executive, writer, farmer and meditator with unique expertise in businesses that improve the world. Bryan’s award-winning book, Beautiful & Abundant: Building the World We Want, appeared in 2011. 

Bryan was Niche Media’s 2014 “Niche Rock Star of the Year;” is a member of Mequoda Group’s Digital Media Hall of Fame; and was honored with the B Corporations’ 2014 Hal Taussig Lifetime-Achievement award for “using business as a force for good.”

Head of LSTS

João Tasso de Figueiredo Borges de Sousa is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Porto University in Portugal. He holds a PhD and an MSc in Electrical Engineering, both awarded by the University of Porto. His research interests include autonomous underwater, surface and air vehicles, planning and execution control for networked vehicle systems, optimization and control, cyber-physical systems, and applications of networked vehicle systems to the ocean sciences, security and defense. In 2002, he was awarded the Luso-American Foundation Fellowship by the Portuguese Studies Program from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2008, he received an outstanding teaching award from Porto University.

He is the head of the Laboratório de Sistemas e Tecnologias Subaquáticas – LSTS (Underwater Systems and Technologies Laboratory). The LSTS has pioneered the design, construction and deployment of networked underwater, surface and air vehicles for applications in ocean sciences, security and defense. His major accomplishments include the design of the award-winning Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (LSTS) and of the LSTS open-source software tool chain for networked vehicle systems, as well as the organization of large-scale experiments at sea, including the annual Rapid Environmental Picture exercise organized in cooperation with the Portuguese Navy since 2010 and with the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation since 2014. The LSTS received the Arca second prize for the Best Technological Realizations Respectful to Environment in 2003 and the national BES Innovation National Award for the design of the Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle in 2006.

He has been involved in fostering and growing a worldwide research community in this field with yearly conferences and workshops in the areas of hybrid systems, networked vehicle systems and autonomous underwater vehicles. He has been lecturing on networked vehicle systems in renowned universities in the United States of America and Europe. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Intelligent Robotics for Space Exploration, Rensselaer’s Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, in 1991. And since 1997, he has had several Visiting Scholar appointments at the University of California at Berkeley. He is a member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Multi-Robots Systems Technical Committee and of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) Marine Systems Technical Committee. He was the chair of the 2013 edition of the IFAC Navigation, Guidance and Control Workshop and is the chair of the 2018 IEEE AUV Symposium. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Swedish Marine Robotics Center, is a member of several NATO committees, and is on the editorial board of several scientific journals having authored over 300 publications, including 30 journal papers.

Paulo Valente is the CEO of SmartLampPost, a modular concept of urban furniture that allows a wide range of flexible and high-end housing solutions for smart cities. He has experience in the technology media and telecom (TMT) sector ranging from management, legal & regulatory affairs, restructuring & turnaround, technology policy, strategy, and innovation. Paulo is the Chair of DIGITAL SME Focus Group on Smart Communities where he supports the work of the Digital SME Secretariat with his experience on key topics related to the smart city context, such as interoperability and market accessibility.

Ingemar Jansson is an experienced strategist, entrepreneur, and digital sustainability expert with a history of both influencing government policy as well as helping clients in public and private sectors to realize their climate ambitions. His mission is to capture the opportunities of digital technology by integrating impact targets, assessments tools and steering instruments on strategic, tactical, and operative level. 

In 2021 he founded the Digitalisation Consultancy Industry Association in Sweden “Digitaliseringskonsulterna” and is now Chairman of the Board of Directors. The association unites consultancy companies behind an ambitious climate agenda. The association supports politics, business, and the public sector in Sweden to see and utilize the opportunities of digital technology in the transition to a 1.5°C compatible economy, with the result of increased competitiveness and growth. 

In 2018 he was entrusted to coordinate and co-author a roadmap for how Sweden can become fossil free by the means of strategic digitalisation. He united 33 CEOs from the most purposeful consultancy firms in Sweden to sign the roadmap before it was handed over to the Swedish Government in March, 2019. It contains both calls for action to the Swedish Parliament and Government as well as commitments from the industry itself, all identified as necessary to realize the ambitions of the roadmap.

As Head of Sustainable Strategy and Business Development for two of Scandinavias largest consultancy firms Cybercom Group and Knowit Group he was responsible for increasing their ability to help clients and society at large to capture the opportunities of digitalization and contribute with solutions to the global challenges of our time. During that time, he aligned the company’s vision, strategy, value propositions, products, and services with the 1.5°C ambition. It means prioritizing products and services that enable reduction and removal of customer and societal emissions, enabling resource efficient lifestyles and consumption patterns, and suppressing solutions with an adverse climate impact.

Before joining the consultancy world, Ingemar has more than 10 years of experience from the media-industry where he was Publisher and Business Manager for Sweden’s largest media-platform Aktuell Hållbarhet, covering the area of sustainability and corporate responsibility, providing sustainable business intelligence, training and conferences.

He graduated 2003 from Uppsala University with a Master in Business and Administration.

Laura Fernández Cavas is Head of Sustainable Finance of Telefónica at a corporate level, Member of the Consultative Working Group of ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) and Chair of the Workstream in Sustainable Finance in ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association. Her current work focuses on the implementation of the European taxonomy in sustainable finance at a global level, including the development of eligible and aligned financial KPIs, working on the technical screening activities of main activities (including life cycle assessment of technologies and solutions), the do not significant harm criteria and the social minimum safeguards. Her participation in ETNO is leading common goals of the ICT sector.  

Prior to that, Laura was Co-founder and head of sustainability of a consultancy business. She has developed sustainability projects, mainly focused in climate change, during more than 13 years along different sectors and company sizes.  

Laura holds a Degree in Environmental Sciences (Murcia, Spain), a Master in Renewables Energies and trainings related with sustainable finance. Highly immersed and passionate about Sustainable Finance.  

Maria João Carioca graduated in Economics from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and holds a Master's in Business Administration from the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) and a Leading Change and Organizational Renewal certificate (LCOR) from the Harvard Business School. She is currently a Member of the Board of Directors of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, since March 2017. Maria João Carioca also holds the positions of non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of CGA - Caixa Geral de Aposentações, IP, non-executive Member of the Board of Directors of Caixa – Banco de Investimento, S.A. and Banco Nacional Ultramarino, S.A..

Maria João Carioca has held a number of management positions, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Euronext Lisbon, Interbolsa and Euronext Tecnologies and Member of the Board of Directors of Euronext, in a previous mandate as a Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Caixa Geral de Depósitos from July 2013 to May 2016 and previously, as an Executive Member of the Board of Directors of SIBS PAGAMENTOS and a non-executive Member of the Board of Directors of MULTICERT - Serviços de Certificação Eletrónica, SA. She was Director of the Corporate and Strategy Office of SIBS Forward Payment Solutions / SIBS SGPS and Coordinating Director of the Strategic Analysis Office (GAE) of UNICRE - Instituição Financeira de Crédito, SA. She started her career at McKinsey & Company, first as a consultant and later as an Associate Principal.

Margarida Pinto Correia has been the Deputy Director of EDP's Institutional and Stakeholder Relations Department since January 2020. Prior to this, Margarida was the Director of Social Innovation at EDP Foundation from 2013-2019. She has co-author and conduct of the program Raio X on the Cabo Saúde+ channel, since 2019 and the the program Immediate Encounters, every Saturday on Antena 1 Portugal since January 2018.

Jordi Marin Puigpelat is the General Director of the Catalan Association of Consulting Companies (ACEC), and a Senior Advisor at ABACUS, CEI Europe, VASS, Oryon Universal as well as an advisor at recognized companies such as Grupo Planeta.

He is also business development partner at MyHealth Watcher and Dear Intelligence, a member of the Social Council of UPF (Universidad Pompeu Fabra), and belongs to the Board of Directors of Andorra Business (a state society for economic promotion).

Marin Puigpelat holds associate professor positions at at UPF, ESADE, EADA, IQS and has previously held senior positions in renowned consultancies such as Capgemini, Indra. Prior to this, he has worked as a former general manager of Microsoft in Catalonia, as the former Secretary of Telecommunications for the government of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and as the Director of the TecnoCampus Mataró.

Jorge Miguel Alberto de Miranda studied at the University of Lisbon and graduated in Physics (Geophysics) in 1981, and received a doctorate in 1990, with Aggregation in 2002. His research is focused on Geomagnetism, Marine Geophysics and Natural Risks, particularly tsunamis. He has conducted a significant number of aerial and marine geophysical surveys. He is the author or co-author of +100 articles indexed in the Web of Science, and has been published in the main scientific journals of geophysics: Journal of Geophysical Research, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Geophysical Research Letters and Nature, with more than 2400 citations. Jorge is the author or co-author of articles and books for scientific dissemination, and of more than a hundred studies presented at international scientific conferences. He was part of the coordination of the European Network ESONET and the European infrastructure project EMSO, being a national representative in EMSO-ERIC. He was a member of the European Research Council's Earth System Sciences evaluation panel in the period 2009-2013 and has participated in international evaluation panels for geosciences, within the framework of FP7 and ANR (France). He is a corresponding member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.

Magda Coco is the head of the Information, Communication and Technology practice, the Digital Frontiers practice and the Aerospace sector at Vieira de Almeida. Magda has in-depth knowledge and experience with innovative technological projects in the electronic communications industry and across several jurisdictions and regions, notably Europe and Africa.

She has led multidisciplinary teams in different ICT projects & transactions and assisted governments and regulatory entities in connection with the definition of regulatory policies and legislative drafting. She has also advised various international organizations such as International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.

Magda has provided expert advice to companies and public entities across different industries on several digital economy legal issues, from electronic and postal communications to information and emerging technologies, such as AI, robotics, blockchain, nanotechnology, big data and IoT.

She also advises clients on data protection & cybersecurity. In this context, she has assisted several entities in connection with governance matters and data-related strategies, coordinated several GDPR compliance programs and assisted public and private entities in connection with cybersecurity threats.

Magda has been involved in various space sector projects, including negotiating contracts for satellite construction and launch and for the installation of ground stations, and assisted governments in connection with the definition and drafting of space-related strategies and legislation.

Vincent Minier is Vice President Energy Transition Research at the Schneider Electric™ Sustainability Research Institute, within Global Strategy & Sustainability. As an energy expert, Vincent is involved in several international organizations, think tanks or industry associations.   

Previous to this, Vincent spent over 25 years at Schneider Electric with different positions at both operations and global level.  

Until recently, Vincent was Materials, Energy and Infrastructure Platform Fellow at the World Economic Forum, and contributing to shaping the Net Zero Carbon City initiative and lead the design of new supporting tools triggering decarbonization investments in Cities. 

Vincent holds both a Doctor of Science degree in Optoelectronics, and an Engineering Degree in Physics from National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble (France), completed by a Finance for Executive Education program at INSEAD. He is a member of the Board of SmartEn industry association in Brussels (Belgium). 

José Miguel Pessanha has been an executive board member and Chief Revenue Officer at Millennium bcp since 2015 and is responsible for the Group Risk Office, Compliance Office, Rating Division, the Office for the Regulatory and Supervision Monitoring, the Office for the Validation and Monitoring of Models and the Data Protection Office, among other positions held in other Group entities.

José Miguel holds a Degree in Economics from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, a Master’s Degree in Economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a Master’s Degree in Operation Investigation (academic portion) from the Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal). He was a Professor of Statistics and Econometrics at Universidade Católica Portuguesa until 1995 and joined Banco Português do Atlântico in 1989.

Marcos Pinto has worked for more than 20 years in the press, radio and television journalism space in Portugal. He has worked  in journalism and entertainment coordination, team management. He is a Professor of Communication, expert in expert in content and social networks, and serves as the official voice of the History Channel in Portugal.

Steve Rochlin is Founder and CEO of IMPACT ROI. IMPACT ROI, LLC helps organizations achieve superior social, environmental, and financial performance. Through research and management consulting, IMPACT ROI assesses the value of sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and enables our clients to design high impact strategies that support people, planet, and profit. As the lead author of the acclaimed Project ROI research series (described by Forbes as “a Godsend”) Steve has developed the pathway for companies to deliver sustainable and collaborative impact that is also profitable.

Steve has over 25 years of experience in sustainability, ESG, corporate responsibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and social impact. He has advised leading companies across a wide variety of industry sectors on how to improve sustainability performance in a way that drives competitive success. He was co-founder and CEO of IMPACT ROI’s precursor, IO Sustainability. For AccountAbility Steve served as the Head of North America, Director of Global Advisory Services and a member of the Board of Directors. For the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship Steve served as the Head of Research and Development. Under his leadership his organizations demonstrated growth in revenues, reputation, and international presence.

Steve serves as Head of the Americas for the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI). He is the lead author of GeSI’s landmark report, “Enabling Rights: The Transformative Potential of Digital to Enable People’s Rights.” He has supported the design of the Digital with Purpose Framework’s section on Digital Trust and Responsibility.

Steve is co-author of two books: Beyond Good Company: Next Generation Corporate Citizenship and Untapped: Creating Value in Underserved Markets. He is a Senior Fellow for the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Corporate Citizenship Center. He is also a Senior Fellow in Social Innovation for Babson College. Steve obtained his MPP from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and his A.B. from Brown University.

Alessandro Gropelli is Deputy Director General of ETNO, the European Telecoms Association, and a Board member of GeSI, the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative. Alessandro joined ETNO in 2013, where is in in charge of strategy and communications, and he is an expert of tech policy and sustainability matters.

Prior to joining ETNO, Alessandro was the European Affairs Advisor at Vodafone Group and ViceChairman at the m-commerce working group of GSMA Europe, the global association of mobile operators. In 2010, he worked as part of the Brussels team of Telecom Italia. In 2009, he served as public relations officer at the European Parliament. He holds an Executive MBA from Copenhagen Business School (2021). He graduated in public management from Bocconi University in Milan (2009), but also spent short periods of study at the Hitotsubashi University of Tokyo (2008) as well as at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2018) and Berkeley Haas (2016).

Dr. Vlad C. Coroamă is a lecturer and senior research fellow with the TU Berlin, Germany. He previously held research and teaching positions in Brazil, Switzerland, Portugal, and Sweden. For two decades now, his research revolved around the relation between digitalisation and sustainability, in particular environmental sustainability. He contributed both methodologically, and with concrete assessments, to understanding the environmental impact of ICT in general and the Internet in particular. Vlad believes that climate change is the most urgent challenge of our times, and one of the greatest challenges ever faced by humankind. This is why today, his main research interest lies in exploring whether and how digitalisation can lead to society-wide dematerialisation and resource efficiency, and how to best exploit this potential, while understanding and avoiding the counteracting rebound effects. 

Tom is a Managing Director and Head of International Product and Origination at iCapital, responsible for the development and expansion of the firm’s product offering in markets outside the United States. Tom has almost 30 years of experience within wealth management working with clients and managing teams, businesses, and global product classes. Prior to joining the firm, Tom spent 11 years at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, most recently as head of the Global Funds Group, overseeing the sourcing, research, structuring, marketing, and servicing of both traditional and alternative fund offerings across all client franchises. Previously, Tom was CEO of Deutsche Bank’s UK wealth management business. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Tom spent a decade at Credit Suisse, where his last role was as the London Head of International Private Banking. He started his career in wealth management at Goldman Sachs in London. Tom holds a BA/MA degree in Zoology from Oxford University and completed the Senior Executive Programme at London Business School.

Alexander Lehrmann leads strategic innovation and new business development across Sunrise, the largest private telecommunications provider in Switzerland, after ramping up the IoT business for the operator. Previously, he had taken charge of corporate strategy, portfolio management and digital innovation at Swisscom and held various executive roles at Orange, Hewlett Packard and Compaq Computer in EMEA and various countries and markets. He is passionate about new customer experiences in the digital age, entrepreneurship, open innovation, renewable energy, sports and his two daughters.

Sofia Tenreiro is responsible for the Energy, Resources and Industrial sectors at Deloitte, offering and delivering integrated solutions that help clients on their deep transformations to maximize their value, in a context where disrupting factors such as digital transformation, energy transition, geopolitical forces, business evolution, customer changing demands, etc. are speeding up their impact.

Sofia is also leading the Sustainability Consulting Offer at Deloitte, helping clients as they define a path to a more sustainable future, redefining their strategies and accelerating transformation of their organizations and value chains.

She started her career in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) at Procter & Gamble, in B2C Marketing, in Portugal and Spain, and in a global business unit in Switzerland. After that, she worked in B2C marketing at L'Oreal Spain.

She created the strategic B2C marketing team at Optimus Telco, in Portugal after which, at Sonae, she led the commercial and marketing transformation in Publico Newspaper, before being invited to join Microsoft Portugal, as an Executive Board Member. In this tech company, she was responsible for the retail business, leading a deep transformation and, later, for all consumer and SMEs channels' business.

After this assignment she accepted a general manager role at Cisco Portugal, given her big passion for cyber, IoT and cloud technologies.

In 2019, she was appointed as an executive board member at Galp (Commercial COO) to lead the business, digital and cultural transformations, the energy transition and a new customer-centric strategy.

In 2016, for 3 years, she was appointed as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham). She graduated, in 2022, from the Harvard Business School, having completed the AMP, Advanced Management Program.

Sofia is passionate about digital and sustainability and believe these two combined can transform and very positively impact the world. She works with several educational institutes in areas as energy and sustainability, technology, change management, leadership, strategy, among others.

Dr. Erik Schultes is an evolutionary biologist by training and a leading FAIR data specialist. Erik’s early academic career focused on fundamental research questions on the origin of life and the emergence of structure and function in nucleic acids and proteins. As his research interests became more data-intensive, Erik began to shift his attention towards innovation in scholarly collaboration, advanced data stewardship and data infrastructures. Currently, Erik is the FAIR Implementation Lead at the GO FAIR Foundation, a member of the Leiden Center for Data Science at Leiden University, and the Scientific Director at partners in FAIR.

Before this, Erik was International Science Coordinator at the GO FAIR International Support and Coordination Office from its inception in 2017 until 2021. In GO FAIR, Erik has been working with a diverse community of stakeholders to develop FAIR data and services. Erik is most known for his leading role in the development of machine-actionable FAIR Implementation Profiles and scalable approaches to the creation of domain-relevant, machine-actionable metadata.

Over his career, Erik has worked in both the public and private sectors, holding appointments in the United States at the University of California, Los Angeles (graduate training), The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (postdoctoral training), Duke University and on multiple occasions at The Santa Fe Institute.

Since 2010, Erik has been living in the Netherlands, and has held appointments at the Leiden University Medical Center and Leiden Institute for Advanced Computer Science. Erik participates in various scientific advisory boards and is a frequent keynote speaker about FAIR and open science.

eriks@gofair.foundation
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8888-635X

Bernd Halling has served as Head of Corporate Policy and Strategy for Bayer AG Public and Governmental Affairs, having previously held the position of Head of Bayer AG EU-Liaison Office in Brussels.

After studying history and geography at Humboldt University in Berlin and the University of Edinburgh, Bernd worked as Head of Office for a Member of the European Parliament, and Director of Public Policy for EuropaBio, the European association of bio-industries. He subsequently served as Senior Advisor for external relations for International IDEA in Stockholm, an international organization that supports democratization, before returning to Brussels as Communications Director for IFAH Europe and IFAH Global, the industry representation of the animal health industry.

Sara is a curious person, driven by challenges and the feeling of overcoming them. Constantly searching for more efficiency and results inside the projects she works with. Sara loves to contribute to new projects and to challenge herself everyday. Sara co-founded a company that is in constant growth and developed several other innovation projects. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy Engineering and developed several skills in IT and management during the last professional years. Sara is currently doing her Master's degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.

Gregor is a director at Monitor Deloitte Belgium, a multinational strategy consulting practice of Deloitte Consulting. He is managing a sustainability advisory portfolio across the EU Green Deal domains for the EU institutions, with special focus on climate & energy policy, socio-economic (just) transition and sustainable corporate governance.
 

Gregor has over 10 years of project management, consulting and advisory experience in both public and private sectors. Throughout his career he managed a series of projects on improvement and reform of complex governance/management systems, public sector and corporate strategy, market research, provision of technical assistance and guidance in the management of EU and state-funded projects, organization of ex-ante, interim and ex-post policy and programme evaluations, etc.

He holds a university degree in political sciences and an MBA degree from the University of Ljubljana.

Luis has over 20 years’ experience in tech, industry, mobility and transportation and is an expert and pioneer in new mobility concepts and solutions.

He is currently the Senior Manager Lead for Transport, Mobility and Smart Territories at Axians Portugal for the Vinci Energies Group company.

Luis just finished in his role as a member of the board of the eMobility ICT Interoperability Innovation, eMI³, a Belgian association of most relevant actors in the global electric vehicles market who joined forces to harmonize the ICT data definitions, formats, interfaces, and exchange mechanisms in order to enable a common language among all ICT platforms for electric. He also ended a second term as Vice-President of the Portuguese Electric Vehicles Association.

Luis’ academic background comprises a five-year degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Engineering and Technology Management, both at Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa.

Miguel Eiras Antunes leads the public sector, transportation and infrastructure industries both in Portugal and in continental Europe. He also heads globally the Smart Cities & Urban Transformation practices at Deloitte.    

In Portugal, Miguel leads a Global Centre of Excellence which is 100% focused on developing and deploying technical solutions and assets to modernise public sector and transportation clients.

In continental Europe, Miguel leads the public sector practice across 40 countries, coordinating a team of 3000 people. 

Globally, Miguel also coordinates a team of 4000 smart city and urban development experts, who advise cities, urban developers, and infrastructure managers on the smartest path for the future. This high-performing team leverages Deloitte´s alliances, in-house developed assets, and expertise to turn those cities and urban ecosystems that are greener, smarter, and more connected.

Passionate about the future of cities and mobility, Miguel strongly advocates a move “from urban living to a more human living” in order to have a positive impact on the lives of future generations and contribute to a more sustainable and happy way of living. Under his management, Deloitte has committed to working with partners, governments and NGOs to improve the urban living of more than 1 billion people by 2030.

Stephen Downes works with the Digital Technologies Research Centre at the National Research Council of Canada specializing in new instructional media and personal learning technology. His degrees are in Philosophy, specializing in epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. He has taught for the University of Alberta, Athabasca University, Grand Prairie Regional College and Assiniboine Community College. His background includes expertise in journalism and media, both as a prominent blogger and as founder of the Moncton Free Press online news cooperative. He is one of the originators of the first Massive Open Online Course, has published frequently about online and networked learning, has authored learning management and content syndication software, and is the author of the widely read e-learning newsletter OLDaily. Downes is a member of NRC's Research Ethics Board. He is a popular keynote speaker and has spoken in three dozen countries on six continents.

Smita Rakesh is the Vice President and Partner at Social Alpha where she leads the Climate and Sustainability mission. Social Alpha is a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for addressing some of the most complex social and environmental challenges. Smita has also been instrumental in creating an international incubation centre (CEIIC), a unique partnership between the central government, private sector and philanthropy under Mission Innovation, which demonstrates India’s global leadership in making clean energy affordable and accessible to all. Smita has been deeply engaged with the global climate ecosystem for the last 14 years, contributing across a wide spectrum of institutional programmes and interventions in public, private and development sectors.

Smita is a post graduate in Environmental Sciences and is also a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow on Social Innovation. Passionate about catalysing large-scale and inclusive social change through responsible investments and market-based solutions, Smita firmly believes that an honest engagement with the primary stakeholders must include women and other on-the-margin populations, and advocates better contextualisation of solutions for community adoption, scale and deep impact. 

Maryke oversees the Local Governments for Sustainability's (ICLEI) global strategy on integrated climate action, resilient development, access to finance, as well as research and innovation. She leads a fantastic team of multi-disciplinary experts in Bonn and works closely with 24 ICLEI offices around the globe to serve ICLEI's global network of 2,500+ local and regional governments in 125 countries.

She is a senior expert addressing climate change resilience, adaptation and mitigation (integrated climate action); access to sustainable energy; enhancing resilience of communities, systems and infrastructure; access to finance for local action; also exploring how data, information and knowledge resulting from reporting and research can inform decision-making.  

An international political scientist by training, with two degrees from the University of Pretoria (1989, 1991), Maryke’s career spans nearly 30 years in the areas of energy & climate policy and security. She worked for national government, the private sector and NGOs, here notably for the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) on global renewable energy roll-out, then moving to the ICLEI European Secretariat – where for 7 years she guided climate and energy activities across the wider European and MENA region, and now celebrating 9 years at the ICLEI World Secretariat.

Key topics of interest are: a just and inclusive transition to a sustainable future; energy and geo-political security; enhancing resilience and exploring practical ways of achieving climate neutrality and net-zero emissions in cities, towns and regions around the globe at the latest by 2050, using resilient development as the entry point. Further key themes are informed decision-making; public reporting and transparency; effective multilevel governance; well-coordinated planning and action to achieve substantial positive impact.

João Machado is chairman of the board of directors of the Ageas Foundation. Previously, he was Manager of the Social Innovation Fund at Portugal Inovação Social. He joined the initiative of the Government Portugal Inovação Social at the beginning of 2017 and was responsible for creating the Social Innovation Fund. Prior to taking on the role, João worked for 3 consulting companies, for a total of 8 years, with a focus ranging from sustainability and impact to entrepreneurship and venture capital.

Dr. Stefaan G. Verhulst is Co-Founder, Chief of R&D, and Director of the Data Program of the Governance Laboratory (The GovLab) where he is building an action-research foundation on how to transform governance using advances in science, data and technology. Verhulst’s latest scholarship centers on how responsible data and technology can improve people’s lives and the creation of more effective and collaborative forms of governance. Specifically, he is interested in the perils and promises of collaborative technologies and how to harness the unprecedented volume of data and information to advance the public good.

João C. Ferreira is a Professor at the University of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL). He graduated in Physics from the Technical University of Lisbon (UTL / IST), Portugal, received an MSc in Telecommunications and a PhD in Computer Engineering from UTL / IST and a second PhD in Industrial Engineering at the University of Minho.

His research interests are in: data science, text mining, IoT, blockchain, and AI applications to health, energy, and transportation. He has authored more than 300 papers in computer science and executed more than 30 projects (6 as PI), more than 180 scientific paper reviews and more than 25 scientific project evaluations.

He was the Director of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (IEEE CIS) Chair from 2016-2018 and current vice-chair of IEEE Blockchain PT, CIS PT chapter. He has been the general chair of international conferences such as, the Open Research Areas in Information Retrieval (OAIR) 2013 and International Conference on Intelligent Transport Systems (INTSYS) from 2018 to 2022. He was a IEEE senior member since 2015.

He has been the guest editor and topic editor for the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) for the topics of energies, electronics and sensors. He was the President of the IEEE CIS in Portugal from 2017-2018. And holds a patent in the area of edge computer monitoring systems for fishing vessels. He is the coordinator for the Master of Decision Support Systems, Professional Master for the Digitalization of Business and of the summer (smart cities) and winter (IoT Systems and Blockchain) schools. He is currently the Vice-Chair for the Computational Intelligence Society and IEEE Blockchain in Portugal and is an industry ambassador in Portugal.

Jorge Moreira da Silva serves as Chairman of the Lisbon-based think-tank, Platform for Sustainable Growth (which he founded in 2011). He is also a visiting Professor at Oporto University (Faculty of Engineering), an Adjunct Professor at the Paris School of International Affairs (Sciences Po) and a Senior Advisor to an international consortium of global foundations (leading the design of a new philanthropic initiative to boost economic systems transformations).

Mr. Moreira da Silva recently stepped down as Director-General of the Development Co-operation Directorate at OECD, in Paris, France (1st November 2016 until 14^th April 2022). During those 6 years as Director-General of the OECD, he led the Secretariat of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which with 30 top donors, reached a record high $179 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) for 2021.

From 2013 to 2015, he was Portugal’s Minister of Environment, Energy and Spatial Planning. Prior to this ministerial position, he served as Programme Manager on Climate Change Innovative Finance at UNDP, New York (2009-2012); Senior Advisor to the President of Portugal (2006-2009); Secretary of State for Science and Higher Education (2003-2004); Secretary of State for Environment and Spatial Planning (2004-2005); Member of the Portuguese Parliament (1995-99; 2005-2006; 2015-16); and Member of the European Parliament (1999-2003). As a Member of the European Parliament, he was the Standing Draftsman on climate change, and he authored the report and the political agreement on the EU GHG Emissions Trading Directive in 2003.

He has also served as First Vice-President of the Executive Board of Partido Social Democrata, PSD (2010-2016).

Currently, he serves in several non-profit organizations as Chairman of the Advisory Board of BCSD-Portugal and member of the advisory boards for Finance in Common (France); Chefs 4 the Planet (France); Good Food Finance (Norway); Fourth Sector Group Platform (US); Natural Capital, Carbon and Communities (Indonesia); Council of the School of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP-Lisbon University).

Mr. Moreira da Silva graduated from the University of Porto with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and holds a postgraduate degree in Senior Management from the AESE-IESE Business School, Navarra University, Spain. 

Patrick McSharry is a Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Research Fellow at the Kigali Collaborative Research Centre (KCRC) and Strategic Advisor to the World Bank funded African Centre of Excellence in Data Science (ACE-DS). Having served 22 years at Oxford University, he remains affiliated with the Oxford Man Institute of Quantitative Finance and the Oxford Internet Institute. He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, Senior Member of the IEEE and advises organizations in the public and private sectors.  He was a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and held two Marie Curie Fellowships (UK and Spain).  He takes a multidisciplinary approach to developing quantitative techniques for automating decision-making and improving risk management. His research focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, big data, forecasting, predictive analytics, and the analysis of human behavior. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and three books including the "Big Data Revolution" (2015). He is currently building multidisciplinary partnerships to create data-driven and sustainable solutions to global challenges such as climate change.

Eduardo Silva is the Coordinator of the TEC4SEA platform at INESC TEC (Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science). Previously he was the Coordinator of the Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CRAS) at INESC TEC until 2019. He is also a professor at the School of Engineering (ISEP) of the Porto Polytechnic Institute (IPP). He has a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Porto. His main research areas are marine robotics, control architectures, perception, and navigation for autonomous robots. He has participated in more than 20 research projects, including ¡VAMOS! and UNEXMIN EU projects, as well as UNEXUP and INSite Upscaling projects funded by EIT Raw Materials. He has more than 80 publications in the area of the Field Robotics.

Inês Sequeira is the Founder & Director of Casa do Impacto, the biggest impact entrepreneurship hub in Portugal. Since it’s opening in 2018 this Casa has put Portugal on the map of the impact ecosystem, gathering the resources and network to grow an impact venture. Casa do Impacto is the place where the stakeholders contributing to changing the paradigm of business converge. Thought acceleration, investment and incubation programs the hub aims to create an exciting pipeline of solutions connected with the 17 SDGs. Throughout its activity more than 2 million euros have been invested in supporting businesses. Casa do Impacto is located on a 17^th century convent on top of one of Lisbon’s hills and incubates over 60 startups.

With over 20 years of experience in the energy industry, Damien is the Industry Lead for Renewables and New Energies at Amazon Web Services (AWS), globally responsible for supporting our customers accelerate the adoption of low carbon technology. Damien’s particular area of expertise is in leveraging data to drive innovation at scale in the renewables space.

Prior to this role, Damien was the Chief Digital Officer of the renewables division of Électricité de France (EDF) where he was based in Paris and led the digital transformation of the group, following on from more than 10 years of experience in North America leading innovation and product development.  Damien has a PhD in Physics for the University of Sydney and post-doctoral experience at University College London.

João Tremoceiro is part of the Lisbon City Council, responsible for the coordination of the Smart Cities area, Open Data, Lisbon Urban Data Laboratory and the implementation of the Lisbon Integrated Operational Center.

Paula Gomes Freire joined Vieira de Almeida (VdA) in 1996. She is VdA’s Managing Partner, in which capacity she chairs the Executive Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors of VdA, a position which she has held since 2015.

As the Partner of the Banking & Finance practice, Paula has led several transactions, both in Portugal and abroad, mainly focused on the issue and placement of debt instruments, namely Euro Medium Term Notes, commercial paper, preferential shares and hybrids. She also works in securitisation and other types of asset-backed transactions.

In recent years, Paula has also participated in the recapitalisation of the Portuguese banking sector and on the inaugural application of a resolution measure under the Banking Recovery and Resolution Directive.

Paula is the author of several articles and publications related to her legal practice, and also published the book “Sustainable success, the future of technology, leadership and culture”, focused on the future challenges that will impact the sustainability of organizations.

Paula holds a Law Degree from the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Law, post-graduate studies in English Commercial Law, College of Law, London University, a certificate in Leading Professional Service Firms from Harvard Business School, and a Master’s in Law Firm Management from George Washington University, USA.

Dr. Bozesan is an award-winning integral investor, futurist, renowned author of the Report to the Club of Rome and WAAS, Integral Investing: From Profit to Prosperity. She is, furthermore, an empowering speaker, a prominent alumna of KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), and a successful serial entrepreneur focusing on exponentially growing technologies to accelerate the implementation of the UN SDGs within Planetary Boundaries. She was named Europe’s Female Angel Investor, Golden Angelina Award, of 2019 by BAND, the German Business Angel Network, and BAE, Business Angels Europe, and Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 by EBAN, the European Business Angel Network.

Mariana was awarded full membership in the international Club of Rome and is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. She was National Advisory Board Member for the G8/G20 Social Impact Investment Task Force and serves as a strategic advisor on safe AI, ethical & integral finance and sustainability to various funds, NGOs, social businesses, and governmental organizations. She is also a futurist, researcher, published author, environmentalist, frequent TV and radio guest, as well as a human rights activist.

Johan Falk is a leader and entrepreneur in exponential strategies for climate and business. Johan is the CEO and Co-founder of Exponential Roadmap Initiative, with the mission to accelerate exponential climate action. In a short period, the initiative has grown exponentially, with member companies including Google, Mastercard, Microsoft and IKEA representing 800 billion USD in revenue and 1.7 million employees. Furthermore, the initiative is an accredited partner to the United Nations' Race to Zero. Johan is the co-lead author of Exponential Roadmap and 1.5°C Business Playbook and co-creator of SME Climate Hub and 1.5°C Supply Chain Leaders. He is a former Senior Innovation Fellow at Stockholm Resilience Centre and Future Earth. Johan was one of the initiators of the Global Carbon Law idea, together with Owen Gaffney and Johan Rockström, inspired by Moore's Law. 

From 2006-2018 as part of Intel, Johan was responsible for the Intel IoT Ignition Lab and heading-up the Intel Edge Cloud Game Changer program for 5G networks. He received the Intel Global Design Win of the Year 2010 for accelerating the telecom company's growth at an exponential level and transforming it into a multi-billion dollar business. Moreover, Johan worked at Ericsson as Head of Product Management and built up and scaled the real-time charging (pre-paid card) business. He holds several patents in the mobile communications industry and has studied at Chalmers University of Technology Industrial Engineering from 1985-1988 and the Stockholm School of Economics from 1984-1985.

Bastien Hillen is the global lead for sustainability strategic engagements at Dassault Systèmes, overseeing the integration of our sustainable portfolio in our customers’ engagements to help them reduce their environmental footprint.

He previously led Dassault Systèmes business consulting for consumer industries and sales and services activities for the 3DVIA brand.

Prior to Dassault Systèmes, Bastien has been creating and managing software startups for 10 years.

Bastien started his career in corporate finance and transaction services working for Deloitte & Grant Thornton.

Bastien is a French Certified Public Accountant and Legal Auditor and holds an eMBA from HEC Paris.

Bernardo is the Executive Director of Portugal Digital, a public team created to be one of the key components to Portugal’s transition to a more digital, competitive, and internationally strengthened country in the context of digital transformation. He is also the Executive Coordinator of the Education, Vocational Training and Inclusion Axes of the National Digital Skills Initiative - INCoDe.2030.

Graduated in Economics at Nova SBE, he holds two Graduation Programs on social policies and sociology by ISEG and completed The Lisbon MBA, a joint experience between Católica-Lisbon, Nova SBE and MIT.

He began his professional career in the private sector, having embraced shortly after a volunteer experience in Timor-Leste several positions and challenges in the public sector. He was the first Director of the High Commission for Migrations, member of the Board of the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training, senior consultant of the Lisbon City Council and Coordinator at the the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality. In 2020 he joined Portugal Digital, having started as Coordinator for Empowerment and Digital Inclusion of the Action Plan for Digital Transition.

Sérgio Ribeiro is the CEO & Co-founder of Planetiers. He completed his Master's Degree in Biological Engineering in 2014. After working as an intern for an energy R&D laboratory and within a Biofuel Unit for two multinational companies, he realized that he wanted to create his own project and become a the major agent for sustainable transformation. In 2017, after already having established an educational game project for schools as a CEO and co-founder, he decided to create Planetiers – an online marketplace exclusively for sustainable products and solutions.

Since then, he has made it his life goal to keep promoting global sustainable transformation by developing new platforms and speaking in schools, conferences and all kind of international events. Since 2019, his company Planetiers has been co-producing the Planetiers World Gathering, and he has worked as a co-leader of transformational programs for companies and municipalities. In 2020, he won the “Best Public Leader Award” for the “Youth Leader” category in Portugal.

Natasha Santos is an accomplished senior public affairs executive with over 17 years’ experience in the agriculture, food and life science industries. Her professional experience includes extensive knowledge in advocacy campaigns, multi-cultural communications, and development of global partnerships.

Mrs. Santos has actively promoted corporate reputation and enhanced stakeholders’ relations in companies such as BASF, Mars Incorporated and since 2014, Bayer AG. As an industry thought leader, she has led various association groups and sectorial alliances and positively contributed to policy making and collaboration in areas such as food & nutrition, sustainable agriculture, plant protection, sustainable construction and green building, data protection, trade policy and innovation.

At the heart of Mrs. Santos’ work is a passion to place farmers at the heart of food systems transformation. Through the combined scale, resources and commitment of public-private partnerships, she connects with agricultural stakeholders to deliver collaboration opportunities that are able to create meaningful impact toward a sustainable food system that delivers safe, affordable and nutritious food to all.

In her current role as Head of Global Stakeholder Affairs & Strategic Partnerships, Natasha and her team are accountable to build and leverage transformational platforms, programs and initiatives to deliver on the sustainable development goals as a company and generate positive value to our stakeholders’ groups and society at large.

Natasha Santos holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from UniFMU/Brazil, a postgraduation degree in International Negotiations by UNESP/Brazil and a Master’s in Public Policy and Management by Paulista School of Law (EPD)/Brazil. She holds certifications in global governance and international affairs from the University of Lodz/Poland and the Bucerius Law School/Germany. Mrs Santos is Business at OECD Food and Agriculture Committee, Vice Chair and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Center on Global Food and Agriculture Advisory Board member.

Carsten Waldeck is a designer, philosopher and inventor from Hessen, Germany. He is also the founder and visionary behind the SHIFTPHONE and other sustainable technologies and companies. With its m-series in 2016, SHIFT introduced the most modular and sustainable smartphone ever built with "Universal Computing". 

SHIFT is an investor-free 100% social business that aims to maximize purpose and values, not profit in order to do as much good and create as little harm as possible along the way. 

Carsten received his Diploma in Communication Design from the HS Darmstadt (hda) in 1999 with his thesis "iWorld", that set the path for smartphones, social networks and mobile internet as we know it today. He also studied computer science and philosophy in Marburg and worked as a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute in Darmstadt in the area of "Mobile Information Visualization" and wrote scientific publications about his invention called "Liquid Browsing" as well as other interaction innovations. 

Carsten loves people, great design, music, sustainability and social justice from the bottom of his heart.

Senior Consultant with more than 14 years of experience in consultancy, business development and sales in the ICT area. At Unipartner, he is responsible for Datacenter solutions and monitoring projects in clients of several industries. Alexandre’s background includes an Executive MBA, a Masters Degree and a Bachelor’s in Electric and Computer Engineering.

João Baracho is Executive Director of CDI Portugal - NGO for social inclusion and digital innovation - since 2013. He has been a director of companies operating in the area of technologies (Datacomp, Digidoc and Megamedia), national head of multinational business units (Siemens Computers and Compaq Computers) and Commercial Director at Portugal Telecom. Currently he is also General Director of Apps for Good Portugal, President of Eslider - Portuguese Association for Social Innovation - Member of the Board of Directors of Euclid Network, the European Social Innovation Network, member of the supervisory board of ACEPI - Portuguese Association of Digital Economy and Portuguese Ambassador for Quality Education of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Diogo Teixeira has been the Co-Founder of Beta-I since January 2018, and CEO of the company since January 2022. Previously, he was a founder and partner at Couture, as Head of Strategy, Business Development and Client Services.

He received a Bachelor’s in Communication Studies, before founding Couture in 2010. He previously worked for PT Multimedia, RTP, Euronews and Euro 2004.

With a passion for entrepreneurship, Diogo is still a partner of TorkeCC, an internationally awarded creative agency, and founder of Billy The Group, a startup accelerator that invests in disruptive businesses.

He is a lecturer at Catolica Lisbon School of Business Economics and a frequent speaker at innovation and strategic marketing conferences.