Speakers - Masters of Digital 2022 - Hybrid Event

MoD2026 Speakers

Find out more about our speaker line up below.

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General, DIGITALEUROPE

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading digital technology industry association representing over 35,000 digital companies in Europe.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of Gaia-X, of the European Commission’s Industrial Forum, and of the B20 Digital Transformation Taskforce. She is also a member of the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group of ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and of NATO’s high-level Advisory Group for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, as well as a board member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and the European Parliament-led European Internet Forum, and a member of the supervisory board of EIT Digital.

Formerly, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl was a member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and of the High-level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies in charge of identifying Key Enabling Technologies.

She was an Executive Board Member of the Royal Danish Export Council and Chair of the Export Grant Committee under the Danish Foreign Ministry. She also served as Executive Board member in DIGITALEUROPE, and as a member of the association’s high level Digital Advisory Council.

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has served as Board Member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Board of the Danish ICT association (ITB), where she led the development of policy positions on issues such as business digitalisation, ICT security, disruptive business models, telecoms and education.

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has more than 25 years of experience in the ICT industry. She previously held international positions at IBM and Oracle as well as with SMEs, building businesses across Europe and China and founding the cloud provider GlobeIT. She has deep insights into the digitalisation of business and society and the data-driven economy, and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches on these issues at high-level events across the world.

Cecilia
Bonefeld-Dahl

Director General,
DIGITALEUROPE

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy

As Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Ms Henna Virkkunen is tasked with combatting the increasingly complex security threats facing the EU, whilst at the same time strengthening our external borders and our internal security. This goes hand in hand with her responsibility to ensure our freedoms, justice and democracy are strengthened too.

Furthermore, she is responsible for the Digital and Frontier Technologies portfolio. This entails leading Europe’s efforts in shaping a competitive, resilient and inclusive digital future and maintaining or attaining leadership in strategic digital technologies.

Prior to joining the European Commission Ms Virkkunen served as a Member of the European Parliament for over ten years. As a Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy her work focused on digitalisation and frontier technologies.

Ms Virkkunen has held various ministerial positions in Finland, namely Minister of Transport and Local Government (2014), Minister of Public Administration and Local Government (2011-2014) as well as Minister of Education (2008-2011).

Henna Virkkunen

Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy

Nadia Calviño, President, European Investment Bank

Nadia Calviño is the President of the European Investment Bank Group since January 1st, 2024. She served as First Vice President of Spain and Minister for Economy and Digitalization (2018-2023), and as Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the IMF (2022-2023). Before joining the Spanish government, Mrs. Calviño had a 12-year tenure at the European Commission as Deputy Director General for Competition, Deputy Director General for Financial Services, and Director General for the EU Budget. She holds degrees in Economics (1991) and Law (2001).

Nadia
Calviño

President,
European Investment Bank

Jack Chambers, Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Ireland

Jack Chambers is the Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil and T.D. for Dublin West and Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, in the Government of Ireland.

Minister Chambers is responsible for leading the Department in its mission to provide better public services, improve living standards, drive infrastructure delivery for the people of Ireland and to support the digitalisation of our economy and society.

Minister Chambers previously served as Minister for Finance, the Government Chief Whip and was also Minister of State for Sport, the Gaeltacht, Transport & Defence. He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt in the 2016 General Election and was re-elected in the 2020 and 2024 General Elections.

He is a medical doctor having studied at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland and he holds an degree in Law & Political Science from Trinity College.

Jack
Chambers

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Ireland

Karianne Tung, Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, Norway

Karianne Oldernes Tung is a Norwegian Labour Party (Ap) politician from Stadsbygd in Trøndelag. On 16 October 2023, she took over as Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance in Jonas Gahr Støre’s Government.

From 2013 to 2017, she was a member of the Storting for the Labour Party in Sør-Trøndelag. During this period, she was a member of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services until June 2015, after which she served on the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications.

Prior to her appointment as Minister, she was CEO of the interest organisation Trondheim Tech Port.

Karianne Tung

Minister for Digitalisation and Public Governance, Norway

Major-General-Sean-Clancy_13-07-2021-15_25_31-copy-removebg-preview.png

Sean Clancy, Chair, EU Military Committee

Lt Gen Seán Clancy has 37 years’ service in the Irish Defence Forces. He is the first Airman in the Irish State to serve as Chief of Staff, having previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) and General Officer Commanding Irish Air Corps and Director of Military Aviation. Lt Gen Clancy joined the Irish Defence Forces in 1984 as a cadet and commenced his flight training in 1986. He has flown both fixed and rotary wing aircraft and has accumulated nearly 5,000 flight hours. He is a qualified type and instrument-rating examiner, a qualified flight simulator instructor and he last held type, instrument and NVG ratings on the AW139. Lt Gen Clancy has been a driver of change and a champion for innovation within the Defence Forces. He played a central role in the development of the Ireland’s first Emergency Aeromedical Service established in 2012. He has been a strong advocate for Leadership and was the co-author of the Defence Forces Leadership Doctrine published in 2016. He also led the team who developed the current vision and values-based strategy for the Defence Forces post the publication of the White Paper on Defence. Lt Gen Clancy served in appointments including Squadron Commander, Wing Commander, Senior Staff Officer Operations, Senior Staff Officer Personnel, Chief of Air Staff Support in Air Corps Headquarters, Director of Strategic Planning Branch and Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) in Defence Forces Headquarters. Prior to promotion to Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) he served as General Officer Commanding, Irish Air Corps and Director of Military Aviation. Lt Gen Clancy has spent a considerable period of his career as a Search and Rescue pilot and was the Commander of the crew who received the Marine Medal for Meritorious Service in 2002. Lt Gen Clancy has served for a year with the European Union Force in Bosnia as the Military Advisor to the Force Commander and spent two years as air advisor to the permanent element of SHIRBRIG, the UN standby Brigade. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Trinity College, Dublin and a Masters in Military Leadership and Defence Studies from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is a graduate of the Defence Forces Command and Staff College where he was the recipient of the Lt Gen Tadgh O’Neill Award. In 2017 he completed a Diploma in Advanced Management Performance with Smurfit Business School.

Sean
Clancy

Chair,
Chair, EU Military Committee

Dariusz Standerski, Secretary of State, Ministry of Digital Affairs in Poland

Doctor of economics, lawyer. Lecturer at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw. In 2015-2023 lead economist and member of the Management Board of the Kalecki Foundation. In 2019-2023, Director of Legislation at the Left Parliamentary Club. Author of more than 200 projects acts of law, including economic and social affairs. Co-author of the programme “Digital State. Strategy for Poland”, which includes the state of digital technologies in Poland, the European Union and the international arena, as well as specific tasks and objectives facing Poland in the digital area. Member of the Poznań branch of the Polish Economic Society. Member of the National Board of the New Left party.

Dariusz
Standerski

Secretary of State,
Ministry of Digital Affairs in Poland

Valeriya Ionan, Advisor to the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine

Valeriya
Ionan

Advisor to the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine

Peter Weckesser, President, DIGITALEUROPE and Chief Digital Officer, Schneider Electric

Peter Weckesser is the Chief Digital Officer of Schneider Electric and a member of the Executive Committee since June 2020, when he joined the company.

Prior to working at Schneider, Peter served as the Digital Transformation Officer of Airbus’ Defence & Space division since 2017. Before joining Airbus, Peter had extensive experience as a Senior Executive at Siemens, most recently as the Chief Operating Officer of Siemens’ Product Lifecycle Management, leading the IoT and Digital Enterprise business and activities. He also held other executive-level positions with Siemens such as the CEO of Industry Services and CEO of Value Services.

Peter’s career began at Siemens where he worked in various roles in product management and development, including Director of Business Development in the United States. He holds a degree in physics as well as a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. He currently resides in Germany.

Peter
Weckesser

President, DIGITALEUROPE and Chief Digital Officer, Schneider Electric

Alex Agius Saliba, Member , European Parliament

Alex
Agius Saliba

Member, European Parliament

Niamh Gallagher, Country Lead, AWS Ireland and EMEA Director, Infrastructure Public Policy

Niamh is EMEA Director for Infrastructure Public Policy at Amazon Web Services (AWS); the cloud computing division of Amazon.com, where she leads a team of infrastructure, energy and sustainability policy specialists focused on delivery across our 11 EMEA data centre regions. Niamh also acts as Country Lead for AWS in Ireland. Niamh joined Amazon in 2018, as Head of Public Policy for Ireland. Prior to that she worked in a number of roles in politics and policy including as co-founder and Director of Women for Election, an organisation she founded; CEO of Drinkaware, and Research and Policy Analyst at the Children’s Rights Alliance in Dublin. Niamh started her working life as a researcher at Fianna Fail, an Irish political party, before moving to London as researcher for Demos, a leading UK think tank, where she co-authored a series of influential reports.

Niamh holds a BA in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin, a Masters Degree in Politics from the London School of Economics and an Executive MBA from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business. She was a Governor of the Rotunda Maternity Hospital 2019-2024; and Board Member at Women for Election 2014-2014.

Niamh Gallagher

Country Lead, AWS Ireland and EMEA Director, Infrastructure Public Policy

Annick Faes, VP IT and CIO Medical Devices EMEA J&J Medtech

Annick
Faes

VP IT and CIO Medical Devices EMEA, Johnson&Johnson Medtech

Giuseppe Targia, SVP, Space & Defence, Nokia

Giuseppe Targia

SVP, Space and Defence,
Nokia

Sandra Gallina, Director General, DG SANTE, European Commission

Sandra Gallina joined the European Commission in 1988. She is today Director General for Health and Food Safety. Before joining DG SANTE, between 2018 and 2020 she was Deputy Director General for DG TRADE. Between 2014 and 2018 she was Director for DG TRADE Directorate D “Sustainable Development; Economic Partnership Agreements – African, Caribbean and Pacific; Agri-food and Fisheries”. Sandra Gallina was also the EU chief negotiator for the EU-MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement. Between 2001 and 2009 she was the EU Lead Negotiator for Non-Agricultural Market Access in the WTO Doha Round and in that capacity, she defined and presented EU policy for the Doha Development Agenda on non-agricultural market access negotiations. Before joining DG TRADE, she worked in the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) at the end of the 1990s.

Sandra
Gallina

Director General, DG SANTE, European Commission

Jeff Srour, Worldwide Vice President & Chief Information Officer, MedTech

Jeff
Srour

Worldwide Vice President & Chief Information Officer, MedTech,
Johnson&Johnson

Dr Alexandra Goncalves, Vice President, Head of Digital Health, Bristol Myers Squibb

Dr. Alexandra Goncalves serves as Vice President and Head of Digital Health at Bristol Meyers Squibb, leading Digital Health strategy and business execution across the company portfolio, from clinical development to commercialization. Prior to joining BMS, Dr. Goncalves was Philips’ Chief Medical Officer for Precision Diagnosis, leading the clinical, medical and market access teams across several lines of business including MRI, CT, Informatics and Ultrasound.

Dr. Goncalves is an internationally recognized academic cardiologist with a business acumen. After completing Medical School in Portugal where she became a non-invasive cardiologist and Professor of Medicine, Dr. Goncalves relocated to the US where she did postdoctoral work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Goncalves spend more than 15 years in clinical practice, has authored more than 60 peer-review articles, including reports in high impact journals such as Eur Heart J. Dr. Goncalves serves as advisor for biotech start-ups, is a reviewer in several scientific journals, has registered four patents in medical imaging and thrives by bringing innovation to improve patient’s lives.

Alexandra
Goncalves

Vice President, Head of Digital Health,
Bristol Myers Squibb

Nicolas Gonzalez Casares, Member, European Parliament

Born in A Coruña (Galicia-Spain) in 1972, he studied nursing at the University of Santiago de Compostela, working in 061 -Emergency service- and as a specialist teacher in life support, where he is the author of the Manual of advanced life support in pre-hospital emergencies (2007) among other health publications.

In parallel, Gonzalez Casares has developed his political career at the local level, becoming first deputy mayor and councillor for Urbanism, Social Services, Health and Sport during the previous legislature in Lalín, a village in the heart of Galicia.

After the elections to the European Parliament in May 2019, he became an MEP for the PSOE. In the European Parliament, he is a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy – ITRE, where he is the spokesperson for the Spanish Socialist Delegation for Energy -, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) and the Committee on Fisheries (PECH).

González Casares has been the Socialist rapporteur in ITRE for the Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’).

Within the Fit for 55 package, he’s the Socialist rapporteur for the proposal to revise the Renewable Energy Directive (including the REPowerEU proposal on permitting), and ENVI’s rapporteur for the Proposal for a regulation on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport (ReFuelEU Aviation). He was the Parliament’s rapporteur for the reform of the design of the electricity market.

Nicolás has been re-elected as MEP in June 2024.

Nicolas
Gonzalez Casares

Member,
European Parliament

Minna Helle, CEO, Technology Industries of Finland

Minna Helle has been the CEO of Technology Industries of Finland (TIF) since November 2024. Technology Industries of Finland represents Finland’s largest industrial sector, with its industries accounting for slightly over half of the country’s exports.

Ms. Helle has been working at TIF since 2018 and has previously held multiple key responsibilities within the organization, including labor markets, skills development, innovation policy, as well as SME and entrepreneurship affairs.

Helle has had a long and distinguished career in Finnish societal affairs, lobbying, and high-stakes negotiations. She graduated as a lawyer in 1997 and began her career at the Union of Journalists in Finland and Akava (Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff). She later held leadership positions in several labor market organizations before becoming Finland’s first female National Conciliator. In recognition of her pioneering work in communication, she was awarded the Communicator of the Year prize in 2017.

Helle serves on the boards of Orgalim (Europe’s Technology Industries), Ceemet (European Tech & Industry Employers), and the pension insurance company Elo.

Minna
Helle

CEO,
Technology Industries of Finland

Uwe Heckert, Head of Philips Enterprise Informatics, Europe Region

After studying business administration in Berlin, Göttingen and at the State University of New York, Uwe Heckert started at McKinsey & Company Inc. in 1997, where he worked as a consultant and senior project manager. During this time, he did his doctorate in business informatics on the topic “knowledge management”. In 2005, he moved to T-Systems International, where he managed various areas, most recently as Senior Vice President for ERP/SAP Systems Integration. From 2013, Heckert continued his career at the international IT service company Unisys. After successfully managing the EMEA business in the public sector as Vice President & General Manager, he assumed a global role in the area of business applications and solutions.

Since June 2021, Uwe Heckert has been CEO of Philips GmbH and since May 2023, he has assumed the additional function as Head of Enterprise Informatics Europe.

Uwe
Heckert

Head of Philips Enterprise Informatics, Europe Region

Michal Kobosko, Member, European Parliament

Michał Kobosko has been studying at the Warsaw Technical University, the American Study Center at the Warsaw University. Graduated from the SWPS University in Warsaw (Management and Leadership studies). Gained his professional journalist experience in the early 1990s while working for “Gazeta Wyborcza”. Later a Deputy Editor-in-Chief of “Puls Biznesu” (Bonnier Business Press). In 2004 he joined Axel Springer group. He worked there as a Editor-in-Chief of a newly introduced Polish edition of “Forbes”. For three years he acted as Editor-in-Chief of “Newsweek Polska”. In 2009 he was responsible for an editorial merger of “Dziennik. Polska-Europa-Świat” with “Gazeta Prawna”. He became a first Editor-in-Chief of the “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”. In 2011 he joined Platforma Mediowa Point-Group, where he was responsible for negotiations with Bloomberg L.P. resulting with a launch of “Bloomberg Businessweek Polska”. Later he became the editor-in-chief of WPROST newsweekly, a position he held until January 2013. Since then Kobosko has been involved in a large number of new projects, including a Polish edition of Project Syndicate, where he was an editor until late 2016. Starting October 2013 he became a Director of Poland Office at the Atlantic Council (www.acus.org), where he served as the Senior Advisor. He was a member of the board of the Junior Achievement Foundation and the Leopolis for Future Foundation. Joined the 2020 presidential campaign of Szymon Holownia, an independent and non-partisan candidate. Together with Holownia Kobosko started forming a new political movement of Poland, called Polska 2050.

Michal
Kobosko

Member,
European
Parliament

Eva Maydell, Member, European Parliament

Eva Maydell is a Member of the European Parliament and one of the lead negotiators on the EU’s Chips Act and Artificial Intelligence Act. Maydell is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Her policy priorities include innovation and the use of new technologies to support European competitiveness and fostering cooperation among global likeminded partners in the tech and democracy space.

Eva Maydell has also worked on the updated EU cybersecurity legislation the Network Information Security Directive, and the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act.

In the European Parliament, Maydell is Vice-Chair of the Delegation for Relations with Japan as well as part of the Delegation for relations with the US. Maydell is also President of the European Movement International, the largest organisation of associations and civil societies in Europe. She is a Board Member for World Economic Forum’s Digital Europe program and a member of the WEF Global Future Council of Europe.

Eva has been awarded the European Parliament’s MEP of the Year Award twice. She has also been included in FT’s own ‘New Europe 100′ ranking of CEE’s emerging change-makers, European Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and others. She has also been featured in POLITICO’s 40 most influential MEPs and “POLITICO 28” list of people who shape Europe and POLITICO’s 2018 Women who shape Brussels.

Eva
Maydell

Member,
European
Parliament

MoD2026 Speakers​

CeciliaBonefeld-Dahl

Henna Virkkunen

Nadia Calviño

Jack Chambers

Karianne Tung

Sean Clancy

Dariusz Standerski

Valeriya Ionan

Peter Weckesser

Alex Agius Saliba

Niamh Gallagher

Annick Faes