Event Map
EVENT MAP | |
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Program
08:00
Registration
Registration
09:00
A welcome greeting from the organisers
Demetris Lottides
A welcome greeting from the organisers
Demetris Lottides
09:05
Opening speech from the Mayor of Nicosia
Charalambos Prountzos
Opening speech from the Mayor of Nicosia
Charalambos Prountzos
09:15
Cyprus a digitalised country. The vision
HE The President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides
Cyprus a digitalised country. The vision
HE The President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides
09:30
How to build a digital society
Taavi Rõivas
How to build a digital society
Taavi Rõivas
10:00
Discussion
Digital Democracy: What can go wrong
Antonis Polemitis (c), Taavi Rõivas, David Rowan, Kyriakos Kokkinos
Discussion
Digital Democracy: What can go wrong
Antonis Polemitis (c), Taavi Rõivas, David Rowan, Kyriakos Kokkinos
Cyprus, unlike Estonia, still struggles on its path to digitalization and online access to public services. What lessons can we learn from Estonia's experience, and what mistakes should we avoid?
10:30
How to think about the AI opportunity
David Rowan
How to think about the AI opportunity
David Rowan
Back in 1995, a new web browser called Netscape made it possible to explore a few thousand black-and-white, text-only websites. It didn't feel then that the consumer internet would transform everything from commerce to politics and entertainment — but the combination of an open protocol, a decentralised network and exponential falls in bandwidth costs enabled disruption that within a decade had transformed economic and geopolitical power. Today's nascent AI boom is a similar if more accelerated moment of transformation — and this is the moment to profit from AI's ability to boost productivity, to rethink sectors from education to healthcare, and generally to allow Cyprus's early adopters to compete disproportionately on the world stage. David Rowan, founding editor of WIRED magazine in the UK and author of the bestselling book "Non-Bullshit Innovation: 17 Proven Ways to Transform How You Work", will explain why you're not too late, why the next tech boom makes geography history, and how to build a culture to enable authentic innovation that can boost Cyprus as a digital democracy and business capital.
11:00
An age of miracles? Our amazing future with AI
Calum Chace
An age of miracles? Our amazing future with AI
Calum Chace
A deep dive into the transformative age of AI miracles. From robots, longevity breakthroughs, and space travel to the rise of superintelligence and brain-computer interfaces, we’ll explore the fast-approaching singularity. Calum Chace will present the future implications and the actions needed to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape.
11:30
Digital Clarity vs Wishful Thinking: A reality check for life in Cyprus in 2030
Andreas Neocleous
Digital Clarity vs Wishful Thinking: A reality check for life in Cyprus in 2030
Andreas Neocleous
In the era of technology hype, misinformation and polarization, the lines between achievable technological progress and speculative dreams for the future are blurred. In Cyprus, these challenges are compounded by factors like the lack of a consistent long-term strategy, inflexible public sector processes, and lessons unlearned from past experiences. By distinguishing realistic projects from idealistic wishes, a clearer picture of Cyprus's digital reality by 2030 will emerge. Once the realistic future is separated from science fiction, resources can be focused on clear and achievable goals that will ensure faster technological evolution for the island and improved quality of life for its people.
12:00
Winning the Talent Game
Beth Davies
Winning the Talent Game
Beth Davies
We know getting and keeping the right talent is imperative. The challenge is everyone is doing this, so how do we differentiate our company to attract and retain the best people? How do we win the talent game?
Beth Davies spent over 25 years working in senior leadership HR roles at innovative companies known around the world – Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, and Gap. During her 6 years at Tesla, the company grew from 800 to 33,000 employees. Company leaders recognized that fast growth like this presented great risk. If the right people weren’t hired or it there wasn’t alignment around the strategy, priorities, and core values, the company would fail before it got started.
In this session, Beth shares stories from her career that illustrate what strategies HR used to hire the right people, get them up to speed quickly, and keep them engaged. You’ll leave inspired to think and act in new ways.
Beth Davies spent over 25 years working in senior leadership HR roles at innovative companies known around the world – Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, and Gap. During her 6 years at Tesla, the company grew from 800 to 33,000 employees. Company leaders recognized that fast growth like this presented great risk. If the right people weren’t hired or it there wasn’t alignment around the strategy, priorities, and core values, the company would fail before it got started.
In this session, Beth shares stories from her career that illustrate what strategies HR used to hire the right people, get them up to speed quickly, and keep them engaged. You’ll leave inspired to think and act in new ways.
12:30
Discussion
Innovation is something you stand for
George Tziortzis (c), Beth Davies, Calum Chace, Pieris Chourides
Discussion
Innovation is something you stand for
George Tziortzis (c), Beth Davies, Calum Chace, Pieris Chourides
Creativity and innovation have never been just a job. Innovation, technological breakthroughs, and user experience are about culture and relentless effort fueled by bold investments. But how can one motivate Generation Z and prevent talent waste?
13:00
Break
Break
14:00
Alpha Stage
The Cyprus start-ups to be proud of: How they made their vision a reality.
Kyriakos Kokkinos (c), Evgenios Evgeniou (c)
Promed Bioscience - Mariana Procopi Demetriades, EMBIO Diagnostics - Constantinos Loizou, ASCANIO - Minas Kyriakou, Malloc - Maria Terzi
Alpha Stage
The Cyprus start-ups to be proud of: How they made their vision a reality.
Kyriakos Kokkinos (c), Evgenios Evgeniou (c)
Promed Bioscience - Mariana Procopi Demetriades, EMBIO Diagnostics - Constantinos Loizou, ASCANIO - Minas Kyriakou, Malloc - Maria Terzi
15:00
Deregulation: How the strict EU regulation strangles innovations and making the EU startups less competitive
Petr Valov
Deregulation: How the strict EU regulation strangles innovations and making the EU startups less competitive
Petr Valov
15:30
Rocketfuel you innovation and creativity: inside secrets from big movies and their makers
Jason Bevan
Rocketfuel you innovation and creativity: inside secrets from big movies and their makers
Jason Bevan
The “secret sauce” from big Hollywood movie studios on how they develop some of the world’s most creative concepts for iconic movies; with clear, simple, practical tools on how you can apply the same tips and techniques to your own work.
Inspiring stories of creative bravery and fresh thinking from the sets of some of the best known movies and the people who made them.
How to embed a culture of creativity by understanding how we all develop ideas, what triggers your own creativity and what may be blocking your ability to innovate.
The use of Gen AI technology and data to channel and direct creativity to make maximum impact.
Inspiring stories of creative bravery and fresh thinking from the sets of some of the best known movies and the people who made them.
How to embed a culture of creativity by understanding how we all develop ideas, what triggers your own creativity and what may be blocking your ability to innovate.
The use of Gen AI technology and data to channel and direct creativity to make maximum impact.
16:00
Discussion
First vs. Second Screen: The battle for creativity
Valentinos Polykarpou (c), Jason Bevan, Robbie Stamp, Aleksandra Sulimko
Discussion
First vs. Second Screen: The battle for creativity
Valentinos Polykarpou (c), Jason Bevan, Robbie Stamp, Aleksandra Sulimko
Traditional entertainment products have dominated human life for the past 50 years—cinema, television, radio, and print—now face competition from mobile devices and social media platforms. But is this a battle or a collaboration?
16:30
Journalism in the Digital Age: how Google Supports the Global News Ecosystem
Enrico Ciampini
Journalism in the Digital Age: how Google Supports the Global News Ecosystem
Enrico Ciampini
17:00
Doing the hard work to make things simple | Kicking off the Digital Citizen
Nicodemos Damianou
Doing the hard work to make things simple | Kicking off the Digital Citizen
Nicodemos Damianou
17:30
The AI Hologram
Simon Hanemaaijer
The AI Hologram
Simon Hanemaaijer
Lexie is an innovative AI hologram we specifically developed for the education market. It provides interactive support by enabling users to ask questions (prompts) and enhancing lessons with animations. Lexie’s applications go beyond education—it can be used in various fields, from multilingual communication to delivering personalized learning materials at any level. Due to its versatility, Lexie can also be employed at events, presentations, and even in corporate environments. Designed to enrich the learning experience, Lexie makes advanced technology accessible to both students and professionals across a wide range of industries.
18:00
Google Hub Gathering (invitation only)
18:00
Cyprus Cocktail Festival
Google Hub Gathering (invitation only)
18:00
Cyprus Cocktail Festival
*Provisional title of presentation
Meet our 2024 Speakers & Collaborators
TAAVI ROIVAS
Former Prime Minister of Estonia Taavi Rõivas is the former Prime Minister of Estonia (2014-2016) and a former Member of the Estonian Parliament (Nov 2017 – Dec 2020). He is experienced in digital, Artificial Intelligence, cyber and e-government, foreign and security policy and is currently the Chairman of Auve Tech. |
DAVID ROWAN
Former Editor, WIRED UK, FUTURIST Explains how emerging technologies will impact business, and how leaders should prepare now. As founding Editor-in-Chief of WIRED magazine’s UK edition, he came to know the founders of WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Google, Didi, Spotify, Xiaomi, Nest, Twitter, and many other ambitious start-ups from Tel Aviv to Shenzhen. He has since invested in more than a hundred and fifty early-stage tech companies, including two that became billion-dollar “unicorns”, and is an adviser to venture-capital funds, the Harwell Science, and Innovation Campus. His business bestseller Non-Bullshit Innovation: 17 Proven Ways to Transform How You Work, is a twenty-country quest for bold corporate innovation in the face of technology-led disruption. The book sets out seventeen proven strategies for future-proofing a successful business, helping leaders build resilience in an uncertain world. David has been a technology columnist for The Times, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times. He has been asked to give more than six hundred keynotes, and has moderated events for the World Economic Forum, WIRED and the UK and French governments. David deconstructs tech trends in real time, unpacking how major innovations like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and autonomous vehicles are changing businesses and consumers. He focuses on how technology-led innovation can build prosperity even in economic downturns and amid market crises. David delivers presentations full of insight into the future of technology with lively examples and engaging video clips which reveal that, in some cases, the future is already here. He regularly speaks about how innovation and technology are likely to impact a particular sector (from manufacturing to motoring), and what companies can do to protect themselves. |
BETH DAVIES
Former Director of Learning & Development at Tesla, Gap, Apple & Microsoft executive Beth Davies has spent over 25 years working in senior leadership roles at innovative companies known around the world – Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, and Gap. She’s an expert in cultivating company culture, creating customer-centric organizations, developing leaders, scaling the workforce, and innovating within HR. Most recently, Beth spent six years at Tesla leading Learning & Development as the company grew from 600 to 33,000 employees. Her primary responsibility was evangelizing company culture to protect it from being diluted by rapid growth. She started at Tesla in manufacturing. When she joined, the factory was an empty shell that needed to be transformed in less than one year into a high-quality car manufacturing facility. Beth’s role was to build out the training to support factory-wide operations. Her responsibilities expanded to include onboarding new hires across the organization, sales and delivery training, leadership development, compliance training, ongoing employee development, and learning infrastructure. In spite of having minimal budget and a small team, she developed and executed a comprehensive, innovative strategy that brought learning to people in all roles around the world. Prior to Tesla, Beth was part of a small team at Microsoft that conceived and developed its retail concept, growing the operation from 0-15 stores in 18 months. As the Customer Experience Director, she created customer service standards for the stores and all the training required to launch the new retail operation. Beth also played a critical role in the growth of Apple. In 2003, when the company was reemerging from the brink of death, Beth joined the HR team as the head of leadership development. In 2005, she moved to the retail team and became the head of training for the retail stores worldwide. Ensuring new store teams could deliver customer service that met Apple’s tough standards was one of Beth’s key responsibilities. Her team played a critical role in the expansion of Apple stores, training over 100 new store teams in the US and in new markets across Europe, Asia and Australia. A highlight of her time at Apple came in 2007, when iPhone was first introduced to the world. Given Apple’s secretive nature, training couldn’t be released in the retail stores until the last minute – she had just two hours before the doors opened and sales began to teach over 4,000 people everything they needed to know about this revolutionary product! No one knew then how much iPhone would change the world. Beth earned a bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and a law degree from Stanford Law School. In 2017, McKinsey & Company invited her to join the Consortium for Advancing Adult Learning & Development, a select group of 40 thought leaders. That same year, Indiana University named her a Luminary as a distinguished Alumna, an honor bestowed on just 12 people before her. Currently, Beth is the Founder and Lead Consultant of HR Reimagined, where she works with clients, predominantly startups, to identify and implement talent management strategies right for their cultures. She is also Adjunct Faculty for IE University for the Master in Talent Development & Human Resources and the course on Learning & Development - Conventional Theories Meet Modern Trends. Beth is a highly engaging speaker. Her talks are filled with stories and lessons from her career and offer practical advice delegates can take back to their companies. |
JASON BEVAN
WARNER BROS. STUDIOS VP Creative Director EMEA Jason Bevan was responsible for the creative development process at Warner Bros. Studios, marketing movies in EMEA, including the Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts films, the Lego movies, The Hobbit trilogy, Joker, A Star Is Born, the Hangover films, and the Conjuring and IT franchises. He reveals how some of the best-known filmmakers, cast, and studios he worked with come up with their iconic film ideas and stories, and how we can use their simple, powerful business strategy and marketing techniques to rocket-fuel our innovation and creativity. Jason continues to work with the big Hollywood studios and many advertising firms, consulting them on behavioral economics, content, and creativity for a wide variety of major movie releases with his production company. He has worked directly with some of the world’s most legendary filmmakers, storytellers, cast, and film studios for 20 years and distills many of their insider techniques into easy-to-use, yet powerful tips we can all employ immediately to improve our innovation, creativity, content, marketing strategies, and storytelling. |
ALEKSANDRA SULIMKO
Chief Operating Officer (COO) at TheSoul Publishing Aleksandra Sulimko is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at TheSoul Publishing, where she drives the company’s operational excellence, alignment, and best management practices across the business. Aleksandra uses her expertise to strengthen the day-to-day operations of a global team spread across 70 countries. She also ensures her team supports each business division to drive employee well-being, empowerment, and development. She is focused on enabling TheSoul’s overall project management framework, improving corporate governance, driving cultural change and efficient communications, and leading critical projects related to the company’s key priorities. Based at the company’s headquarters in Cyprus, Aleksandra is a Harvard Business School alumna. She joined TheSoul from Exness, an international and award-winning financial brokerage company, where she introduced employee learning programs and supported personal career development across all company levels. |
CALUM CHACE
Best-selling writer and sought-after speaker on artificial intelligence Calum Chace is a best-selling writer and sought-after speaker on artificial intelligence. He focuses on the medium- and long-term impact of AI on all of us as individuals, societies and economies. His non-fiction books on AI are The Economic Singularity, about the prospect of widespread technological unemployment, and Surviving AI, about the likelihood of strong AI and superintelligence. Calum is also the author of Pandora's Brain, a techno-thriller about the first superintelligence. He runs a blog on the subject at pandoras-brain.com. Before becoming a full-time writer and speaker, Calum had a 30-year career in journalism and business, in which he was a marketer, a strategy consultant and a CEO. He maintains his interest in business by serving as chairman and coach for a selection of growing companies. In 2000 he co-wrote The Internet Startup Bible, a business best-seller published by Random House. A long time ago, Calum studied philosophy at Oxford University, where he discovered that the science fiction he had been reading since boyhood was actually philosophy in fancy dress. |
NIKOS CHRISTODOULIDES
President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides was born on 6 December 1973 in Paphos. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Economics, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies from the City University of New York, Queens College, and a Master’s degree in Political Science from New York University. He holds a doctorate from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the University of Athens. He was a career diplomat between 1999 and 2018. During this time, he served, inter alia, as Consul General at the High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus in the United Kingdom, as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Cyprus in Greece and as Spokesperson of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU at the Permanent Mission of Cyprus in Brussels. He also served as Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic of Cyprus (2013-2018) and as Government Spokesman (2014-2018). On 1st March 2018 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position which he held until his resignation on 11 January 2022. Between 2007 and 2010 he was a Lecturer and Research Associate at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus in the subject of History of the Postwar World. He is the author of the books Plans for Solution of the Cyprus Problem 1948-1978 (2009), Relations between Athens and Nicosia and the Cyprus Problem, 1977-1988 (2013), and Geopolitical Realities in the Plans for Solution of the Cyprus Problem 1948-1978 (2021). On February 12, 2023, he won the Presidential Elections with a percentage of 51.97% and assumed his duties as the 8th President of the Republic of Cyprus. He is married to Philippa Karsera and has four daughters, Ioanna, Ekaterini, Despina-Maria, and Phoebe. |
PETR VALOV
CEO of EXNESS Group Petr Valov founded Exness in 2008 with a vision of creating a company driven by strong ethical values and a science-based, algorithmic product approach. A software developer since his school days, Petr studied IT and programming at university, and in the early days of Exness he acted as the sole creator of its technologies. Today, after taking the company from strength to strength over a span of 13 years, he runs one of the world’s most successful and respectable online brokerage companies, headquartered right here in Cyprus. Petr’s vision is to see Cyprus become the Silicon Valley of the Mediterranean: an IT centre fit to attract the biggest tech talents of the world. His faith in this vision is one of the reasons for his investment on the island and decision for Exness to be headquartered here. |
EVGENIOS EVGENIOU
Chairman of Invest Cyprus Chairman of Invest Cyprus, member of the National Board for Research and Innovation, member of the Corporate Governance committee of the ICAEW and former member of the Council of the University of Cyprus. Currently a non-executive director. Had a 31-year career with PwC serving as Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC Cyprus (2012-2021) and member of the PwC EMEA Leadership Team (2014 - 2021) representing fifteen European countries. Beyond commercial success key achievements included: technological transformation; digital upskilling of personnel; developing the data analytics, Cyber security, and AI capabilities; launching the PwC Experience Centre. An Imperial College London Mechanical Engineering graduate, a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA), completed the Harvard Direct Leadership program. Over the last two years he earned the MA in International Affairs (Strategic Studies) from King's College London and the Certificate in Corporate Governance from INSEAD. |
ENRICO CIAMPINI
Senior Manager, News Partnerships at Google Enrico Ciampini is Senior Manager, News Partnerships at Google, where he drives impactful collaborations with news publishers in South Europe countries. With a career spanning digital media and technology, Enrico has held leadership roles at Zalando and Salesforce, specializing in digital strategy and audience development. His background lies in the publishing industry, serving as Head of Digital at Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori, the lead publisher in the science journalism segment, and giving him a unique perspective on the evolving media and publishing landscape in Europe. Enrico is a valuable voice in the industry also committed as visiting professor of university programmes of Digital Media in Milan Italy where he is based. |
NICODEMOS DAMIANOU
Deputy Minister Of Research, Innovation And Digital Policy Dr. Nikodemos Damianou was born in Nicosia in 1973. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Brown University in the United States, a Ph.D. in Electronic Computing and Network Management from Imperial College in the United Kingdom, a Diploma of Information Security from Imperial College, and an MBA from the University of Cyprus. He is a professional in information technology and information security, with extensive experience in Payment Systems and Fintech, Risk Management Methodologies, and Digital Transformation Technologies. He has served as an executive at the Bank of Cyprus and was the General Manager of JCC Payment Systems Ltd. for six years. He is married to Rodoula Damianos and is the father of two children, Eleni and Sofia. |
CHARALAMBOS PROUNTZOS
Mayor of Nicosia Charalambos Prountzos was born in 1978 in Nicosia, Cyprus, and hails from the occupied villages of Gerolakkou and Akanthou. He graduated with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Bristol in 2001 and earned the Barrister-at-Law qualification from the Inns of Court School of Law in London. He also holds a Diploma in Professional Legal Skills from City University of London. Mr. Prountzos is a Fellow of Gray's Inn and a member of the Cyprus Bar Association. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association and is a registered and licensed Insolvency Counsel. Until recently, he was actively involved in the Cyprus Bar Association's Committee on Corporate and Tax Matters and participated in transnational business initiatives, including the Cyprus-Canadian Business Association. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the CYENS Research and Innovation Centre, a Centre of Excellence in partnership with the three public universities of the Republic of Cyprus, the Max Planck Institute in Germany, University College London (UCL), and the Municipality of Nicosia. On July 1, he became the first to lead the newly established Metropolitan Municipality of Nicosia, formed through the merger of the four municipalities of Nicosia, Aglantzia, Egkomi, and Agios Dometios. |