AGENDA | SPEAKERS
Rui Abreu is a Research Software Engineer at Meta and a Full Professor of Software Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science - Software Engineering from the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, and a M.Sc. in Computer and Systems Engineering from the University of Minho, Portugal.
Rui's research revolves around software quality, with emphasis in automating as well as self-adaptation. He has extensive expertise in both static and dynamic analysis algorithms for improving software quality. He is the recipient of 5 Best Paper Awards, and his work has attracted considerable attention.
No bio provided
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https://www.novya.eu/
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benitalipps
14. Navigating Complexity: Practical Leadership and Governance Frameworks for Associations in 2026+ Tuesday @ 9:00 AM
Lisa is the Leadership Lab Director of Novya and experienced association leader and executive coach.
Fascinated with both people and organisations and how they function, Lisa has built her career in leading various international trade federations. She has a track record of building extensive networks from scratch, creating visibility and driving impactful, global solutions.
In 2020, she created her own business, Re-Focus Coaching & Consulting, to support organizations and in particular trade federations as a project and management consultant, as well as providing coaching and trainings to support individuals and organizations to thrive. She is passionate about increasing the impact of female leaders.
Lisa believes that the personal development of individuals does not only benefit the people themselves in terms of performance and wellbeing, but that conscious and empowered leaders are the cornerstone of any successful organization.
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https://leadership-lab.novya.eu/
14. Navigating Complexity: Practical Leadership and Governance Frameworks for Associations in 2026+ Tuesday @ 9:00 AM
Hans Gillor is a partner at the Institute for Digital Transformation, an independent and agnostic advisory for corporate and membership organisations. It orchestrates digital transformation with high EQ and digital/business experience and know-how. Hans has been in your shoes and understands your challenges. The digital future and new business opportunities, including in AI, are questions he address with research and experience. He provides a Center of Excellence for digital transformation with well-defined approaches, an academy, and thought leadership.
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http://www.i4dt.org/
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hansgillior
6. AI Digital Transformation of Associations Monday @ 11:45 AM
Sergio has worked at The BCI since 2017, where he leads the planning and delivery of the BCI World Hybrid Conference & Exhibition. His responsibilities include end-to-end project management—developing the event programme, managing budgets, sponsors, venues, suppliers, and logistics across both in-person and virtual platforms. He also delivers the BCI Global Awards and supports regional awards and community events.
With first-class degrees in Chemical Engineering and a Nonprofit Management Master’s, he brings a strong background in operations, strategic insight, and hands-on experience to every stage of event delivery.
Outside of work, Sergio is an avid traveller and lifelong learner who enjoys sports, films, languages, and spending time with his son.
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https://www.thebci.org
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@sgallegoschmid
9. Creating an Effective & Profitable Hybrid Conference Monday @ 11:45 AM
Ana Sousa Amorim is Executive Administrator of the Alliance of Business Lawyers, a global association of independent business law firms across more than 25 jurisdictions. She leads operations, membership growth, governance coordination, and international conferences, working closely with a volunteer-led board across multiple countries. She supports member firms in developing cross-border collaboration, structured referrals, and secondment initiatives, helping translate networking into measurable outcomes and strengthening the association’s global positioning. A former lawyer, Ana holds a Law Degree, a Master’s in International Law, and a Master’s in Legal Translation, and has experience in marketing and communications. She is currently an MBA candidate. Based in Coimbra, Portugal, she serves as the primary contact for the alliance’s global activities.
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https://ablglobal.net/
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asamorim
8. Building Member Value Through Network Driven Collaboration Monday @ 11:45 AM
For the past six years at SocialB, Edwina has enabled their clients to create better business connections through effective strategy and campaign execution. Edwina delivers a range of courses from campaign planning to digital strategy, content marketing, and social media. With her vast background and experience in senior marketing roles, Edwina has a unique ability to deliver training courses at every level, from the top-level strategy, through to the hands-on implementation and measurement of marketing activities. Edwina's training style focuses on her delegates. Specific requirements, and she endeavours to create solutions within training sessions that are bespoke to the situation, bringing concepts to life for each attendee.
Edwina combines her role as a trainer with SocialB with an in-house marketing role, enabling her to stay up to date with the latest trends and understand the pressures of delivering campaigns. She is currently the Head of Marketing for an engineering technology company and is also a marketing consultant and strategist for the innovation arm of the business. Before her current roles, Edwina worked as an Account Director for a B2B marketing agency and lead the digital strategy for the leading agricultural technology company Syngenta, among various other marketing roles.
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https://socialb.co.uk/
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edwinamullins
7. AI to Enhance Your Event Digital Marketing Monday @ 11:45 AM
George Walkley is a leading expert on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on creative businesses. Working with a leading trade association, he developed the first independent, CPD accredited training on AI for the publishing industry, which was awarded Best L&D Product at the 2024 Association Excellence Awards.
He has delivered award-winning training on AI to hundreds of businesses across in fifteen countries, and is a regular speaker at industry events. He publishes a free weekly newsletter on AI and publishing (www.georgewalkley.com/
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https://www.georgewalkley.com/
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georgewalkley
17. Authentic Content Creation with AI: Challenges and Opportunities for Associations Tuesday @ 9:00 AM
Reetu Kansal is a strategic leader with over 20 years of expertise in architecting operational excellence and regulatory integrity within the professional body and higher education sectors. Currently leading high-impact transformations at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), she specialises in aligning commercial scaling with robust intellectual property protection.
A Triple Fellow of the CMI, the RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), and the APM (Association for Project Management), Reetu’s expertise in managing global scale is underpinned by over a decade at the University of London, where she oversaw a portfolio of 175+ international partnerships.
At CMI, she has pioneered the use of AI-augmented surveillance to safeguard brand equity while driving significant revenue growth through formalised partnership frameworks. An active contributor to the Awarding Body AI working group, Reetu maintains a keen interest in the evolution of digital governance and IP integrity.
She is a dedicated advocate for the Human-Led, AI-Enhanced model of strategic transformation, focusing on how professional associations can leverage AI to augment human intellect and secure institutional standards in an increasingly digitally-accelerated landscape.
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http://www.managers.org.uk/
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reetukansal
18. The Integrity Flywheel: Scaling Global Recognition through AI-Enhanced Governance Tuesday @ 2:15 PM
Manuela is the Head of Events and Volunteer Engagement at the Association for Project Management, the chartered membership organisation for the project profession with over 42,000 members, 470 corporate partners, and 1,300 volunteers.
Since February 2023, Manuela has been leading APM’s events and volunteer engagement strategy, delivering meaningful value to project professionals. She champions the diverse needs of members, volunteers, and wider stakeholders, ensuring they gain maximum benefits from their engagement and from the impactful events her team creates.
Manuela has been working with membership organisations for over 14 years, across the project profession, built environment, and health sectors, both in the UK and Continental Europe. Prior to this, she worked in private organisations, from language training to industrial design and professional services. Manuela’s expertise ranges from engaging members and volunteers in supporting their profession to driving the creation of valuable events, all with a continuous focus on enhancing inclusivity and fostering loyal relationships.
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http://www.apm.org.uk/
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mimpellizzeri
20. Accessibility in Practice: Designing Inclusive and Welcoming Events Tuesday @ 2:15 PM
No bio provided
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https://www.worldliquidgas.org/
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mélanie-milate-maschino-a690576
22. How a Global Association embraces AI from Onboarding to Event and Member Communications Tuesday @ 3:00 PM
A global citizen and pioneer for women and authentic leadership, Kristin created WIN 27 years ago to bring alive a vision of a more feminine, global and sustainable way at work, in communities and life. In her early career she worked for JP Morgan, Citibank and Innovation Norway, EU and as a strategy and marketing consultant. She is a business economist (BI, Oslo) with an MBA (Milan’s Bocconi).
She is passionate about mediation, zen, kundalini yoga, family. learning and has completed a wealth of interdisciplinary studies and practices for many years. She has worked with hundreds of associations and networks as well as world leading companies and women leaders on all continents – especially Italy, Japan, India, Nigeria and Middle East.
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https://www.winconference.net/
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kristin-engvig
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@kristinEngvig
25. Closing Keynote: The Power of Connection: From Purpose to Movement Tuesday @ 4:10 PM
No bio provided
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https://www.afpp.org.uk/
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katie-elvin-7459003a5
24. The Big Natter: How anonymous, peer-to-peer Conversations Surfaced Insights that no survey could have Tuesday @ 3:00 PM
Lisa has been building powerful networks and communities for over 25 years, ensuring the groups she works with thrive and grow. After a flourishing career working for a variety of associations, membership bodies and not for profit organisations, Lisa launched her own agency, Dovetail Creative Ltd, in 2021 and now supports a variety of organisations with all aspects of community, member and customer forum engagement, events, marketing strategy, and consultancy.
Lisa is a frequent speaker and moderator at industry events and is on the board for RISE and Trade Association Forum. In addition, Lisa is involved in several mentoring programmes enabling her to pass on skills and knowledge to help others grow. Lisa has a passion for ESG initiatives and is co-producer of the Media Tech Sustainability Summit and Corporate Star Awards.
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https://www.dovetailcreative.co.uk/
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lisacollins78
13. Making Membership Matter - The IMPACT Framework for Growth, Retention & Engagement Monday @ 2:45 PM
16. AI Readiness - From Awareness to Action for Membership Organisations Tuesday @ 9:00 AM
No bio provided
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http://wearemci.com/
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simondufaur
1. How Medical Associations Survive the Next Funding, Politics and Technology Shock Sunday @ 2:00 PM
Sasha Frieze FRSA FCIM is an award-winning event strategist and consultant, who’s delivered 1,000+ events in 30+ years, and is the author of The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook – how to create transformational events,
Sasha has worked for decades with clients across associations, media owners, conference and exhibition companies, corporates, and non-profits including: the United Nations Foundation, The Guardian, The BMJ, the Open Data Institute, the British Society for Immunology and the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
Sasha is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and The Royal Society of Arts, a Trustee of the British Society for Haematology subsidiary enterprises company and a visiting lecturer in event management at The University of Westminster.
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https://thebusinessnarrative.com/
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sashafrieze
12. Leveraging your Large Events to Deliver Value across your Association Monday @ 2:45 PM
15. Creating Transformational Association Events Tuesday @ 9:00 AM
Barbara Grobicki is the Executive Director of the Strategic Management Society (SMS), a global membership association that promotes the development and dissemination of research and best practices in strategic management. She is based in Chicago, IL.
Prior to joining SMS, Barbara served as the Chief Alliance Officer at the American Marketing Association (AMA). In this role, she was responsible for developing and managing partnerships to enhance the value and reach of the organization. Barbara has also served as Director of Development at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Haslam College of Business where she focused on institutional advancement and fundraising.
Barbara earned her MBA & BA from the University of Tennessee. Her career has been centered on fostering collaboration and growth within associations and non-profits.
5. Rethinking the Value of Associations: as knowledge, services, and connections are reshaped, where do associations create unique value—and what must change—in the age of AI? Monday @ 10:20 AM
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https://www.associationexecutives.org/
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damianhutt
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@DamianHutt
Alan King leads ITAA.ai, helping organisations redesign their operating logic for the age of intelligence.
A recognised voice in AI strategy and organisational transformation, witth years of expereince in large international and UK associations, he bridges human, data, and system perspectives to deliver measurable outcomes.
Author of Harnessing the Power of AI in Organisations and Global AI Association Strategy Director, Alan guides leaders in moving beyond pilots to build AI-native, ethical, and adaptive organisations that thrive in a rapidly changing world.
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https://itaa.ai/
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aiyourorg
2. Workshop: Building Practical AI Workflows for Associations Sunday @ 2:00 PM
Linda is passionate about associations and is particularly active in the professional associations in her own field. She is also a consultant to a variety of associations. In 2008 she was considered one of Portugal’s five most influential people in the conference & events industry and received the education award from IAHMP.
Respected internationally as a speaker Linda has lectured in countries such as Italy, Spain, Russia, Egypt, Cape Verde, United Kingdom, Dubai, Spain and The Netherlands. In 2009 she received the medal of honour for positive entrepreneurship in Portugal for her commitment to promoting culture and heritage and for CSR initiatives.
At Advisiom Global, I champion cross-border collaboration for ambitious, entrepreneurial dealmakers in the mid-market M&A space. As CEO and Founder, I lead a powerhouse network who deliver outstanding merger and acquisition opportunities for their clients.
With a relentless focus on member growth. I connect high-performing partners, spark value-driven alliances, and shape a global M&A community where proactive collaboration isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected.
With deep roots in marketing, business development, and executive leadership, I’m all about empowering our members to achieve more, together. Every initiative I drive is about unlocking opportunity, boosting engagement, and delivering real results for Advisiom’s global network. For us, success is measured in trusted relationships, deal velocity, and the collective impact we make on the M&A industry.
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https://advisiom.com/
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amandanoblesimmons
5. Rethinking the Value of Associations: as knowledge, services, and connections are reshaped, where do associations create unique value—and what must change—in the age of AI? Monday @ 10:20 AM
Alex is the co-founder and CEO of Pixl8 Group – a global digital technology group that has developed a suite of scalable cloud-based software designed to deliver intuitive, personalised and valuable member experiences which includes their market-leading platform, ReadyMembership.
With a combination of his in-depth technical knowledge and years of experience in the membership sector, Alex is uniquely positioned to create solutions specifically designed to support the unique needs of membership organisations. His passion has led Pixl8 to building trusted partnerships with over 200 associations, institutes, not-for-profits, and charities. In his spare time, Alex enjoys travelling and getting onto the water – whether sailing or diving.
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https://pixl8.com/en/
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meta-alex
10. AI workshop: build your own AI membership assistant - no technical skills required Monday @ 2:45 PM
I look after the leadership activities for the AAE. This involves chairing the Leaders Forums at the UK and the World Associations Congresses, as well the Leaders Summits and identifying other opportunities to support association leaders, for example new programmes and forums to bring Executive Heads together.
I have been working on the AAE leaders events for eight years, contributed to the leadership aspects of all AAE's activities, and have an Executive Masters in International Association Management from Solvay Business School, Brussels.
Get in touch if you would like to hear more about our leadership activities at AAE or if you would like me to put you in touch with a trusted advisor or another executive director with experience of a particular issue.
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https://www.associationexecutives.org/
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cecilia-spoor-a30956
5. Rethinking the Value of Associations: as knowledge, services, and connections are reshaped, where do associations create unique value—and what must change—in the age of AI? Monday @ 10:20 AM
Ben has worked closely with Membership organisations for over 20 years, spanning many sub-verticals within this field, leading and supporting on digital transformations for many membership organisations.
With this wealth of experience he launched Chrysalis Digital in 2015, drawing upon the deep understanding and unique challenges within membership organisations. Ben creates and leads digital strategy transformations enabling membership organisations to achieve successful digital outcomes.
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https://chrysalisdigital.co.uk/
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bensturt
11. Setting Up a Successful Digital Procurement Monday @ 2:45 PM
16. AI Readiness - From Awareness to Action for Membership Organisations Tuesday @ 9:00 AM
Mark is a strategist, author, and entrepreneur. His work combines collective intelligence with networks, complex systems, behavioral science and neuroscience. He is the founder of Orcasci, a consulting firm designing scaling and network strategies with recent clients including the $1m Global Teacher Prize with the Varkey Foundation.
Previously Mark co-founded Imaginatik plc, a pioneer in crowdsourcing and collaborative problem solving for innovation. During his 16 years at Imaginatik, Mark worked with hundreds of companies, including Allianz, Bayer, Cargill, IBM, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Whirlpool and Xerox. The World Economic Forum nominated him a Technology Pioneer and a Young Global Leader. Mark is a Professor at Hult International Business School.
:
freshstrategy.ch
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markturrell
5. Rethinking the Value of Associations: as knowledge, services, and connections are reshaped, where do associations create unique value—and what must change—in the age of AI? Monday @ 10:20 AM
