Sören Auer is Director of the Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology (TIB) and Professor of Data Science and Digital Libraries at Leibniz University Hannover. His research focuses on knowledge graphs and neuro-symbolic and agentic AI, together with their applications in science and industry. The founder of the Open Research Knowledge Graph (ORKG) and co-founder of DBpedia, he has led numerous large-scale European research and innovation initiatives. His current work is exploring how trusted data, structured knowledge and AI agents can be combined to create AI systems that are more reliable, explainable and autonomous.

Adam Pustelnik studied at the University of Lodz, the European Academy of Diplomacy and the University of Oxford, among others, He holds a master’s degree in law and another in international relations. His career to date has taken him to the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Łódź City Hall and consultancy company Savills. During his stint at Łódź City Hall from 2015 to 2019, he served as Director of the Investor Service Office, where his responsibilities included leading the implementation of the Łódź development strategy, investor acquisition, the promotion of the city’s economic potential and international cooperation. He was installed as First Deputy Mayor of the City of Lodz in September 2020. His official duties encompass supervision of the Department of Planning and Economic Development and the Department of Asset Management.

Tadeusz Kifner heads the Interdisciplinary Pomeranian Center for Digital Medicine (IP_CMC) at the Medical University of Gdańsk. With over twenty-eight years of professional experience spanning software development, IT auditing, IT governance and enterprise architecture, he focuses on digital transformation and data governance in complex, regulated organisations. His work at the Medical University of Gdańsk is centred on establishing the foundations for medical data management, digital services and AI applications as part of the Center for Digital Medicine. He brings his cross-sector experience from academia, finance, public administration and industry into play, combining technical expertise with a practical understanding of organisational needs. In addition, Tadeusz lectures at Merito University, where he teaches security, systems architecture, cloud computing and AI. He also serves as an expert consultant for the Polish Information Processing Society (PTI). His professional focus is on translating technology into practical solutions that support institutional processes and informed decision-making. photo by P. Sudara

Mirek Sopek’s background is in physics and he obtained his doctorate in the field of theoretical and quantum chemistry. He has been the elected chair of the University Council of Łódź University of Technology since 2021, actively supporting scientific development and collaboration between the academic and business worlds. He is also the founder and CEO of a start-up, Quantum B., which is focused on quantum cryptography.

Sabina Brożek-Rzewuska has been involved in market research since 2021. A graduate in sociology from the University of Warsaw, she went on to gain experience at Ipsos, a leading market research company, where she worked on domestic and international projects for key corporate clients and coordinated complex research initiatives from the conceptual stage right through to the compilation of the final report. As market research team leader for Antal Polska, Sabina is responsible for planning and conducting commercial, non-commercial and in-house research projects.

Wojciech Zieliński is the Chief Information Officer at Sklepy Komfort S.A., one of Poland’s leading flooring retail groups. He is responsible for the full scope of IT operations and for developing technology environments that support the company’s digital and technological transformation and its current growth strategy. He offers more than twenty years of international experience in building and scaling IT organisations across e-commerce and retail, logistics, financial services and pharmaceuticals in both global and local environments. His track record includes establishing a global IT function for Inchcape Shipping Services, aligning software development teams at Riyad Bank in Saudi Arabia and delivering technology and transformation programmes for a number of organisations, including Aon, Euroflorist, Roche, the British Council and Amway. Wojciech has led teams ranging from startups to organisations of up to 320 people. His leadership focuses on building robust IT standards, organisational structures and agile operating models that connect technology delivery with measurable business value.

It was in 2000 that Szymon Augustyniak began writing about technology and digitalisation and he has continued ever since, always setting his subject matter in a broader social and economic context. Now the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Smart Tech RE:view portal, he was previously a long-time Editor-in-Chief of "CIO" magazine and organiser of CIO of the Year, nurturing eleven editions of the prestigious competition to fruition. He has been building lively, discussion-driven communities for CIOs and CxOs since 2009, with Klub CIO and CXO HUB as the thriving results, joined more recently by CxO Club. On stage, he draws panellists and audiences into shared conversations, steering them deftly until they come to conclusions that surprise even the participants.

Mariusz E. Sokołowicz is a full professor at the University of Łódź and an urbanist-economist curious about how cities work and why they sometimes don’t, even with AI support. His research explores urban and regional development, institutions, resilience and the social and economic value of urban spaces. A former local government practitioner, he connects academic ideas with the everyday challenges of making cities better places to live. He also enjoys motorcycles, amateur theatre and tricky crosswords, though cities remain the most complicated puzzles. photo by Bartosz Kałużny

A manager with more than twenty years’ experience steering technological enterprises, business development and international expansion, Dariusz Głażewski has devoted his career to the new technologies sector, building and developing companies providing IT solutions to business clients. From 2004 to 2018, he was the founder, managing director and then CEO of an IT company that went on to become part of an international organisation, Kaliop Group, where he took on the role of International Business Development Manager. From 2018 to 2023, he served as Senior Business Development Manager Eastern Europe at Akeneo GmbH, part of the Akeneo SAS group, a global leader in the delivery of product information management (PIM) systems. He also has a wealth of experience in the fields of corporate governance and managing listed companies. From 2014 to 2023, he was first a member of the supervisory board of Plast-Box S.A., going on to become its chair. He chaired the supervisory board of Suwary S.A. from 2022 to 2023, In May 2023, he took on the role of the company’s CEO, continuing to serve in that position until August 2025. In March 2026, he began serving as a vice president of the MakoLab S.A. Management Board, with the responsibility for implementing the company’s strategic initiatives. He was appointed CEO in June 2026.

Professor Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek has studied the subject of well-being, happiness and pleasure for the past twenty years. Philosophically, she argues for the maximisation of pleasure and diminishing of pain among as many beings as possible and believes in helping others to live a good and enjoyable life on the basis of philosophical, psychological and neurobiological research. Her main research interest focuses on the thinking of late Victorian philosopher Henry Sidgwick. She has written two books with Peter Singer, "The Point of View of the Universe" (Oxford University Press, 2014) and "Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford University Press, 2017) and edited John Stuart Mill’s "Utilitarianism" (Norton, 2021). Her "The Philosophy of Pleasure", the first introductory text of its kind on the subject of pleasure, was published by Routledge in 2024. In the field of AI ethics, her work includes "AI and Consumers’ Well-Being", with Peter Singer, published in “The Cambridge Handbook of AI and Consumer Law” (October 2024) and, most recently, talks and lectures on AI and philosophy at Freedom Games (October 2025). When she discusses AI. It is usually in connection with our well-being. In addition to her academic work, she is keen to convey philosophical ideas to a wide audience, writing for popular magazines. She and Peter Singer began running a podcast, "Lives Well Lived", in May 2024, interviewing a remarkable line-up of guests, including Daniel Kahneman, Yuval Harari, Jane Goodall, Judy Collins, Neil de Grasse Tyson and Ingrid Newkirk.

Aleksandra Nowak is a digital identity specialist working at the intersection of technology, regulation and digital trust. At IDENTT, she leads initiatives focused on identity verification and fraud detection, helping organisations navigate the transition towards the European Digital Identity ecosystem. Her expertise includes the EUDI Wallet, biometrics, AI-driven identity solutions and the practical use of digital identity and electronic attestations of attributes in regulated industries.

With more than twenty-five years of experience in IT, Mateusz Konkol combines technical expertise with sales and management skill sets. He is currently Director of Sales Poland at Clavister, having previously led a team of engineers at Cisco, before going on to help establish the Polish branch of Infradata and, as a member of the Nomios management board, to support both the integration of businesses following acquisitions and the development of their teams. At TXOne Networks, he built the company’s presence and partner network across Central and Eastern Europe. Mateusz has worked in large international organisations and built businesses from the ground up, bringing both technical and management perspectives to his roles.

Bogusław Święcicki is Group ICT Manager at Bakels Group, a privately owned international bakery-ingredients company that operates through thirty-eight subsidiaries and twenty manufacturing plants worldwide. Reporting directly to the Group CEO, he leads the group’s IT and digital transformation agenda, with a focus on standardising and integrating systems across the global organisation and preparing it for Industry 4.0. Before joining Bakels in 2021, he served as CIO of ATLAS for two decades and then went on to lead research, development and digital business development at MakoLab. His experience spans enterprise IT strategy, ERP and collaboration platforms, digital services, cybersecurity and technology-driven business transformation. A recipient of the CIO Diamond Award in the CIO of the Year Competition, he also led ATLAS to recognition as an IT Leader in the industry category of the Computerworld IT Leader Competition. Bogusław is an active member of the CxO Club community and its Programme Council.

Agnieszka Walczak-Karbowska helps organisations turn complex business and regulatory challenges into digital products that deliver measurable value for clients, customers and companies alike. As Chief Product Owner at PKO Leasing, she leads the Omnichannel Platform, which includes customer self-service applications, digital portals and Automarket.pl. Throughout a career that spans banking, enterprise software and financial services, she has been responsible for scaling digital platforms, leading international product organisations and delivering large-scale transformation initiatives. Before joining PKO Leasing, Agnieszka held senior leadership roles at mBank and Atlassian, where she combined product strategy, technology and regulatory expertise to build solutions used by millions of clients and customers across multiple markets. Agnieszka is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing in-house technology capabilities and creating products that make complex processes simple, accessible and effective.

Marek Obuchowski helps organisations leverage AI, automation and modern technology platforms to transform the way they work. As Chief Product Owner at PKO Leasing, he leads initiatives focused on intelligent automation, low-code development, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence. With a background ranging from enterprise infrastructure and IT operations to product management and AI strategy, his perspective is unique and connects technology innovation with real business outcomes. Marek is passionate about responsible AI adoption, building high-performing teams and turning complex technologies into practical solutions that create measurable business value.

With more than seventeen years of experience in IT management across aviation and multi-site manufacturing environments, Piotr Jaczyński is responsible for IT services, infrastructure and technology projects. His areas of expertise include business continuity, information security, IT strategy and aligning technology with operational needs.

An experienced IT and business leader, Mateusz Rakusa-Suszczewski has a strong background in international project coordination and digital transformation. As Renault Polska’s IS/IT Director for the CEE region, he drives technology strategies that enhance customer satisfaction, optimise business processes and ensure secure, data-driven operations. Combining his extensive expertise in project management, ITIL-based service delivery and managing geographically distributed teams, he successfully leads complex initiatives across diverse markets.

Piotr Ignaczak jest doświadczonym liderem technologicznym z ponad dwudziestoletnim stażem we wdrażaniu innowacji dla globalnych marek, w tym Cisco, NTT, Orange i Accenture. Ukończył studia magisterskie z informatyki na Politechnice Łódzkiej oraz Executive MBA na Politechnice Warszawskiej. Piotr obecnie pełni funkcję Chief Technology Officer w MakoLab, gdzie kieruje inicjatywami transformacji cyfrowej i wyznacza strategiczny kierunek rozwoju technologicznego firmy.

Jacek Popko set out on his digital career in 1999. At heart a user experience professional and user advocate, by profession he is a consultant who helps businesses to innovate successfully. He has been with MakoLab for five years.

A specialist in the field of new technology law, Maria Dymitruk focuses in particular on AI, IP and IT. With her profound understanding of the legal and business conditions for IT and AI projects, she has extensive experience in supporting organisations through the processes. She began investigating the use of AI in law at the University of Wrocław’s Research Centre for Legal and Economic Issues of Electronic Communication in 2014 and obtained her PhD with honours there with a dissertation on the admissibility of using AI in civil proceedings. During her doctoral studies, she completed research stays in Canada, at the University of Montreal, and in Italy, at Università Mediterranea in Reggio Calabria. As a participant in numerous national and international research projects at the intersection of law and technology, she has wide experience in team management, legal project coordination and international collaboration, having worked in conjunction with entities like the European Commission and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The president of the European Bars Federation New Technologies Commission, she also represents the Polish bar association in the work of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe and is a member of the International Association for AI and Law, the AI Working Group at Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Digitalisation Problems Team of the Civil Law Codification Commission at the Polish Ministry of Justice. She has a substantial portfolio of scientific publications in the field of AI, is recognised both as a trainer and a speaker at events in the field of IT law and teaches at the University of Wrocław and the University of Silesia in Katowice. After graduating with honours from the Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics at the University of Wrocław and also studying law in Krakow, at the Jagiellonian University’s Faculty of Law and Administration, she completed her legal training with distinction at the District Chamber of Legal Advisors in Wrocław.

Tomasz Polke has spent more than a decade connecting business needs, technology and IT service delivery. As Service Owner for Cloud & Infrastructure Services at MakoLab, he is involved in the development of services that enable organisations to modernise and operate reliable IT environments. Throughout his career, he has worked with enterprise clients, advising on cloud transformation and infrastructure and bridging business objectives with operational realities. His focus is not only on what technology can deliver, but also on how organisations can maintain control as complexity grows. His viewpoint on AI is operational. Before AI agents can be trusted to act in production, organisations need to understand what is happening in their systems, know who is responsible and trust the quality of their operational data. His guiding principle is this: If you can’t see it, you can’t automate it safely.

Mateusz Kijowski began his career at PwC as a data engineering consultant. Today, he specialises in modern data architectures, helping organisations build scalable, future-ready data platforms. Passionate about technology, he focuses on turning complex data challenges into innovative solutions.

Dominik Lubasz specialises in new technology law, personal data protection and economic law, including European economic law. He is also a Professor at the University of Łódź. He has been singled out in the rankings run by Legal 500, Chambers and Partners Europe, Lexology, Client Choice and “Rzeczpospolita” and has spoken at numerous conferences. He runs workshops of his own devising and, as a lecturer on post-graduate courses, he focuses on personal data protection and new technologies. The head of the Centre for LegalTech and AI Research (CLAIRE) at the University of Łódź, Dominik co-created GDPR Risk Tracker, a legaltech tool that supports processes ensuring compliance with the GDPR. He is the author and academic editor of more than a hundred publications, including commentaries on laws and he serves as an AI expert and member of working groups for Poland’s Chancellery of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the country’s Personal Data Protection Office and the European Association of Data Protection Professionals. He is also an expert for the European Data Protection Board and the Council of Europe.

With ten years of experience in the IT, cloud, and cybersecurity industries, OVHcloud Account Manager Grzegorz Godlewski built his professional experience working with cybersecurity leaders Fortinet and Stormshield and global IT integrator NTT. He advises organisations on how to build secure, independent and scalable cloud environments. As a committed enthusiast of mature technologies, Grzegorz approaches market trends and the widespread fascination with AI with pragmatic scepticism, prioritising real business value and data security.

Mateus Nosek, president of the ISSA Polska board, is an engineer, a committed cybersecurity aficionada and an expert in protecting IT infrastructure against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, low-level security (Linux, Kernel, C/C++) and secure systems architectures. He is a graduate of Warsaw University of Technology, a Certified Information Systems Professional (CISSP) and an lead auditor for IS0 27001 Information Security Management certification, In his professional practice, he combines the knowledge and technology world of secured software development lifecycle (S-SDLC) and advanced persistent threat (APT) groups analysis with the world of standards and compliance, encompassing business continuity management systems and ISO 42001, the first international AI management standard. Mateusz firmly favours an analytical approach grounded in higher mathematics and the continual development of skill sets. He is a member of the global ISSA community.