Michael Mainelli was elected as Lord Mayor of the City of London on 29 September 2023 and took office on 10 November 2023. He previously served Sheriff of the City of London from 2019-2021, being granted an

extraordinary second year in that office, the first time since 1228, in order to provide continuity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Educated at Harvard University and Trinity College Dublin, Michael gained his PhD at London School of Economics where he was also a Visiting Professor. During a mergers & acquisitions spell in merchant banking with Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, he co-founded Z/Yen, the City of London’s leading think-tank, promoting societal advance through better finance and technology. Z/Yen is renowned for the Global Financial Centres Index, Global Green Finance Index, Long Finance, and numerous technology and finance projects.

Alyssa Lefaivre Škopac is the Head of Global Partnerships and Growth at the Responsible AI Institute (RAI). In 2023, her exceptional contributions to the field earned her recognition as one of the top 65 most influential women in AI by InspiredMinds. At the RAI Institute, she plays a crucial role in building partnerships that support the entire ecosystem. Additionally, Alyssa has been instrumental in aligning the Institute's strategy and product development to meet the most important and emerging needs in the responsible AI space. Her impactful leadership extends to successfully closing strategic partnerships with multiple Fortune 500 companies, contributing to the growth, sustainability, and impact of the RAI Institute in promoting responsible AI practices. In her capacity at the RAI Institute, Alyssa spearheads initiatives to enable successful responsible AI efforts in organizations.

Géraldine Picaud is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. She was appointed CEO in March 2024.

Géraldine has more than 30 years of experience in strategic leadership and a proven track record of delivering concrete results and transformation across complex global business environments.

From 2018 to 2023, Géraldine was Group CFO and Executive Committee member of Holcim, a global leader in building solutions, where she implemented a proactive strategy of growth acceleration and corporate simplification. Prior to this, she was Group CFO and Executive Committee member of Essilor International, the world leader in ophthalmic lenses. She also held senior executive positions at ED&F Man and at Safic Alcan. She started her career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen.

Géraldine graduated from École Supérieure de Commerce de Reims and holds an MBA. She is currently a non-executive director and chairwoman of the Audit Committee of Danone.

Alexander Hoefmans began his career in 2004 at the Belgian Ministry of Justice as a Human Rights Advisor. Throughout his career, he served as a liaison officer to various European bodies, including the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union. He also represented the Belgian government as a Co-Agent to the European Court of Human Rights. Hoefmans has extensive experience in setting up national independent committees on human rights issues and chaired the Working Group on Fundamental Rights during Belgium's EU Presidency in 2010. He has advised on various human rights matters, including trafficking, privacy, hate crimes, and non-discrimination. From 2013 to 2014, he worked as a legal and policy officer at DG JUST of the European Commission. Later, he held the position of Head of the Unit Data Protection and Equal Opportunities at the Belgian Ministry of Justice before becoming the Deputy Director of the Cabinet for the Belgian State Secretary for Digitalization, Privacy, and Administration Simplification in October 2020.

Better known as Brusselsgeek, Jennifer has been a journalist in print, radio and television for more than 20 years, the last 10+ specialising in EU policy and live event presentation.

Regularly listed as one of the top influencers in the EU bubble, Jennifer was awarded #1 Tech Influencer 2019 by ZN, was listed by Politico as one of the Top 20 Women Shaping Brussels in 2017, and was named by Onalytica as one of the world's Top 100 Influencers on Data Security 2016. She regularly features as an EU expert on BBC radio, Euronews, SkyNews and others, and hosts Brussels’ must-watch weekly roundup show TOTW for Euractiv. From editing a national daily paper in Malta, to reporting on European affairs for Middle Eastern television, she has worked across a wide range of media, and has written for some of the biggest names in publishing.

Hanane Taidi is the Director General of TIC Council since June 2019 and former Director General of IFIA since July 2016. She represents the Testing, Inspection, and Certification Industry, a global sector with €30 billion in revenue and over 400,000 employees. Previously, Hanane worked as Marketing Communications Director at DuPont de Nemours International and as Director of Communications at PlasticsEurope, overseeing European communications efforts. Additionally, Hanane was appointed Rapporteur for the Expert Group on Systemic Eco-innovation by The European Commission, DG Research & Innovation, and is a visiting lecturer at the Institute of European Studies and Quadriga University.

Susan Taylor Martin has been Chief Executive of the BSI Group since January 2021. She has led and transformed increasingly large information and software businesses, first at Reuters and then at Thomson Reuters, based in London and New York. Most recently Susan was President of the global $3.5bn-revenue Thomson Reuters Legal business, returning the business to revenue growth while maintaining industry-leading margins with a focus on driving cultural transformation.

Dr. Luc Julia, Chief Scientific Officer for Renault, was CTO and Senior Vice President of Innovation for Samsung Electronics, directed Siri at Apple, was Chief Technologist at HewlettPackard and cofounded a number of start-ups in the Silicon Valley. While conducting research at SRI International, he was involved in the creation of Nuance Communications, now the world leader in speech recognition.

Recipient of Légion d’Honneur, the highest order of France, and member of its National Academy of Technologies, he holds degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris and earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris.

He is the bestselling author of the book “There is no such thing as Artificial Intelligence”, holds dozens of patents and is recognized as one of the top 100 most influential French developers in the digital world.

Jeremy is the Head of EU Policy, Senior Director of European Government Affairs, in Microsoft’s Corporate, External & Legal Affairs (CELA) group. He works in Brussels, where he leads Microsoft’s EU policy team that engages across all policies that affect regulatory and legal frameworks for digital, cloud, and increasingly AI development and take-up for Microsoft’s customers in Europe. He has a background and subject matter expertise on EU data policy (data protection, IP/copyright, data sharing, law enforcement access), and he has led and managed public policy campaigns and stakeholder engagements related to AI, privacy, cybersecurity, cloud, intellectual property and copyright.

Before joining Microsoft, he was part of the Government Relations team at Nokia in Brussels and was previously Director of the online services association Dot.Europe. He has almost 20 years of experience in Brussels at the company, association, and consultancy levels, engaging with EU stakeholders and regulators on issues related to the development and delivery of digital technologies and services in the Internal Market and increasingly, support for Microsoft customers’ twin transition journeys across different sectors.

Since 16 of January 2020 Kilian Gross is Head of Unit A/2 in DG CNECT responsible for pol-icy development and coordination with regard to Artificial Intelligence in the EU. Based on the work of the High-Level Expert Group the Unit has drafted a White Paper on Artificial Intelli-gence, which presents the options on how to promote the uptake of Artificial Intelligence and how to address at the same time the risks associated with certain uses of this new technology. Following a comprehensive public consultation in April 2021 the Unit proposed a legal frame-work aiming to address the risks generated by specific uses of AI. At the same time his Unit has updated the Coordinated Plan which supports the development and uptake of AI in the EU and searches to align national AI policies.

Beside his work on AI, Kilian Gross lead the legal team, which has prepared and supported the negotiations of the proposal for a European Chips Act.

William Xu brings over 22 years of extensive experience in managing and developing business operations across leading global multinational corporations, including Delta Electronics, Honeywell, GE, Ingersoll Rand, and Husqvarna Group. Specializing in full P&L functions, channel sales, complex project management, and a broad range of operations from supply chain to finance, Xu has demonstrated exceptional leadership in APAC, particularly in Business Development, Product Management & Marketing, and building an AI Ecosystem in Shanghai for the past three years.

His leadership style is vision-oriented, focused on strategic planning, execution, and fostering a culture of coaching and teamwork. Xu has successfully led cross-functional teams to drive business growth, enhance customer satisfaction, and manage cross-cultural teams across various geographical regions. His expertise spans a wide range of B2B industries and includes a strong background in digital IoT solutions and E-Commerce.

Xu is known for his strategic thinking, execution capability, and commitment to developing talented teams. He is passionate about leveraging tools and processes for company transformation and has a keen interest in P&L management, regional management, and global roles, aiming to continue making significant contributions to the business landscape.

Chantal Guay is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), Canada’s voice on standards and accreditation on the national and international stage. SCC works closely with a vast network of partners to promote the development of effective and efficient standards that protect the health, safety and well-being of Canadians while helping businesses prosper. Prior to this role Chantal was SCC’s Vice President, Standards and International Relations where she was responsible for the overall management of the Canadian standardization network. She also served as SCC’s Vice President, Accreditation Services for five years where she led the development of the processes and quality management system that contributed to a renewed business model.

Prior to SCC, Chantal was CEO of Engineers Canada. Under her leadership, the engineering profession adopted the 30 by 30 strategy which is aimed at raising the percentage of newly licensed engineers who are women to 30 per cent by the year 2030.  Chantal was recognized for this work in 2020 when she was honoured with a fellowship from the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

In January 2020, Chantal became the first woman to both lead SCC and represent Canada on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Council. She’s also very active in the international community, holding many positions such as Chair of the Pacific Area Standards Congress. She brings a strong understanding of the importance and value of standardization, quality, and systems management in the private and public sectors.

Chantal is the Vice-Chair of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA).  The CCA carries out assessments with the goal of evaluating the best available evidence on particularly complex issues where the science may be challenging to understand, contradictory or difficult to assemble. Chantal is active in her community and has been mentoring young engineers throughout her career.

Chantal holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geological Engineering from Université Laval, and a Master’s in Environmental Management from Université de Sherbrooke. She has also earned an Advanced Executive Certificate in General Management from the Queen’s University School of Business, as well as the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors after completing the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program. Chantal shares her life with her husband Sheldon and her daughter Karina.

Serge Goriely, PhD in Literature and Master in B&A, is a researcher in cinema and performing arts at the University of Louvain (Belgium). His areas of interest include science fiction, the treatment of spiritual issues in arts. He is the author of numerous essays, notably about the apocalypse on screen, apparitions in cinema,  laughter and religion, and prominent film-makers and playwrights (Pasolini, Haneke, Fassbinder, Mouawad, Kalisky,…). Serge Goriely is also a filmmaker (The Best Option, L'Ultimatum, L'Escale), playwright (The Sorcerers, Realdemokratie, Cave Canem, Kimberley,…) and short story writer.   

Caroline Read is the Deputy Ambassador at the UK Mission to the EU, and took up her post in September 2023. Prior to joining the UK Mission, Caroline was Director for British Investment Partnerships at the FCDO (job-sharing this post).  Her team led on policy and programming on economic development, as well as global economic cooperation – including the UK’s relationship with the OECD.   Previously, she was International Relations Director at DFID leading DFID’s work on international institutions and groupings including: UN development agencies, International Financial Institutions; and the G20/G7. Prior to moving to DFID Caroline spent most of her career at HM Treasury, focusing on international issues.  She has also held a number of domestic policy and economic roles at HMT, including tax and spending.  Caroline has also worked in NGOs, working on private sector development in the Middle East and working in the Finance Ministries in Sierra Leonne and Liberia.  Her partner and young daughter join her in Brussels.

Risto Uuk is the EU Research Lead at the Future of Life Institute, leading research efforts on EU AI policy to maximize the societal benefits of increasingly powerful AI systems. He runs the biweekly EU AI Act Newsletter and has set up a website to cover all things EU AI Act. He is also an Expert in the Working Group on Future of Work at Global Partnership on AI and contributes to the development of AI standards in CEN and CENELEC working groups. Previously, Risto worked for the World Economic Forum on a project about positive AI economic futures and did research for the European Commission on trustworthy AI. He has a master's degree in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr.-Ing. Michael Fübi has been the Chairman of the Executive Board of Management of TÜV Rheinland AG since 2015.

Dr.-Ing. Michael Fübi began his professional career in 1995 at Babcock Borsig. In 1998, he became the spokesman for the Executive Board of the WABAG Group within the corporate group, and subsequently held leadership roles at Babcock Borsig. In 2002, Dr.-Ing. Michael Fübi transferred to the RWE Group, where, among other things, he led the Climate Protection division for RWE Power before being appointed to RWE Technology's Executive Board in 2010. Dr.-Ing. Michael Fübi was initially the Chief Technical Officer on the Executive Board, and assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2012.

Frederico is a Senior Legal Officer at BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation, where he represents the interests of 46 independent national consumer associations from 32 European countries. With more than 7 years of experience in public affairs, Frederico advocates for the interests of consumers in the fields of artificial intelligence and intellectual property. He is also a part-time visiting lecturer at the University of Sciences Po in Lille, where he teaches a course on European consumer policy.

Prior to joining BEUC, Frederico worked in a law firm in Lisbon and in a public affairs consultancy firm in Brussels. Frederico studied law at the University of Lisbon and Université Catholique de Louvain. He holds a Master in EU Law from the College of Europe in Bruges. Frederico is fluent in Portuguese, English and French.

Matt Gantley is the Chief Executive of UKAS, the UK’s Accreditation Body and major contributor to the national quality infrastructure. Accreditation by UKAS means that conformity assessment (testing and calibration laboratories, inspection and certification bodies) have been assessed against internationally recognised standards to demonstrate their competence, impartiality and performance capability. Matt has over 20 years’ experience in the conformity assessment and prior to joining UKAS he was the Managing Director of NQA Certification and held senior Directorship positions in certification, training and consulting enterprises.  His key achievements include strategic and commercial development alongside international management in emerging markets. Matt is passionate about corporate and business strategy and served as a visiting MBA lecturer at Manchester Business School. Matt has also fulfilled Non-Exec roles for Elmhurst (EPBD Training/Certification), was a Board Director of SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) and was the Chairman of the Association of British Certification Bodies.  Matt is an active member of CQI, IOSH and IEMA.

Stan Zurkiewicz is the Chairman of the Management Board for DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE, serving since 2022. With a notable academic background, including an Executive Master of Business Administration from CEIBS, China, and a MA in Management from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, his professional journey is distinguished. Starting in 2004 with ABB in Business Development, Stan's career has seen progressive growth within DEKRA, holding various leadership roles since 2011, and playing a pivotal role in the organization's expansion and operational excellence in East and South Asia.