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COOKIES A WEB

Privacy statement - use of cookies and the web

Cookies

When you visit a page that uses cookies, there will be a small “cookie” text file generated in your PC or mobile device (including tablet) while you browse that page. When you visit the same page later again, thanks to the cookie file you will be able to connect to it faster. Apart from knowing it is you, the page will also offer you information according to your preferences and will ensure already seen ads not to be displayed again and/or it will enable you to log in without entering your password every time. In the case of filling-in identification data the cookie files offer you to fill-in the data you have provided by your previous visits on that website and in connection with these data there will be displayed a relevant content and offers with regard to your assumed activities and services you might wish to use. Cookies files are used to analyse visit rate of our webpages by the means of services like Google Analytics, Google AdSense, Facebook, Strossle or Gemius SA, Exponea etc. It is an analytical tool that helps webpage or application owners to understand how visitors used these webpages or applications. Cookie files can be used to collect statistical data about webpage use without having its individual visitors personally identified.

Legal base of processing

If we are able to identify a person visiting our webpage and record that, in such a case it is subject to personal data processing. For this type of processing, we must have a legal base one form of which can be your consent as an aggrieved person.

Which cookies are collected

Essential cookies – these cookies enable to use basic functions e.g. a registered user´s login or Autofill forms. If you reject these cookies, we cannot guarantee you a full functionality of our webpages.

Preferences cookies – serve for identification of by you preferred activities you will deliberately perform at our webpages.

Operational cookies – these cookies are for analysing the visitor´s behaviour at the webpage and then for improving its functionalities and design. If you reject these cookies, we cannot guarantee a full functionality of our webpages.

Marketing cookies – serve for optimizing of the displayed content and advertisement with respect to the visitor´s custom practices and effectiveness of the sponsors´ marketing communication. Thanks to these cookies you will not see an advertisements you are not interested in.

Third Parties Cookies– created and used by the services providers such as Google Analytics, Google AdSense, Facebook, Strossle, Gemius SA, Exponea and others. These services are integrated into our webpages because we consider them useful and completely safe. Respective cookies settings can be found at their own webpages. Thanks to these cookies you will not see an advertisements you are not interested in.

Your personal data we might collect

  • Information about your visits of our website (www);
  • Information about connection IP address, about web browser you are using;
  • Information about your activities at our website.

Automated deciding and profiling

There is no connection established between aforementioned activities at our page and your person, so the automated processing does not affect your rights and freedoms. Similarly, there is no profiling performed by processing your personal data.

How to check the cookies settings

Cookies can be checked or deleted at your discretion. Detailed settings can be found at www.aboutcookies.org. You can delete all cookies stored in your PC and most of the internet browsers can be set so that you prevent them from storing the cookies.

Cookies are useful unless being misused by the websites owners to collect unauthorized data collection. If you do not trust cookies functionalities, you can have them regularly deleted from your disk. In some cases information collected by cookies can be recorded incorrectly and thus causing problems with logging-in to our internet applications. Instructions for deleting all including incorrectly recorded cookies can be found below.

Instructions for deleting cookies in particular internet browsers

Recording your personal data

Your data are not transferred to the third countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and European Union (EU).

How long are the browsing data stored

We store information connected with the data from cookies in accordance with your consent you have granted us or in accordance with the term of contractual relation between us and your person. Combined data from cookies and our systems shall be stored for the period of 6 months.

Revoking consent

If we process your personal data as per the consent you have granted, you can revoke this consent anytime.

Contact details

If you wish to complain about how we process your personal data also in connection with the herein defined rights or if you have any other questions about your personal data processing, you can contact our statutory representative by email: maria.krahulecova@qubitconference.com and your suggestions and requests will be duly examined. Similarly, you can contact us in this respect by writing us via our company´s standard contact places.

If you have a suspicion that a protection of your personal data was breached or if you assume we have been processing your data in violation of the law or eventually if you are not satisfied with our response to your questions or suggestion, you can contact a supervisory body, namely Office for Personal Data Protection, and you are entitled to initiate proceedings according to § 100 of the Act No. 18/2018 of the Coll. About Personal Data Protection. More information about Office for Personal Data Protection and about procedures for lodging complaints you find here: www.dataprotection.gov.sk.

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Dave Lewis

Global Advisory CISO | 1Password | Canada

Dave has over 30 years of industry experience with a strong background in IT security operations and management. He is the Global Advisory CISO at 1Password and the founder of the Liquidmatrix Security Digest and podcast. Dave also hosts the Chasing Entropy podcast. He served on the board of directors for BSides Las Vegas for eight years and currently sits on the advisory boards of Byos.io and Knostic.ai. Dave has previously worked in critical infrastructure for nine years and has held roles at companies such as Duo Security, Akamai, Cisco, AMD, and IBM. He also served on the board of directors for (ISC)² and co-founded the BSides Toronto conference. In his spare time, he wrangles small mammals (his kids), plays bass guitar, grills, and is a part-owner of both a whisky distillery and a soccer team.

Aleksander Gorkowienko

Head of Security Testing Team | Risk Crew | United Kingdom
Aleksander Gorkowienko is an experienced cybersecurity professional with more than 15 years of practice, working in numerous industry sectors. Aleksander has a passion for advanced technology and applied information security, which he shares with the industry and business leaders, including the UK Government. He leads Risk Crew’s Security Team, helping organisations in the UK and worldwide to secure their business and digital identity. Aleksander is specialised in the security of IoT and industrial systems, and (inevitably) also experiments a lot with AI and researches how AI changes the world we live in and the cybersecurity landscape.

Domagoj Maric

AI Customer Delivery Manager | Pontis Technology | Croatia
Domagoj Maric graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, shifting from information security to data science with a focus on web scraping. He began his career at Megatrend poslovna rješenja, developing Python applications and data solutions, later leading the data science department. A role he continued at Comping. Today, he works as the AI Customer Delivery Manager at Pontis Technology, leading the delivery of projects in NLP, computer vision, predictive analytics, and generative AI. In addition to his industry work, he also works as a lecturer in programming.

Martin Pavelka

MKB and Researcher | Exemplar.sk and FIIT STU | Slovakia
He works as an independent security consultant and Cybersecurity Manager. He has experience in specific areas such as healthcare, water utilities, small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, or state administration. He specializes in security and business continuity in infrastructures built primarily on MS Windows. At FIIT STU, he participates in teaching subjects focused on operating system security and cybersecurity management. As part of his professional practice, he prepares organizations for certification according to the ISO 27001 standard in terms of harmonization of technologies and processes. He uses his experience in implementing a set of technical and procedural cybersecurity measures.

Jan Dusatko

Security Principal | DHL IT Services, s.r.o. | Czech republic
Jan Dusatko has been involved in computers and computer security for nearly a quarter of a century. During his career, he has worked with leading cryptography experts such as Vlastimil Klíma and Tomáš Rosa. In his current role as a security consultant, he focuses primarily on topics related to cryptography, email communication, and Linux systems. In addition, he actively promotes cryptography and works to educate both the public and IT system administrators in this field.

Yohann Sillam

Senior Security Researcher | Imperva | Israel
Yohann Sillam, Senior Security Researcher at Imperva, investigates emerging threats, analyzes cyberattacks, and regularly publishes his findings. His work focuses primarily on malware research and application security.

Ladislav Snapko

Certified Cybersecurity Auditor, Certified Cybersecurity Manager | KCCKB | Slovakia
Ladislav Snapko works as a certified Cybersecurity manager in public administration, where he focuses on improving management, control, and risk management processes. Through his work, he supports the effective functioning of institutions, the improvement of employee competencies, and the implementation of modern approaches to public resource management. He has long been involved in education, lecturing, and consulting, combining professional knowledge with practical experience in organizational management. In his training courses, he emphasizes compliance with personal data protection principles/GDPR. He also works as a cyber and information security auditor. Through his work, he contributes to improving the quality, transparency, and security of processes, building a culture of open communication, and strengthening trust in public administration. The aim of his activities is to strengthen the capacities of public administration and contribute to the more efficient, open, and modern functioning of institutions.

Tamas Buzgo

OT Security Expert | Asolutions Security s.r.o. | Slovakia
Tamas Buzgo is an OT/ICS cybersecurity architect and expert with extensive experience in protecting critical infrastructure. He specializes in IEC 62443, NIS2, NIST 800-82, ISO/IEC 27000, and the EU Cyber Resilience Act, focusing on secure OT network design, segmentation, hardening, and risk management. His deep technical background covers SCADA, PLC, HMI, RTU, and IED environments, including vulnerability assessments and the development of advanced security frameworks. As an OT Security Architect, he designs resilient architectures aligned with European cybersecurity and compliance requirements. As the Managing Director of ASolutions Security, he provides strategic consulting and tailored security solutions for industrial, manufacturing, and energy sectors.

Stanislav Balko

Chief of Information Technology Department | University Hospital Martin | Slovakia
Specialist in cybersecurity in healthcare, currently working at Martin University Hospital. He focuses on the implementation and audit of information security in healthcare information systems with an emphasis on the protection of patients’ personal data and compliance with GDPR requirements. He has extensive knowledge of international information and cybersecurity standards and experience in auditing them. As a certified cybersecurity manager, he is involved in the practical implementation of security measures in the public and private sectors. With his expertise in IT security and law, he focuses on improving the level of patient data protection.

Michal Kaprinay

Systems Engineer | Fortinet | Slovakia
Michal Kaprinay is an IT security and network management specialist focused on Fortinet solutions. He has extensive experience in designing and maintaining secure network architectures, optimizing infrastructure, and leading technical teams. His work centers on integrated cybersecurity strategies, threat prevention, and operational efficiency across diverse enterprise environments. Michal combines strong technical expertise with a managerial perspective, emphasizing reliability, innovation, and proactive protection in the field of cybersecurity.

Lubomir Kriz

CISO | Slovak Post | Slovakia
Lubomir Kriz is an experienced IT professional with more than 30 years of experience in system and database administration, and especially cyber security. He started his career as a lead programmer, where he led development teams for 6 years and participated in the design and implementation of complex software solutions. For the next 6 years, he worked as a senior systems and database specialist, specializing in optimizing the performance and reliability of IT infrastructure. He devoted a significant part of his career—17 years—to information security as head of the IT security department, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of security policies, risk management, and critical infrastructure protection. For the last 3 years, he has served as Head of Development and Cyber Security Department. He currently works as CISO, combining technical and strategic leadership to ensure effective development and a high level of cyber protection. He also serves as Cyber Security Manager at Slovak Post.

Slavomir Zavacky

Head of Distribution System Automation Department | Východoslovenská distribučná a.s. and Západoslovenská distribučná a.s. | Slovakia
Slavomir Zavacky has been working at Východoslovenská distribučná a.s. since 2000. For more than 20 years, he has held various management positions, mainly in the field of operational technology (OT), with many years of experience in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, remote control and management systems, automation technologies, electrical power equipment protection, and geographic information systems (GIS). Since 2024, he has been responsible for the area of distribution system automation at Východoslovenská distribučná a.s. and Západoslovenská distribučná a.s. His work focuses on the implementation of modern technologies and advanced solutions with the aim of increasing digitization and automation, which contribute to more reliable, efficient, and secure operation of the distribution system in a critical infrastructure environment.

Zuzana Halasova

Head of the Cyber Security Department | the Slovak Ministry of the Interior | Slovakia
Zuzana Halasova has been the head of the cyber security department at the Slovak Ministry of the Interior since 2022. Previously, she held various positions within the armed forces, where she focused on cybersecurity, e-government, and e-signatures. She is the author and co-author of professional articles and publications and serves as a national expert for the European Commission’s legal and technical studies.

Marcela Zimova

Chief Information Security Officer | Piano Software | Slovakia
Marcela Zimová graduated from Information Security at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava and has more than 10 years of professional experience in this field. She currently works as the Chief Information Security Officer at Piano Software, where she is responsible for securing corporate data and systems on a global level. he is a certified information systems auditor (CISA) and certified information security manager (CISM) within ISACA Slovakia. She is a member of the executive board of Women4Cyber Slovakia as the Chief Operations Officer. Marcela is a passionate ambassador for supporting women in information security and also works to raise awareness of the importance of information security among various interest groups. Her expertise and professional approach motivates others to get involved in this field.

Zdenek Huspenina

Head of AI Solutions | Blogic | Czech Republic
Zdenek has more than 20 years of experience in implementing software solutions and products in the corporate sphere. Thanks to his deep technical knowledge, he is able to effectively link technology with business goals and company needs In recent years, he has also been actively involved in lecturing as a keynote speaker, focusing on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Michal Gross

Head of IT Security | 365.bank | Slovakia
Is a security senior with more than 23 years of experience in the field of cybersecurity. He went from junior security administator through several various security specialist roles to leadership positions in corporate environment. Michal takes pragmatic approach to decisions and is always trying to support business development via modern security program aimed on continuous improvements in defense of clients‘ and shareholders‘ assets. He has been working at 365.bank for the sixth year.

Boris Mittelmann

Senior Systems Engineer | Veeam Software | Slovakia
Proud Kosice resident in exile. As a technology consultant for 25 years he has been discussing, designing and reviewing solutions for data storage, availability, protection and resilience. In the current five-year plan, with a primary focus on ransomware threats. Already on Veeam’s payroll for the second decade.

Branislav Magula

Global Cyber Security Manager | Marelli | Slovakia
Branislav Magula, CISSP, is an experienced professional with extensive experience in managing information and cyber security in IT and OT environments. He has worked in various industries, including critical infrastructure At Marelli, a key technology supplier to the automotive industry, he leads several global security teams and participates in the design, evaluation, and implementation of measures to strengthen the cyber resilience of IT/OT infrastructure. He also actively participates in the preparation and implementation of strategic initiatives in the field of information and cyber security. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and mountain biking.

Florian Ettinger

Solutions Architect | AWS Austria
Florian Ettinger is a Solutions Architect at AWS, specializing in guiding Financial Services customers across Central Europe through their cloud transformation journeys. He helps organizations navigate cloud migrations while maintaining the highest security standards essential for financial institutions.

Maximilian Stremy

rector | STU | Slovakia
Professor Maximilian Stremy is the new rector of STU in Bratislava. He took office on September 7th, 2025 Until now, he served for four years as STU’s vice-rector for strategic projects, development, innovation, and practice. He was responsible for international and development projects, cooperation with industry, innovation, technology transfer, the technology incubator, and other activities. He is a successful teacher and researcher who has worked and lectured at several foreign universities. He is a professor in the field of automation. He focuses primarily on supporting innovation and talent, which are prerequisites for successful Slovakia.

Martin Zajicek

CISO | Medirex, a.s. | Slovakia
He has been involved in information security since college, starting as a classic IT specialist, continuing as an IT manager, and then working for 20 years as an external consultant in the field of security, focusing on organizational and technical security such as emergency plans, BIA, risk analysis, personal data protection, OS/DB security audits, penetration tests, and social engineering tests. He continued for several years as an internal IT/SEC auditor at the largest Slovak bank and currently works as a CISO.

Ivan Malik

CEO/CTO | Logicworks | Slovakia
CEO and CTO of Logicworks, which he founded and has been successfully building since 2004. He has 25 years experience with Apple platforms – from technical roles to strategic management of the company. He is one of the leading experts on the integration and management of Apple devices in the corporate sphere and has long promoted their use as a secure and effective work tool. He graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a focus on management and marketing. His professional and personal interests include cryptographic algorithms, programming, and artificial intelligence applications.

Ondrej Krajc

Solution Architect | ESET | Slovakia

Ondrej Krajc graduated from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, where he mainly dealt with the design of metropolitan optical networks and advanced data security. Before joining ESET in 2008 as a Technical Support Engineer, he held several positions, including design activity and administration of network environments for various companies. At ESET, he was responsible for the implementation and optimization of antivirus solutions for the large customers. He has been working in IT security for more than 15 years. He currently works as a Solution Architect He focuses on consulting on large-scale ESET security products implementations in the enterprise segment, as well as presentation activities.

Zuzana Rebrova

Head of Third Party Cyber Risk Management | Swiss Re | Slovakia
She has been at home in cybersecurity for over 15 years. She has been at home in cybersecurity for over 15 years. She started out in IT companies, where she implemented ISO standards, conducted internal audits, and took care of personal data protection. Gradually, she expanded her focus – from compliance and regulations to supply chain resilience and cyber risk management. Today, she works at a global company, where she leads a team as well as several cross-team initiatives. She enjoys bringing people together, connecting different perspectives, turning complex topics into tangible results, and shifting the perception of security from a mandatory task to a competitive advantage.

Rastislav Beno

EMEA Information Security & Cyber Resilience Manager | Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation | Slovakia

Rastislav Beno worked in various management positions in the field of development, operation and management of IT in the banking sector during his career. Subsequently, he focused on information security, crisis management and business continuity planning in the telecommunications sector. He is currently responsible for managing information security and cyber resilience for EMEA region in a global company operating in the chemical industry. His tasks include building an information and cyber security team as well as designing, implementing, and standardizing information security processes in an international corporation environment.

Pavol Dovicovic

Executive Consultant , certified auditor | Cyber Security Competence and Certification Centre | Slovakia

Certified cybersecurity auditor, lecturer, and consultant with many years of experience in cybersecurity. During his career, he has held several technical and management positions, where he focused primarily on the design and implementation of security measures in various sectors. In addition to his professional activities, he is also involved in education and awareness, helping organizations and individuals better understand the risks of the digital world and effectively address them.

Michal Srnec

CISO | Aliter Technologies | Slovakia

At Aliter Technologies, he leads the cybersecurity agenda with a focus on risk management, SOC/SIEM, and cloud data protection. He has over 10 years of experience in designing and implementing security architectures, incident response, and automation. He holds a PhD in applied computer science. He is also actively involved in information security topics as an author and speaker.

Milan Oselsky

Partner & Board Member | Xolution Robots | Slovakia

Milan is an experienced leader and entrepreneur with international expertise in artificial intelligence, strategic management, and building technology organizations. As Head of Operations and Country Manager at Amelia (IPsoft), he founded and led the Slovak branch starting in 2016. He built a delivery center of more than 100 employees, steered the company through a full reorganization in 2019, and oversaw all local functions from HR and marketing to legal and operational processes. He managed global teams for key clients across EU/USA/APAC, developed technology teams (NW, FW, R&D), represented the company at international conferences, and strengthened Amelia’s goodwill within the Slovak AI ecosystem.

At Xolution Robots, Milan focuses on growing deep-tech startups, designing and implementing AI orchestration, and driving innovation in enterprise automation. His work bridges business and technology – from strategy to operations – with an emphasis on building scalable solutions based on ontological and semantic models, advanced data and process integration, and process automation.

Ing. Radoslav Stefanek

State Secretary of the Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic and Government Plenipotentiary for Artificial Intelligence.

Ing. Radoslav Stefanek is an experienced leader in the field of digital transformation and innovation in public administration.

He specializes in strategic management and crisis management, and has long held key positions in state administration as well as in public enterprises.

At the Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic, he oversees the main agendas of digital transformation in public administration, including information technology, innovation, and cybersecurity. He is responsible for the strategic coordination, policy development, and effective implementation of the ministry’s priorities. Based on the Resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 368 of July 4, he was appointed as the Government Plenipotentiary for Artificial Intelligence.
In the past, he served as the Director General of the Railways of the Slovak Republic (2023) and as a member of the Board of Directors and Director of the Services Division at the Slovak Railway Company (2016–2022). At the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, and Family of the Slovak Republic, he held several managerial positions, including Director of the Office of the General Secretary of the Service Office (2012–2016), Director of the Management Support Department, and Director General of the Social Affairs Inspection (2024–2025).
He earned his engineering degree in Marketing and Management from Tomas Bata University in Zlín. He further expanded his expertise through specialized education in project management at RISEBA University of Applied Sciences in Riga.

Martin Kupci

CISO | Tatra banka | Slovakia

Martin has been working professionally in the field of information security for several years. He has worked in various areas of cybersecurity – from infrastructure and network protection, through security incident monitoring and SIEM solution development, to identity management (IAM/PAM) and application security.

In recent years, he has worked at Tatra banka as a Security Architect, where he focused on cloud security in public cloud platforms. Part of his work also involved introducing modern security principles into the development cycle.

He currently holds the position of CISO at Tatra banka, where he leads the team responsible for information security management.

Mackenzie Jackson

Researcher & Advocate | Aikido Security | Netherlands
Mackenzie is a security researcher and advocate with a passion for application security. As the co-founder and former CTO of the health tech company Conpago, he learned first-hand how critical it is to build secure applications. Today, as a researcher and advocate at Aikido Security, he shares his passion for security with developers to reveal how malicious actors discover and exploit vulnerabilities in code. Mackenzie is also a seasoned speaker, having spoken at conferences in 29 countries, he is the host of The Disclosure Podcast and a frequent contributor to various technical publications like Dark Reading and Security Boulevard.

Dusan Petricko

Cyber Security Domain Lead | SLSP | Slovakia

He has been involved in information security for over 12 years. In his role as an information security specialist at one of the largest Slovak banks, he focuses heavily on practical security and the implementation of security measures during the design and review of solutions. He consults on the design, architecture, and implementation of new technologies. He helps partners understand the mindset of security professionals, explains the rationale and benefits of thinking about security in advance, and can also demonstrate the consequences of neglecting security. In his role, he approaches security comprehensively—from communication with developers and architects, through security training and raising awareness among everyday users, to testing the security features of solutions, handling security incidents, and communicating with solution owners, vendors, and top management.

He also serves as a lecturer for the Cybersecurity Manager II course at the Competence and Certification Centre for Cybersecurity.

Nicol Dankova

Head of Security Operations Center | Researcher | Henkel | Tomas Bata University | Germany

Nicol Daakova is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with extensive experience in cyber defense, incident response, threat intelligence, and digital forensics. Currently serving as the Head of the Security Operations Center (SOC) at Henkel, Nicol leads a global team responsible for 24/7 monitoring and immediate response to cybersecurity incidents across the company’s digital infrastructure. Prior to her role at Henkel, Nicol was the Manager of the Cyber Defense Center at Deutsche Post DHL Group, overseeing the security operations for a global enterprise with over 500,000 employees and hundreds of thousands of endpoints. In addition to her professional roles, Nicol is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Applied Informatics at Tomas Bata University in Zlín. Her research focuses on the IPv6 threat landscape, specifically the comparative exploitation speed and patterns of vulnerabilities in IPv4 versus IPv6 environments. Nicol’s work aims to enhance security monitoring through open-source and cost-effective solutions, providing scalable cybersecurity measures for organizations with limited resources. Nicol holds several industry certifications, including CISSP, GCIH, ITIL 4, GCFE, and GSOM, underscoring her commitment to excellence in cybersecurity.

Igor Urban

Territory Account Manager | Forcepoint | Slovakia
Igor Urban has been in the field of information security sales for over 20 years, during which time he worked as a sales representative and sales director at system integrators, then as the executive director of a value-add distribution company focused on IT security, and since 2012 he has been working at Forcepoint as a regional representative for a selected country in Eastern Europe.

Jean Gobin

Senior Technical Architect | Truesec AB | Sweden

Jean-Francois is a Senior Technical Architect in Truesec’s leading CSIRT. He focuses mainly on network infrastructure and network forensic investigations. He is a seasoned veteran with a strong track record from engagements during which he assisted customers with security reviews, network designs, and robustness assessments to prevent breaches and minimize impacts of attacks.

Andrea Pezzotti

Global Head Cyber Security Operations | Sandoz | Czech Republic
With over 20 years of experience in IT and Security across multiple countries in Europe, Andrea has primarily worked within the banking and pharmaceutical industries. He has successfully led multiple transformations and programs aimed at enhancing both defensive and offensive security capabilities. In 2019, Andrea spoke at the Advanced Threat Summit in Poland, and furthermore in 2022, he recorded a lesson on modern Vulnerability Management Programs for EC-Council University.

Tiarne Hawkins

CEO & Co-Founder | Optica Labs | USA

Tiarne Hawkins is an AI strategist, entrepreneur, public speaker, podcast host and industry leader driving AI innovation, transformation, and safety on a global scale, ensuring AI services for the greater good of society. Tiarne’s journey began in IT recruitment programs in Australia, where she founded and led her first company at just 22, specializing in digital transformation consulting and recruitment. Through a strategic merger with leading firm Salt, she expanded operations into Asia, the UK, and Dubai, scaling the company to $37 million annual revenue before a successful exit. Following this success, Tiarne played a pivotal role in expanding an international firm in the U.S., contributing to its rapid growth from $500 million to $900 million as part of the global executive team. In 2017, She joined Playable AI, positioning its cutting-edge AI-powered video editing and email marketing platform for market dominance, collaborating with entertainment giants like Disney and ESPN. By 2019, Tiarne joined Welocalize, spearheading the launch of its AI training division, driving advancements in machine translation, multilingual language modeling, and AI data pipeline creation—leading AI programs for Google, Amazon, AWS, Meta, Apple, and more. Before founding Optica Labs, Tiarne served as an Industry Strategist at Invisible Technologies, crafting AI training strategies for LLM research, AI program development, and next-gen AI training breakthroughs—customers included OpenAI, Meta, xAI, Nvidia, Cohere, Amazon, and more. An influential voice in AI, Tiarne leads AI workshops for HPE, Nvidia, and AWS, engages CIO groups across the U.S., and speaks at premier industry events, including CES, AI Boston, AI Summit New York, and Voice & AI. She are also the host of the ‘You & AI’ podcast, featuring conversations with top tech leaders such as Mark Cuban, Adam Cheyer, and many more. Currently, Tiarne Hawkins is the Co-Founder of Optica Labs, an innovation lab operating at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and human interaction.

Michal Susko

IT GRC and Security Team Leader | VOLKSWAGEN Financial Services Slovakia | Slovakia

Michal Susko, the GRC and Security Team Lead at VWFS SK, brings a wealth of experience in IT security, compliance, and risk management. His expertise ensures robust security frameworks and compliance with industry standards, enhancing organizational resilience.

Jozef Filko

Cyber security consultant | beluga | Slovakia

Jozef Filko is a cybersecurity expert with 20 years of experience in IT governance, risk management, and AI security in finance. He leads AI-driven security & IT projects, ensures regulatory compliance, and holds CDPSE, CIPP/E, and ITIL 4 certifications.

Tudor Damian

Cybersecurity & Cloud Advisor | D3 Cyber | Romania

Tudor, an IT consultant with 20+ years of industry experience, Tudor is a Certified Ethical Hacker, and a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management MVP. His commitment to staying at the forefront of technology trends enables him to provide valuable guidance and support to organizations seeking to navigate the ever-changing IT landscape. His passion for sharing knowledge and engaging with the community helped him become a regular presence at local and regional community events, providing valuable insights and guidance to IT industry professionals and enthusiasts.

Charles Tango

CISO | SYSCO | USA

Charles is the Chief Information Security Officer at Sysco, a Fortune 50 global leader in selling, marketing, and distributing food and non-food products to customers around the world. Charles is a Venture Partner at Bloccelerate, one of the largest blockchain focused VC funds, and holds advisory board positions with several companies including OptimEyes, an AI risk management platform and Lytical Ventures, a cybersecurity / AI VC. . Charles is both a seed investor in early-stage startups and board /advisory director having led growth through profitability. Charles also does public speaking several times a year, including a past Keynote panel at RSA. Prior to his role at Sysco, Charles held the Chief Information Security Officer position at Altria as well as senior level Information Security positions with financial institutions in the NY metro area, including Chief Information Security & Risk Officer for Sterling National Bank and Senior Vice President, IT & Operational Risk at Citigroup. During his time in NY he was also a charter founding member of the NY ISC2 Chapter.

Lukas Hatala

Regional CTO | DXC Technology | Slovakia

Lukas currently serving as CTO responsible for Eastern Europe in DXC.technology. Because of his curiosity and strong believe in positive technology impact on human kind he is helping BlockChain Slovakia as Director of International Affairs. He also founded his own project called Neuromorphics Europe, where he serves as CEO. Lukas has experience from HP Labs, the European Commission in Brussels, and large international Go-to-Market (GtM) projects, where in previous years he promoted technologies such as IoT, Edge Computing, Blockchain, and AI.

Pavel Minarik

VP, Product Security | Progress Software | Czech Republic

As a VP of Product Security, Pavel is responsible for the secure software development life cycle across all Progress products defining and implementing product security standards and ensuring that security is inherent to our mindset and product development practice. Pavel is the former Chief Technology Officer of Flowmon Networks responsible for product vision and strategy for Network Performance Monitoring & Diagnostics and Network Detection & Response product portfolio.