Creating the Future ofEuropean Manufacturing

Robert Göbel is Co-founder and Managing Director of SPREAD AI. He gathered extensive experience in technology and consulting, serving as a Senior Management Consultant and Manager at MHP – A Porsche Company where he focused on Industry 4.0 and digitization strategies. He also held a key role as Technical Solution Manager for IBM's Watson IoT platform. His professional focus has been on bridging the gap between complex engineering data and practical business applications, which led to the development of SPREAD's Engineering Intelligence platform that helps leaders in the manufacturing industry engineer the products of tomorrow.

Philipp Noll is Co-Founder and Managing Director of SPREAD AI. A mechanical engineer by training, Philipp served as Production Integration Engineer at Mercedes-Benz and Strategy Consultant at MHP – A Porsche Company, where he specialized in machine connectivity and production integration. SPREAD and his team help leading manufacturers leverage the power of data and AI to master product complexity, accelerate development, and achieve excellence in software-defined products. His profound practical engineering expertise makes him a trusted partner and advisor for executives across industries re-shaping the future of engineering.

Julian Senoner is CEO and Co-Founder of EthonAI, a fast-growing Industrial AI company backed by top investors like General Catalyst and Index Ventures, EthonAI counts Siemens, Bosch, and Roche among its customers. Senoner holds a PhD from ETH Zurich, where he worked with several Fortune 500 companies to bring cutting-edge AI to the manufacturing sector. His award-winning research has been published in leading field journals such as Management Science and Production and Operations Management. His thought leadership extends to publications with organizations such as the World Economic Forum Agenda and the United Nations. In 2022, Forbes recognized Julian in its 30 under 30 list.

Tarik Benabdallah is Co-Founder and CEO of Pelico, an AI-powered platform that is transforming supply chain orchestration for global manufacturers. Pelico is trusted by industry leaders such as Airbus, Safran, Eaton and Daikin and backed by investors like General Catalyst, 83North and Serena. Tarik is a serial entrepreneur. With a background in AI & enterprise software, he helped multiple manufacturers to conduct award-winning large scale digital transformations. He is passionate about empowering operational teams to conduct step-change transformations leveraging data & AI.

Vassilis serves as Digital Policy and AI Adviser to the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic. In this role, he has led the development of major strategic partnerships between the Greek Government and leading technology companies, including OpenAI for Greece, Mistral AI, and ElevenLabs, as well as Greece’s strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates on artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.

He has also played a leading role in shaping Greece’s policy agenda for the protection of minors online, including initiatives on age assurance, digital age of consent, platform accountability, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence and social media by children and young people.

Vassilis represents Greece on the Council of Europe's Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Education, where he serves as Vice-Chair. He has been recognized as a Clinton Foundation Fellow, an Onassis Foundation Scholar, a GLOBSEC Young Leader, and an ADEL Emerging Young Leader, and was named to Forbes Greece's 30 Under 30 list.

Harald joined Reckitt as Chief Supply Officer in July 2024 and is responsible for Reckitt’s end-to-end supply chain operations, Procurement, H&S and Sustainability. He is a seasoned supply executive who has led multiple large scale supply chain transformation efforts. Harald brings many years of supply chain leadership across all regions of the globe and has held senior leadership roles at Beiersdorf AG, Unilever and Mars.

Peter Weckesser is the Chief Digital Officer of Schneider Electric and a member of the Executive Committee since June 2020, when he joined the company.

In his role at Schneider Electric, Peter leads the global Schneider Digital organization responsible for the digital transformation strategy of the company in multiple dimensions: (1) transforming Schneider Electric’s digital technology landscape to support business objectives and enable transformative growth, (2) leading the evolution of the EcoStruxure IoT platform to empower end-to-end industry, building, and sustainability solutions and software, and (3) driving AI at scale through business-value-focused applications across the solution and service portfolio, as well as internal processes.

Peter Weckesser is also the current President of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading trade association representing digitally transforming industries in Europe.

Prior to working at Schneider, Peter served as the Digital Transformation Officer of Airbus’ Defence & Space division since 2017. Before joining Airbus, Peter had extensive experience as a Senior Executive at Siemens, most recently as the Chief Operating Officer of Siemens’ Product Lifecycle Management, leading the IoT and Digital Enterprise business and activities. He also held other executive-level positions with Siemens such as the CEO of Industry Services and CEO of Value Services.

He holds a degree in physics as well as a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. He currently resides in Germany.

Yves Bonnefont brings executive leadership experience at the intersection of automotive engineering, brand strategy, and large-scale software transformation. As Chief Software Officer at Stellantis, he led the group’s global software strategy across 14 brands, driving the transition toward software-defined vehicles, over-the-air platforms, and the insourcing of critical software capabilities. His mandate covered vehicle software architecture, digital platforms, and the integration of software into product development and lifecycle strategy.

Prior to this role, Bonnefont was the founding CEO of DS Automobiles, where he built the premium brand as a standalone entity within Groupe PSA. He defined its product strategy, electrification roadmap, and connected vehicle positioning, and led its global rollout. Earlier, as PSA’s Corporate Strategy Executive Vice President, he played a key role in the company’s turnaround and in shaping its brand and technology architecture during a period of significant industry disruption.

Verena Kuhn leads the World Economic Forum’s Innovator Communities, which includes the Technology Pioneers, Global Innovators, and Unicorns. Together with her team, she identifies and engages some of the world’s most promising mission-driven startups, connecting them to the Forum’s initiatives and global platform.

She has been with the World Economic Forum since 2017. Prior to joining the Forum, she held roles in brand management and finance at Procter & Gamble.

Bill Karnazes is Member of the Viohalco’s Executive Committee. COO & General Manager of Corporate Services for Viohalco companies. He is responsible for the Group’s operational areas of International Business Operations, Marketing, Communications, European Affairs, Sustainability (ESG), Energy Management, Metals & Central Procurement, Supply Chain & Logistics, Operational Excellence, Information and Security Technology, and Corporate Human Resources. He is also President of TEKA Systems, a Viohalco subsidiary, recognized as one of the leading Business Solutions providers of IT services and is one of the largest SAP consulting companies across Southeast Europe.

He previously served as Vice President of Global Business Operations for Qualcomm Incorporated. He was responsible for Global Business Operations activities within Qualcomm’s semiconductor business unit. He has held several executive-level positions at Qualcomm over the last 24 years.

Robin is a partner at General Catalyst and leads the European resilience thesis with a focus on seed investing. He's drawn to companies that are tackling problems in the physical world including manufacturing. Robin previously founded a field service software company for utilities that was acquired by Kraken Technologies. He began his career at P9 Capital, investing in software across the stack.