Theodora Petrou is a business strategy and innovation professional with a strong background in marketing, operations, and AI-driven solutions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a master’s in Business Strategy and Innovation Management.
With extensive experience in brand building, campaign development, and consumer behaviour, she integrates artificial intelligence into marketing to enhance data analysis, personalization, and performance. Her progression into a Head of Operations role further strengthened her strategic approach to business growth and scalability.
Today, Theodora runs her own company, supporting businesses in developing clear, sustainable strategies that combine innovation, marketing, and AI, with a strong focus on customer retention and measurable results. She is particularly interested in how innovation, branding, and AI can drive growth in fast-changing markets, and remains actively involved in the entrepreneurial community through collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Ruby Kaur is a product leader at Capital One focused on developer experience and building tools that help engineers release software more safely and efficiently. She leads the user experience for release workflows within the CI/CD ecosystem, improving how teams ship code at scale. Ruby’s career spans finance and technology, with roles at Amazon Web Services, Newmark, Moody’s Analytics, and Best Egg, where she built data platforms and cloud-based products. She brings a practical approach to turning complex systems into simple, effective tools that improve how teams work and deliver value.
Maria Athanasiou is a lawyer, strategic advisor, and founder of Athanasiou & Associates LLC, as well as Founder of MASO Strategic, an international consultancy specializing in high-level advisory and policy engagement. With a strong foundation in maritime law, corporate governance, and international commercial frameworks, she brings a multidisciplinary approach to complex global challenges.
Michael Barris is a communication expert, author, and former financial journalist with Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, where he covered major global companies including JPMorgan Chase, Apple, Google, and Pfizer. He now advises leaders and organizations on high-impact communication in fast-changing, tech-driven environments.
He is the co-author of The Social Media President: Barack Obama and the Politics of Digital Engagement (Palgrave Macmillan) and has taught writing and public speaking at Rutgers University. His approach to communication was shaped early in his career as a jazz and blues musician, where success depended on reading an audience in real time, adapting in the moment, and earning attention rather than assuming it. That audience-first mindset now underpins his work with business leaders.
He brings a practical perspective shaped by years of reporting on business and markets, as well as direct experience with leadership communication in professional environments. His focus is helping senior professionals cut through information overload and communicate with greater clarity, impact, and human connection in the age of AI.
CEO, NextCore Analytics
How modern LLMs are overcoming linguistic bias, translation errors, and dialect diversity in global applications.
Cloud AI Architect, SkyStack
Hands-on session building a full AI workflow using serverless tech, vector databases, and model deployment strategies.
Head of Language Models, LumoAI
How modern LLMs are overcoming linguistic bias, translation errors, and dialect diversity in global applications.
