Dr. Amina Boubendir is Head of Research and Standardisation at Airbus Defence and Space. She leads the research and technology activities on secure satellite communications, integrated 5G/6G NTN connectivity, software-defined networks, AI-based systems, and earth observation. Sitting at engineering leadership boards, Amina oversees cross-national military satellite solutions and Airbus contribution to major European and international SDOs like 3GPP, TMForum, ETSI ISGs, and IEEE.
Amina chairs and sits at key scientific committees. She represents Airbus at the European Smart Networks and Services 6G Industry Association and is a member of the Advisory Board of the European 6G Flagship Hexa-X I and II. Amina is a senior telecoms expert with a strong experience leading research and standardisation projects.
Amina holds a PhD in networks and computer science from Télécom Paris with multiple awards and a publication record of 40+ publications.
Dr. Andreas Mueller is a renowned expert at the forefront of connectivity research and 5G/6G innovation. As the leader of Bosch’s strategic 6G activities across diverse business units and sites, he spearheads holistic transformative endeavours aligned with business imperatives. With his profound expertise in communication technologies for the IoT, Andreas also serves as the Chief Expert in this field. Moreover, he has held the position of General Chair of 5G-ACIA, the globally leading organization driving and shaping Industrial 5G, since its establishment in 2018.
Andreas’ pivotal contributions also include coordinating and advancing Bosch’s Industrial 5G undertakings over the last couple of years, focusing on key areas such as private networks, Open RAN, AI/ML, and edge computing. Equipped with a robust background in telecommunications and vertical industry applications, Andreas is uniquely positioned to drive the transformative 5G/6G-enabled revolution across various sectors.
As the Chief Global Business Manager for Wireless Research at NI/Emerson, Ben Coffin leads the strategic direction and product roadmap for cutting-edge wireless communications technologies. With a robust background in the test and measurement industry and deep expertise in academic and industry collaboration, Ben excels in shaping product strategies and go-to-market approaches that drive innovation and business growth.
Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in Wireless Engineering from Auburn University and brings extensive experience in product management, systems engineering, and business development.
Cedric Thienot is an IT professional with 20+ years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He is Skilled in Streaming Media, Mobile Communications, DVB, Interactive TV, and VOD. Cedric has filed 25 telecom patents in his career and is an active contributor of 4G and 5G specifications at 3GPP. Cedric holds a PhD in AI from Pierre and Marie Curie University.
Colin is currently the chairman of the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA) governing board (formally known as 5G Infrastructure Association). He is also the chairman of the European Smart Networks and Services Joint undertaking (SNS-JU) governing board.
He has detailed knowledge and experience of the telecommunications industry having worked directly or indirectly with many of the major players over a 30-year period. The roles have included software developer, technical consultant, technical marketing, standardisation and management.
In addition to line manager roles, he has participated extensively in standardisation activities at ETSI, ITU-T and 3GPP, including instrumental work in creating and developing the TTCN-3 testing language. Colin has also been very active in the European research ecosystem, including leading a number of award winning European projects such as TT-Medal, D-MINT and SEMAFOUR. Colin is currently head of Research Alliances at Nokia.
David is currently the ETSI Director of New Technologies (NET), which involves tracking the latest ICT technology and business trends and all relevant research initiatives in order to identify appropriate technology standards needs and future opportunities for ETSI.
In addition, he works on outreach initiatives towards the research and academic communities, both in Europe and globally, as well as engaging with key European research programs such as Horizon Europe.
David has more than 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, which includes over 20 years’ working in ICT standardization supporting both 3GPP and ETSI Technical and strategic groups.
David Gesbert is Professor and Director of EURECOM, Sophia Antipolis, France. He previously headed the Communications Systems Department of EURECOM.
Within his area of research, he welcomes collaboration with brilliant students and passionate researchers in the fields of communication theory, signal processing for (wireless) networks, information theory, optimization and connected robotics. He has previously been named in the Thomson-Reuters List of Highly Cited Researchers in Computer Science.
He is a Fellow of IEEE. He is a Board member for the OpenAirInterface (OAI) Software Alliance. He also held an Advanced ERC grant on the topic of Smart Device Communications. Since 2020, he holds a 3IA Chair funded on the topic of AI for future IoT Networks.
Dean Bubley (@disruptivedean) is the founder of Disruptive Analysis, an independent technology industry analyst and consulting firm based in London. He also jointly runs the Disruptive 6G initiative and is a convener of the 6G Reset forum. An outspoken analyst & futurist with over 25 years’ experience, he specialises in mobile / telecoms fields, with an eye on the broader technological, governmental and societal contexts. He is one of the leading market observers and forecasters covering 5G, 6G, Wi-Fi, spectrum & broadband policy, edge/cloud compute, enterprise private networks, IoT, new telecom business models, and voice/video communications.
He is known as a contrarian and visionary, often with challenging opinions that go against industry consensus. Speaking at over 30 conferences and other events per year, and quoted by publications such as The Economist, FT & Wall Street Journal, he is an authority and provocateur. He regularly appears in technology industry videos, podcasts and blogs.
His clients include many of the world’s leading telecom operators, vendors, regulators and industry associations, conducting advisory projects & internal workshop exercises. He provides clients with advice and analytical opinion on topics such as emerging trend “myth-busting”, business model validation, technology innovation and go-to-market strategies, “addressable market sizing”, planning and due diligence.
Mr Bubley was formerly an equity analyst, covering communications stocks, with the UK arm of investment bank Robert W. Baird. Prior to that, he spent eight years at UK research firm Datamonitor, where he co-founded the company’s Technology business, managed the Internet & Networking area and custom consulting operations, with roles of Chief Analyst & Director of Consulting. He holds a BA in Physics from Keble College, Oxford University.
Dr. Emilio Calvanese Strinati obtained his Engineering Master degree in 2001 from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ and his Ph.D in Engineering Science in 2005. He then started working at Motorola Labs in Paris in 2002. Then in 2006 he joint CEA/LETI as a research engineer. From 2007, he becomes a PhD supervisor. From 2010 to 2012, Dr. Calvanese Strinati has been the co-chair of the wireless working group in GreenTouch Initiative which deals with design of future energy efficient communication networks. From 2011 to 2016 he was the Smart Devices & Telecommunications European collaborative strategic programs Director. Between December 2016 and January 2020 is was the Smart Devices & Telecommunications Scientific and Innovation Director.
Since February 2020 he is the Nanotechnologies and Wireless for 6G (New-6G) Program Director focusing on future 6G technologies. In December 2013 he has been elected as one of the five representative of academia and research center in the Net!Works 5G PPP ETP. From 2017 to 2018 he was one of the three moderators of the 5G future network expert group. Between 2016 and 2018 he was the coordinator of the H2020 joint Europe and South Korea 5GCHAMPION project that showcased at the 2018 winter Olympic Games, 5G technologies in realistic operational environments. Since July 2018 he is the coordinator of the H2020 joint Europe and South Korea 5G-AllStar project. Since 2018 he holds the French Research Director Habilitation (HDR). In 2021 he started the coordination of the H2020 European project RISE-6G, focusing on the design and operation of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces in future high frequency 6G networks. Since February 2021 he is also the director of the New-6G (Nano Electronic & Wireless for 6G) initiative , dedicated to the required convergence between microelectronic & telecom, hardware & software, network & equipment for upcoming 6G technologies.
E. Calvanese Strinati has published around 140 papers in international conferences, journals and books chapters, given more than 200 international invited talks, keynotes and tutorials. He is the main inventor or co-inventor of more than 65 patents. He has organized more than 100 international conferences, workshops, panels and special sessions on green communications, heterogeneous networks and cloud computing hosted in international conferences as IEEE GLOBCOM, IEEE PIMRC, IEEE WCNC, IEEE ICC, IEEE VTC, EuCnC, IFIP, EUCnC and European Wireless.
Gerhard received his BS in Physics from the US Naval Academy in 1992 and his Ph D. in Physics from the University of Virginia in 2003. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Gerhard served on active duty in the US Navy for 5 years. After graduate school, he worked as a Senior Process Engineer at Intel PTD in 2003 and 2004. For the past 16 years, he has served in many roles at Virginia Diodes, Inc. the world’s leading mmWave and THz test and measurement and components company. He is currently the Chief Operations Officer.
Irfan holds an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a PhD in Electrical Engineering. He has founded several businesses in Wireless Communications and in Collaborative Economy and held Management roles in the corporate environments for fifteen years especially in funding advanced research. He specializes in the art of the Start and has expertise in launching and accelerating embryonic projects. He believes in something that he calls the Technology of Management and is passionate about Innovation. His role in the Open Source community is the evangelization and development of OpenAirInterface.
Izzo is the CEO and co-founder of Bloxtel, a technology startup that uses blockchain to build decentralized 5G networks. With over 20 years of experience in the mobile industry, he holds over 40 granted patents and built software products deployed in over 100 million devices. He worked as a software engineer at Philips (now NXP) in Sophia-Antipolis and SIM card product manager at AT&T in Atlanta. His previous startup, Simless, was a pioneer in eSIM technology before its acquisition in 2018.
Jan Ellsberger is a globally recognised leader in the ICT industry with more than 30 years of experience with research and innovation, industry ecosystem development, standardisation, policy development & regulation, and strategy development in the telecommunications and automotive industries. From 2000-2012 he was leading Ericsson’s global standardisation operations. He has also served in leading positions in several industry associations such as 3GPP, 5GAA, ERTICO and the Horizon Europe CCAM Association.
Javier Albares Bueno is Head of Program at the Smart Network and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS-JU) of the European Commission. Previously, he worked as Head of Telco Solutions at Here Technologies, a location technology firm with focus on positioning and automation. He also collaborated in 5GAA, as Vice-chair of working group 5 (future business models). Between 2013 and 2021 he worked for GSMA, the world’s largest telecoms association, as Director of Innovation (Brussels office) and Director of Strategy (London office). During this time, he worked to identify future sources of value and opportunities for industry collaboration in the transition to 5G. Previosly, he worked for 13 years at Telefonica-O2, as Director of strategy, mobile services and alliances, both in Europe and Latin America. He started his career as Telecom analyst for HSBC Investment Bank in London. Javier holds an Advanced Management Program from INSEAD France, an MBA from IESE Business School and a double bachelor’s degree in business science and economics from ICADE-Comillas Pontificia University. He has also completed programs on Innovation Management at IMD and on Artificial Intelligence at MIT Sloan.
Jean Schwoerer holds a PhD in electronics and communication systems from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Rennes (France) since 2006. Subsequently, his research work focused on the connectivity of the Internet of Things and cellular networks. He was also strongly involved in standardization for the Orange group, for which he was delegated to ETSI, IEEE802, and 3GPP RAN1&2, where he contributed to the standardization of 5G and IoT connectivity.
Jean is now mainly involved in the preparation of 6G within Orange Research as co-editor of the NGMN 6G requirements white paper and as a member of the 6G-IA board.
José Luis Almodóvar Chico is an R&D Consultant at TNO since joining TNO in 2013. He has been working primarily on network aspects of mobile communications. He is an active contributor in the Flagship Europe project Hexa-X-II, where he leads the task on Use Cases and Requirements. In addition, José is the current chairman of 3GPP SA WG1 since May 2019.
José holds a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands and a Bachelor’s Degree in Telematics Engineering from the Carlos III University, Spain.
Kailash Narayanan is the senior vice president of Keysight Technologies and president of Keysight’s Communications Solutions Group. He leads the multibillion-dollar global business that addresses the end-to-end communications industry, including wireless and wireline segments, and aerospace and defense. His team significantly contributes to accelerating technology adoptions of 5G, 400/800G, electromagnetic spectrum operations, and space and satellite modernization.
Previously, Kailash served as president of Keysight’s Commercial Communications business, leading the company’s wireless and wireline test programs, and driving substantial expansion in the 5G program. Kailash championed Keysight’s outside-in approach and commitment to customer-centricity, emphasizing external partnerships and enabling customer innovation.
Kailash’s tenure with Keysight and its predecessors, Agilent, and Hewlett-Packard, spans more than 20 years. He has held different leadership positions and has been part of multiple business areas, including wireline backhaul, base stations, signal sources, wireless handsets, and fiber optics.
Kurdman Rasol is a researcher at the i2CAT Foundation in Barcelona, Spain. He holds a PhD in Computer Architecture from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), an MSc in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) in Cyprus, and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Zakho (UoZ) in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. He has actively participated in H2020 and SNS projects, including 5GaaS, 5GMED, 6GSMART, and XGAIN.
Linda Senigagliesi (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in information engineering from the Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy, in 2019. During her Ph.D., she was a Visiting Student with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. She is currently a Research Fellow with the École Nationale Supérieure de l’Électronique et de ses Applications (ENSEA) at the ETIS Lab, France. Her main research interests include information-theory and physical layer security, with application to distributed storage systems and wireless communications. Her activity is focused on machine learning techniques for physical layer authentication and privacy. Dr. Senigagliesi is a member of the IEEE INGR Physical Layer Security Focus Group and Cost Action CA22168—Physical Layer Security for Trustworthy and Resilient 6G Systems (6G-PHYSEC). She has served on the Technical Program Committee of several international conferences.
Marja Matinmikko-Blue is Research Director at the Infotech Oulu and Director of Sustainability and Regulation at the 6G Flagship at the University of Oulu, Finland, where she also holds the position of adjunct professor in spectrum management. She completed her Doctor of Science degree in communications engineering in 2012, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial engineering and management in 2018 at the University of Oulu. She has been conducting multi-disciplinary research into the technical, business, and regulatory aspects of future mobile communication systems in close collaboration with industry, academia, and regulators for over two decades. She has published more than 210 scientific publications and prepared more than 200 contributions for regulatory bodies at national, European, and international levels.
Mauro R. Boldi is a project manager in TIM/Telecom Italia, in charge of European projects. Recently Mauro plays the role of Impact Creation manager in the projects Hexa-X/Hexa-X-II (from 2020 to nowadays) and in the newly launched project Sustain-6G. All these projects target the specification and standardization of 6G, being “flagship” and “lighthouse” for this goal. Mauro is also author of many patents, articles, papers and books on the radio systems.
Navid Nikaein is CEO of BubbleRAN
Oliver Korfmacher is a member of the management team at Copernicus Autonomous Control Systems, recently acquired by Ford. Prior to his work with Copernicus, Oliver held several roles with Enea Ab, among other things running their portfolio of telco solutions for authentication, policy and subscriber management.
Paolo Comi works as Innovation Manager fostering the culture of innovation through research, and business exploitation. Graduated in Information Science (University of Studies of Milan) with three decades of experience in the ICT industry. My approach is centered around finding win-win solutions improving collaboration, honesty, and respect. I believe that having a clear vision of the goal is the only way to reach your destination; otherwise, you merely contribute to increasing entropy: “know how” is the tool but “know what” gives you the direction.
Rudolph Moncrieff is the Editor of Open & Disaggregated Infrastructure News, or ODIN for short. He started ODIN to give a voice to the growing ecosystem of service providers, equipment manufacturers, software developers, researchers and innovators, all embracing a new approach to building mobile networks. ODIN’s main focus is on Open RAN, including in Private Networks, but it covers as many interesting and relevant updates as possible in Open Transport, Open Core, and OpenWiFi.
Rudolph has been a content creator for the mobile industry since 2007. At the GSMA he was responsible for bringing some of the biggest names in the industry to the Mobile World Congress Keynote stage including, Mark Zuckerberg, Eric Schmidt, Sundar Pitchai, Steve Ballmer, Ginni Rometty, and Reed Hastings. At TIP Rudolph helped to create and launch Fyuz, the only event to cover all aspects of open and disaggregated telecom networks.
Rudolph has lived in Paris, London, Aberdeen, and Helsinki. He’s now based in Amsterdam living with his partner and their two children.
Rui L. Aguiar (born 1967) is currently a Full Professor at the University of Aveiro, responsible by the area of Networks and Systems. He has been previously an adjunct professor at the INI, Carnegie Mellon University, a Visiting Research Scholar at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil, and and an advisor for the Portuguese Secretaria de Estado das Comunicações. He has been an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for topics associated with 5G and novel communication systems. He is currently co-coordinating a research line in Instituto de Telecomunicações, on the area of Networks and Services.
He is also the current Steering Board Chair of Networld Europe . He has more than 500 papers published in journals and conferences in networks and systems. He is usually invited to keynote presentations in multiple themes. He was involved in multiple projects of R&D and in the evaluation of networks and computation programmes in multiple countries.
Alex Lawrence is Managing Director at TelcoForge, where he’s building a community to make telecoms better.
With over 20 years’ experience as a journalist and crafting event agendas from obscure topics to MWC keynotes he’s familiar with most sides of the telecoms world – enough to ask useful questions, but not enough to get bored of the answers.