Executive Chairman Webit Foundation
Dr. Plamen Russev is the initiator and focal connector of one of the world’s largest impact networks and curator of the global Webit community, reaching out to over 800,000 digerati, policy makers, innovators and media. His success stories include creating the global Webit brand from scratch, supporting founders and brands in establishing and growing a successful marketing strategy, creating meaningful relations with potential partners, customers and media. Plamen supports causes which impact the achievement of the UN’ SDGs.
He is an investor, philanthropist and serial entrepreneur and proven success record in developing business ventures in multicultural and challenging business environments.
Plamen Russev is B.Sc in Marketing and Management, M.Sc in Electronic Education/Mathematics and Physics, and Ph.D in Healthcare Management.
Plamen Russev has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Digital Affairs of his home country – Republic of Bulgaria and a member of European Commission’ BOF.
Dr. Russev’ work and impact have been recognised and awarded by governments, associations and NGOs along with 2 honorary doctorates from Universities in Europe and South America. Plamen Russev is featured in hundreds of international and local media including The Economist, Bloomberg, CNBCe, Forbes, Venture Beat, CNN to name a few.
Dr. Russev is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Webit Foundation and host of Webit Virtual.
He is happily married to the most wonderful girl in the world and father of 2 boys.
Partner, Chief Technology Officer Lakestar Advisors
Stephen is an experienced technologist and engineer with a passion for setting strategy, introducing technology innovation and building highperforming teams for ambitious global businesses.
Stephen advises the investment team on new opportunities, performs technology due diligence, as well as sources investments in the Deep Tech space, where he has also led transactions in AI/ML, B2B SaaS, and Data Analytics companies. He advises portfolio companies on product and technology-related matters as well as setting Lakestar’s internal technology strategy.
Prior to Lakestar, Stephen worked at Goldman Sachs for 20 years in various global offices. There, he was a managing director, led complex global engineering and change groups and ed as Chief Technology Officer in a number of global services.
He is an external speaker on technology and investment trends at universities and conferences such as NOAH, UK Parliament & Internet, Global Tech Advocates, FIMA and AISummit. He also mentors techfocused disruptive start-ups. He graduated with a BSc in Computer Science from Southampton University
Chief Executive Officer Match-Maker Ventures
Nicolai is the founder and CEO of Match-Maker Ventures, co-founder of OptInk (exited) and board member at a several tech startups. At Match-Maker Ventures, Nicolai is bridging the gap between growth-stage companies and large corporates with the objective to setup value creating collaborations between the two. Prior to that, Nicolai was part of the Global TIME leadership team at Arthur D. Little, where Nicolai advised multi-billion-dollar companies and financial investors. Nicolai regularly acts as keynote speaker, publishes insights on the topic of innovation, startups and collaboration and acts as a mentor for several accelerators. Nicolai is a German citizen, lives in Austria, worked in 20+ countries and studied in Austria and the US.
Partner P101 Ventures
Giuseppe is Partner at P101 Ventures, based in Milan. He has 20 years experience in Venture Capital and Private Equity with a specific focus on technology and software. Prior to joining P101 Ventures he has gained experience in Italy, Europe and Middle East working with companies such as 3i Group plc and HSBC Bank. Giuseppe holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Pisa and attended the Advanced Executive Program at the Kellogg Business School in Chicago (USA). He began his career in the Telecom Italia’s Strategy Division. He holds several Non Executive Director roles in P101 portfolio companies.
Managing Director Startup Wise Guys CyberNorth
Farid calls himself a customer centric Intrapreneur. As Digital Transformation product manager he has more than 13 years experience of building solutions, centered round UX, technology, research and data insights. He’s main expertise is how to convert ideas and research into product, and is the founder of Take 3 Innovate, a niche creative innovation consultancy.
Experienced in Lean product development, Blue Ocean Strategy, design thinking, market development, and has practical experience with wireless, IoT, VR and Edge computing technologies and processes for deployment.
At Startup Wise Guys he not only makes sure startups’ tech is ready for scaling, but also helps refining the product and adapting it to customer needs. Currently he is also the Managing Director of CyberNorth – Europe’s first Defense AI and Cyber security accelerator created by Startup Wise Guys and Estonian defense industry. During his time scouting and running CyberNorth and mentoring other tech based startups, he has gathered insights into the changing world of Cyber Security from a business point of view, and hopes to make Cyber Security more mainstream based on these insights.
L7 Defense is a cybersecurity company that specializes in web application security and DDoS protection solutions. Their system is a virtual platform for mitigating sophisticated DDoS attacks automatically and efficiently in real-time. It was recognized among the most promising DDoS mitigation platforms by the CIO Review magazine. The company was also recognized as a Key innovator company by Markets and Markets and received the TIE50 top startup award. Most recently it was announced by Frost & Sullivan as “2018 Global Anti-DDoS for Critical National Infrastructure New Product Innovation Award”.
L7 Defense was founded in 2015 and is located in Be’er Sheva, Israel.
XignSys is the startup that solves your password problems. They are revolutionising authentications and signatures with passwordless identities. XignIn is a product package for futureproof authentication that provides a secure digital infrastructure for digital identities used by enterprises and governmental organizations. These identities use the App as an interface to authenticate at websites, in apps, at machines, doors and anything else.
XignSys was founded in 2016 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Keyless is a deeptech, cybersecurity company building the world's first privacy-preserving biometric authentication and personal identity management platform. Their solution provides passwordless multi-factor authentication that eliminates fraud, phishing and credential reuse – all while enhancing customer and employee experiences and protecting their privacy. With Keyless, businesses are able to adopt zero-trust security, eliminate passwords, ensure privacy compliance and deliver unified authentication experiences across every touchpoint with just a look.
Keyless was founded in 2019 in London, UK.
Executive Chairman Webit Foundation
Dr. Plamen Russev is the initiator and focal connector of one of the world’s largest impact networks and curator of the global Webit community, reaching out to over 800,000 digerati, policy makers, innovators and media. His success stories include creating the global Webit brand from scratch, supporting founders and brands in establishing and growing a successful marketing strategy, creating meaningful relations with potential partners, customers and media. Plamen supports causes which impact the achievement of the UN’ SDGs.
He is an investor, philanthropist and serial entrepreneur and proven success record in developing business ventures in multicultural and challenging business environments.
Plamen Russev is B.Sc in Marketing and Management, M.Sc in Electronic Education/Mathematics and Physics, and Ph.D in Healthcare Management.
Plamen Russev has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Digital Affairs of his home country – Republic of Bulgaria and a member of European Commission’ BOF.
Dr. Russev’ work and impact have been recognised and awarded by governments, associations and NGOs along with 2 honorary doctorates from Universities in Europe and South America. Plamen Russev is featured in hundreds of international and local media including The Economist, Bloomberg, CNBCe, Forbes, Venture Beat, CNN to name a few.
Dr. Russev is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Webit Foundation and host of Webit Virtual.
He is happily married to the most wonderful girl in the world and father of 2 boys.
Chief Cybersecurity Officer & Chief Diversity Officer Siemens
Natalia Oropeza is Chief Cybersecurity Officer & Chief Diversity Officer at Siemens and responsible for all global Cybersecurity activities.
In her previous leadership roles, Natalia shaped the entire Volkswagen Group as Chief Information Security Officer and lastly as Head of the largest IT Transformation Program.
Natalia has more than 27 years of experience in the area of Information Technology with international experiences in Mexico, USA and Germany.
She holds several academic qualifications including an Electronic Engineering Degree, a MBA in Finance, and the Upper Management Certification from the European School of Management & several IT certifications.
As a founding member of “Women4Cyber”, an initiative of the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO), she is supporting women in the cyber field globally.
Chief of Security Architecture Inrupt
Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, called a 'security guru' by the Economist. He is the New York Times best-selling author of 14 books -- including Click Here to Kill Everybody -- as well as hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers. His influential newsletter Crypto-Gram and blog Schneier on Security are read by over 250,000 people. Schneier is a fellow at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University; a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, AccessNow, and the Tor Project; and an advisory board member of EPIC and VerifiedVoting.org.
He is the Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc.
Senior Vice President / GM, Security Products VMware
Tom Corn is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Security Products at VMware Carbon Black. He previously served as the Chief Strategy Officer of RSA Security, overseeing corporate strategy, M&A, alliances, advanced development, and the CTO Office. Corn held other roles at RSA including GM of the data security business.
Prior to RSA, he was vice president of marketing at Mazu Networks, a pioneer in the DDoS and network behavior detection market. Corn also served as vice president of marketing at NextNine, a developer of remote support software for IoT.
He holds a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Waterloo and a MBA from Harvard University.
Columnist USA Today
Rob Pegoraro is columnist at USA Today and contributing writer at Yahoo Tech/ Finance. He writes about computers, gadgets, telecom, social media, apps, and other things that beep or blink. He answers consumer questions at USA Today, offers telecom guidance at Wirecutter, contributes to other outlets including Fast Company and Ars Technica, and holds forth about tech topics on radio, TV, podcasts and the occasional conference. He has met most of the founders of the Internet and once received an email reply from Steve Jobs.
Special Panelists
Host
Q&A Moderator
Executive Chairman Webit Foundation
Dr. Plamen Russev is the initiator and focal connector of one of the world’s largest impact networks and curator of the global Webit community, reaching out to over 800,000 digerati, policy makers, innovators and media. His success stories include creating the global Webit brand from scratch, supporting founders and brands in establishing and growing a successful marketing strategy, creating meaningful relations with potential partners, customers and media. Plamen supports causes which impact the achievement of the UN’ SDGs.
He is an investor, philanthropist and serial entrepreneur and proven success record in developing business ventures in multicultural and challenging business environments.
Plamen Russev is B.Sc in Marketing and Management, M.Sc in Electronic Education/Mathematics and Physics, and Ph.D in Healthcare Management.
Plamen Russev has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Digital Affairs of his home country – Republic of Bulgaria and a member of European Commission’ BOF.
Dr. Russev’ work and impact have been recognised and awarded by governments, associations and NGOs along with 2 honorary doctorates from Universities in Europe and South America. Plamen Russev is featured in hundreds of international and local media including The Economist, Bloomberg, CNBCe, Forbes, Venture Beat, CNN to name a few.
Dr. Russev is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Webit Foundation and host of Webit Virtual.
He is happily married to the most wonderful girl in the world and father of 2 boys.
Assistant Editor Forbes
Monica Melton serves as assistant editor for Forbes Innovation, covering cybersecurity and venture capital. She has covered politics at POLITICO, entertainment for Time Out New York, but my most fascinating beat has been covering the intersection of technology, finance, and entrepreneurship. She is also an alumna of CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and the University of Washington.
Reporter Euronews
Salim Essaid is a reporter at Euronews, working in media for the past decade, covering news and feature stories for outlets including TIME Magazine, CNN, NHK World, Agence France Presse (AFP) and the Associated Press (AP).
In 2018, he began working for Euronews/NBC as the lead reporter for its weekly program from the region, Inspire Middle East.
Based in Abu Dhabi, he explores the latest happenings in the MENA region’s technology, business, and cultural scene to highlight the people breaking the mold, for an international audience. He has helped produce more than 80 episodes.
His career saw him cover happenings from across the globe including women’s citizenship rights in Jordan, and protests over the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2017.
He has investigated New York’s secret surveilance policies over Arab and Muslim Americans, covered world events such as the trial of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, and the terror attacks of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, working as an editor at the live news desk.
Salim holds a Bachelor of Science in Arabic and Japanese from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master’s degree in broadcasting from the Columbia School of Journalism in New York.
Columnist USA Today
Rob Pegoraro is columnist at USA Today and contributing writer at Yahoo Tech/ Finance. He writes about computers, gadgets, telecom, social media, apps, and other things that beep or blink. He answers consumer questions at USA Today, offers telecom guidance at Wirecutter, contributes to other outlets including Fast Company and Ars Technica, and holds forth about tech topics on radio, TV, podcasts and the occasional conference. He has met most of the founders of the Internet and once received an email reply from Steve Jobs.
Business and Internet Editor Wired Italia
Luca Zorloni is a Business and Internet Editor at Wired Italia, covering China, telcos, privacy and Italian economy topics.
He was the former Business Editor at Il Giorno, an Italian daily newspaper, and a contributor for Forbes Italia and Business Insider Italia.
Special Panelists
Host
