Archives: Speakers

João Gonçalo Nascimento is a Performance Analyst at Pfizer, specialising in clinical trial feasibility and generative AI integration. He holds a master’s in Biomedical Engineering and has six years’ experience in healthcare, with four in Pharma. Previously, João managed international projects at BIQ Health Solutions and supported site intelligence at Pfizer before moving into his current strategic role, where he develops business-level requirements for process optimisation initiatives using genAI.

Jakob Teschke, Head of Business Model Innovation, Siemens Financial Services GmbH

Jakob Teschke serves as Head of Business Model Innovation at Siemens Financial Services (SFS), where he leads the development of innovative, data-driven, and sustainable business models in collaboration with Siemens’ industrial businesses, customers, and partners. He is also responsible for the platform strategy and offerings at SFS, driving AI-powered digital transformation initiatives across core processes and shaping the company’s AI strategy.

Prior to joining Siemens, Jakob held different consulting roles at Accenture from 2017 to 2020, specializing in digital transformation within corporate banking. From 2009 to 2016, he worked at Commerzbank AG, primarily in corporate banking and later in the bank’s in-house consulting division.

Mike Brooks is a seasoned cybersecurity sales leader with over a decade of experience helping enterprise organisations modernise and secure their digital environments. As Senior Enterprise Account Executive at Abnormal AI, he partners with leading UK enterprises to transform their email security and reduce risk through AI-driven behavioural defence.

Before joining Abnormal, Mike held senior roles at Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and F5 Networks, where he built and led strategic relationships with large financial services, cloud, and managed service providers. His expertise spans enterprise sales strategy, business transformation, and cybersecurity architecture, with a consistent focus on aligning technology to customer outcomes.

John Flatley is a Solutions Engineer at Abnormal AI with deep, hands-on expertise in email security built over more than 15 years in the industry. Having joined Abnormal, he now advises enterprise customers across EMEA on advanced, AI-driven approaches to securing the inbox.

Before Abnormal, John spent six years at Barracuda in senior pre-sales roles, including heading up their email strategy across EMEA as a Consulting Solutions Architect, where he worked directly with security teams across the region to solve complex email threats. His earlier career at CMS Distribution saw him supporting and architecting the internal systems as an IT Manager, giving him an end-to-end understanding of the email threat landscape and the tools that truly work to stop it.

Josh’s 16 year tenure with BlueFort and has honed his expertise as a technology leader, delivering best of breed value driven solutions in both public and private sector. As CTO, Josh orchestrates the strategic direction of BlueFort’s technological endeavours, leveraging his extensive experience in the ever changing and challenging cyber security landscape. By staying ahead of the curve in the latest security trends and methodologies, Josh ensures that Bluefort delivers the cyber safeguarding clients need, while maintaining trust in protecting against adversaries. His diverse skill set encompasses not only technical proficiency (incl. design, architecture, and implementation) but also a deep understanding of how cyber security plays a major role in business objectives, enabling him to align technology initiatives with organisational goals.

Rod is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in hospitality operations and strategic management, having held senior roles with leading international hotel operators like Accor across regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. His leadership and strategic insight make him well-suited to drive BWH’s growth and regional expansion. Prior to joining BWH, Rod was Vice President of Operations for Stamford Hotels & Resorts in Australasia and spent eight years as AGM/COO for a Hospitality Group in Asia, overseeing a portfolio of internationally branded hotels.

With more than 25 years of hospitality experience Caspar brings a valuable,composed, and universal leadership style into the businesses he leads. AQ, and EQ are some of his strongest assets.

Caspar is change-savvy, a driven team motivator, a mentor, and a strategic leader. He understands the “why” and ethos of business and his entrepreneurial drive ensures he makes positive and financial differences in the businesses he leads. Caspar thrives in challenging environments, he continues his constant ongoing studies and network to stay agile, diverse and on the forefront of hospitality. Strategising, supporting, and leading in the process of accelerating growth is vital. He challenges the process, to analyse the markets we are in to find ways to increase revenues each year for the businesses. Revenue & Yield management is fundamental to leading any business and its part of his DNA.

Talent and team development is key, and Caspar have created and assembled several high calibre c-suite senior leadership teams in the industry with great success. His focus is on creating, aligning, and organising these elements of the organisation ensuring growth, awareness and transparency and ROI to investors. Caspar is a hotel branding expert, he is a pre-opening specialist, who has several years’ experience in operating and leading all aspects of multi-million-dollar hotel portfolios around the world.

Caspar have launched and managed 5-star hotels, boutique hotels, apartment hotels, co-working facilities, co-living concepts as well as sustainable 5-star eco retreats.

Having led hotel companies as COO and CEO in international markets and driven the expansion and development side of well-known Australian, Asian, and European groups with a focus on exceptional 5-star service, his expertise is extensive, and he is reviewed as a Global forward-thinking hospitality specialist. In 2019 he founded and setup Boutique Lifestyle Hotel Management Company QCC Collection Group Pty Ltd, working with several investors on projects around in Asia.

QCC is currently working with several high-profile investors on their projects, hosting Operator Selections, finding brands, but also delivering feasibility work as well ongoing owner representative work. A large part of this is strategy and helping owners and operators in markets they are not familiar with when it comes to management and operations in general.

Besides his work with QCC, Caspar setup the Motif Retreats Brand Platform and in late 2023 and have spent the last years securing land deals around Australia with investors.

The brand focusses on ultra-local sustainable materials, with modular construction as a pivotal part to the roll out into regional areas of our beautiful country.

Caspar, sits on various hospitality advisory boards and spends a lot of time on mentoring and continuously pushing the boundaries for education in the hospitality and tourism industry.

He loves the hospitality industry and he loves challenging the status quo!