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CEE Digital Services Matchmaking Summit - Agenda:
13 January 2021

"Connecting CEE's top Tech companies to global markets".

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Q2 theme: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

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CEE Solutions Showcases (10)

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1st annual Awards: "Top 5 Solutions from CEE"

8:00am - “Doors” open.
(Time zone: CET Central European Time).

Main Stage/Plenary

08:15 - 08:30 Welcoming Guests:

Thom Barnhardt, Organiser and founder, CEE Digital Services Association.

1-on-1 pre-arranged Meetings and Break-out Sessions

09:15 - 10:30 1-on-1 Meetings:

  • Japan: 1-on-1 meetings with 3-4 Japanese corporates.
  • Australia: 1-on-1 meetings with 3-4 Australian corporates.

08:30 - 09:15 Australia:

An insight into what Australian digital/tech buyers expect from CEE-based digital partners. An overview of Australia's digital market and opportunities: Mark Keough, Intrinsic Learning (Melbourne)

Panelists (2):

  • Kirk Drage, CEO, LeapSheep (Adelaide)
  • Marty Holden, CIO, FTS Group (Canberra)

10:00 - 10:30 "Live" booth:

AIBEST Bulgaria, featuring Cargotec Business Services, Bulgaria. Insights into Cargotec's operations in Sofia, Heini Kami, Director HR Services (click on the "Booth" tab on Hopin's left-column navigation to enter the AIBEST Bulgaria booth)

09:15 - 10:00 Japan:

Digital and tech opportunities between Japan and CEE.

Presentation: Marc Einstein ITR (Tokyo)

Panelists (2): Hideki Ninomiya, Orient.

12:00 - 13:15 1-on-1 Meetings

  • UK: 1-on-1 meetings with 4-6 corporates.

10:25 - 10:45 "Dissecting the Deal":

An inside look at a recent nearshoring deal got decided. How nearshoring or re-shoring is driving big demand for CEE digital services.

Moderator: Thom Barnhardt

Panelist: Trevor Coyne, Ops Talent

13:15 - 14:30 1-on-1 Meetings:

  • Nordics: 1-on-1 meetings with 3-4 corporates.
  • Germany: 1-on-1 meetings with 3-4 corporates.
  • Austria: 1-on-1 meetings with 3-4 corporates.

10:45 - 11:00 Networking Session #1:

meet 5 new people in 15 minutes (click on the "Networking" tab on Hopin's left-column navigation)

11:15 - 12:00 United Kingdom:

How CEE-based digital companies deliver strategic value to UK enterprises, SMEs, and ScaleUps.

Moderator: Michael Dembinski, British Polish Chamber of Commerce

Panelists (3): Angus Kidd, Advisory to Genpact, and Caspian. Russell Dalgleish, Chairman, Scottish Business Network.

12:00 - 12:40 Nordics/Benelux:

An insight into the corporate digital demands in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland - and Benelux.

Panelists:

  • Henri Jääskeläinen, Founder, Polar Night Software (Lodz)
  • Ole Horsfeldt Partner, Gorrissen Federspiel. Representing one of the top Danish law firms, Ole’s focus is entirely on sourcing technology/digital services at scale.

12:45 - 13:25 Germany:

How German enterprises and SMEs increasingly view CEE digital firms as strategic partners. And what CEE firms can move up the value-chain.

  • Dr. Lars Gutheil, German Polish Chamber of Commerce (AHK)
  • Thomas Duschek, Managing Director, SAP Poland
  • Presentation: "The urgent drive to digitalize European consumer goods enterprises", Oliver Trier, Itility, and former Director Global Digital Innovation, Friesland Campina.
  • Artur Tomys, CEO, Equiqo

13:30 - 14:10 Fintech: Austria and Vienna

  • The Fintech ecosystem in Vienna, Aleksandar Vrglevski, Vienna Business Agency.
  • The Fintech ecosystem in Poland, Michal Sas, FinTech Poland Foundation
  • How Billon is expanding in western Europe, Jacek Figula, CCO, Billon Group
  • Karolina Kaptur, AHP International
  • Ewelina Tomczyk-Malec, City of Warsaw
  • Piotr Paradowski, City of Warsaw

14:15 - 14:30 Innovative Applications developed in Central Eastern Europe.

15-minute showcase: Technology developed in CEE targeting US and western Europe.

  • Case Study: ActiveGraf - interactive scenario analysis and presentation software that puts the power of the smartest data scientist in the hands of everyone. Developed in Hungary, based in US, backed by PE. Laszlo Balassy (North Carolina)

Afternoon sessions: US Audience begins to join

14:30 - 14:45 Lunch Break, 1-on-1 Networking, and visiting Virtual Information Booths

Main Stage

14:45 - 15:30 US Panel I:

  • "Meet the Accelerators". How US Startups scale-up with tech talent from CEE. Armen Kherlopian, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, Genpact and Director, BAJ Accelerator (New York)
  • How US enterprises are applying AI to support client-facing functions. Ashish Bisaria, Global Head of CX, FirstSource (Atlanta)

15:30 - 16:15 US Panel II:

10 Top tips on winning clients in the United States (and 3 ways to lose them).

Presentation: Richard Rodgers, Global Digital Marketing Director, Agilent Technologies (Philadelphia)

Panelists (1): Ryan McCumber, Founder & CEO, SportsTech.ai

16:20 - 16:45 US Panel III:

How US Cities are supporting their local companies to connect with digital partners from Central Eastern Europe - and providing a platform for broader expansion in the United States.

Presentation: Alexis Gordon, City of Charlotte (North Carolina)

16:45 - 17:15 US Panel IV:

"Meet the Accelerators". How US Startups scale-up with tech talent from CEE - and how CEE-based tech companies can tap into capital for US expansion.

Presentation: Garth Holsinger, GP, Prota Ventures and Co-founder, StartUp Rocket (New York)

17:15– 17:45 Closing, Networking Session, and visiting Information Booths

Time Zone: All times are CET Central European Time Zone.