Programme

In discussions about the fourth industrial revolution, a concept which is often mentioned is ‘the Internet of Things’. The Internet of Things refers to an ecosystem of objects which are interlinked by means of being connected to the Internet and which are able to collect and share information from the external environment. In the contemporary world, the Internet of Things has already become prevalent in a wide range of technological applications such as the ‘smart home’, ‘smart parking’ systems, and Apple Watch, among others, and offers consumers benefits such as simplifying workflows, ensuring a safe environment, and saving energy. However, the prevalence of data exchange inherent in such systems is raising concerns about security. What steps should be taken to determine and regulate the amount of personal information companies may collect and how they can use it? Will universal rules be developed and applied, or will regulation remain predominantly the purview of individual nations? Are there technical solutions that can ensure that the Internet of Things remains secure and could advances in blockchain provide a solution? What responsibilities do intermediaries between manufacturers and users bear in the event that the manufacturer breaches the user’s personal data rights?

Moderator:
Mike Butcher , Editor-at-Large, TechCrunch Europe

Mike Butcher

Editor-at-Large, TechCrunch Europe

Mike Butcher is currently Editor of TechCrunch Europe. In addition he is involved in a project to bring European technology entrepreneurs and investors together in a club environment called TechHub (@TechHub), in London initially. A long time journalist, Mike has written for UK national newspapers and magazines including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The New Statesman. He is a former editor of New Media Age magazine, the leading new media weekly in the UK, and the European edition of The Industry Standard magazine. Since 1996 he has launched or re-launched numerous media web sites and in 2000 he was nominated as NetMedia’s European Internet Journalist of the Year. In 2004 he was voted ‘One of the 100 Innovators of the UK Internet Decade’ by GfK NOP, the fourth-largest custom research business in the world. In July 2008 he was put at No. 47 out of the Top 100 people in London’s creative industry by The Independent newspaper and The Hospital Club. In August 2008 TechCrunch Europe was awarded the best “Web 2.0 and business blog” in the UK, by the readers of Computer Weekly magazine. In 2009 it was named as one of the Top 10 blogs out of the UK. Also in 2009 he was named one of the Top 10 bloggers on Twitter in the UK. In October 2009 he was named one of the Top 50 most influential Britons in technology by The Daily Telegraph. In April 2010 he was named as one of Britain’s Top 100 “digital power-brokers” by Wired UK magazine. Mike is a regular commentator on the technology business, appearing on BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4 and Bloomberg. Mike’s personal blog is mbites, while he Twitters as @mikebutcher.

Panellists:
Sven Wagenknecht , Editor-in-Chief, BTC-ECHO Bitcoin & Blockchain News
Mark Gazit , Chief Executive Officer, ThetaRay
Irmgard Glasmacher , Managing Director – Accenture Strategy, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Turkey
Dmitry Kostygin , Сhairman of the Board of Directors, Ulmart
Andrey Kuzyaev , President, Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Board of Directors, ER-Telecom Holding
Vladimir Cernavskis , Partner, Head of Telecom, Media and Technology Practice in Russia, McKinsey & Company

Sven Wagenknecht

Editor-in-Chief, BTC-ECHO Bitcoin & Blockchain News

Sven Wagenknecht is studying for a bachelor’s degree in politics and economics at the University of Münster. He is a skilled professional in banking and has worked on projects involving digital transformations, financial markets, and general economic policy for many years. In addition, he conducts research on overlapping sets with respect to blockchain technology and devotes special attention to the effect that blockchain technology will have on the banking sector and political institutions in the future.

Mark Gazit

Chief Executive Officer, ThetaRay

Mark Gazit has over two decades of experience in the high tech industry, with a track record of maximizing revenue, net earnings, and shareholder value for startup, turnaround, and rapid growth global organizations in emerging markets and economies. Before joining ThetaRay as CEO, Mr. Gazit served as a Managing Director of Nice Cyber & Intelligence Solutions, an autonomous division of Nice Systems Ltd. That provides software and hardware solutions to government agencies worldwide in the areas of Information Intelligence, Cyber and Safe Cities. He transformed this division into a fast growing, profitable revenue generator. Between 2002 and 2010, Mr. Gazit served as Group President & CEO of SkyVision, a global telecommunications company that he took from the start‐up stage to a $100M company serving over 50 countries worldwide and operation centers on three continents. He has also held pivotal roles in leading companies such as Deltathree, NetVision, NetMedia and Widecom. Mr. Gazit Gazit took Computer Science and Mathematics courses at Hebrew University and studied Senior Business Administration at Tel Aviv University. He also attended an Executive Management seminars at Harvard Business School. Gazit serves on boards of directors in commercial enterprises and non-profit organization, lectures in leading universities and considered to be an expert in his field. Mark’s background is particularly strong in in technology, growth management and global markets, a field in which he built and led multiple companies, helping them expand globally.

Irmgard Glasmacher

Managing Director – Accenture Strategy, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Turkey

Managing director for Middle East, Africa, Russia and Turkey within Accenture Strategy. Her role focuses on helping business leaders develop and deploy growth strategies and large-scale transformation programs that enable new business models and high performance in the digital economy, using the advantages of internet of things, artificial intelligence and other digital solutions. She is specialized on Design and Implementation of Digital Ecosystems to improve the innovation Infrastructure in a Country or Corporate Entity. Ms. Glasmacher has more than 23 years of experience in Strategic Transformation including Digital Strategies, Customer Centricity, Efficiency Programs, Sales & Marketing strategies and defining core Innovation Services to be embedded in the Operating Model. Ms.Glasmacher has been working more than 10 years in setting up the Accenture Innovation labs in Europe, Sophia Antipolis and North America, NY and is sponsoring the Accenture FinTech Circle based in London. More than 10 years of collaboration with major German Research Institutes on Digital Technologies including Internet of Things and the impact and use cases for Industry 4.0. Previously, Ms. Glasmacher led the Accenture Management Consulting Practice for the Russian Federation after working 21 years in the Austrian, Swiss and German market.

Dmitry Kostygin

Сhairman of the Board of Directors, Ulmart

• He graduated from The Military medical Academy and St. Petersburg State University of finance and economics. • Dmitry started his career as an entrepreneur, founded several projects in the sector of trade, advertising services and financial consulting. • He is actively engaged in the sector of private investment since 1997. • Dmitry is the co-owners of a number of developmental projects and existing trading companies, in particular, the Rive Gauche chain of perfume and cosmetics stores, Obuv.com footwear chain, Wild Orchid Group and chain stores OPTOKLUB Ryady.

Andrey Kuzyaev

President, Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Board of Directors, ER-Telecom Holding

Andrey Kuzyaev, born on October 6, 1965, in Perm, Russia. In 1987, he graduated from the Perm State University with a degree in Economics. In 1991, founded and took the lead of one of the first exchanges in Russia, Perm Commodity Exchange, later reorganized to become Perm Financial and Industrial Group (PFIG) of which he is Chairman of the Board and owner. One of the main assets of PFIG since 2005 is ER Telecom Holding. The Group also holds assets in oilfield services, financial sector, and real estate. PFIG consists of 50 companies that employ over 20 000 people. Since its establishment in 1995 and until 2003, Andrey Kuzyaev was General Director of LUKOIL-Perm, a subsidiary of LUKOIL Oil Company. In 2000, he was appointed President of LUKOIL Overseas, operator of LUKOIL's international upstream projects, and in 2005, Vice President of LUKOIL Oil Company. In December 2014, he was elected Chairman of the Board of ER-Telecom Holding, and in July 2015, he was appointed as President of the company. Andrey Kuzyaev is also Chairman of the Board of the Far East and Baikal Region Development Fund and Chairman of the Supervisory Council of the Perm State University.

Vladimir Cernavskis

Partner, Head of Telecom, Media and Technology Practice in Russia, McKinsey & Company

Vladimir leads McKinsey work in restructuring and transformation in the ЕЕМА region (Eastern Europe, the CIS, Middle East, Turkey and Africa).He is one of McKinsey’s leading experts on the telecom business in Russia and the CIS countries. His focus is on strategy development, sales promotion for companies in the telecom and insurance sectors, as well as the public sector and agriculture. Leads McKinsey program to cultivate and recruit students of Russia’s leading universities.