Speakers
Anders Adlercreutz
Minister of Education and Culture of Finland
Anders Adlercreutz’s political career began when he was elected to the Kirkkonummi Municipal Council in 2012, and he served as Chair of the council in 2017–2023. He was first elected to Parliament in 2015. Adlercreutz served as Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering in Petteri Orpo's Government from 20 June 2023 to 5 July 2024.
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Katie Albright
Senior Advisor, Safe & Sound / Aspen Institute Trustee
Katie Albright is an attorney and children’s advocate with more than thirty years of legal and non-profit executive experience. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently appointed Albright to serve as Chair of the First 5 California Commission of Children and Families, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed appointed her to the San Francisco Homeless Oversight Commission.
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Mikuláš Bek
Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic
Mikuláš Bek is the Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic. From 2011 to 2019 he served for two terms as the Rector of Masaryk University and was also the Vice-President of the Czech Rectors Conference for education. He represented the Czech Republic in the council of the European University Association.
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Zuzana Bílková
Founder and Owner, Besky
Zuzana Bílková is the owner of the traditional Beskydy-based Besky manufactory, which specializes in the production of wool blankets and bedding. For nearly 30 years, the manufactory has been crafting and improving blankets, sourcing wool from local breeders and farmers, allowing them to maintain control over their raw materials and the entire production process.
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Matyáš Boháček
Student and Researcher, Stanford University
Matyáš Boháček is a student researcher at Stanford University, advised by Professor Hany Farid. His research focuses on problems at the intersection of AI and digital forensics. His recent work investigates the effects of AI models re-ingesting their creations and methods for determining if a specific data point, such as an image, was used to train an AI model.
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Alexander Braun
Managing Director, President of Research, SKDK
Alexander Braun, dubbed a “campaign magician” by Forbes, is an award-winning strategist who crafts communications campaigns based in research and analytics. He founded and leads the research and international political practices at SKDK and is an adjunct professor of campaign management at George Washington University.
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Ben Crampton
Director for European Government Affairs, Microsoft
Ben Crampton was appointed Director for European Government Affairs in Microsoft in November 2021, following a 20-year career as a diplomat, including periods working for the UK Foreign Office, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations. For the majority of his diplomatic career Ben worked for the European Union in the Western Balkans, the Caucasus and East Africa.
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Pavla Břečková
Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Directors in AMSP CZ (Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises)
Pavla Břečková majored in Economics at Brno University of Technology (CZ), and conducted her doctoral studies at universities in Great Britain and Denmark. Already during her studies, she started her own business and she has worked in the field of precision engineering and nanotechnology for a long time. Thanks to her work in supervisory boards, she also monitors other industrial fields. Professionally she specializes in foreign trade and strategy in a group of export-oriented companies (the parent company AUDACIO).
Matt Field
British Ambassador to the Czech Republic
Matt Field had previously served in a number of overseas political and policy roles, since joining the Diplomatic Service in 2003. He was Political Counsellor and Head of Political and Security Group in the British Embassy in Brasilia, overseeing staff and projects from 5 different government departments.
Misha Glenny
Rector at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), Award-winning Journalist
Misha Glenny is a sought-after keynote speaker on cyber security and organised crime. A former Digital Security Journalist of the Year, Misha is an author and journalist with a rich background in cyber security, geopolitics, criminology and broadcasting.
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Benjamin Haddad
Minister Delegate for Europe
Benjamin Haddad graduated from Sciences Po Paris and HEC and researcher in international relations, he taught international relations at Sciences Po. He worked for seven years in think tanks in Washington, notably as Director of the Atlantic Council's Europe Center from 2019 to 2022. He wrote Paradis Perdu: l'Amérique de Trump et la fin des illusions européennes (Grasset, 2019), a plea for European sovereignty and strategic autonomy in the face of new geopolitical threats and American withdrawal. Prix l'Express-BFM 2019 for best essay 2019.
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Ivan Hodáč
Founder, Founder, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Aspen Institute CE
Ivan Hodáč is a Founder, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and former President of the Aspen Institute CE. He was Secretary-General of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) from 2001 to 2013. He was also a member of a special Advisory Group of experts, which was advising the European Commission in negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the United States (TTIP), and an advisor to the Czech Government on European Issues.
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Daria Hvížďalová
Director of AI Skills & Learning, 42London
Daria Hvížďalová is the Director of AI Skills & Learning at 42London and Head of AI at EduLab in the Czech Republic. She explores the use of AI in education to enhance lifelong learning and upskilling, and has had the opportunity to lecture on these topics at MIT and Oxford University. She authored the ''AI in Business'' MBA program at Newton University.
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Jerry Javornický
Co-founder, Spaceknow
Jerry Javornický is a CEO and serial entrepreneur who has founded four successful startups, collectively serving millions of users worldwide. One of his ventures, SpaceKnow Inc., specializes in AI-powered satellite imagery products that track various activities on planet Earth for a diverse range of enterprise clients.
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Marian Jurečka
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic
Marian Jurečka was born in Přerov, where he graduated from the Secondary School of Agriculture. He continued in this field during his university studies at Mendel University in Brno, where he graduated with a degree in Plant Pathology (specialising in plant protection).
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Robert Králíček
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic
I currently work as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, elected on behalf of the ANO 2011 Movement. Since February 2024, I have been the Vice-Chairman of the ANO Movement. In the Chamber of Deputies I am a member of the Committee on Security and the Committee on Public Administration and Regional Development. I also serve in the Chamber of Deputies as Chairman of the Permanent Commission on Military Intelligence.
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Daniel Krištof
Executive Director, Labour Office of the Czech Republic
Daniel Krištof has been the Director General of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, the largest supporting organization in the Czech Republic, since September 2O23. Since his arrival, he has focused on continuing the digitalization and improving the quality of targeted counselling for citizens as part of the transformation of the office.
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Jakub Landovský
Executive Director, Aspen Institute Central Europe
Jakub Landovský is a Czech lawyer, political scientist, and university lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University in Prague. He served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO from 2019 to 2024. Between 2015 and 2019, he held the position of Deputy Minister of Defense, responsible for the management of the Defense Policy and Strategy Section, where he played a crucial role in the development of defense and security principles and strategies for the Czech Republic.
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Jan Lipavský
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Jan Lipavský (independent) has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechia since December 17, 2021. Before entering politics, he worked in the private sector in banking and information technology. From 2017 to 2021, he represented the Pirate Party as a member of the Czech Parliament, where he focused on foreign policy and security issues. During his parliamentary term, he was Vice-Chair of both the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Defence Committee.
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Jan Lukačevič
Space Engineer, Science Communicator
Jan Lukačevič works at the Prague Innovation Institute, where he is responsible for space activities innovations and development. Since 2017, he has held various positions at the Czech Academy of Sciences and founded the Marsonaut laboratory, a project for growing plants in Mars-like conditions. He served as a NATO2030 Young Leader - Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's external advisory board member, where he led a working group focused on innovation and disruptive technologies.
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Jana Matesová
Economist, former Czech Representative to the World Bank
Jana Matesová graduated from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and spent 16 years of her professional career working for the World Bank. There, she held positions ranging from consultant to the Senior Advisor to the Executive Director. She was also a member of the advisory group for the President, where she advised on international financial architecture and negotiations for the G7, G8, and G20 groups.
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Clare Muñana
President, Ancora Associates / Aspen Institute Trustee
Clare Muñana is President of Ancora Associates, Inc., her own management consulting firm, and the Blue Foundation, a family foundation. She has performed numerous domestic and international engagements for not-for-profit, and public and private sector clients in the U.S., Europe, Africa and Latin America. She has a strong interest and commitment to the intersection of education, technology and youth.
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Richard Antonín Novák
Founder Prague Data Ethics Lab & CEO Omnicrane
Richard A. Novák is an expert in ethical AI, digitalization and IT management. He graduated from the Czech Technical University in Prague and received his Ph.D. in Big Data Ethics from the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics at the University of Economics in Prague. He founded the Prague Data Ethics Lab and teaches courses related to Ethical AI and IT Governance at VŠE.
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Air Chief Marshal The Lord Stuart Peach
Former Chair of the NATO Military Committee and former UK Chief of Defence Staff
Lord Peach was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Western Balkans in December 2021. Previously Lord Peach was the 32nd Chairman of the Military Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); the most senior and longest standing military structure in the Alliance.
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Petra Pecková
Governor of the Central Bohemian Region
Petra Pecková is a Czech politician who was re-elected governor of the Central Bohemian Region this fall. She spent sixteen years as an investigative journalist, then decided to switch from describing problems to solving them and entered politics. She first became deputy mayor and eventually mayor, and in 2020, she became governor for the first time.
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Robert Plaga
Chairman, National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education
Robert Plaga is the current Chairman of the Council of the National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education. From December 2017 to December 2021, he served as the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, and before that as Deputy Minister of Education for Higher Education, Science and Research from 2015 to 2017. He is a graduate of the doctoral program in Economic Policy and Administration at Mendel University in Brno.
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Vít Rakušan
First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior of the Czech Republic
Vít Rakušan began his political career in 2010, when he was elected a councillor and then Mayor of Kolín. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in the significant transformation of the city, aimed at improving the transparency of public administration and reducing debt. Despite initial financial difficulties, he was able to implement key investments, making the city more welcoming to its residents.
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Pavel Řehák
President, Aspen Institute CE / Founder, Direct family
Pavel Řehák studied International Relations at the University of Economics in Prague and received his MBA at Northwestern University. He previously worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company for seven years, then worked as an advisor to Česká pojišťovna, where he eventually joined and worked for seven years, of which three years as CEO. In 2013, he left Česká pojišťovna and founded the investment company VIGO Investments with former colleagues from McKinsey.
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Jacques Rupnik
Director of Research at CERI, Professor, Sciences Po
Jacques Rupnik, born in Prague, was educated at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and at Harvard. He is currently research professor at CERI-SciencesPo in Paris as well as visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. Since he joined CERI-Sciences Po in 1982, he has been writing and lecturing about the politics of East-Central and the Balkans and their process of European integration.
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Jozef Síkela
Minister Delegate for Europe
Jozef Síkela is a Czech politician and manager with an extensive career in banking, who is now preparing to become the European Commissioner for International Partnerships. During his banking career, he has held senior positions in Ukraine and Slovakia and was a member of the Board of Directors of Erste Group. From December 2021 to October 2024, he served as Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic in the Cabinet of Petra Fiala, where he made a significant contribution to solving the energy crisis during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2022.
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Vivian Schiller
Executive Director, Aspen Digital
Vivian Schiller joined Aspen Institute in January 2020 as Executive Director of Aspen Digital, which empowers policymakers, civic organizations, companies, and the public to be responsible stewards of technology and media in the service of an informed, just, and equitable world.
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František Štrupl
Country Director, Google Czech Republic
František Štrupl joined Google over 12 years ago and has since played a key role in the digital transformation of major retail companies across Central and Eastern Europe. He has also been actively involved in helping key regional e-commerce players expand successfully into global markets.
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Jiří Švejcar
Partner a Associate Director, Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Jiří Švejcar is Partner and Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group. In the Czech Republic, he leads the Financial Institutions practice and specializes in their digital transformations. He focuses on strategic growth and acquisitions, corporate transformations, and improving customer processes. Jiří has led dozens of business and technology projects for major financial institutions around the world, in Central Europe, and the Middle East.
Lukáš Vlček
Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic
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Šárka Vondrová
Principal of the Elementary and Nursery School, Prague - Nebušice
I have devoted my entire career to education. My professional journey began in the private sector, but in 2005, I transitioned myself to a small primary school where I took on the role of an English and German language teacher. Over time, I was offered the position of Deputy Principal.
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Jan Zeman
Analyst, PAQ Research
Jan Zeman graduated in Education from the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. He works as an education analyst at the research organization PAQ Research. His primary focus is on educational inequalities and mapping best practices in education. As part of his work, he travels to various regions, engaging in discussions with people about data, experiences, and emotions related to addressing educational underachievement.
Additional distinguished speakers will be announced soon. You can also look forward to a special guest, whose name will be revealed on the day of the conference.
Registration is closed. You can watch the conference live online.
