Speakers
ALEXANDRA BECH GJØRV
President and CEO, SINTEFAlexandra Bech Gjørv is CEO of SINTEF, one of Europe’s largest research institutes. Gjørv has a long executive career in Norsk Hydro and Equinor behind her, including renewable energy and low carbon solutions, automotive parts, as well as staffs and corporate governance. Gjørv has experience as chair and board member of a number of Norwegian and foreign companies. She is a lawyer and was a partner in the law firm Hjort before joining SINTEF. She chaired the independent July 22. commission.
ANITA KROHN
CEO DSD AS GroupAnita Krohn is the Group CEO of the Norwegian industrial investment company DSD AS (Det Stavangerske Dampskibsselskap) and Vice Chair and board member of the European Innovation Council (EIC) since 2019. Anita became the first female CEO of Hewlett-Packard Norway in 2012 and is the former CEO of Innovation Norway (2014-2019), one of the Norwegian Government’s financial instruments for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry, Krohn has also led the Norwegian government’s committee for Innovation and Growth in the Green sector towards 2035. Krohn is a bestselling author of two #1 books on leadership in Norway and in 2018 she was ranked as one of the top 50 global business thinkers by Thinkers50 Radar, and amongst the top 50 most inspiring women in European Tech in 2015 and 2016. In 2012, she received the Oda award for best female leader in the IT industry in Norway.
BERND LIEPERT
President, EU RoboticsDr. Liepert earned his diploma in mathematics in 1990 from the University of Augsburg and his honorary doctor degree from University of Magdeburg in 2011. From February 1990 until June 2019 Dr. Liepert has worked in changing positions for KUKA. From 1990 to 1996 he worked as mathematician and developer at KUKA Schweissanlagen + Roboter GmbH before he took charge as head of development of the newly founded company KUKA Roboter GmbH until 1997. From 1998-1999 he was a member of KUKA Roboter GmbH Board of Management, responsible for development and design. From 2000-2009 Dr. Liepert was the CEO of KUKA Roboter GmbH. From 2010 to January 2015 he was the CTO of KUKA AG, responsible for technology and development of the whole KUKA Group and from February 2015 until June 2019 Chief Innovation Officer of KUKA AG, being responsible for expanding innovations at KUKA where he was able to apply his vast robotics experience at the interface between technology and the market. From 2008-2012 Dr. Liepert was President of EUROP, the European Robotics Technology Platform, and subsequently President of euRobotics AISBL – the European Robotics Association. euRobotics was founded in September 2012 and has become the private side of SPARC, the European Public-Private Partnership in Robotics in 2013. As president of these associations Dr. Liepert has been leading the European robotics community and representing it at high political levels.
BRANDO BENIFEI
Member of the European ParliamentBrando Benifei is an Italian Member of the European Parliament serving his third term. During the previous mandate, he was co-rapporteur for the Artificial Intelligence Act, a role for which he received the Best MEP of the Mandate Award from The Parliament Magazine in March 2024. In 2024, he was re-elected with around 65,000 preference votes. He currently serves as Coordinator of the Committee on International Trade (INTA) for the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, and as Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the United States (D-US). He is also Co-Chair of the AI Working Group, where he focuses in particular on issues related to artificial intelligence regulation and broader digital policy.In addition, he is a member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and a substitute member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), where he continues to closely follow digital and technological policy developments.
CAMILLA STOLTENBERG
CEO, NORCE ResearchCamilla Stoltenberg is the CEO of NORCE Research, an independent research institute that conducts research to facilitate informed and sustainable choices for the future. Camilla is a medical doctor and holds a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Oslo. From 2001, she was a part of the top management at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), first as Executive Director of the division of epidemiology, then as a Deputy Director General, and from 2012-2023 as Director General. As Director General of NIPH, she was responsible for national strategic projects related to infrastructure for science and analysis. In the period 2020-2023, she was NIPHs spokesperson in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also studied sociology at University of Oslo and social anthropology/medical anthropology at the University of California Berkeley and San Francisco (UCSF). She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in 1998-2001 and visiting scholar at Harvard School of Public Health and Columbia University in New York from 2000-2001. Camilla Stoltenberg has been a professor at the University of Bergen, Department of Global Public Health and Primary care, since 2012, and she remains active within research. She has led several research projects with funds from the EU, The Norwegian Research Council and National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US. She is socially engaged and broadly involved in research and research strategy and has held numerous national and international positions and assignments.
CÉCILE HUET
AI Office | European CommissionCécile Huet is Head of the Unit “Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics”, part of the AI Office at the European Commission. This unit supports beneficial robotics and AI development within Europe, with a portfolio of projects up to 800M€. Under Horizon Europe, the unit launched the Public-Private Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics. This unit is also at the heart of the AI Innovation Package in January 2024, a 4Bn€ investment, including close to 700M€ GenAI4EU initiative, aiming at developing GenAI solutions “made in Europe” for strategic industrial sectors, public sector and science. Cécile joined the unit since its creation in 2004. Previously, she worked for the industry in signal processing after a post-doc at the University of California Santa Barbara and a PhD at University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France. In 2015, she has been selected as one of the “25 women in robotics you need to know about”
ELENI KELASIDI
Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Industrials Engineering (MTP) at NTNU and Head of the Field Robotics Lab at MTPEleni Kelasidi is Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Industrials Engineering (MTP) at NTNU and Head of the Field Robotics Lab at MTP. She received the Diploma (M.Sc.) degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Patras, Greece, in 2009, and the Ph.D. degree in engineering cybernetics from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway, in 2015. In 2016, she was honored three-year VISTA Fellowship investigating resident robot manipulators for subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) operations as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the CoE Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems, NTNU. In 2020, she was granted the Young Researcher Talent Funding from the Research Council of Norway to perform research on unmanned underwater vehicles operating in dynamically changing environments. From 2023 to 2024, she held a research visit at Sea Grant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA, and the Autonomous Systems Laboratory (ASL), ETH, Zurich, Switzerland. Until 2025, she was a Senior Research Scientist and the Head of the SINTEF ACE-RoboticLab—Autonomous and Robotic Aquaculture Systems Laboratory, SINTEF Ocean, Trondheim, leading activities on autonomous systems and robotic solutions applied to the aquaculture industry and targeting interdisciplinary research to link the field of technology and biology. Her main research focuses on developing resilient robotic systems capable of performing autonomous Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair (IMR) operations in diverse and highly dynamic environments. Dr. Kelasidi has received several awards including the SINTEF’s Outstanding Research Award in 2024 for developing robotics and autonomy in aquaculture as a new research area.
FLAVIO FUSCO
Head of Civil RD&I Cooperative Projects & Grants at LeonardoFlavio Fusco is the Head of Civil RD&I Cooperative Projects & Grants at Leonardo, a multinational company in the sector of Aerospace, Defence & Security. He is graduated in physics, member of several National and European associations and has a technical background as system engineer and project manager in the fields of space robotics, aviation systems and air traffic management.
FRANCESCO FERRO
CEO, Co-Founder, Owner PAL RoboticsFrancesco obtained a MSc degree in Telecommunications Engineering in 2002 at the Politecnico di Torino. He began a PhD in Computer Vision, but left in 2004 to found PAL Robotics. He started working with the development of stereo vision algorithms and later joined the autonomous robot navigation team in order to implement various SLAM algorithms. In 2008, he became the manager of PAL Robotics´ software department. He obtained an MBA at the UB university in Barcelona in 2011 and became CEO of PAL Robotics, in charge of the company’s humanoid robot development.
GABOR SZIEBIG
Research Manager, SINTEF IndustryGabor Sziebig is currently a Research Manager with SINTEF Industry. He received the M.Sc. degree in computer science from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary, in 2007, and the Ph.D. degree in production engineering from the Norwegian University of Science (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway, in 2013. His research fields are automation, robotics, computer vision, and control theory. During his Ph.D. studies, he was focusing on novel programming methods for Flexible Manufacturing Systems and have developed a concept called small-scale intelligent manufacturing systems (SIMS). He is the Chair of the IEEE IES-Technical Committee on Control, Robotics and Mechatronics, and the Secretary of the IFAC TC on Robotics.
HEATHER BUISMAN
Project Manager, NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA)Heather is Project Manager for NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), a dual-use accelerator aimed at boosting the security and resilience of the NATO alliance. She works alongside NATO DIANA’s 150+ innovators and NATO nations to support them in translating innovations into cutting edge defence capabilities. Previously, Heather has led numerous public sector innovation and transformation projects across Europe and beyond.
HEDI KARRAY
Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence, European Innovation CouncilHedi Karray is an experienced professional in semantic AI and ontology-based engineering, with over fifteen years in applied informatics. He holds a Ph.D. in applied informatics from the University of Franche-Comté, France (2012), a Master’s in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management from the Business Administration Institute of Besançon (2013), and the Habilitation to Lead Research (HDR) from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse (2019). Before joining the EIC, Hedi was a Full Professor of Applied Informatics at the University of Technology of Tarbes (UTTOP) in France. He led the international master’s programme on Industry 4.0 and the Planning, Interoperability, and Coordination of dynamic Systems (PICS) research group, contributing to research in ontology-based engineering, semantic interoperability, and AI-driven decision support systems. He has published over 80 papers in international journals and conferences. In 2016, Hedi was a visiting professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB), focusing on ontological research. This led to his role as a senior scientist at the National Center for Ontological Research (NCOR.us) and co-founding the Industrial Ontologies Foundry hosted by NIST. Hedi has been actively involved in the professional community, serving as the president of the French chapter of the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society and co-founding the International Semantic and FAIR Knowledge Graph Alliance. He served as an expert for the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme, advising on AI and semantic technologies. Through his collaborative research projects and consulting work with companies like TotalEnergies, Airbus, Thales, etc. Hedi has helped to apply academic research in industrial settings and has provided invaluable insights into the deployment of Semantic AI in complex industrial environments, contributing to the digital transformation of key sectors. He is committed to responsible AI and advancing the global AI ecosystem, with a focus on technologies that benefit both industry and society. Hedi’s work continues to influence the future of AI in Europe and globally.
KRISTIN MARGRETHE FLORNES
Executive Vice President Energy and Technology at NORCEKristin Margrethe Flornes academic background is in mathematics and technology management. She holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) (1993) and a PhD in Mathematics from the same institution (1998). Additionally, she earned a Master’s degree in Technology Management from NTNU and the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in 2021. Kristin has extensive experience in technology development, research, and research management. She began her career as a project engineer at Western Geco and continued as an analyst for the Nordic power market at Point Carbon. She joined IRIS as a researcher in 2005, where she held various leadership roles, including Research Director and Head of the Energy Department, eventually becoming Director of the entire institute during its merger into NORCE in 2018. From 2018 to 2021, she helped build and lead NORCE’s Technology Department. After completing her degree in technology management in 2021, she moved into the industry to apply her new knowledge in entrepreneurship and innovation. From 2021 to 2024, she worked with early-stage innovation at Eviny and was involved in founding several companies within electrification and sustainability. This experience has provided valuable insight that she now brings to her current role at NORCE.
LINN WINSNES THRANE
Vice President Technology, KONGSBERGLinn holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics specializing in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance from Montana State University. Her technical background includes project management, signal processing, and system architecture. She currently serves as Vice President of Technology at KONGSBERG, leading the central Technology Office responsible for assessing and positioning the company in emerging and strategic technologies, facilitating technology innovation, and coordinating external research collaborations.
MARTE INGUL
Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public AdministrationMarte Ingul is State Secretary on the Norwegian Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Administration. She joined the Ministry from a job as Executive Vice President for Public and Government Affairs at Amedia. She previously served as Chief of Staff and City Government Secretary for Oslo’s Governing Mayor, Raymond Johansen. She has held key roles for the Labour Party’s parliamentary group, the party office, and for the European party (PES) in Brussels. Ingul also has an editorial background from C SPAN, Nettavisen, and the local newspapers Inderøyningen and Åsane Tidende.
NABIL BELBACHIR
Research Director, NORCE ResearchNabil Belbachir has almost three decades of experience with computer vision, AI and robotics, as engineer, scientist, visionary leader and strategist, contributing with sustainable innovative concepts, products and solutions. Nabil Belbachir is a research director at NORCE, director at eu-robotics Aisbl and strategy advisor for ADRA Aisbl and the European Commission, for coordinating European Strategic Research, Innovation and Deployment Agenda and contributing to HEU work programme 2025-2027 in AI, Data and Robotics. He has a PhD (2005) in computer science from TU Vienna (Austria). He edited the single-source Springer book “Smart Cameras (2009)”, translated into Chinese by China Machine Press (2014) and has over 140 scientific publications, 3 patents. Actually, he is coordinating COGNIMAN, and iBot4CRMs, two Horizon Europe Innovation projects on AI-powered robotics, respectively for Flexible Manufacturing and for recovery of Critical Raw Materials from electronic waste. He is also leading the Agder CARM centre developing novel robotics solutions on urban mining.
STINE VEMMESTAD VATNEBERG
Vice President Facilities & Operations Technology - EquinorStine V. Vatneberg leads O&G Facilities and Operations Solutions within the Technology, Digital, and Innovation business area at Equinor. With 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, she has held multiple professional and leadership positions. Stine previously led the Autonomy, Interoperability, and Robotics Project, a flagship program accelerating the adoption of digital technologies across Equinor’s assets. Passionate about innovation, she focuses on how collaboration and technology can drive the transformation of the energy sector.
WAQAR AHMED
Special Adviser, Research Council of NorwayWaqar Ahmed is Norway’s representative on the Horizon Europe programme committees for Cluster IV, EIC, and EIE, where they play a key role in defining European research and innovation strategies and bolstering Norway’s impact on critical societal challenges. With over two decades of experience across business, finance, and engineering, Waqar has been deeply involved in EU-funded R&D initiatives spanning biotechnology, MedTech, health ICT, energy, and telecommunications. His career includes seven years at PERA Technology in the UK and Scandinavia, where they supported start-ups and SMEs in securing funding for innovative projects, as well as the establishment and leadership of the EU programme at Norway Health Tech. Waqar has also coordinated several major EU-funded research and innovation projects. His ongoing commitment is to empower innovators and drive Europe’s capacity to deliver transformative, high-impact solutions for the future.
YANG SHEN
Investor advisor and the founder/managing principal of Plays ResearchYang Shen is a robotics industry operator turned investor advisor and the founder/managing principal of Plays Research, a technical due diligence and cross-border capital advisory platform supporting family offices, venture capital, and private equity investors in robotics, medical technologies, and AI-enabled physical systems. Prior to advising investors, Yang spent his career as a robotics industry operator in R&D, engineering, and management roles, including at a publicly listed humanoid robotics manufacturer and a university spinoff that achieved a successful first-in-human clinical trial for an ophthalmology surgical robot. Yang contributed industry perspectives to the Mid-Cycle Update of the US National Robotics Roadmap and has served as a reviewer or panelist for programs including US SBIR/STTR/RIE and UKRI EPSRC. Yang is a Senior Member of IEEE and received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Medical Robotics) from UCLA. He has authored 4 book chapters and holds 10+ patents in robotics and intelligent systems, and advises startups and investors including 01F GPS Fund (Hong Kong).
Presentation Title: From Lab to Capital: How Investors Evaluate Robotics Technologies