Speaker Profiles
Thursday, 18 June 2026
09:30 – 18:00
Stage 1
Back to Agenda
Guy Altagar
Co-Founder
Unlimited Robotics
Guy Altagar is a seasoned technology entrepreneur who melds hardware, software and business model innovation to tackle real-world industrial and service challenges. Before founding his current venture, he built multiple early-stage companies and developed a strong grounding in product marketing, scaled operations and global team leadership.
In 2020, Guy co-founded Unlimited Robotics alongside Martin Gordon (CPO) and Dr Eli Kolberg (CTO), with the goal of enabling developers and organisations to build applications for robots even if they lack deep hardware expertise.
The company’s flagship robot, “Gary”, is designed for dynamic, service-environments (such as hospitals and co-living spaces) and was purpose-built to navigate complex real-world conditions and deliver value by automating repetitive tasks. Under Altagar’s leadership the company has secured a US$5 million seed round and deployed its solutions in several hospitals.
Gary is more than a mobile platform: it embeds an AI-driven orchestration layer that enables it to autonomously navigate real-world environments, learn new tasks and act as a multifunctional assistant rather than a fixed-purpose machine. Built with dual arms, an array of sensors and a developer-friendly OS (Ra‑Ya) that allows Python-savvy engineers to program new capabilities, Gary can deliver supplies, sanitize rooms, transport patients or guests, engage in basic spoken interactions and even detect safety or maintenance issues.
In doing so, Gary shifts the automation ambition from single-task robots to a flexible “robot as a service” model, freeing human staff from repetitive or low-value activities so they can focus on higher-impact interactions.
Dr. Natalie Cernecka
Director
AI Latvia
Dr Natalie Cernecka is Director of the Artificial Intelligence Centre (AI Latvia), where she leads the national drive to position Latvia as a competitive AI-innovation hub. Before assuming this role, she served as Strategic Education Project Manager at EIT Manufacturing, where she directed the Deep Tech Talent Initiative, training over one million Europeans in emerging technologies.
In her current capacity at the Artificial Intelligence Centre (Latvia), Natalie leads the national hub mandated to promote AI adoption across sectors, integrate AI into public administration, preserve Latvian language and cultural heritage in AI systems, and drive strategic pilot-projects with international funding. The centre is also focused on building collaborations between industry, research and government and on ensuring ethical, reliable and language-aware AI that supports Latvia’s competitiveness and societal goals.
As Project Manager for the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative, Natalie played a pivotal role in driving Europe’s flagship effort to train one million individuals in deep-tech skills by 2025. Through collaboration with over 600 partner organisations across academia, industry and training-providers, she helped scale curricula in AI, semiconductors, robotics, advanced materials and other frontier fields, and supported the launch of calls for proposals to enrich and expand Europe’s deep-tech talent pool.
Her focus spans large-scale talent development, deployment of AI in public and private sectors, creation of data-sharing ecosystems, and ethical/regulatory frameworks for modern AI. As a co-organiser of Women in ML & DS Paris, she is also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in tech.
With a PhD from the University of Cambridge and extensive experience spanning academia (UK, France, Japan), ed-tech (OpenClassrooms), and sovereign data platforms (TeraLab), Natalie blends rigorous research insight with business and policy execution.
Dr. Marios Dikaiakos
Professor, Department of Computing
University of Cyprus
Presentation
Marios will present on the race for supercomputing capabilities to train large language models and other forms of AI. This presentation looks at the power generation requirements and some of the investments announced by X, Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI, and others in the sector.
Profile
Marios Dikaiakos is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cyprus. He is the Founding Director of the Laboratory for Internet Computing. He also served as founding Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship of the University (1/2015-1/2021) and Head of the Computer Science Department (2010-2014).
Dikaiakos received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University (1994), an M.A. degree from Princeton (1991), and a Dipl.-Ing. degree from the National Technical University of Athens (summa cum laude, 1988). He was a Research Associate at the University of Washington in Seattle (1994-1995) and has held short-term visiting positions at the Paris Research Lab of Digital Equipment Corporation, France, the University of Crete, National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and Rutgers University, USA.
Dikaiakos' research focuses on Internet Computing. Recent research activities focus on Cloud Computing, Online Social Networks, and Vehicular Computing. He has been a principal and co-principal institutional investigator or principal investigator for 25 projects funded by the European Union and the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus, and has published over 170 papers in books, international scientific journals and refereed conference proceedings, and was in charge of the development of several research software systems released internationally.
Professor Dikaiakos is a Senior Member of ACM. He was Program co-Chair of the 29th International European Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing (EuroPar 2023) and General Co-Chair of the 19th Annual IEEE/ACM International Symposium in Cluster, Cloud, and Grid Computing (CCGrid 2019). He has served on the program and organizing committees of numerous international scientific conferences, on various advisory committees of the Republic of Cyprus, and on many international and national scientific review panels.
Elena Poughia
Managing Director, Dataconomy Media
Founder, Data Natives
Presentation
Frontiers of Ethical AI
The global discourse on AI ethics has seen international divisions, notably with the U.S. and the U.K. opting out of a Paris summit declaration aimed at promoting inclusive and sustainable AI, highlighting differing national approaches to AI governance. Technological breakthroughs, such as Meta's development of non-invasive brain-to-text interfaces, raise profound ethical and privacy questions regarding cognitive data protection. These developments underscore the urgent need for comprehensive ethical frameworks and robust regulatory measures to navigate the complex challenges posed by AI's integration into various facets of society.
Profile
Elena Poughia is a dynamic professional whose career seamlessly integrates technology, art, and entrepreneurship. As the Managing Director of Dataconomy Media, she leads one of the world's top AI-focused publications, reaching an audience of 1.5 million monthly readers. In addition, Elena is the founder of Data Natives, Europe's largest data science and AI community, fostering collaboration and innovation across the continent.
With a multidisciplinary background, Elena's expertise spans artificial intelligence, arts, community empowerment, and entrepreneurship. She is deeply committed to promoting diversity, inclusion, ethics, aesthetics, and sustainability within the tech industry. Her advocacy for data privacy and AI ethics has led her to serve in expert groups at the European Union level, including contributions to the European Innovation Council (EIC).
Beyond her roles at Dataconomy and Data Natives, Elena co-founded LALA Art Space, a queer community-driven art venue located in the heart of Athens. This initiative reflects her passion for creating inclusive spaces that celebrate artistic expression and community engagement. Additionally, she is a founding member of Thousand Faces, a network dedicated to supporting female founders and investors, further exemplifying her commitment to empowering underrepresented groups in technology and business.
Educated in the United Kingdom, Elena's academic background includes studies in Economics, Art History, and Modern and Contemporary Art. This diverse educational foundation enriches her unique perspective at the intersection of technology and art. Residing in Berlin, she continues to influence the global tech landscape through her multifaceted endeavors and unwavering commitment to ethical, inclusive innovation.