Keynote Speakers

Christa Hostettler

Christa Hostettler is the Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT). A trained lawyer, she has held senior roles in Swiss public administration, including chief legal counsel for the City of Bern and Secretary-General of the Conferences of Cantonal Directors for Public Works, Planning and Environment, and for Public Transport. Before joining the BAV in August 2024, she served on the executive management of PostAuto AG.

Stefaan Verhulst

Stefaan Verhulst is the Co-Founder of The GovLab (in New York City) and The Data Tank (in Brussels). He is also a Research Professor at the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University, and Editor-in-Chief of Data & Policy, an open-access journal by Cambridge University Press; the research director of the MacArthur Research Network on Opening Governance; Chair of the Data for Children Collaborative with Unicef; and a member of the High-Level Expert Group to the European Commission on Business-to-Government Data Sharing. 

Matthias Michel

Dr. iur. Matthias Michel (FDP) is a member of the Swiss parliament’s Council of States for the canton of Zug. Matthias Michel serves on the Science, Education and Culture Committee of the Council of States (WBK-S). He is an attorney at law.

Daniel Markwalder

Daniel Markwalder is head of the Swiss Federal Chancellery’s Digital Transformation and ICT Steering Sector. Holding a doctorate on IT law, Daniel Markwalder has worked both in the private and public sector. During his time at the Federal Office for Information Technology, he was responsible for the cryptographic aspects of the strategic Swiss passport project. As the Delegate for Digital Transformation and ICT Steering, he reports directly to the Federal Chancellor.

Adina Dorthe

Adina Dorthe is Head of Innovation & R&D, Digital Business at United Machining (formerly GF Machining Solutions) in Biel/Bienne. She leads a multidisciplinary team in architecting and deploying AI-driven, cloud-native and IoT-enabled solutions that deliver measurable customer value and optimize internal operations. With over 20 years of experience in digital transformation and cross-functional leadership, Adina has spearheaded initiatives in software development, connected systems, and intelligent applications—where data serves as both the unifying thread and indispensable fuel.

Thomas Zaugg

Thomas Zaugg is an experienced leader at Roche Diagnostics International AG, serving as Head of Open Innovation & External Networks. He holds an interdisciplinary background, trained as both an electronic/informatics engineer and chemist, with additional credentials such as an international MBA, PMP, Scrum Master, and certified Data Scientist from EPFL. In his current role, Zaugg oversees strategic partnerships with universities and acts as a technology leader across domains like robotics, Data & AI and medical devices.

Roland Kühnelt

Roland Kühnelt is Head of Business Intelligence and Algorithm at Planzer Transport AG responsible for Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, AI and the development of Route Planning Algorithms for parcel and groupage shipments. Previously, he held different other senior roles including Corporate Head of BI, Analytics, and Data Science, and Corporate Head of Production Management for the Overland Division at Kuehne + Nagel.

Franziska Barmettler

Franziska Barmettler is CEO of digitalswitzerland. As an economist, she has been working at the intersection of business, sustainability and politics for 15 years. She has shaped developments in the field of innovation and sustainability at the swisscleantech trade association, Migros and IKEA. In addition to her experience in association management, an understanding of future issues and change processes in the economy, she also has practical legislative experience as a politician.

Alexandre Kech

Alexandre Kech is CEO of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), bringing over 25 years of experience in traditional finance, securities infrastructure, and blockchain. Prior to joining GLEIF in 2024, he held leadership roles at SIX Digital Exchange, Citi Ventures, and co-founded digital asset custody firm Onchain Custodian. Alexandre has also contributed to international standards as convenor of ISO’s Digital Token Identifier working group and co-chair of Global Digital Finance's Custody Working Group. At GLEIF, he leads the global expansion of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and the adoption of the verifiable LEI (vLEI) to promote trust, transparency, and efficiency across digital and financial ecosystems.

Georges-Simon Ulrich

Prof. Dr Georges-Simon Ulrich is the Director General of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). He is also Professor in strategic management and research methods at the University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich. Georges-Simon Ulrich represents Switzerland on behalf of the FSO's areas of responsibility (official statistics, data stewardship and data science) in various national and international committees at Eurostat, OECD and EFTA. Since 2022 he has been a member of the UN Statistical Commission's Bureau and since 2024 its Chair.

Thomas Schneider

Thomas Schneider is ambassador and co-director of International Affairs at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). Ambassador Schneider is a long-standing expert in data governance, digital governance, in the governance of the information and knowledge society and artificial intelligence (AI). He leads the Swiss delegation in various key international forums in these fields. From 2022-2024, he has been chairing the negotiation of the Council of Europe’s framework convention on AI, the first binding international treaty on AI.

Jürg Röthlisberger

Jürg Röthlisberger is the Director of the Swiss Federal Roads Office (ASTRA). A trained civil engineer with a background in both industry and government, he has played a key role in modernizing Switzerland’s national road network, including the transfer of motorway responsibilities from the cantons to the Confederation. At ASTRA, he oversees operations, safety, and infrastructure development with a team of over 500. Röthlisberger also served as Chair of the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR) in 2020 and is a member of the Federal Procurement Conference.

Marius Pohl

Marius Pohl is a Business Development Manager at Cofinity-X, where he supports the strategic development of data ecosystems along industrial supply chains. Previously, he served as Managing Director of a mid-sized company and consulted for both industry and public-sector initiatives focused on digitalization and circular economy. At Catena-X, he contributes his experience in go-to-market strategies, strategic partnerships, and public funding projects.

Diego Kuonen

Prof. Dr. Diego Kuonen is a statistician and data scientist with over 24 years of experience advising organizations across Europe. He founded Statoo Consulting in 2001 and is a professor of data science at the University of Geneva. A former president of the Swiss Statistical Society, he is also a strong advocate for data literacy and co-initiator of Switzerland’s 2024 Data Literacy Charter.

Melanie Kolbe-Guyot

Melanie Kolbe-Guyot is a distinguished expert in digital policy and public governance, currently serving as Head of Data Governance and Compliance at the Statistical Office of Basel-Stadt. Since September 2024, Melanie has also been a Tech Policy Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, participating in the prestigious Tech Policy Initiative. Prior to this, Melanie spent nearly two years (Aug 2023–June 2025) as Head of Policy and earlier Project Manager for Policy and Science Communication at EPFL’s Center for Digital Trust (C4DT).

Moritz Stober

Moritz Stober is the Managing Director of the Mobility Data Space in Germany, a platform and data marketplace dedicated to enabling secure and sovereign mobility data exchange across public and private sectors. Before assuming this role in April 2025, Moritz led Business Development at the Mobility Data Space, where he helped drive its foundational growth and ecosystem-building efforts between July 2024 and April 2025. Prior to his leadership there, from June 2022 to June 2024, Moritz served as Senior Manager for Strategic Projects at acatech, Germany’s national academy of engineering sciences.

Nicola Rustignoli

Nicola Rustignoli is the co-CEO of the SCION Association, an industry consortium dedicated to advancing SCION, a secure and reliable Internet architecture. Prior to this role, he worked in the network security industry and served as a research assistant with the Network Security Group at ETH Zürich, where he contributed to The Complete Guide to SCION and several research projects.

Otto Bruun

Otto Bruun is a scientific researcher at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, where he is responsible for international innovation programs. He is specifically tasked with coordinating Switzerland's participation in activities related to data spaces and artificial intelligence within the framework of the Digital Europe Program.

Cyrille Gattiker

Cyrille Gattiker is a digital business model specialist at the Swiss Federal Chancellery, where he leads prototype funding within the «Swiss Data Ecosystem» initiative. A former tech founder and CTO/CPO, he brings entrepreneurial experience to the public sector. His focus lies in exploring sustainable value creation models for data spaces.