Speakers

João Bento is CEO of CTT Portugal Post since May 2019.

He holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in Structural Engineering from IST Lisbon, a PhD in Civil Engineering from
Imperial College, and an IDP Certificate from INSEAD. He is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Portuguese Foreign Investment Agency and the General Council of the
Portuguese Institute for Corporate Governance.

João Bento was CEO of MChampalimaud Group and Efacec, executive director of Brisa and the JdMello Group and nonexecutive director of CCR (Brazil), EDP (Portugal’s largest electrical utility), the CCB Foundation and the IBTTA (USA). He was President of COTEC Portugal, of the European Association of Toll Motorways, and the Portuguese Academy of Engineering. João Bento developed the first 20 years of professional activity as an academic, being a tenured Full Professor at IST Lisbon.

In 2016, was awarded the Grand Cross of Henry the Navigator, by the President of the Portuguese Republic.

Jaroslav Kmeť was born in Humenné on August 12, 1971. He earned the doctorate at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. Over the course of his professional career, he held numerous managerial positions and was involved in marketing processes and strategic planning. Before Jaroslav Kmeť took the office of the State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic, he had led the Directorate General for Public Administration IT at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic for Investments and Informatization. In the office of the State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic, Jaroslav Kmeť is in charge of road and railway transport, civil aviation, electronic services, and strategic planning.

David McRedmond was appointed Chief Executive Officer of An Post in October 2016.   He has led the Company’s Transformation programme and return to financial stability, sustainable revenue growth and profit by taking big steps to fix the Company’s economics and by restructuring the Mails & Parcels and Retail business in line with a rapidly changing, digital marketplace. David is personally driving An Post’s Sustainability Charter, putting it at the centre of An Post’s business transformation and Green Light strategy.

He was previously CEO of TV3 which he transformed into a major Irish broadcaster, concluding with its sale to Liberty Global, and he has held senior commercial roles in Ireland, the UK and the US. He is chairman of Eir, a lifetime Fellow of the Irish Management Institute, and of the Royal Society of Arts.

Ms Ronzitti is General Secretary of SGI Europe (CEEP until December 2020) since May 2012. She reached this position after having worked for the organisation for nine years. Jurist, she joined SGI Europe General Secretariat as legal advisor in 2003, after having started her career practicing labour and civil law in a law firm in ltaly.

As SGI Europe General Secretary, she is responsible for managing the organisation, including overall policy making and implementation, external representation, communication to members, management and coaching of SGI Europe staff. Her current priorities are focused on positioning high performing public services as a key ingredient for EU post COVID-19 recovery and the trigger for a completely new paradigm for the future of the European Project.

Heidi Solba is the founder and currently holds the position of President and Head of Global Network at Let’s Do It World, an NGO. Over the past eight years, she has been actively involved in the organization, serving as the Head of the Global Network. Her unwavering belief in the possibility of achieving anything led her to the initial task of establishing a global network comprised of knowledgeable teams, which played a pivotal role in making the first World Cleanup Day a reality on September 15, 2018.

In early 2019, the global network underwent a restructuring process and transformed into a global membership-based environmental organization. During this transition, Heidi Solba was elected as the President, assuming a key role in guiding the organization towards sustainable solutions on a long-term basis. Let’s Do It World is currently preparing for its sixth World Cleanup Day and is actively engaged in various programs.

Heidi’s extensive professional background spans across private, public, and non-governmental sectors, providing her with a diverse skill set. Her expertise encompasses strategic and practical knowledge in Human Resource Management, leadership capacity building, organizational development, circular economy, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Valentin has a vast experience in the Anti-Fraud investigations field, especially when it comes to Anti-Money Laundering and Digital Fraud. During his 10 years in the United States, he has identified the potential of Romanian companies and has stimulated investments in Romania, while managing AML and Digital Fraud investigation teams at Morgan Stanley, in Washington D.C.

He has acted as the Deputy General Director of the Romanian Post between July 2020 – June 2021 and is now the CEO since June 2021. Throughout his time here, Valentin has enabled larger investments in the Company than those in the past 10 years altogether and has completed the deepest organisational reform within the Post from the past decades.

Assel Zhanassova was Vice Minister of Trade and Integration and was responsible for digitalisation of trade, development of payment systems and digital banking.

Ms. Zhanassova has more than 10 years of experience in implementation of local and international IT projects.

In 2010, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge under the Bolashak International Presidential Scholarship. In 2014, she received her Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. In the same year, she graduated from the Moscow State Lomonossov University under Executive Management program.

In 2010-2014, Assel Zhanassova was the Director of the IT Security Department at the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC in London. She was responsible for implementing large strategic projects in Kazakhstan, Africa, Europe, China and Russia.

In 2014-2016, she was Advisor to the Director of the Bank Service Bureau of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Deputy Director of the Digital Technologies Department of the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

In 2016-2017, she was CEO of Zerde National Holding JSC.

From 2017 to 2018, she was Advisor to the Governor of Astana International Financial Center. Prior to the appointment as Vice Minister of Trade and Integration, from 2018 to 2020 she was AIFC Chief Digital Officer

Thomas Baldry (57) has been with Deutsche Post DHL since 1995, the year when the former state enterprise was legally transformed into a joint-stock corporation. He started as Direct Marketing Manager in the newly formed Marketing and Sales department. Thomas currently serves as Senior Vice President Product Management Import & International Relations within the Post & Parcel Germany Division.

Between 1996 to 1998 he advised the Corporate Board Member for Marketing and Sales Mail. Two years later Thomas became Director of New Businesses Mail, where he successfully established interfaces between the Head Office, core mail business and new business ventures as well as managing newly acquired companies specialized in value-adding services. In 2000 he then joined the International Division of Deutsche Post where over the years he has had varying assignments and responsibilities.

Prior to his postal experience, Thomas was a scientific researcher at the ‘Wissenschaftliches Institut fuer Kommunikationsdienste’ (WIK), a scientific institute providing research and consulting in the field of communication services, and he spent some time working in Marketing and Sales with Siemens Corporation, USA.

In 1994, Thomas received his Master in Economics from Bonn University. From 1989 to 1990, he studied Economics & Economic History at the City University Manchester, Great Britain. Thomas lives with his wife Shirley and their three children in Bonn, Germany.

Thomas is the Government Official for Bundesnetzagentur since June 2010.

Thomas has held various positions in the Transport and Governmental sector from 2007 till 2019. More significantly, since September 2019 he holds the following positions:

• Postal Regulation Department – Section International Postal Affairs
• Deputy Head of Section International Postal Affairs
• Deputy Head / Head of the German Delegation to the Universal Postal Union
  Participated in:
  • CERP Working Groups UPU and Policy
  • UPU Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council
  • UPU Task Force Opening Up
  • UPU CA C2 Expert Team on UPU Products and Services
  • Geneva Group – UPU
  • EU Postal Directive Committee and Working Party on Postal Services
  • European Committee for Standardization, TC 331 – Postal Services

Marjan Osvald, from Slovenia, has been Deputy Director General of the UPU International Bureau since the beginning of 2022, having been elected by member countries at the Universal Postal Congress in Abidjan in September 2021. He has more than 27 years’ experience in international postal operations, relations, strategy and sales at Pošta Slovenije. He was an active member of the PostEurop, and was elected three times as a Board Member. Marjan was a long-standing member of various steering committees within International Post Corporation. He has been actively involved in research and innovation projects (as part of the EU Horizon 2020 project team) on cognitive logistics, involving core technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the social internet of things, and big data analytics. As the UPU National Quality of Service Coordinator at Posta Slovenije, he received the 2014 Postal Technology Award for Digital Innovation of the Year, for a new electronic postal customs procedures concept. He has actively participated in the work of the UPU ever since the Beijing Congress in 1999.

Marjan Osvald, 54, is married with three children.

Ana Nicholls oversees EIU’s industry intelligence and forecasting. Based in the London office, she manages a global team delivering reports, data and forecasts across six industry sectors: consumer goods, technology, energy, healthcare, finance and automotive.

An experienced analyst specialising in global economic development, Ana is an expert on government, industrial and business policy. Ana has worked closely with numerous clients in a range of sectors, particularly on projects relating to international trade.

In the past year alone Ana has delivered client presentations and panel sessions on a range of topics, including technology development, the future of work, cyber-security and electric vehicle adoption.
She has also presented webinars on subjects ranging from digitalisation to vaccine production.

As well as her work with EIU, Ana is a regular contributor to The Economist’s World Ahead reports, giving industry forecasts for the coming year.

Michel Dubois is Chief Scientific and Technical Officer within the Cybersecurity Department of the La Poste Group. A computer engineer with a specialized master’s degree in Information Systems Security and a research doctorate in Cryptology, Michel has served for nearly thirty years as the Head of Information Systems Security within the Ministry of the Armed Forces. He also teaches and is an associate researcher at the Digital Trust and Security Laboratory of ESIEA in Laval. He is a member of the Club of Information Security Experts and Digital (CESIN) and of the French Information Security Club (CLUSIF)

Zuzana is Sales Director at GAMO a.s., where she is responsible for designing business strategies, products and services, and building distribution channels. Her main area of focus is information security, which she has been working on as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at GAMO a.s. since 2017. The position required expertise in the implementation of cybersecurity regulations such as the NIS Directive, GDPR and ISO 27001. In addition, she was actively involved in cybersecurity management projects and facilitated information and cybersecurity training.

As a former Quality Manager at UniNet-TS&S and UniNet-CsI, she has implemented management system requirements in accordance with ISO standards related to quality management (ISO 9001), information security management (ISO 27001), environmental management (ISO 14001) and occupational health and safety management (ISO 45001).

Jon is currently CISO for Royal Mail, he has over 20 years of experience building and leading security programs and Global teams in organisations that are undergoing significant business change. His passion is to leverage security programs to support business and technology growth and transformation. Jon has worked across the Financial Services, shared Customer Services, Telecoms, online Entertainment and now logistics sectors, applying learning from each to benefit their customers and the organisations he works for. Although Jon has a technology background, he uses business process change as much as technology to solve risk and security challenges.

Florent is one of the three co-founders of Whispeak, in charge of business and marketing activities. Business school graduate in International Sales and E-business, he has first created and developed the French subsidiary of a Canadian group specialized in E-Marketing and data automation for three years before joining Whispeak in its project phase. He co-founded Whispeak in May 2020.

Whispeak is a speaker recognition software that makes it easy to add a biometric factor to authentication processes. Don’t choose between security and fluidity.

Mother of 5 children, she has a Law Degree from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Foreign Trade. Elena has taken several courses at the London School of Economics, IESE, IE and ESADE, in addition to the PROMOCIONA training program: Executive Program for Women in Senior Management.

She has chaired, among others, the Strategy Committee and the Development Cooperation Committee at the Universal Postal Union (United Nations’ Agency for the Postal Sector) and at the European level, she is Chair of the European Affairs Committee at PostEurop since 2015.

At Correos, she holds the position of Director of International Relations and Sustainability since 2016, being responsible for the design of the international regulatory strategy, the Studies Service and the definition of the company’s Sustainability Plan. Previously, she was Head of International Relations and Regulation from 2004 to 2015.

Botond Szebeny is responsible since 2009 for co-ordinating the activities of the Association implemented in various fields including regulations (EU and UPU), operations, CSR, market, e-commerce, sustainability and customs, as well as leading the Headquarters of the Association located in Brussels.

He also served in the Board of Directors of the European cross-industry campaign, Print Power.

Prior to joining PostEurop, Botond had been member of the Executive Committee, at Magyar Posta for 6 years, responsible for the International Business.  During that time, he was also member on the Management Board of PostEurop with the responsibility of chairing the European Union Affairs Committee (EAC) of the Association. He lead various initiatives, including the UPU’s Financial Committee, and acted as external advisor to the EU’s European Economic and Social Committee.

He has university degrees in economics, diplomacy, and law, and speaks fluently several European languages.

Sophie Desier is Head of Bilateral Relations with all European Postal Operators at la Poste Group. She coordinates thirty business experts who participate in PostEurop Working Groups,. She has 20 years’ experience of the postal and logistic sector including 10 years at Asendia and 10 years as Product Owner Proximity Services in Marketing and Innovation Department. She launched the proximity service “Visit my parents” in 2012. She has also worked at Reliv International Inc (micro nutrition sector) as Head of European Distributors Network in 2013-2016. She holds a Master in International Relations from La Sorbonne Paris III (IHEAL) she recently passed a certification in Strategic and Economic Intelligence (IHEDN, Paris). As October 2022, she is co-chair of PostEurop Innovation Forum along with SwissPost and CTT Portugal.

Thierry is Director of Open Innovation and Venturing at Swiss Post. In this role, he has been developing open innovation initiatives with external partners as start-ups, universities and accelerators in Switzerland, Germany, France, China and US. These innovation ecosystems enabled disruptive projects as, amongst others, the use of exoskeletons, the dynamic deliveries and the autonomous shuttles. Furthermore, he is managing the strategic venture capital funds of Swiss Post. Thierry holds several Masters in Economics and Technology from the University of Fribourg, EPFL, IMD and UC Berkeley. Since 2022, Thierry is also Vice Chair of PostEurop Innovation Forum. www.post.ch/venture