Governing the
Digital Future.
Together

Successful leader in the telecommunications and digital industries in the Middle East and North Africa and has worked extensively in Europe, Africa, India and Pakistan.

Graduate of Harvard College in Economics (BA, cum laude) and Columbia University (PhD), and has taught in both institutions as well as the American University of Beirut.

Partner in THX Ventures, a venture-building partnership, since 2024, and advisor to a number of technology companies.

Member of the Board of Trustees, Lebanese American University (LAU).

Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer and then Chief Strategy Officer (International) for e& Group (formerly Etisalat), 2010-2023, a UAE-based telecommunications and technology company, one of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world, with operations in twenty countries, 180 million subscribers, and market capitalization of $38 billion.

Chairman of the Chief Policy and Regulatory Officers’ Group at GSMA, an association of the world’s telecommunications operators, 2014-2016.

Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Republic of Lebanon, 2007-2010. It was the first independent regulatory authority established in Lebanon which set a new standard in transparency and efficiency in managing public affairs, generally, and telecommunications, specifically, and which issued all the telecommunications regulations and licenses and designed a competitive and transparent auction for the privatization and licensing of the mobile operators in 2008.

Chairman of the Global Symposium for Regulators, International Telecommunications Union, 2009.

Advisor to the World Bank on privatization and private participation in infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa, 2000-2003. Executed projects in ten countries.

Founding member of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) in 1996 and board member of the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), 2006-2009.

Director of Research, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, 1995-1997.

Author of books and articles on public finances and financial reforms in Lebanon, 1997 and 1998, and on the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, 1997.

Advisor to governments and investors in private infrastructure projects, including the operations and maintenance of the container terminal of the Port of Beirut, 2002-2004, and the policy and regulations for the liberalization and regulation of civil aviation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in 2004.

Recipient of many academic awards from Harvard University, Columbia University, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London.

Oksana Ferchuk is a Ukrainian politician serving as minister of digital transformation since 2026. From 2025 to 2026, she served as deputy minister of defence for digital transformation. Ferchuk is a native of Simferopol, Crimea. In 1997, she graduated from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Following her graduation, she worked as a manager in the private sector. In 2022, she was appointed as an advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

Glen S. Fukushima is a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, where he is writing a book on the ties between Silicon Valley and Japan. He also serves in Washington, DC as Vice Chair of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation and as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

From 1990 to 2012, he was a senior business executive based in Asia and was elected President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Prior to his business career, he served as Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan and China at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the Executive Office of the President.

He was educated in the United States at Stanford University, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School and in Japan at Keio University and the University of Tokyo as a Fulbright Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at Sophia University, Kyoto University, and Waseda University.

As Chairman of Georgia&'s Innovation and Technology Agency, Avtandil Kasradze is dedicated to driving sustainable growth and development through the strategic deployment of cutting-edge technologies. Under his stewardship, the agency has launched numerous initiatives to support startups, attract foreign investment, prioritize technological directions, and promote digital literacy across the country. Avtandil is dedicated to promoting technology and innovation as key drivers of economic growth and prosperity in Georgia. Avtandil’s career spans over two decades, during which he has held various positions in Government, NGOs and International Organizations.

Dr. Giulia Ajmone Marsan is an internationally recognised expert in innovation strategy and ecosystem development. Her work spans Africa, ASEAN, the European Union, the Indo-Pacific, MENA, North America, and Latin America, and includes collaborations with Chambers of Commerce and Industry Associations, the OECD, UN agencies, the European Commission, the G20, and multilateral development banks. Giulia is currently writing The Ecosystem Handbook: How to Lead and Scale Innovation Ecosystems in the Digital Age, which is scheduled for publication in 2027.

Giulia is the Secretary General of United Afro Experts for Innovation (UAEFI), a newly established platform dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across emerging and frontier markets. Until 2026, Giulia served as Head of Startups and Digital Inclusion at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Prior to her roles at UAEFI and ERIA, she worked as an Innovation Economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France.

Mark is a long serving member of the UK's Houses of Parliament. He is a former member of UK’s Intelligence and Security Committee, overseeing the work of MI6, MI5, Defence Intelligence, National Cyber Force, and GCHQ.

He is a former Vice President of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly and also served as OSCE PA Special Representative for Southeast Europe and is currently Special Representative to the Arctic and High North. He is a member of King Charles III's Privy Council. He is also a former member of Strategeast's International Advisory Board.

Natalia Denikeieva is Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and a policy leader specialising in digital economy development and technology ecosystem building.

With more than 15 years of experience across technology, business, investment, and public policy, Natalia has been working on some of Ukraine’s most complex transformations, including technology-sector development and the reform of gambling regulation.

In her current role, she shapes the policies and institutional frameworks needed for technology companies to emerge, scale, and compete globally. Her portfolio spans enabling regulation, access to capital, talent development, and international markets, with a particular focus on hardware, dual-use technologies, robotics, investment attraction, and the global promotion of Ukraine’s technology sector.

Central to Natalia’s work is the effort to build comprehensive ecosystem infrastructure for Ukraine’s innovation economy and implement the country’s national innovation strategy WINWIN. The strategy sets the direction for developing new technology markets, strengthening Ukraine’s innovation capacity and sovereignty, and supporting Ukrainian companies as they scale globally.

Building a digital economy amid war and profound uncertainty has given Natalia practical insight into how governments can strengthen technological capacity under pressure. This experience informs policy approaches relevant to other countries seeking to develop resilient innovation ecosystems and compete in the global technology economy.

Mark was appointed Vice President of Public Sector for the merged companies of Coursera and Udemy in June 2026. Coursera and Udemy are leading global online learning and skills-development platforms, helping individuals, universities, and organisations build the knowledge and capabilities needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world. In May 2026, Coursera and Udemy completed their merger, bringing together more than 290 million learners, 18,000 enterprise customers, and 95,000 content creators to create one of the world's most comprehensive skills platforms for the AI era.

Prior to joining Coursera as Vice President of EMEA, Mark was the regional business leader for Education at Microsoft in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), leading a team of approximately 250 people dedicated to helping institutions transform education through the efficient and effective use of information technology. He was accountable for all operations in the EMEA region across Higher Education and K-12 institutions, Ministries of Education, and Libraries and Museums.

Mark joined Microsoft UK in 1988 to establish its Education division. In 1990, he was awarded the Microsoft UK President's Award in recognition of his work serving education institutions throughout the UK. He went on to lead teams for Microsoft across Enterprise, Small Business, Home & Retail, Channel Infrastructure, and Public Sector, and was appointed to the Microsoft UK Board of Directors in 2000. Mark spent two years living in Seattle, Washington, while leading Microsoft's worldwide Education division, before returning to the UK to provide education leadership across the EMEA region. In September 2005, he received the Microsoft Achievement Award for sustained, high-level contributions to Microsoft's leadership in education.

After 35 years at Microsoft, Mark left the company in 2023 to become an advisor to the EdTech industry — part of his lifelong mission to help transform schools and universities through the effective and efficient use of digital technology and AI. He has continued in this advisory role since 2024. Before joining Microsoft, Mark spent eight years with UK technology partner Micro Facilities, having first worked there part-time while at college.

Mark's philanthropy is focused on skills and learning. In 2008, he built a secondary school in Mauta village on Mfangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya, and has since sponsored graduating African students through university. He also founded Digital Pipeline, a UK-registered charity aimed at empowering communities through access to technology, serving as its chairman for several years. More recently, he has been funding the development of a gorilla research centre in Bwindi, Uganda.

Tala Al Jabri is a founder, VC investor, and board member. Tala is the Managing Partner of Wyld VC, a fund focused on backing the world's best founders building the future AI economy. She has been actively investing for nearly a decade and has backed 20+ companies including Perplexity, Saronic, Starcloud, Tabby, among others. She has advised some of the leading VCs, including a16z. Previously, she was a Partner at HOF Capital and an investor at SoftBank Vision Fund.

Tala was named Arabian Business' Woman of the Year in Finance in 2022 in KSA. She serves as a board member of many organizations including at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business and Government, McGill Ventures, and the Middle East VC Association. She obtained her MBA from The Wharton Schoolc MPA from Harvard University and undergraduate degree in finance at McGill University.

Valery Vavilov is the Chief Vision Officer, founder and Chairman of the Bitfury Group – the world’s leading emerging technologies company. Valery’s entrepreneurial experience and passion for blockchain led him to found the company in 2011, when blockchain was just beginning to capture the world’s attention and imagination. A native Latvian who experienced first-hand the challenges resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Valery was inspired by the technology and saw an opportunity to build technological solutions that could improve the lives of people all over the world. Valery focused first on the hardware solutions that would ensure security and trust in the Bitcoin Blockchain, leading Bitfury to develop eight generations of cutting-edge chips and state-of-the-art data center designs. Under his leadership, the company has expanded its focus to provide custom-designed software and advanced hardware in cryptocurrency, blockchain and artificial intelligence, all while maintaining its position as one of the major public Bitcoin Blockchain security and transaction providers. Prior to founding Bitfury, Valery spent more than 15 years in a variety of technical and leadership positions.

He has received his M.S. degree in Computer Science from Riga’s Transport & Telecommunication University in Latvia and has completed the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Among other leadership initiatives, he is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Fourth Industrial Revolution Council on Blockchain.

Garri is dedicated to a future where humans have more healthy, fulfilling years with their loved ones. In service of this mission, in 2021 he co-founded the Longevity Science Foundation, a global nonprofit funding early-stage research on extending the healthy human lifespan.

Garri is also the managing partner and co-founder of LongeVC, a venture capital firm investing in visionary biotech and longevity.

Garri has embraced a new opportunity to extend his impact by joining as an executive board member at the Sheba Longevity Center, contributing to their pioneering efforts in longevity research and innovation.

Garri also joins promising startups as an advisor and angel investor, with several successful exits across biotech and emerging tech companies, including Insilico Medicine, Deep Longevity, and Basepaws.

He is sought-after for his biotech and web3 experience, advising enterprises like Cointelegraph, PsyMed Ventures, the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society, and more. He is also a member of the Longevity Biotechnology Association.

Dr. Idlbi is a senior expert in Digital Transformation, AI Governance, Emerging Technologies and Innovation Policy, Knowledge Society, and Digital and Open Government. She is currently working as an advisor/consultant for ARISPA, Arab ICT Organization (AICTO) and the UN. She is also a member of the advisory board of Global Knowledge Index Advisory Committee, 01Gov, Startup Syria and founding member of Women in STEM Network.

She has more than 20 years of experience with the United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) from September 2004 to January 2025. She occupied several senior positions at UN-ESCWA. Her latest position was the Director of Statistics, Information Society, and Technology. Her work covered various sectors related to digital transformation, AI and Emerging Technologies, Digital and Open Government, ICT Policy, ICT Applications for Development.

She also led many regional initiatives related to cyber legislation for building a knowledge society, the regional profile of information society in the Arab region, digital Arabic content, and fostering open government for achieving the 2030 Development Agenda. Furthermore, she led for 5 years various activities related to Innovation policy for sustainable development and Innovation for promoting entrepreneurship among Arab youth and women.

Before joining ESCWA, from 2002 to 2004, she was Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Communications and Technology (MCT) in her home country Syria. During this period, she supervised Information and Communication Technology and International Cooperation activities. She also participated in the formulation of the National ICT Strategy for Social and Economic Development.

Dr. Idlebi worked at the Higher Institute of Applied Science & Technology (HIAST) in Damascus/Syria for more than 8 years as college professor, and she was the manager of cooperative projects between the European Union and HIAST. Moreover, she was a Board Member of the Syrian Computer Society (SCS) from 1997 to 2002 and she led the professional training programs at SCS and the national program for ICT training.

Dr. Nibal Idlebi has an engineering degree from “Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité (Supelec)”, a “Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies (DEA) from ENSIMAG and a Ph.D in computer science from Nancy 1 University in France with a specialization in Parallel Processing and Distributed Systems.

Len Khodorkovsky is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Digital Strategy and Senior Advisor to both the U.S. Special Representative for Iran and the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. Praised by The Jerusalem Post as “The State Department’s secret weapon,” he has written extensively on U.S. foreign policy and frequently appears as a foreign policy analyst on global news programs. Before his government service, Khodorkovsky was a senior executive in advertising, marketing, and public affairs leading high-stakes U.S. and international campaigns for Fortune 100 companies.

Erik Brattberg is Managing Partner of Brzezinski Global Strategies, LLC, a boutique advisory firm based in Washington, DC focusing on Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe.

A recognized expert on Europe and transatlantic relations, Erik previously served as Senior Vice President at Albright Stonebridge Group and before that as Director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the co-founder of a VC-funded cybersecurity startup firm.

He has written articles for numerous outlets, including Washington Post, Financial Times, Politico, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs, contributed to several books and publications, and is a frequent commentator in major U.S. and international media. He received an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Max began his career in London an international M&A lawyer before earning an MBA from INSEAD. He was part of the founding team of Origami, a pioneering Japanese fintech that advised the Japanese Government and was acquired in 2020. He is an angel investor in companies including Bending Spoons, and independently advises leading global brands and businesses. Max is currently Founder of Kammui Inc., a platform for luxury regenerative tourism in Japan, and is featured regularly in the media, including Forbes and Japan Times.

Dr. Shane Szarkowski is Editor-in-Chief of Diplomatic Courier and Executive Director of World in 2050. He serves on the advisory boards of the Amal Alliance and the Smithsonian Science Education Institute’s Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking (NESST).

Shane wrote his PhD on the intersection of history, sovereign identity, and intervention in Afghanistan. He has designed and taught undergraduate courses on the intersection of theory, philosophy, terrorism, and law. Current areas of professional interest include state failure and intervention, identity politics, and the impact of exponential change on individual and societal well being.

Shane previously held positions as Associate Director (Energy) at Bulletin Intelligence, Editor in Chief at Charged Affairs, and Policy Editor at PRIME Research.

A Marine Corps veteran, Shane’s service triggered an interest in culture and conflict resolution. It also gave him a taste for travel, having lived in 9 countries (and counting).