Being AI-first Conversations: Amsterdam Chapter

Alfred Manhart leads the NVIDIA GSI & Channel organization in EMEA, delivering and executing go-to-market growth and innovation strategies via the extended ecosystem for NVIDIA’s Enterprise business. This involves collaborating with Global System Integrators, Resellers, Solution integration and Distribution partners in close alignment with OEMs, Alliances, ISVs, Start-ups, CSPs and Solution Partners.

Alfred joined NVIDIA in March 2019, having previously held multiple management roles. Throughout his career, he has led business units focused on system integration, alliances and verticals, cloud, as well as business development and service providers, on both a country and EMEA-wide level.

Prior to NVIDIA, he spent many years in professional services, support, and sales roles for Accenture, Siemens, Software AG, Opentext and NetApp on an international level, including tenures in Eastern Europe and APAC.

Outside of work, he enjoys any kind of sport, reading, traveling the world, and spending time with his family.

Balakrishna D.R., popularly known as Bali, is an Executive Vice President at Infosys and leads the Industry Verticals and AI and Automation practice globally. Bali holds P&L accountability for a $3 Billion portfolio and is responsible for new service offerings, solutions, platforms, and partnerships. He also champions the adoption of AI and automation in all service offerings and internal functions within Infosys, aiming to improve efficiency and drive differentiation.

Bali has been with Infosys for nearly 30 years in sales, occupying roles in program management and delivery across different geographies and industry verticals. In his previous roles, he led ADM, SAP, and Testing service lines and served as the head of the Bangalore development center. During his eight-year tenure in the US and Canada, he established Infosys' first Global Development Center in Canada. He has managed several large programs for Infosys, catering to different Fortune 500 clients.

He is an active member and speaks at multiple industry forums and panels, such as NASSCOM, CII, SPE, TM Forum, British High Commission-UK-India Tech Team, and AI Governance in India. Additionally , he collaborates with multiple universities and startups and has authored several thought leadership papers and articles on AI.

Faiz Rahman currently serves as Vice President & IP Head of Infosys. In this role, he manages Artificial Intelligence related legal issues with customers and vendors, along with compliance of upcoming AI laws. Faiz is also involved with policy makers around and have actively participated in many AI-related policy issues. He also manages IP portfolios of Infosys, open-source compliance & M&A due diligence.

Irene Bakker is head of Risk and Finance Tech since January 1st 2024 . Responsible for the development and maintenance of all central Risk Management and Finance systems of Rabobank and with that she is an important contributor to the realization of the bank's IT strategy. Irene is committed and a team player and has a strong focus on people and results. She sees it as her role to empower, engage, and challenge teams, all while maintaining a balance between trust and control.

Jeroen Verbruggen is currently responsible for IT strategy, architecture, program management and public cloud at Proximus. Previously he worked as management consultant for The Boston Consulting Group, advising companies on digital transformation.

Mel Jacobs, CIO Wealth Management & Corporate Banking at ABN AMRO Bank, is the winner of the 2021 CIO of the Year Award. The prize is a recognition for her major role in the digital transformation of the organization. Mel Jacobs, 46 years old. Born in Malaysia lived in Calcutta for 4 years. Mel has been with ABN AMRO for approx. 17 years and has been in various leadership roles within the organization. She is certified as an Innovation Technology Leader from Stanford University. Mel Jacobs is the embodiment of this digital revolution and will share her vision on the strategy of the bank: A personal bank in a digital age. Mel fosters an inclusive bank that creates value for the society and keeps aiming for better solutions. But also a bank where both employees as well as clients feel at home and find what they need.

Michel has a long experience working in the banking industry with 29 years in ABN AMRO holding director roles from both services and IT. January 2022 Michel joined Danske Bank as COO for Large Corporates & Institutions combining his experiences from IT, services and agile development. As a person and leader, Michel describes himself as a puzzle-solver who is curious about people, their work and how everything works. When it comes to leadership in agile organisations, Michel’s focus is on being able to give people responsibility through guardrails within which they should have the freedom to operate and act independently. In his private time, Michel is active and enjoys tennis, cycling, running and spending time with his wife and four children.

Micha Helbig is the Senior Vice President and Regional Head of Financial Services for Continental Europe at Infosys, where he has worked for 18 years. His career spans consulting, business development, and client relationship management across Europe and APAC. Beginning his career as a business consultant, Micha has over 28 years of experience in consulting, business development, client relationship management and alliance management, primarily in software and services for the Financial Services Industry across Europe and, from 2005- 2020, also in Australia/APAC.

Micha is currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He is originally from Groningen, also in the Netherlands, where he received an MSc in Business Administration from the University of Groningen. He also holds a Master of Sport Administration and Facility Management from Ohio University in the US.

In his spare time, Micha loves spending time with his wife Hannah and son Jules, staying fit by doing CrossFit and indulges in reading, mostly crime novels and management books.

Mona Dash heads the AI and Automation practice – Infosys Topaz - in Europe. She is a business leader with over twenty years of experience in the European region, driving complex solution adoption, such as OSS, BSS, and more significantly in AI and Automation for the last eight years at Infosys. Mona works across partner ecosystem and industry verticals with a view to articulate and enable Infosys service lines and customers with AI-led and enabled programs.

Mona is a Telecoms Engineer and holds an MBA as well as a master’s degree in creative writing. She is an award-winning author of five published books, has been featured in more than thirty-five anthologies, and is also a public speaker.

A globally recognised Executive of Data & AI with a passion for empowering change in organisations through data & AI driven insights, renowned for setting the strategy and vision to lead multi £m and enterprise transformation initiatives, leading to lasting culture changes that maximise this amazing asset. Excellent reputation for resolving problems, improving customer experience, and driving overall business process re-engineering improvements, through effective use of artificial intelligence including GenAI, ML, NLP, robotics. With a solid track record championing and driving data and digital transformation for large complex group organisations through deep business understanding and customer focused solutions.

Ronald van Loon is the Founder & CEO of Intelligent World, an educational platform for global thought leaders, analysts, and influencers. As a globally recognized thought leader, Ronald frequently speaks at major AI, Big Data, IoT, and Data Science events. Ranked by Onalytica and others, he is a global top 10 influencer in AI, Data & Analytics, Cloud, and Digital Transformation.

Syed Ahmed heads the Infosys Responsible AI Office and is an innovation leader for AI at Infosys. He plays a pivotal role in steering the Responsible AI track as part of Infosys's AI-first initiative. His responsibilities include building technical and policy-driven guardrails to integrate Responsible AI across internal and external pursuits, collaborating with legal and security teams, the data privacy office, and external stakeholders such as industry bodies, government agencies, and think tanks. Additionally, he oversees product development and AI research for Infosys Topaz suite and manages the partner ecosystem in the AI space, ranging from startups to hyper scalars.