2021 Speakers



Alex Clyne
Co-founder
Jump Digital Ltd

Alex is an entrepreneur and pioneer in online learning.
His work is driven by his understanding of business. Alex has held senior positions in Global organisations within Sales, HR, Operations as well as CEO. He has worked across Europe, USA, Middle East and India.
Early on, Alex identified a rapidly growing need for a different approach to digital marketing consultancy and e-learning.
In 1997, Alex co-founded Jump Digital, which has built and sold 3 companies. In 1999, Alex created Obvious Solutions, an award-winning video recruitment company which serviced Amazon, BP, CSC, HBOS, Goodrich, Microsoft and RBS prior to its sale.
Jump develops courses on emerging technologies and disruptive business processes which are practitioner lead and efficiently delivered on a unique knowledge transfer platform. Using award-winning learning methodology, Jump and its partners have created global online education firsts, all built with leading Universities, Colleges, Professional organisations.
A former Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Carnegie College and Carnegie Institute, Alex is also a visiting lecturer at top Universities in the UK and the US.

Rose Meade Hart
Entertainment and Media Attorney & Founder
Hart Law Group, LLC

Rose is an innovative dealmaker with a track-record of success across traditional and digital media.
Licensed as an attorney in New York and California, Rose has been structuring deals at the nexus of technology and entertainment for over two decades. She’s a broker between the worlds of art and commerce.
Rose is an early adopter with a passion for technology. Online since 1985, she is a pioneer in cross-platform projects. Her work ranges from the first online music retailer through digital influencers and emerging technology.
Rose has worked with the biggest names in media and entertainment. Recently, she served as a c-suite exec for a startup funded by Google to create premium YouTube channels; business affairs counsel for Sony Music’s Astronauts Wanted helmed by TV icon Judy McGrath; and advisor to digital players like JustJared.com and Fullscreen. Rose has closed distribution deals for Verizon Go90, Snapchat and YouTube Red, and brand deals for every social platform (excluding MySpace). She understands platforms and what drives traffic.
In online education, Rose is dedicated to using her relationships and the latest technology to bring access and high level training to under-served communities, increasing diversity, equity and inclusion, and helping everyone future-proof their careers with the most current, cutting-edge content.

Fukushi Hiroshi
CDO, Representative Director & Corporate Executive Deputy President
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Fukushi Hiroshi
CDO, Representative Director & Corporate Executive Deputy President
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Yukio Saegusa
CDO, Executive Officer & General Manager of Digital Innovation Department
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd

Yukio Saegusa
CDO, Executive Officer & General Manager of Digital Innovation Department
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd

Amit Kama
CEO & Founder
CDO Club Israel

CEO and Founder of Kamedia Digital an Israeli based interactive studio and digital strategic consulting company focused on making design-driven digital products in a new era of connected customers and digital businesses. Founder of the CDO Club in Israel, the first and largest Israeli community of C-suite digital, data and innovation leaders.

Takuya Hirai
Minister for Digital Transformation & Member of the House of Representatives
Japanese government

Takuya Hirai
Minister for Digital Transformation & Member of the House of Representatives
Japanese government

Urs Reinhard
Chief Digital & Customer Officer
UPC Schweiz GmbH

Urs Reinhard is UPC Switzerland’s Chief Digital & Customer Officer. UPC is Switzerland’s largest cable-operator and 3rd largest telco, offering the full range of Internet, TV and mobile phone services. Urs is responsible for UPC’s holistic digital transformation and as well runs the customer service division. Over the last 2 years, Urs designed and executed a company-wide digital transformation covering Journeys, Products, Channels, (Information) Technology, Operating Model, Skills & Culture. Within the year 2020, Urs reduced number of call center contacts by 35%, letters by 30% and back office tasks by 25%. At the same time, online sales share doubled and NPS increased by almost 20 points.
Prior to this mission, Urs held different other executive board position at UPC including Strategy, Sales and Customer Service. Before joining UPC, Urs was a Partner and Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and worked 13 years in their Zurich, San Francisco and Johannesburg offices. He advised leading companies in the Telecom, High Tech, Media and Electricity industries, and co-founded and build up BCG South Africa.

Nir Ron
CEO & Innovation leader
Surpass Consulting

Experienced Senior Manager with a demonstrated history of working with groundbreaking technologies. Skilled in Machine Learning and AI technologies, Digital Strategy, enterprise products Implementation, and IT Strategy. M.A. focused in Logistics from Bar-Ilan University.

Aaron Kalb
Co-Founder & Chief Data Analytics Officer
Alation

Aaron is co-founder and CDAO at Alation. He has spent his career working at the intersection of humans and technology to help people satisfy their curiosity and make more rational decisions. As CDAO, his mandate is to promote data culture and data-driven decision-making within the company and around the world. Prior to Alation, he worked on Siri at Apple in the Advanced Development Group. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in symbolic systems from Stanford University.

Jun Kamo
CEO & Founder
CDO Club Japan

Jun Kamo earned a BSc (Information Science) from The University of Tokyo.
He is a Master of Computer Science (specialized in AI) from The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
He Joined Dentsu Inc. where he was in charge of Toyota, Intel, Microsoft and Apple、create Intel Inside global campaign with Dr. Andy Globe. He established Digital Communications Lab at Dentsu USA, as the Chief Strategist.
After leaving Dentsu he founded Harmonic Communications Inc. supported by Marc Andreessen, Michael Moritz,Mark Kvamme from Sequoia Capital, Vice President of Asia Pacific region.
He is the director of strategic division of PwC Consulting The NPO, Business for Social Responsibility(BSR), Senior advisor and an MBA lecturer of Saint Paul‘s University (marketing/CSR/branding/DX).
He Founded Association of CDO Club Japan in 2017.

Maurice A. Nyffeler
President
CDO Club Switzerland

Maurice Nyffeler is Founder and President of CDO Club Switzerland, having founded the association in early 2017. Since then, he has curated with his management board four CDO Summits in Zurich bringing together dozens of CDO’s from throughout the country. He also currently serves as Partner in a digital consulting company. Previously, after receiving his Master of Law degree and an in-company MBA with further education at universities such as Harvard and HEC Lausanne, he held various managing positions. These include Sales Director of a digital corporation, CEO of the subsidiary of a media group, Co-Founder of a successfully technology start-up company and CEO ad interim and COO/Head of Marketing & Sales ad interim at two digital start-up companies.

Hagai Azor
VP Delivery
Applause

In his role at Applause, Hagai leads the Israeli Solution Delivery, Testing services and Community groups, ensuring seamless projects delivery with high customer satisfaction.
Hagai brings with him more than 15 years of experience in the information technology and services industry. Skilled in operations management, operational excellence, business planning and performance Improvement.
Hagai holds a B.Sc. degree with honors in industrial engineering from Ben-Gurion university and a MBA degree from Tel-Aviv university.

Sivan Raz
Strategy & Communication Director
Alma Lasers International

Leading the digital transformation program with a vision of becoming a global leading consumer brand, Sivan holds a Master degree in business administration and a Bachelor degree in business administration, media & journalism from the Hebrew University in Israel. Sivan has over 20 years’ of experience in the telecommunication, high-tech and med-tech industries as product manager, product marketing, consumer marketing, customers’ retention and strategy.

Michael Vapenik
Former Head of Risk Governance and Control - Cards and Payments
Barclays

An accomplished, results-focused executive, Mike has an outstanding record of achievement crossing all facets of the risk and marketing lifecycles for consumer / commercial cards and merchants within the payments industry. A strategic and operational leader with exceptional analytical and quantitative skills, Mike’s talent for identifying business opportunities, leading initiatives and managing change at the congruence of data, analytics, technology, people and business processes has been acknowledged year over year. Mike has repeatedly been cited for outstanding service and is the recipient of numerous awards both early in his career in the public sector as well those received during his 20+ years in the financial services industry. Mike has a track record of driving innovation both in opportunities to grow company profits, as well as strengthening corporate governance and has filed for three patents (one issued, two pending).

Farouk Ferchichi
Former Chief Data and Analytics Officer
USAA & Toyota

Mr. Ferchichi has over 20 years of proven success leading diverse and global organizations in transforming and monetizing data and analytics to improve existing and create new products and services, market segments, and business models that enhance customer experience, loyalty, and business performance.
He has been a Chief Data and Analytics Officer for nearly a decade, most recently at USAA, and prior to that with Toyota Financial Services. Mr. Ferchichi is a recognized pioneer CDO 4.0 and has won several awards as CDO leading innovation and development of new data and analytics driven business products and services. He has a great blend of consulting and corporate experiences working at Gartner, Accenture, and Citigroup. In addition, he co-founded and successfully sold two start-ups.

David Mathison
Founder/CEO
CDO Summit/CDO Club

David Mathison is the curator of the Chief Digital Officer Summit and founder of the CDO Club.
He is the world’s leading authority on Chief Digital and Data officers, and has been quoted by the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Computerworld, McKinsey & Company, MIT Sloan Management Review, CMS Wire, ZDNet, Fierce CIO, and I-CIO, among others.
He was previously the founder and Managing Director of the Digital Media practice at Chadick Ellig, a premiere executive search consultancy named by Business Week as “one of the world’s most influential headhunters.
Mathison’s book, BE THE MEDIA, was featured in the NY Times after he pre-sold over 5,000 copies in 11 days via his web site, Twitter, and Facebook.
He has given keynote presentations everywhere from Columbia University to the United Nations (3 times in 2010), from Amsterdam to Zagreb.
From 1999-2001 he was founder and CEO of the Kinecta Corporation where he raised $30 million in under 2 years. Kinecta was acquired and is now part of Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL).
From 1994-1999 Mathison was Vice President with Thomson Reuters, the world’s largest news agency, where he pioneered online content syndication.
Mathison earned his Masters degree from Columbia University in 1995.