Keynote Speakers

Learn more about all our guests

David Allemann

• Co-founder, helped transform revolutionary running shoe concept into global phenomenon with $20 billion market capitalization

• Led On Holding AG through landmark NASDAQ IPO in 2021, delivering over 17 million products worldwide

• Drove all aspects of company strategy: product creation, production setup, design innovation, global marketing, and international scaling

• Former Managing Director at Young & Rubicam Switzerland, and consultant at McKinsey & Company

• Master of Law from University of Zurich

Professor of Dynamic Systems and Control, ETH Zurich

• Internationally recognized leader in autonomous systems and robotics

• Co-founded Kiva Systems and acquired by Amazon to become Amazon Robotics, revolutionizing global warehouse automation

• Co-founder and CEO of Verity, a company specializing in AI-powered, drone-enabled inventory tracking systems and mobile intelligence

• Co-founder of ROBO Global, world’s first robotics & AI ETF, acquired by VettaFi and TMX Group

• Elected to the Logistics Hall of Fame and the US National Inventors Hall of Fame

Internationally recognized expert in developmental immunology
Professor, Head of the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Oxford; Professor at ETHZ and University of Basel
Director of Translation, Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering
Elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences
Recipient of the Fanconi Prize of the Swiss Society for Paediatrics
Formerly Harvard Medical School

CEO, Holcim

Since May 2024, leading the world’s largest building materials and solutions company.
Joined Holcim in 2018, previously serving as Region Head Europe and Head of the Middle East and Africa, driving growth and innovation across key markets.
Prior to Holcim senior management positions at Sika AG
PhD in Engineering from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

Professor of Robotic Systems, ETH Zurich

Director of the ETH Center for Robotics RobotX and the Zurich Office of the Robotics and AI (RAI) Institute
Co-founder of several ETH startups such as ANYbotics, Gravis, RIVR, Flexion, Bota Systems, Incon, and Upcircle
Board member of ANYbotics, a spin-off company developing autonomous four-legged robots for industrial inspection
Recipient of multiple awards including the 2024 Rössler Prize

Co-founder GetYourGuide

Founding Partner of Founderful, Switzerland’s leading early-stage venture capital firm, supporting Swiss tech startups.
CHF 200m under management, most active investor at ETH Zurich.
Co-founder of GetYourGuide, one of the world’s largest online platforms for booking travel experiences and activities.
The first ETH Zurich Startup to become a unicorn.
ETH Foundation, Investment Committee Member.
Studied Electrical Engineering at ETH Zurich.

Professor of Computer Vision, ETH Zurich

Internationally recognized leader in the field of computer vision
Director Microsoft Spatial AI Lab, helped develop HoloLens2
Founding President European Computer Vision Association
Fellow of IEEE (Institute of Electronics Engineers) and ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), member of the Academia Europaea
Recipient of multiple prizes, including the David Marr prize

Spiritus Rector of ETH’s leading robotics research

Founding Co-Director of Wyss Zurich
Former Vice President for Research and Corporate Relations at ETH Zurich (2010–2014).
Co-founder of multiple high-tech startups such as Shockfish Communication Ltd., BlueBotics Ltd., ALSTOM Inspection Robotics Ltd., and Sevensense Robotics AG.
Author and co-author of influential robotics publications and textbooks, including Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robots.

Associate Vice President for ETH Zürich Campus Heilbronn (ETH HN)

ETH HN is a major new initiative by ETH Zurich supported by the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, to establish in Heilbronn a hub for education, research, and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and related fields.
Boris Zürcher was Director of Labour at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) from 2013 until the end of 2024. Previously, he was Director and Chief Economist at BAKeconomics, Deputy Director and Chief Economist at Avenir Suisse, Economic Policy Advisor to Federal Councillors Pascal Couchepin, Joseph Deiss and Doris Leuthard, and Head of Labour Market Policy at SECO.
Boris Zürcher studied economics and sociology at the University of Berne and holds a PhD in economics. He completed an apprenticeship as a mechanical draughtsman with a Federal Certificate of Aptitude and obtained his Federal Baccalaureate while working. He has been a lecturer in economics at the University of Berne since 2003.

Chair of Kistler Holding AG

Chair of Kistler Holding AG, a global leader in precision measurement technology
Ex CEO, Chairman and Principal of Burckhardt Compression AG, leading the company through an MbO IPO and a significant growth and global expansion.
President of the Swiss Employers’ Association (2011–2023), representing the interests of Swiss employers nationally and internationally.
University of St. Gallen