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Discover our exceptional lineup of industry-leading speakers!
- AI Talk Speakers:
Naveen Bandla
Vice President of Aviation Strategy and Enterprise Analytics
Naveen Bandla, vice president of aviation strategy & enterprise analytics, oversees quantitative research, analysis, and commercial activities in support of DFW’s strategic objectives. He is responsible for research and analytics in support of passenger and cargo air service development and provides critical strategic forecasts and analytic insights to the enterprise.
Naveen leads the commercial functions of DFW’s parking business, including strategy, product development, revenue management, forecasting, and directs DFW’s enterprise data business and analytics strategy to further enable data-driven decision-making across the organization.
Naveen has 25 years of research and analytical experience in the aviation industry. Naveen previously served as assistant vice president of research and analytics leading DFW’s aviation analytics, parking yield management, and enterprise data strategy teams. Naveen joined the DFW staff in April 2010.
Prior to DFW Airport, Naveen worked at Sabre Airline Solutions in various roles driving increased profitability for top global airlines in the areas of flight scheduling, network planning, traffic forecasting, revenue management, fleet optimization, and operations research. Naveen holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Anna University in India, and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of South Florida.
Serial entrepreneur, polymath, physics PhD candidate, and investor, also known as “The Great Simplifier.” Advisor to boards and executive leadership teams, helping companies generate asymmetric, outsized returns on AI.
With a background in theoretical physics, pure and applied mathematics, AI, software development, and electrical engineering, Ab’s life has been shaped by a relentless drive to question the state of gray-area complexities around him.
He is a lifelong learner who continually explores all possible paths toward understanding the workings of the world. He retired from my first business, Good Automation, at 37. Since then, he has become a founder, shareholder, and board member of 8+ businesses in AI and emerging technology.
Today, he serves as Co-Founder and Chief AI Officer for numerous organizations. He is the founder of a private advisory practice designed for medium-sized and Fortune 500 companies who want to generate major returns leveraging AI. He is an early-stage equity investor & corporate board director in AI-powered startups, an active member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and a physics PhD candidate.
Mikko Peltola
Co-Founder and COO, A-CX
Mikko, co-founder and COO of A-CX, has a background in driving innovation and building award-winning products and services. With extensive experience at Nokia, Microsoft, and F-Secure, Mikko has leveraged technology to create impactful solutions.
Mikko’s career exemplifies a deep understanding of business dynamics and a passion for driving growth. Mikko’s international career has taken him through Finland, Italy, the UK, and China, gaining diverse cultural insights. For the past decade, he has lived in California and Texas and holds dual Finnish and American citizenship.
Mikko cherishes time spent with his children, finding joy in shared activities. His passions include the focus of judo and the adventure of scuba diving
Moderator:
Dobrina Ustun
Founder and managing partner, Ustun Law Group, PLLC
Dobrina Ustun is the founder and managing partner of Ustun Law Group, PLLC, a US-based immigration law firm that specializes in employment-based immigration, representing foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and individuals of extraordinary ability.
Prior to that, Dobrina was a key member of the immigration team at Infosys Ltd, one of the world’s largest IT consulting firms. Dobrina is a sought-after speaker in the field of immigration law, having presented at conferences across the world, including HRSouthwest in Dallas and the Global Immigration Summit in Mumbai. She has been featured as an expert in immigration law in major publications such as Le Monde, Mother Jones, and Outlook India.
Additionally, Dobrina is a guest lecturer at several universities, including the University of Texas in Dallas and the University of North Texas.
Dobrina serves as an Advisory Committee Member for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, Texas Chapter, and is an Advisory Board Member, Center for Global Business, Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas.
- EU and US Trade: Focus on Spain
Francisco Garzon
Trade Commissioner of Spain in Miami, Secretaria de Estado de Comercio, ICEX
Francisco Javier Garzón Morales has a degree in Economics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is a State Chartered Economist and Trade Expert for the Government of Spain.
He has held different positions of responsibility in the fields of internationalization and competition policy and regulation.
Mr. Garzón has worked as Deputy Director and Presidency Advisor in the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), mainly focused on the telecommunication and audiovisual sectors.
Regarding international trade and business internationalization, between 2014 and 2018, he was the CEO of ICEX Spain Trade & Investment, the Spanish agency for trade promotion and investment attraction, and previously he held the position of Trade Commissioner in the Embassies of Spain in Brazil and Mexico.
He is now the Trade Commissioner for the Trade Commission of Spain in Miami.
Moderated by:
Eric Hinton
Director,Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law & Leadership; Adjunct faculty
Eric F. Hinton is the founding Director of the Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law & Leadership at SMU Dedman School of Law. In addition to directing the Rowling Center, he teaches international business law, European Union law, and ethics and compliance law at SMU Dedman School of Law and Loyola Chicago University Corboy School of Law. Hinton has developed innovative law courses in international business practice and corporate compliance law and regularly speaks at business law and compliance events and conferences. He also lectures in the MBA programs at the University of Texas at Dallas, Jindal School of Management.
With 25 years of experience in international business law matters, he has worked as a global law and compliance executive in a Fortune 100 company, a private equity-backed technology company, and was the first Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer for one of the largest franchisors in the world. During his career, Hinton has worked on legal and compliance matters in all parts of the world, based in Illinois, Texas, and Brussels, Belgium. Hinton began his career practicing international trade law in Washington, DC, with an international law firm. He is the founder and past chair of the North Texas Ethics & Compliance Council and past chair of the ABA Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee. Hinton is a Fellow in the SMU Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity and Academic Director of the SMU Certificate in Ethics & Compliance.
Hinton holds an LL.M. in European Union Law from the University of Leiden Law School (The Netherlands), a J.D. from BYU Law School, an M.A.in European Integration from the University of Limerick (Ireland), and a B.A. in Political Science from Utah State University. He studied international business law at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Hinton has published a number of scholarly articles on international law and compliance topics, including at Columbia University, NYU, SMU, and the University of Texas at Austin.
- Sustainability Talk
Melanie Bergier
Vice President- Strategy, Sustainability & Transformation – Helicopters North America
Melanie is responsible for defining and leading the strategic plan, including business development, people-centered engagement, improvement, innovation and digitalization initiatives for North America.
As a member of the Airbus team for 12 years, Melanie has successfully led the Maintenance Repair Overhaul teams for North America, helping to drive a digital transformation in its operations. Previously, she worked for Airbus Group in France in supply chain and manufacturing management.
Melanie brings a wealth of experience in operational support, quality, supply chain, technical support and engineering, and she is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Jose Vallejo
President – Ferrovial Energy Solutions. LLC
Jose has over 25 years of experience in senior finance and business development roles in waste management, infrastructure, and industrial services industries, including the incorporation of the Energy Services Business Unit in Spain. He has worked extensively in Spain and internationally.
Prior to being President of Ferrovial Energy Solutions US, Jose was CEO of Ferrovial Services North America. Previously, he was the CFO of Ferrovial Services International and Ferrovial Services North America where he led the finance area and multiple acquisitions and integrations across Europe, Middle East, and the Americas. He also held roles as the Director of Investment analysis of Ferrovial Services, CFO of the Spanish infrastructure services business, and the International Finance Officer and Business Planning Director at Cespa (Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux).
Jose holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Universidad Comercial de Deusto and a postgraduate degree from IESE.
Manuel Carmona Yebra
Deputy Head of Global Issues and Innovation & Counselor for Environment & Oceans of the EU Delegation to the United States
Manuel Carmona Yebra, as Counsellor for Environment and Oceans at the Delegation of the EU in Washington DC, manages relations between the European Union and the US in a wide range of policies ranging from nature conservation to pollution, circular economy, plastics, oceans and fisheries and the Arctic region. Manuel has two degrees in Law and Communication and a Master’s Degree in EU Law from the University of Leicester (UK).
He has previously worked at the European Commission in a number of policy fields such as UNFCCC negotiations on adaptation to climate change, climate diplomacy with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other vulnerable countries, and the links between ocean and environmental issues.
Previously, also at the European Commission, he was an international negotiator for the conservation and management of fishery resources in the North West Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, and also EU Head of Delegation for fisheries conservation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Moderated by
Erin McKelvey
President & CEO, European American Chamber of Commerce Texas
Erin McKelvey has extensive experience in association management having served for 11 years as Director of both the Dallas/Fort Worth and San Francisco Chapters of the French-American Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Erin served as Director of Programs & Member Relations at the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, where she enjoyed interacting with the Council on Foreign Relations and other international think tanks to create policy-related programming. Erin recently launched successful programs in Dallas such as EuroTech Talks and European American Flight Forum. Both are innovation-focused business initiatives.
Erin’s prior business achievements include the launch and management of her own import company wholesaling high-end wine accessories nationwide through large and small-scale retailers, restaurants, and online stores. She also worked for Equifax as a bi-lingual analyst for Canadian data research.
Erin holds a degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University and a Certification in Non-Profit Mgmt. She is fluent in French.
