Area of Expertise: Leadership development

Álvaro Fernández, named as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, is a recognized Brain Health pioneer, keynote speaker and author. For more than 15 years he has led SharpBrains, an independent research firm tracking applied neuroscience and gathering hundreds of scientists, experts, technologists, and practitioners. He has also been quoted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Reuters, and Associated Press, among others.

Álvaro is the Editor-in-chief of seminal market reports on Brain Health and Innovation and co-authored the influential discussion paper Empowering 8 Billion Minds: Enabling Better Mental Health for All via the Ethical Adoption of Technologies published in the National Academy of Medicine. To help engage a variety of audiences he co-authored the acclaimed books The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness and Cómo Invertir en su Cerebro, translated into multiple languages.

Prior to his work at the frontier of applied neuroscience and mental wellness, Álvaro worked at consulting firm McKinsey & Company, helped Bertelsmann launch one of the first online bookstores in Europe. Additionally, he launched a learning platform at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, and participated in the turnaround of corporate e-learning company Docent/ SumTotal Systems.

Furthermore, Álvaro has enjoyed serving in several Global Future Councils by the World Economic Forum, in the Global Teacher Prize Academy run by the Varkey Foundation, and in the Global Advisory Board of SEK Education Group, among others.

Besides that background, he holds an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University and a BA in Economics from Universidad de Deusto.

He is native from Spain, and is an avid skier (alpine and cross-country), tennis player, non-fiction readers, and traveler. Having lived 24 years in the US between the Bay Area, Washington, DC and Boca Raton he and his family recently moved to Madrid, Spain. Born in Bilbao, in the Basque Country, Álvaro is a dual citizen of Spain and the US, and fluent in Spanish and English.

Empowering Minds: Leveraging Brain Science to Unlock Potential in the AI/ Cognitive Era

How can we enhance our core mental capacities to innovate and to thrive in today’s complex and rapidly-changing society and workplace? What can we do to invest in our most precious resource –our human brain– and boost individual and collective resilience? Discover the practical applications of emerging research on brain functioning and neuroplasticity, and learn how everyone can become a lifelong “mental athlete” ready to face professional and personal challenges in the AI/ Cognitive Age.

 Brain Health in 2030: Navigating Neuroplasticity and the Digital Health Market

Brain Health and Mental Health are rapidly-evolving marketplaces, and executives and pioneers should be aware of the far-reaching impact this transformation will have in the near future. Alvaro Fernandez, the CEO of the leading independent market research firm SharpBrains — tracking health and wellness applications of brain science — will discuss the latest market data and forecasts on how digital platforms will revolutionize brain health by 2030. Participants will discover and brainstorm how the growing mainstream demand for “brain fitness” is creating a significant demand and opportunity for web-based, mobile and biometrics-based technology to assess, monitor and enhance cognition and brain functioning.

Luciano is a senior executive expert in corporate strategy, leadership, and people development.

After graduating with honors in nuclear engineering, he followed several management courses at Bocconi, Harvard, Oxford and NYU.

In his long career as a management consultant, he held executive positions in leading multinational companies, being Strategy, Supply Chain Management and CRM Leader at PwC for Spain, Portugal and Italy, then BU Leader for Energy and Life Sciences Industries at Altran Italy and, more recently, Country Manager at CGI Italy.

He served on the Board of Directors for the post-merger integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers Spain, and on the management committees of PwC Italy and CGI Spain, Latam and Italy.

With his knowledge and expertise in boardroom consulting, he has led remarkable corporate programs for Fortune 500 companies, focusing on lean organization, cultural change and digital transformation.
Fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, he boasts a multicultural experience.

At Axialent, Luciano supports large international accounts in their leadership development programs, applying Conscious Business values and tools, and contributes to Axialent’s growth strategy in Italy and South Europe.

Married with two children, he practices sports, such as marathon running, swimming, and skiing, and has a passion for travel and wine tasting, being a professional certified sommelier.

Stefaan is the founder of the Global Curiosity Institute where he and his team are supporting professionals, teams and organisations to foster a mindset of curiosity.
 
He started his career in investment consulting in China. From there he moved to set up the executive education arm of a major business school in Shanghai, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), which he ran for 5 years. Subsequently, he moved to the corporate side and set up global learning teams and innovative corporate universities for Nokia (China/Finland), Agfa Healthcare (Belgium), Philips (the Netherlands), Flipkart (India), Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) and Cognizant (UK). His last role was that of Chief Learning Officer for Cognizant, where he overlooked the learning and development for over 300k associates across the globe. He has been globally recognized for his innovative approach to learning, people and technology.
 
Stefaan has a Master’s degree in Economics and in Chinese, together with postgraduate degrees in Marxist Economics from China, Cross-Cultural Management from France and an Executive MBA from Rutgers University. He is a certified ACS and NLP coach. A Belgian national, Stefaan has been married for 25 years to Jeltje Peletier: a successful psychotherapist, coach and yoga teacher. Together they have 4 children: Rik, Femke, Koen and Menko. He practices meditation daily, is a marathon runner and is currently pursuing a masters degree in philosophy.
 
To learn more about the institute click here: https://www.globalcuriosityinstitute.com/

Until recently, Annie was the Global Head of Culture and Client Marketing for UBS Investment Bank and held a similar role at Goldman Sachs. Although unusual to find these two roles in one person, Annie has always seen them as connected disciplines, as high-performing cultures and employee engagement drive success with clients and ultimately, brand and reputation. Annie is now focused on culture transformation and ‘C’ Suite leadership coaching, making positive behavior change happen for the individual, the team, the Executive board, and the whole organization.

Annie uses the latest developments in neuroscience and our understanding of how the brain works and impacts behavior to help drive organizational performance by creating places where people thrive, not merely survive, shaping the culture her clients need to successfully implement their business strategy. Annie is also an international speaker on culture, conduct, D+I, and employee engagement.

Prior to this, Annie ran her own consulting firm, with clients that included London 2012, helping to jump start a culture for the London Organising Committee of the Olympics and Paralympics Games (LOCOG), Goldman Sachs, and GAM, a specialist investment management firm. In her earlier career, Annie worked in a number of senior branding, marketing and communication roles, including organizations such as BP, the Ministry of Defense, the Prime Ministers Press Office (under the Rt Hon. Margaret Thatcher), and The London Stock Exchange.  She is also an experienced coach and mentor, having trained with The Performance Consultants and a Mental Health Ambassador (MHFA).

Annie was a former Trustee and Chair of Borough Market and currently Chairs the Board of Governors for The Bridge Academy and a Non-Executive director of Rungway Ltd. Other interests are food and sport. She likes skiing, hiking/scrambling, is passionate about wine, and has achieved a distinction in WSET 3.

Annie holds a BA Combined Honors degree in History & Politics from the University of Exeter and a Leadership qualification from IMD, Lausanne.

 

Márcio Marcos is a world citizen passionate about people and teams. Since May 2024, Márcio is an Associate Partner at Axialent.

He began working in the engineering field, but soon he focused on the development of suppliers and deals in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. At the outset of his professional career, he realized that to develop and grow business efficiently, people and business challenges must be aligned. His strength lies in quickly adapting to the environment to develop solutions that accelerate the organizational change process.

He is a coach, manager, advisor, and facilitator in leadership, negotiation, and cultural transformation areas, with extensive professional experience in several European, Latin American, and Asian countries.

His background in human and organizational development comprises multiple industries and includes clients such as Wal-Mart, Toyota, Audi, Unilever, HSBC, BSH, Vale, Ericsson, Santander, and IFF.

He is an environmental processes engineer, graduated from Berlin Technological University, and is trained and certified in Barrett, coaching, shadow coaching, NLP, Gestalt Therapy, mentoring, counseling, management models, meditation techniques, and biohacking.

He has lived in seven cities in three countries and currently lives in Barcelona, Spain, with his wife and his two children.

Edvard is a consultant with more than 35 years of experience in projects of strategic alignment and change management. He is a professor of human resources in Master of Business Administration and Graduate courses in the areas of leadership and people management as well as in team development at FIA USP, and power and influence at FDC. He was a professor of leadership at São Paulo Business School.

He is a specialist in cultural transformation, building leadership development processes, including executive coaching, tailor-made solutions in programs of training and preparation of leaders, deepening self-awareness and work environment awareness.

Edvard has worked in the human resources area for more than 20 years. He worked in companies such as TRW do Brasil, Saab Scania do Brasil, Brosol – Bromberg e Solex, Corporação Bonfiglioli, Grupo Bompreço and Editora Abril.

He is a psychologist, specialized in human resources administration by FGV/SP and post-graduated in business administration. Edvard holds credits from the Masters of Science in Management by the California American University. He has studied leading organizational change at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Ekin runs programs to take leaders and teams to the next performance level. Her expertise includes leadership vevelopment, high performing teams and culture transformation with a systemic focus (Systems Theory). She is a certified coach by Axialent, and Conscious Business Center by Fred Kofman.

Her election to often navigate outside of her comfort zone has been an accelerator for growth throughout her life journey. She has ten years of experience accompanying leaders and teams on their development journey to boost effectiveness. Her clients include multinationals from the financial, social media, airline, and consumer goods industries.

Her 20+ years professional career also includes managerial roles for big brands such as Telefonica, Kellogg, and Ernst & Young in diverse countries. She has a unique set of skills that combines technical, business and human systems skills: She is an industrial engineer, with an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a masters degree in systemic family therapy.

She is multicultural and multilingual. Currently, she lives in Mexico City with her family.

Horacio has broad experience in implementing changes and generating great impact on customer companies.

Horacio served as training management at Organización Techint, training hundreds of leaders and professionals for more than six years, within the context of complex change processes, mergers and acquisitions. More recently, Horacio was for almost a decade corporate manager of the human resources department of Grupo Clarín, leading the learning and change process and the executive remuneration practices.

As part of an integral change management strategy, Horacio promoted the application of the “Six Sigma” Process Improvement methodology at Grupo Clarín. To this end, he specialized and received a “Black Belt” from the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA).

Horacio is the co-author of “Transformando,” a book on change experiences in Argentine corporations. He has also regularly contributed organizational learning content to MateriaBiz.com, a management and academic website. A professor of several postgraduate programs at different Argentine universities, he is currently professor of “Cultural Change and Organizational Learning” of the “Master in Organizational Coaching” program at the Universidad del Salvador.

Horacio holds a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Buenos Aires. He is a senior coach certified by the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires and of the LLC of Fred Kofman.

In his spare time, Horacio occasionally composes music and writes and performs in theater comedies.

Alejandra holds a degree in educational sciences and is a spiritual guide. For 18 years, she served as training and new project director at Santa María Spirituality Center.

After a longstanding career as educator, Alejandra decided to commence the coaching professional practice, combining her charisma and experience as a spiritual guide. From this practice, she leads the design and implementation of leadership and cultural transformation processes in corporate, social, educational and religious organizations. She facilitates awareness, value incarnation, communication, and personal and institutional crisis resolution processes. She also provides guidance and advice in regard to team building and consolidation.

She carried out cultural transformation and leadership development processes in the following companies: Falabella, Sodimac, CMR, Entel (Chile), Mi Banco (Perú), Farmacity, Cetelem, Tafilar (Uruguay), El Tejar, Mercado Libre, Wallmart, BBVA, YPF, Pluspetrol, Cloudgaia, Buenos Aires Ministry of Health, and other companies. She also guided the creation and development of teams and branches in several Latin American countries.

Alejandra is married and has four children. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, actively participates in her community, offers contemplative retreats, and guides people in finding the way to their heart.

In his work, Vito focuses on learning, change and organizational effectiveness. He gained much of his business knowledge working hands-on for more than a decade as a manager at Banco Río, Argentina, where he was responsible for the quality and productivity area, commercial operations and e-banking.

Vito holds a Bachelor of Science degree in public accounting from the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires and a Master of Business Administration from the Instituto de Altos Estudios Empresariales (IAE). He graduated as an organizational coach in Leading Learning Communities (LLC) in Argentina. He also studied language ontology at the Newfield Network in Chile, where he became an ontological coach for personal and organizational change.

Vito’s passion for teaching led him to become an assistant professor of organizational structures at the Economic Science Faculty at the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires. Vito works there as an instructor for the Leadership and Organizational Coaching Graduate Course and the Life, Freedom and Consciousness Program. In addition, he develops leadership programs for the University of Salvador.

Vito is currently involved in consulting, coaching and learning programs with companies such as Citibank, Microsoft, Standard Bank and Caja Laboral in Argentina, Chile and Spain.

A keynote speaker at various conferences organized by the Chilean institution Icare, he was distinguished as having the best evaluation in the 2005 Human Resources Convention.

An extremely active person, Vito balances his interest in reading and cinema with aerobics practice. Vito is married, has two sons and enjoys spending time with his family.