As AI.Weekend approaches, we’re excited to announce five speakers you won’t want to miss. Joining us in Rovinj from September 18th to 21st are a lot of new voices bringing fresh insight into how AI is reshaping the world of finance, business and everyday digital experiences. This time, we’re adding fresh voices who prove that AI isn’t just about algorithms and big data, it’s about building trust, creating real-life impact and making sure the future feels human, too.
First up, Victor Dodig is the kind of leader you don’t see every day. He is the President and CEO of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), where he oversees more than 48,000 people around the globe. He’s known for transforming the bank into a modern, relationship-first institution focused on sustainable growth and inclusive prosperity. Before becoming CEO, he worked with UBS, Merrill Lynch and McKinsey, but he still plays an active role on boards like the Brookings Institution and TELUS Corporation Inc. On stage in Rovinj, expect Victor to share what it takes to lead responsibly in an AI world, balancing innovation with trust, ethics and real economic growth. That’s exactly why he’s not just our keynote speaker – he’s the face of the future of AI leadership.
Our next big name is Valentina Zadrija, who’s spent the past two decades proving that robotics and AI aren’t just buzzwords, but tools that solve real problems. From building autonomous forklifts to developing robotics datasets that power next-gen machines, Valentina has seen it all! These days, she’s the Tech Lead for AI/ML at Yaak AI GmbH, where she’s creating generative AI tools for robotics, including the L2D dataset, now part of Hugging Face’s LeRobot platform. On top of her PhD, she’s a mom of three and an ambassador for Croatia’s “Female Engineer of the Year” initiative. What should you expect? Real stories about what happens when you take AI out of the lab and put it to work in the real world!
Switching gears from the big picture to the nuts and bolts of conversational AI, Daha Pavlović is the one to watch. She’s part of the Conversational AI and Digital Channels team at Raiffeisen Bank International, where she’s working on ways to bring large language models and generative AI into real-life banking services. Her approach is all about making AI useful and practical, all while making digital customer experiences feel just a bit more human.
These five speakers (and plenty more to come) remind us why AI.Weekend isn’t your typical tech conference. It’s where strategy, ethics, hands-on know-how and a few wild ideas come together in Rovinj. We’re counting down the days. You should be, too!
