CEE Swiss IT Solutions & Cross-Cultural Talent Summit 2025

IBM Fellow, Vice President of IBM Europe and Africa, and Director of the IBM Research Lab in Zurich

Dr. Alessandro Curioni is a visionary research leader at IBM. He shapes the company’s global research strategy in Accelerated Discovery and IT Security, and is a renowned expert in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and neuromorphic systems. Trained as a theoretical chemist, he earned his PhD at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and began his career as a PhD student at IBM Research – Zurich. Today, he is a leading innovator, a member of the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences, and a recipient of the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize (2013, 2015).

Senior Lecturer ZHAW School of Management and Law

Patricia Enzmann is a lecturer and researcher at the ZHAW School of Management and Law. Her research focuses on strategy and innovation in cultural contexts, with a particular emphasis on international organizations and markets. She examines how entrepreneurs leverage cultural resources in processes of value creation and strategic positioning. Before joining ZHAW, Patricia served in a leadership role at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Nanjing and held business management and development positions at UBS in Zurich, Basel, Luxembourg, and London. She combines extensive international business experience with academic expertise in management, marketing, and organizational psychology. Patricia holds an MBA from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (Beijing) and an MSc in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Marketing from the University of Bern.

Professor of International Management and Organizational Behavior at the ZHAW School of Management and Law, Head of Center for Cross-Cultural Management

Prof. Dr habil. Anna Lupina-Wegener is Professor of International Management and Organizational Behavior at the ZHAW School of Management and Law where she heads the Center for Cross-Cultural Management and serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Change Management. Her research and teaching focus on cross-cultural collaboration, organizational identity, and change management in international contexts, with a special interest in digital transformation, interorganizational partnerships and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Before joining ZHAW, she was a professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO) and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Geneva.

Senior Program Manager, Developer Relations , Google, Zurich

Dawid Ostrowski is a technology leader at Google, where he drives global developer relations with a focus on AI, Cloud and emerging technologies. Since joining Google in 2012, he has led worldwide initiatives such as the Google Developer Experts program, Cloud Champions and Google for Startups Accelerator Mentors. With a background spanning software engineering, human-computer interaction research and enterprise consulting, he brings a unique mix of technical depth and community-building expertise. Based in Zurich since 2015, Dawid is particularly passionate about bridging ecosystems between Switzerland and Central & Eastern Europe and exploring how digital innovation can advance business, health and society.

Rieter Endowed Professor of Industrial AI, ZHAW School of Management and Law

Prof. Dr. Alisa Rupenyan-Vasileva is the Rieter Endowed Professor of Industrial Artificial Intelligence at the ZHAW School of Engineering, where she leads the Industrial AI group within the Center for Artificial Intelligence. Her research focuses on the integration of machine learning, process optimization, and neurosymbolic AI to advance automation in manufacturing systems. Prior to her appointment at ZHAW, Alisa was a Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich’s Automatic Control Laboratory and Group Leader at inspire AG, a strategic partner of ETH Zurich for technology transfer in production engineering. She has also held leadership roles in application development at QualySense AG, specializing in machine vision and near-IR spectral data for agricultural robotics. She is recognized among the Top 100+ Women in AI & Data in Switzerland for her contributions to industrial AI and interdisciplinary research.

President and Managing Director Chamber of Commerce Switzerland Central Europe
CEO Triple Eight Solutions AG

Oliver Bertschinger, founder of the CEE Swiss IT-Solutions & Talent Summit, is a Swiss business development and AI expert with a strong focus on growth and productivity. As President and Managing Director of SEC, he has built one of Switzerland’s most dynamic bilateral networks, connecting the country with 17 key markets across Central and Eastern Europe.With more than 25 years of international leadership experience in Zurich, Basel, New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong — including regional responsibilities spanning APAC, Europe, Africa, Central Eastern Europe, and Central Asia — Oliver combines strategic foresight with hands-on execution across diverse business and cultural contexts. Through his consultancy, Triple Eight Solutions AG, he advises companies on AI adoption, productivity enhancement, and international expansion strategies.

CEO and Founder Prodigo S.A.

Michel Patteet is a seasoned expert in international trade promotion with over 30 years of experience. He has held key roles at the Belgian Foreign Trade Board, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, and served as Private Sector Liaison Officer for the World Bank in Brussels. From 2013 to 2020, he was Belgium’s Trade Commissioner in Switzerland, where he gained deep insight into the Swiss market and built a strong business network. In 2020, he founded Prodigo (www.prodigo.ch), a business development firm supporting European companies entering the Swiss market. Today, Prodigo serves clients from 24 countries across diverse sectors.

Global Marketing Director, Senior FDI Director, Switzerland Global Enterprise

Sirpa Tsimal is a global innovation and FDI strategist with over 17 years of experience at the intersection of technology, international business development, and economic promotion. As Global Marketing Director at Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), she leads initiatives that position Switzerland as a top global destination for investment and innovation in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, HealthTech, and Advanced Manufacturing. Her career spans leadership roles in Europe, North America, and Asia, including work with the Greater Zurich Area, Health Industries South Australia, and the Basel region’s innovation promotion office. She is the founder of The Location Lab, a platform advancing place innovation through design thinking, and serves on advisory boards in biotech, blockchain, and economic development. Sirpa holds a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and International Law from the University of Zurich, and executive certificates in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Oxford and in Blockchain Innovation from MIT.

Professor of International Management and Organizational Behavior and Head of Center for Cross-Cultural Management, ZHAW School of Management and Law

Anna Lupina-Wegener is Professor of International Management and Organizational Behavior and Head of the Center for Cross-Cultural Management at the ZHAW School of Management and Law. Her research explores how organizations navigate transformation across cultures — from global mergers and acquisitions to AI-driven change — with a focus on identity, leadership, and intercultural collaboration. Having lived and worked in Poland, Geneva, Fribourg, and now Winterthur, Anna brings not only deep academic expertise but also personal insight into the complexity and richness of Swiss culture. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Change Management and has served as Visiting Professor at leading universities in China and Europe. Her “Swiss Business Culture” workshop draws from both her research and lived experience, offering participants a practical and human perspective on how to work, communicate, and succeed in Switzerland’s unique multicultural environment.

President and Managing Director, SEC
President, Swiss Marketing Zurich

With more than 25 years of international leadership experience across Europe, Asia, and the U.S., Oliver Bertschinger has advised hundreds of companies on internationalization and business growth. Before leading SEC, he served as Senior Marketing & Sponsorship Executive at UBS and as Head of Europe, Africa, and Central Asia at Switzerland Global Enterprise. Today, as President and Managing Director of SEC and President of Swiss Marketing Zurich, he is deeply engaged in strengthening Switzerland’s economic and innovation ties with Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, he lectures at ZHAW on export strategies and the bilateral significance of Europe and Switzerland in global business. His workshop about market entry strategy, marketing support, and more will be very hands-on and interactive.