Aishath Adnan is the Co-Founder of Women in Tech Maldives, a non-profit organization committed to inspiring, empowering, and celebrating women in science and technology in the Maldives. Her commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion is evident through her leadership in amplifying cybersecurity awareness and digital literacy on both national and regional platforms.

With over 16 years of experience across various domains in the technology sector, Aishath has successfully spearheaded digital transformation initiatives in both public and private sectors. Currently, she serves as the Manager for Information Systems at Allied Insurance Company of the Maldives. Her career highlights include designing and executing innovative e-Government solutions during her tenure at the National Center for Information Technology Maldives.

As a TEDx and keynote speaker, Aishath addresses critical issues such as gender equality in technology, cybersecurity awareness, and the transformative power of technology. She is dedicated to mentoring aspiring professionals, designing educational programs, and advocating for the prevention of the digital divide.

In addition to her corporate and advocacy roles, Aishath is the Chief Operating Officer at Spark Hub, a consultancy firm focused on enhancing the startup ecosystem in the Maldives. She is also a Co-Founder of the Maldives Startup Network- NGO dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the Maldives. She also serves on the executive committee of the Maldives Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

Manager of the General Markets Directorate with eleven years of experience in the Superintendence of Telecommunications (SUTEL) from Costa Rica, where she has had- among other responsibilities-, the creation and establishment a system of sectorial indicators since the beginning of the opening of the Costa Rican market to competition. As part of her work at Sutel, she has directed important and diverse work teams in the field of access and interconnection, the application of the sectorial competition regime, economic studies and analysis and development of new regulation.  More recently, she has been involved in the definition of strategies and of the regulatory body as Coordinator of the institutional regulatory Agenda.

She has also experience on market monitoring and market studies for the Costa Rican export products and services.

She is also alternate Commissioner at Coprocom, which is the national authority of competition in Costa Rica.

Economist and Master in Business Administration, Senior Management and Telecommunications studies.

Dr Gift Kallisto Machengete is the Director General of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). He has over 40 years working experience as an economist, strategist and diplomat, having worked as Director of Finance and Administration in the Government of Zimbabwe, Economic Counsellor at the Zimbabwean Embassy in China and Deputy Ambassador at the Zimbabwean Embassy in Malaysia. He has also worked as a part – time Lecturer for Research Methodology at Master’s level and a Thesis Moderator for the same course for the past 20 years. He is a holder of a Doctorate in Business Administration, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Bernardo Mariano Jr. of Mozambique as Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO), Assistant Secretary-General, Office of Information and Communications Technology, on 1 June 2021. His tenure began 1 August 2021.

Mr. Mariano brings to the position 28 years of experience within the United Nations system and international organizations, most recently serving as the Chief Information Officer and Director for Digital Health and Innovation at the World Health Organization (WHO), where he led the organization’s digital transformation journey, leveraging digital technologies and innovations to accelerate the achievement of WHO strategic goals.

He started his career in 1993 with International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Mozambique and continued with IOM in Haiti, Mali, Angola, Kenya, Kosovo and South Africa in addition to Geneva, Switzerland before joining WHO in 2018.

Mr. Mariano served as IOM Senior Regional Adviser for Sub-Saharan Africa (2017-2018), Regional Director for Southern Africa (2009-2015) and served as IOM Chief Information Officer (2015-2017, 2002-2011). During this tenure, he championed several business transformation initiatives, driving innovations in operation and management systems, Enterprise Resource Planning systems, information technology, project management and network infrastructure.

He holds a Master of Science in Global Management from Salford University (United Kingdom), and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. Mr. Mariano is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, with a very good knowledge of French.

Trevor Sammut is the Senior Technology Architect at the Malta Digital Innovation Authority and is responsible for the various aspect of reviews of various kinds of innovative technology, its practical application, design and function. Mr Sammut also handled the Authorisations, Compliance, and Enforcement functions of the Authority always with a focus on technology first.

Mr. Sammut’s experience includes over eight years as an ICT Applications Officer for the Ministry for Health engaged in the implementation of large-scale ICT Projects for the various business requirements related to Healthcare systems. He was responsible for project management related to IT networks and ICT infrastructure as well as detailed technical consultancy for the commissioning and implementation of healthcare projects. The Information Management Unit within the Ministry for Health interacted with a potential user-base of approximately 10,000 users.

Previously, Trevor spent nine years as a Police Inspector in the Malta Police Force handling Police/EU/Europol ICT Projects, ICT Department and IT team management within a high-security ICT Infrastructure and environment. He also steered and guided high-level management projects and systems, mostly related to national security.

Daud Elvin Suleman, the Director General of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) is an avid technology enthusiast with over 18 years of experience in the fintech and banking sector.

Daud worked with the first microbank that opened in Malawi, targeting rural and underserved markets with technologically based banking services; paperless banking halls and biometric identification.

As a highly experienced IT practitioner in Malawi, Daud is heading a team of passionate professionals at MACRA which is aiming at deepening access to affordable, secure and quality communication services to all Malawians.

 

Dr. Li Tian is currently the Head of Standards Strategy of ZTE Corporation, Vice President of China Association for Standardization. He is actively involved in various global standardization organizations including ITU, 3GPP, IEEE, where he served as the rapporteur for several 5G related work items.

His research interests are in the field of ICT technology, and his team contributed significantly to advanced technologies like radio access, AI/ML, future networks, video coding, automobile electronics, network security, etc. Dr. Tian received his B.Sc degree in 2009 and Ph.D degree in 2015, both in Tongji University, China. From 2013 to 2014, he was a visiting researcher in University of Bologna, Italy. He is the first author of a book and contributed to multiple book chapters, with over 50 academic papers published and over 100 patents held globally. He has also delivered multiple keynotes in various academic and industrial events.

Marta Arsovska Tomovska brings over two decades of leadership in political, management, and advisory capacities, focusing on digital innovation and skills development for the future.

Currently, she is the Advisor to the President of the National Assembly of Serbia, previously serving as North Macedonia’s Minister for Information Society and Public Administration. Tomovska’s career includes executive roles in IT and telecom, alongside advising various governments.

She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Technology Policy and the G20 Digital Agenda Working Group. Her educational background includes an MSc in Marketing, MSc and BSc in Electrical Engineering, and a Graduate Certificate from the Kellogg School of Management. Tomovska is also ITU’s certified expert in building national digital innovation ecosystems and Joint SDG Fund expert evaluator for Digital Transformation. Throughout her career, she has earned multiple accolades from UN organizations for her significant contributions to the ICT sector.