International Council 

President and CEO of Olympus Corporation of America in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania). He is a telecommunications engineer, with an MBA from EAE and a PADE from IESE. He is also a member of the Board of the Spain-USA Chamber of Commerce in NY and a founding partner of the private equity company EDAP2007.

Pepe Agell leads Chartboost’s strategic planning and partnerships, marketing and corporate development efforts. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the UPC Barcelona and the ETH Zurich. Prior to joining Chartboost, Agell led product management and operations teams in both multinational (Hilti AG) and startups (3scale and Innovalley).

Chairman at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute in NY. He is a Doctor of Medicine and Associate Professor at the NYU Neurology Department. He is also the founder of Puig at New York, former President of the Spain-USA Chamber of Commerce and President of The Fragrance Foundation in NY.

Director at Increscent Capital in New York. He is also Director of Times Square Strategies LLC and Principal Power Inc., where he was Chief Business Development Officer. Before, he was Managing Director at JPMorgan and held senior positions at Banque Paribas Capital Markets in NY, London and Paris.

I work as an early stage seed and pre-seed investor as General Partner of my own sweat equity fund, and as an entrepreneur spinning off tech startups from technology-intensive universities. I have been working in innovation, entrepreneurship, tech startup venture creation and venture capital investment for more than 19 years and, prior to that, as a strategy management consultant for 18 years.

Graduated from ESADE in 1993. MSF from Boston College in 1995 Morgan Stanley London, 1995-1996 Kleinwort Benson London, 1997-1998 J.P. Morgan London-Madrid, 1998-current Currently co-head of banking industry groups, EMEA at J.P. Morgan

Albert is the founder and director of the Innovation Growth Lab (IGL), a global partnership of governments, foundations and researchers that trials new approaches to accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship and growth. He holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University and is guest professor at the Barcelona GSE. He has also been visiting economist at the OECD and consultant for the World Bank.

I work at J.P. Morgan as an associate in the debt capital markets team covering corporate clients in Southern Europe. I joined J.P. Morgan London in 2014, having spent two years in the Natural Resources M&A team before joining my current team. I hold a Masters in International Finance from HEC Paris and a B.S. from ESADE Business School.

Business Excellence Program Manager for countries affiliated at Novartis. He has more than 10 years of experience in Pharma Supply Chain based in different European countries. He is actually based in Basel.

Independent Strategic Advisor, Professor and Author, with over 30 years’ professional experience in Europe and Japan in business transformation and digitalization. Deputy Dean and Faculty of Strategy, Disruptive Transformation, Industry 4.0, AI Robotics & Business, at GLOBIS School of Management, Tokyo. Executive in Residence, Professor, ESADE Business School Barcelona.

Chairman of Froneri Ldt and former Executive Vice-President and EMENA Zone Director for Nestlé Health Sciences SA, in Lausanne. He has also been in charge of the Swiss company’s operations in America and Europe and he is on the boards of companies linked to the nutrition and health sectors.

Member of the Global Executive Committee of Bertelsmann, President of Bertelsmann Spain and CEO of Arvato. He studied Industrial Engineering in Karlsruhe. Between 1982 and 1993 he also worked as a freelance sports journalist for newspapers in Spain, Austria, and Germany.

Founder of Gamo USA Corporation in 1994 and BSA Optics Inc. in 1997 as a wholly owned subsidiary of SA Industrias El Gamo. He is based in Miami and is actively involved in the sporting goods industry.

Xavier was born in Barcelona, got his BA and MBA at ESADE, did his PhD at the University of Minnesota, has been faculty at ESADE, HEC Paris, LBS, Technion and UCSC and is Professor of Strategy at the Université de Lausanne. He does research & teaches on corporate governance & strategy, org design, innovation & arts management. He is VP of external relations of European Academy of Management

Global Head of Public Affairs at Sanofi in Paris. He worked at the European Commission, Council of European Municipalities and Regions and Committee of the Regions. He also was the Director of Communication at Forum de las Culturas Barcelona-2004 and worked at Weber Shandwick as CEO in Brussels and Spain and Portugal.

Since finalizing my University years, I have been advising and managing foreign private capital investment flows into Spain. I am currently a senior partner at Charme Capital, a leading pan European private equity funs, founded by a group of European industrial families. Chairman of Igenomix Genetic. Previously Vice Chairman of Grupo Quiron, and several other PE backed companies.

Supply Chain and Logistics Consultant at GEP Worldwide. Prior to GEP, Nicolau graduated in May 2017 from the Dual Degree Program between Columbia University and Sciences Po Paris in Economics and Political Sciences. Throughout this program, Nicolau benefited from a global undergraduate education experience that combined his interest in social sciences with his passion in business and technology.

Global Advisor and Chairman of The Business of Cities in London. He also acts as a Global Fellow at Brookings Institution, Senior Fellow at the Urban Land Institute, and Chairman of the OECD Local Development Forum. Moreover, he chairs global summits and gatherings.

Consultant at the United Nations in New York. She obtained her degree in Law at Esade and worked for several years as a criminal lawyer in Barcelona. In 2014 she moved to the US to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Policy at NYU and an internship at the UN. After, she worked as a Risk and Forensic Analyst at Interpublic Group of Companies.

General Manager of Áreas in Los Angeles. She holds a MBA from IESE Business School and Journalism Degree from University Ramon Llull. She has worked as an editor at La Vanguardia and Director of Oerreeme.

Director associat a Handy.com, una startup recolzada per una empresa amb $ 110M de fons amb seu a Nova York. Xavier té un MBA de Harvard Business School i un BBA d'ESADE. Abans, va treballar com a consultor de gestió a Bain & Company a Madrid, Londres i Dubai, així com en J.P. Morgan a Londres.

Prof. de Lecea graduated in Biology at the University of Barcelona in 1991 and conducted postdoctoral work at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. He started his laboratory on the neurobiology of sleep in 1996. He is best known for his discovery of neurotransmitters critical for the regulation of vigilance states and for the implementation of ontogenetic methods.

Responsible for business development and sales at Cairn Capital in London. Before, he worked at JPMorgan where he managed the Iberian fixed income and credit distribution business, was in charge of debt capital markets for Iberia and held senior positions at Citibank, Banesto, and BBVA.

Ruben Diaz-Plaja is Senior Policy Advisor in the Policy Planning Unit of the NATO Secretary General and has more than a decade's worth of experience working on the links between security, defence and governance in Europe and its neighbourhood, having worked with NATO, the OSCE and civil society. Ruben is a proud Barcelonan by birth and is committed to helping his city thrive in the years to come.

27 years transforming Global Automotive Business by Leading, Enabling, Engaging and Empowering People + Organizations. Currently, leads the Nissan side of the Alliance Digital HR Program.

Nescafé EMENA Business Manager of Nestlé in Vevey (Switzerland). She has 20 years of experience in the coffee sector and in brand building, marketing and communication strategy. She started her career in 1989 at Nestlé España (Esplugues) and moved to Nestlé HQ in Vevey in 1997.

Co-founder and CEO of Noken. Originally from Barcelona, Marc started his career as a consultant at McKinsey in Madrid and shortly after moved to the U.S. to fulfill his dream of starting his own business. Marc has worked as a growth marketer at Silicon Valley startup Turo. Marc holds an MBA from Harvard and a BBA from ESADE

Partner of Garrigues in New York and co-head of the Firm’s US Desk since 2009. He advises on matters regarding US and Latin American investments in Spain and Spanish investments in Latin America. He was educated at both Howard and Harvard Law Schools.

Cofounder of the California Spain Chamber of Commerce. Moved from BCN to California in 2010. Previously she worked in AXA as CIO Office&Architecture Director.

Freelance Cultural Manager in Los Angeles with more than 10 years of experience in development and evaluation of cultural programs, communications strategy, membership events and crowd-funding campaigns. She worked for the MNAC Members Program and coordinating projects for the CCCB and A Bao A Qu. She has two Postgraduate Degrees in Fundraising (UB) and Cultural Management (UPF), an MA in Aesthetics and Theory of Contemporary Art (UAB) and a BA in Art History (UB).

Senior Vice President at Nestlé Ltd. He has had a long career in manufacturing within the Nestlé Group which includes several senior technical management positions in Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Switzerland and Portugal. His background is in Agricultural Engineer from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Partner of BioVentures Investors in New York. He also founded Leebow Partners, helping Spanish startups to expand into the US market by providing them access to clients and investors. He is a seasoned professional with hands-on experience in the fields of management and investment for both Spanish SMEs and multinationals, and holds a BBA & MBA from ESADE.

Partner of Nauta Capital in London. He has a degree in Business Administration from the Univerisity of Barcelona, with a Postgraduate Degree in International Management from Harvard and a MBA from the SDA Bocconi (Milan). He is part of the council of leading companies in disruptive technology.

Ceo of GlassIg in Boston. He has experience as a high-tech executive, managing sales, marketing, professional services, and operations in small to large companies. He was Chairman of Eisenworld Corporation and co-founded Technology Coast Partners. He has a MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida and a degree in International Relations from the California State University at Chico.

Although I lived 90% of my life in Barcelona, I was born in Manresa. I’ve lived in Dublin since the beginning of 2018. I am currently the Account Executive at Salesforce for startups and SMEs, responsible for the area of Barcelona. Sport and food lover.

He started his career in 1995 as a lawyer at Cuatrecasas in Barcelona, of which he became a partner in March 2005. He moved to London in 2007 and is currently a founder partner and Managing Director of Tyrus Capital SAM.

Director of Mayo Clinic’s biotechnology incubator, where he assists startups in the healthcare sector. He is also runs two investment funds (one public and one private) with 20 combined investments. Prior to that, he was part of Mayo Clinic Ventures, Mayo Clinic's patents, licensing, and startup department. PhD in Immunology (Univ. of Barcelona) and MBA (Univ. of Minnesota).

Degree in Journalism from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She has worked on televisión in Spain, UK and the USA.Currently lives between Barcelona and London and develops cultural projects. From 2016 to date Co-Founder of artcollisions, experiential sessions for organizations to foster innovation and creativity within their teams using contemporary art as a vehicle.

With more than 18 years of professional experience in communication, he is a staunch defender of Barcelona and its identity, being a promoter of The Shopping Night Barcelona. He is currently Global Marketing Communications Manager at Siemens. He usually collaborates with universities such as IdEC, IDEP or ESADE-HTSI. and a ÓPERA ACTUAL correspondent in Switzerland.

Managing Director of Cisco Systems for Strategy and Operations in Asia, based in Singapore. Prior he was a partner in the TMT practice at Arthur D. Little in Silicon Valley, and before that he worked in two software startups in Barcelona. He holds an MBA and MoT from Haas School of Business of the University of California, and a Telecom Engineer degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalunya.

Head Global Clinical Development, Sandoz Biopharma, Novartis. Physician specialist in Occupational Medicine (University of Barcelona) and a master degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine (Autonomous University of Barcelona), a degree in Business Development Program for Executives (PDD) from IESE. With > 25 years of experience in the pharma industry.

I am a researcher at Microsoft Research, where I envision new devices and experiences. Previously I led the immersive technologies lab at Airbus UK. In my role as a Virtual Reality field expert I have also worked with institutions such as the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the European Commission Future and Emerging Technologies.

Architect & Master of Design Research in City Design, Planning and Policy

Cofounder of Smartrooms Company.

Owner of Guallart Architects and Director of Shukhov Lab.

Born and raised in Barcelona. Currently working in London for Diageo's Tech and Innovation Team. Graduate studies in Imperial College Business School and undergraduate studies in Esade Business School.

Partner in the Brussels office of K&L Gates. He advises companies and trade organizations in matters related to EU policy and EU regulation. He is particularly involved in issues related to the areas of TMT and international trade. After some years of academic and legal practice, he was involved for almost 25 years in public policy and governmental affairs. He holds a PhD from the University of Navarra.

Partner at REBER law firm in Zurich. After finishing his law studies in Basel and Madrid, he worked for large international law firms both in Spain and Switzerland. He has broad experience in cross-border legal work. He served for almost 20 years as Vice-President and Member of the Executive Committee of the Official Swiss-Spanish Chamber of Commerce and is a lecturer within the Masters Program in International Advocacy of ISDE Madrid.

Born in Barcelona in 1981, and educated in UB in Business Administration and Management, I have always had a great interest in learning about other countries and cultures, which has led me to live in Brazil, Switzerland and the United Kingdom where I developed my professional career in different companies and in different positions. Currently, I am leading the digital transformation practice in BackOffice Associates LLC.

CEO of Nike of the Southern Cone in Buenos Aires. He has been working for Nike for the past 22 years in Spain, US, Holland and Brazil. Prior to Nike, he worked for the Professional Basketball League (ACB) and the Japanese advertising agency Dentsu Inc. He graduated in Business Administration from Louisiana State University, he has a Master in Marketing Management from ESADE and a PADE from IESE.

Founder and owner of BJ Retail Consulting in Berlin. She has a solid professional background in consumer and shopper marketing, customer innovation, and B2C e-commerce in FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) multinational companies. She is an expert in retail innovation, scouting and analysis.

30 years of experience in International private and investment banking

Electronic Engineer, 33 years at IBM where he has had different responsibilities in Sales, Technology Consulting and Integration of projects for national and international clients. He is currently living in Dubai and is the Vice President of IBM GTS Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Pakistan for large accounts.

Founder and Manager of Lanaspa Conseil in Montreal. She is also a member of the board of the Foundation of College International Marie de France. Before, she held several management positions, primarily in the banking (VISA Spain, BNP) and telecom industry (Videndi group), then in the Public sector. She specialized in steering large transformation programs, mostly in connection with digital issues.

Mireia Lizandra is an adjunct professor working as an advisor for the Lauder Global Knowledge Lab (GKL) at the Wharton Business School (University of Pennsylvania) and collaborating with its Executive MBA program. Additionally, she is a professor (Spanish edition) and tutor (English edition) at the IOC Executive International Master program MEMOS. She taught at St. John’s University Law School.

Tomás Llobet is an EU policy consultant specialised in sustainable development, climate and energy, with over 15 years hands-on public affairs experience. Tomás previously worked in the European Parliament, in a leading Brussels-based consultancy and as Strategy Director for a Paris-based think tank.

President of Imaging, Printing & Solutions at hp. He is Electrical Engineeer with an MBA from ESADE

Director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Republic of Korea. He holds a degree in Philosophy and Sciences of Education by the University of Barcelona. He served as Director of MACBA, Chief Curator at MACBA, Director of TABAKALERA in Donostia-San Sebastián, director of Witte de With in Rotterdam, Curator at IVAM in Valencia and Curator of Exhibitions at the Fondation pour l’Architecture in Brussels.

Global Client Advisor of WPP. Previously Gustavo was the Global President of JWT Worldwide. With a PhD in Economics from the University of Barcelona, he started working in advertising in 1992, in S&S and McCann Erickson Spain. In 2000, he was hired by Ogilvy as President for Argentina, then acted as Regional Director of Multinational clients. In 2006 he was appointed Regional COO based inf Mexico City, then in New York.

Founder and Director of the gallery Ana Mas Projects, based since 2015 in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) and in San Juan (Puerto Rico). Her career as a gallery director started in 2003 with the creation, in Barcelona, of masArt Gallery. In 2015, she initiated a new project: opening a new gallery in San Juan to aim the establishment of a dialogue between artists from the local scene and Spanish.

Alvaro is a corporate partner of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, based in the firm’s London office. His practice focuses on cross-border M&A and finance transactions, particularly in the private equity space. Prior to this he was a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

Managing Partner at Delta Partners and Director of Corporate Finance in Dubai. He has more than 19 years of experience in telecommunications services, working in investment banking (M&A), corporate finance, and strategic management consulting. Since 2006 he works exclusively in the Middle East and Africa.

Equity Analyst at Crystal Amber in London since 2010 and previously was an investment consultant at Towers Watson. He graduated from the London School of Economics and Pompeu Fabra University.

Principal at The Boston Consulting Group in Miami, focusing on growth and strategy. Graduated in Business Administration at ESADE and received her MBA from Columbia Business School. She is a mentor for several startups, and has collaborated with Endeavor and 500 Startups.

Leading Partner of the Legal Services of Price Waterhouse Coopers in Zurich. She is an attorney-at-law, admitted to the Barcelona Bar. Prior to that, Gema worked in major law firms in several European countries and has academic experience as an associate lecturer at the University of Barcelona and as a guest lecturer at other relevant institutions across Europe.

International relations Graduate with expertise in European Union and public affairs. Educated in Barcelona, Washington DC and London and living for one year and a half in Brussels. Previous experience as a project assistant at the Catalan Trade and Investment Agency office in Brussels and currently an Account Executive at Burson Cohn & Wolfe, a leading PA and PR agency.

Student of an MBA at Stanford, California. Previously he was the Director of Operations of Crowdcube Spain.

Co-founder and CEO of Loop Therapeutics in San Francisco, a US ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the prevention of apoptosis. Hugo has recently spun out a second company, Spiral Therapeutics, to continue to develop Loop’s technology in the hearing loss space. Hugo has a degree in International Business and holds a Master’s degree in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics from Pompeu Fabra University.

Carlos is graduated in Business Administration and MBA for Esade - Universitat Ramon Llul - He has attended an Executive Education Program (PDG) at IESE –Universidad de Navarra-, a Leadership Program at Instituto de Empresa and a Consumer Behavior Program at UC Berkeley –University of California- He began his professional career in Marketing as a Panasonic Product Manager in 1989.

Judit is currently Vice President for the Sales & Commercial organization for the Oilfield Services portfolio within BHGE, with responsibility for the commercial strategy and sales enablement globally. She has been in the Oil & gas industry for the last 10 years and has held several leadership positions in the GE Hydril BOP Business and later as the Global Commercial Operations for GE Oil & Gas.

CEO and Partner of SCPF based in Miami. SCPF is one of Spain's leading advertising agencies, led by Toni Segarra.

Managing Partner at Amrop Seeliger & Conde in the US from Miami, where he has lived for more than 13 years. With experience in marketing and business development in multinationals like Grundig, Agrolimen, Cirsa and Renta Corporación. He is also member of the Council of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, US Chamber of Commerce of Spain and Global Health Care.

Cluster Project Manager - Venue Delivery and Overlay at Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. He is also the Founder & Managing Director of EP Knowledge, a firm specialized in major sports event planning. Over his 12 years of experience working in different locations around the world, he held senior manager positions at 3 Olympic Games, 2 FIFA World Cups, the America´s Cup Sailing competition and several world championships.

An accomplished Senior Operations and Commercial Executive in Financial Services with over 25 years’ experience, specializing in managing business implementation strategies with banks and asset management companies. Strong drive and success in implementing strategies to achieve business growth and attaining the required operational excellence in markets located in the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Founder and General Manager of GlobalTaixue, a leading company focused on developing projects and partnerships between Chinese and international universities, science and technology research institutions, and innovative companies. He hsd a master in Computer Science Engineering from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and an MBA from Ecole de Management de Normandie. He has lived and worked in 8 different countries where he managed projects involving ITC and International Business Development.

President EMEA at Archer Daniels Midland in Chicago. Before, he served as Chief Strategy Officer and President APAC. He received his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Reading, a masters of Science degree in Engineering from the Cranfield Institute of Technology and MBA from Darden University of Virginia

Managing Director of Givenchy (LVMH Group) in Paris. He has worked for more than 20 years with large retail companies in Britain, Spain, Italy, or Asia, developing brands, managing operations, and opening more than 400 luxury, contemporary fashion, and jewelry stores around the world. He is an economist and psychologist with a postgraduate degree from IESE.

General Manager of Leopard SA in Luxembourg, a brand of nature power drinks. Before he worked with Lavazza for 22 years in different areas, from Sales to Marketing, and in different countries, such as Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland. He has extensive experience in marketing and sales of consumer products. He graduated with a degree in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan and completed an Advanced Management Program from IESE.

I have 20 years of experience in leadership roles around digital business transformation working with great teams globally, based in the USA, Europe and for the past 12 years in Asia - Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo working with American Express, Samsung, Docomo and VISA.

Co-founder and Chief Operating officer of Samson & Surrey in Miami. He has a degree in Business Administration and a master of ESADE. He was Vice President and CMO of Bacardi North America, and was responsible in the leadership of all marketing activities of Bacardi in the United States and Canada. He also held several international positions, including Director of Marketing, Director of Bacardi global brand of Spain, and Martini Bacardi global brand in London.

Prof. M. Salmeron is a Scientist in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of California. He studies material surfaces, reactions and molecular scale wetting using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, and x-ray based spectroscopy

Head of the Project Office for Latin America at Signify (formerly known as Philips Lighting). Co-founder of the Cinc Sentits restaurant in Barcelona. Bsc in Industrial Engineering and MSc in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. MBA and MA in International Relations from The Wharton School and The School of Arts and Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania.

Estefania Santacreu-Vasut is associate professor of economics at ESSEC Business School. She received her PhD in Economics at UC Berkeley, USA in 2010 and her MSc. in Economics at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain in 2006. Her fields of research are gender economics and institutions. She is co-founder of the project Gender & Finance and acts also a consultant for the OECD Competition division.

CEO of Jafra Cosmetics, an American leading cosmetics company present in more than 20 countries with headquarters in Westlake, California. With more than 25 years of experience within top-notch companies in different markets across the globe, he has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Maua University in São Paulo. He worked in several senior management positions for Unilever, Pepsico, Revlon, and America Online.

PR Manager at Amazon Spain. Established and executed the PR strategy at Amazon Spain for retail, operations, corporate and kindle. Responsible for the management of all Press & PR activities, identifying key press opportunities.

Head of Customer Success at bd4travel. I'm a Telecommunications Engineer at La Salle BCN and MBA by IESE Business School. Currently working on Big Data and Personalization solutions in the travel industry.

Member of the Board Director of Rosa Gres, INDRA Systems and Sabadell United Bank in Miami. She is also a member of the Cultural Affairs Council of Miami-Dade County. She has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Barcelona and was the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Iberia Tiles.

He has 30 years of experience in the chemical industry, mainly in procurement. He was born in Barcelona and lived in Switzerland, Germany and Italy managing global organizations.

Born in Barcelona & living for the last 12 years between Bangkok & Shanghai. Founder of www.elwillygroup.com & co-founder of www.thegoodfoodpeople.cn Restaurants and food trading business in Asia Pacific (Shanghai, Hong Kong, Saigon & Manila).

He has worked in the public sector for more than 20 years in the field of public infrastructures and services. In 2010 he joined the SUEZ group specialized in environmental services, developing international activities in the UK, Chile and Mexico. Traveling and reading allow him to keep his curiosity.

Founder of Imagine Creative Center in San Francisco and also of Innovalley Inc. He is a serial entrepreneur and a one-off innovator. In Barcelona, he created several successful companies and now, from San Francisco, he runs several businesses such as an app development company and another that promotes entrepreneurship opportunities in Silicon Valley, among others.

Intellectually curious and results driven, during more than 20 years I have planned and implemented marketing and comms programs for many international companies. I founded Vie Carratt to provide digital marketing, comms services and management advice to enable innovative start-ups and leading technology brands to develop their equity story and promote it to investors and potential buyers.

Economics researcher working at the frontier of econometrics and machine learning to develop new methods for evaluating economic policy using Big Data. Incoming PhD candidate in Economics and Statistics at MIT. Previously, I worked at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business under Prof. Eric Budish in market design.

I am Research Program Manager at Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) in Paris. My primary mission is to support our research teams in Europe through setting up collaborations with universities and research institution across the region to make advancing the state of the art in Artificial Intelligence an everyday reality.