28th October · Brugg · Switzerland
Swiss Digital Leadership Forum 2025
Swiss Digital Leadership Forum · Digital Transformation · Internal Communication · Marketing · Cybersecurity · Agil Leadership
Fotos: Marc Gilgen / FHNW / Advatera
Digital Leadership, Digital Transformation, Agile Leadership, Business Management, Digital Workplace and Cybersecurity in the era of the rise of AI
Join us for a one day conference in Brugg and online.
Experience a day filled with engaging workshops, talks, and discussions on key topics such as digital leadership, digital transformation, corporate culture, agile leadership and cybersecurity. The conference will be held at the main building of FHNW, featuring a state-of-the-art lab showcasing cutting-edge technologies like generative AI. Can’t wait to see you there!
Partners
Swiss Digital Leadership Forum · 28th October 2025
Speakers
Aldo Gnocchi
FHNW (Switzerland)
Digital Marketing
Erik Hartman
Advatera (Netherlands)
Moderator
Expert in enterprise information management and business process optimization
Lars Ruddigkeit
Global AI Hub & Microsoft (Switzerland)
Thought Leader in Cloud, Data & Artificial Intelligence
Expert in Artificial intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud & Big Data, the following quote resonates with him “But Artificial Intelligence is neither good nor evil. It is a tool, like a knife. Is a knife evil? Only if the wielder is evil.”
Marc K. Peter
FHNW (Switzerland)
Professor / Head of Centre for Digital Transformation
Marie Gonzalez
Advatera (Austria)
Moderator
From the organisation to the speaker inputs and get together times, the conference is a very rich learning space. The following quote catches her attention: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Martina Dalla Vecchia
FHNW (Switzerland)
E-Commerce, Online-Marketing, Social Media, Business Networking und Digital Leadership
Michelle Okwudiafor
S&P Global (UK)
Associate Director, Communications
A quote she really relates to: “People want to know they matter and they want to be treated as people. That’s the new talent contract.” — Pamela Stroko
Neil Morgan
(Switzerland)
Communications Strategy, Digital Transformation and Innovation
Neil is an expert in enhancing digital employee experiences, focusing on communications strategy, digital transformation, and user research to improve workplace collaboration and engagement.
Peter Erni
Brain & Heart Communication (Switzerland)
CEO, Author and Lecturer
Peter Erni is an entrepreneur and expert in strategic content and social media marketing. He teaches at HWZ, ZHAW, BFH, and HSLU and has published recently a case study on Reception Marketing in Essentials of Modern Marketing by Philip Kotler.
Stella Gatziu Grivas
FHNW (Switzerland)
Head Competence Center Cloud, Digitalisation & Transformation
From the IT Basement to the Customer Frontline: Empowering CIOs as Digital Leaders
Volker Grünauer
Advatera (Austria)
Moderator
Moderator of the Advatera community of practice
Yann Jeschke
NETZSCH Group (Germany)
Director Group Corporate Brand & Communications
To him, “Communication is the key to EVERYTHING”
Agenda Swiss Digital Leadership Forum
Track A
Digital Leadership
Digital Leadership
Track
B
Morning: Digital TransformationAfternoon: Digital Workplace
Morning: Digital TransformationAfternoon: Digital Workplace
Track
C
Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing
Track
D
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity
Track
E
Agile Mindset
Agile Mindset
Foyer
Tuesday, Oct 28
8:00 am – 8:45 am CET
Welcome & Coffee
Foyer
Tuesday, Oct 28
8:45 am – 9:30 am CET
Moderated Roundtable Discussions
Topics include: Reception Marketing, Hacking Digital Innovation, generative AI in Digital Workplaces, AI in Digital Marketing, New Work: Worcations and decentralized teams, Internal Comms: Connecting with Blue-Collars, AI-Driven Cybersecurity: Friend or Foe?, Cybersecurity Zero Trust in Practice: Lessons Learned and Challenges, Cybersecurity vs. Privacy: Must We Sacrifice One for the Other?, …
Peter Erni, Brain & Heart Communication
Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNW
Hans-Peter Käser, National Cyber Security Centre Switzerland NCSC
Rainer Kessler, FHNW
Volker Grünauer, Advatera
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
9:30 am – 9:45 am CET
Opening thoughts: Leading in the digital age
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
9:45 am – 10:15 am CET
Keynote: How Businesses Leverage AI for Growth and Innovation
Including insights from the FHNW AI for SME Study 2025
Marc K. Peter, FHNW
Foyer
Tuesday, Oct 28
10:15 am – 10:45 am CET
Coffee & Gipfeli
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
10:45 am – 11:15 am CET
Digital Leadership: Master your Digital Stage Profile
Room B
Tuesday, Oct 28
10:45 am – 11:15 am CET
CIO as a Digital Leader
Stella Gatziu Grivas, FHNW
Room C
Tuesday, Oct 28
10:45 am – 11:15 am CET
AI and Branding
Room D
Tuesday, Oct 28
10:45 am – 11:15 am CET
CISO im agilen Umfeld
Room E
Tuesday, Oct 28
10:45 am – 11:45 am CET
Agile Rockstars: Best Practice
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
11:15 am – 11:45 am CET
AI & Data-Driven Transformation
Room B
Tuesday, Oct 28
11:15 am – 11:45 am CET
CIO as a Digital Leader
Room C
Tuesday, Oct 28
11:15 am – 11:45 am CET
Marketing: Generative AI Optimization
Room D
Tuesday, Oct 28
11:15 am – 11:45 am CET
Legal and AI
Foyer
Tuesday, Oct 28
11:45 am – 12:45 pm CET
Lunch & Learn
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
12:45 pm – 1:00 pm CET
Afternoon Opening Thoughts
Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNW
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm CET
Keynote: Boosting Productivity Without Burnout - How We Achieved a Four-Day Workweek with AI-Powered Automation
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET
Leading With Trust: Inclusive Practices For Engaging People
Michelle Okwudiafor, S&P Global
Room B
Tuesday, Oct 28
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET
Delivering the Right Content via the Right Channels in the Digital Workplace & Intranet
Effective communication in the digital workplace and intranet requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach. User research helps identify the right channels and align content to employee needs, ensuring messages reach the right audience in the most impactful way. By leveraging field research techniques and strategic decision-making, organizations can optimize their content distribution for better engagement and efficiency.
Neil Morgan
Room C
Tuesday, Oct 28
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET
Reception Marketing
As marketing evolves with big data, algorithms, and AI, Reception Marketing is emerging as a game-changer. Prof. Philip Kotler, a world-renowned economist known as the “father of modern marketing” whose work has popularized the “4 Ps of marketing” (product, price, place and promotion), featured our case study in his latest book and highlighted its transformative potential. A key insight and principle: random data leads to random results. Discover how you can systematically build and use your own marketing and communications data – quickly and effectively.
Peter Erni, Brain & Heart Communication
Room D
Tuesday, Oct 28
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET
Cybersecurity
Room E
Tuesday, Oct 28
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET
New Work: Workation und dezentrale Teams - Finaler Titel wird noch definiert
Foyer
Tuesday, Oct 28
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm CET
Coffee break
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm CET
Digital Leadership in a Jail
Room B
Tuesday, Oct 28
2:31 pm – 3:00 pm CET
Connecting with Blue-Collars: Reaching Beyond the Office
Yann Jeschke, NETZSCH Group
Room C
Tuesday, Oct 28
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm CET
Artificial Intelligence
Christoph Hess, CPLTS
Room D
Tuesday, Oct 28
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm CET
AI CyberTech - Award winning papers
Room E
Tuesday, Oct 28
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm CET
The Agile Hype is Dead – The Essence Endures, and the Real Work Begins
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm CET
Digital Leadership: Crisis Management
Room B
Tuesday, Oct 28
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm CET
Internal Comms & Digital Workplace at Schindler
Room C
Tuesday, Oct 28
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm CET
Artificial Intelligence at Emmi
Room D
Tuesday, Oct 28
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm CET
AI-Safety Best Practice
Room E
Tuesday, Oct 28
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm CET
Agility beyond IT
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm CET
Keynote: Making digital transformation a winner: How to align strategy and execution
Erik Hartman, Advatera
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm CET
HACKathon: AI-Challenge - Best Hack for ChatGPT for a Digital Assistant
Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNW
Aldo Gnocchi, FHNW
Room A
Tuesday, Oct 28
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm CET
Townhall Session
A fun session summarizing the learnings of the day.
Erik Hartman, Advatera
Foyer
Tuesday, Oct 28
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm CET
Apero & Win Great Prizes
Volker Grünauer, Advatera
Agenda and locations subject to changes
Join us...
Register below for the Swiss Digital Leadership Forum on October, 28th 2025. The conference is held at FHNW in Brugg, Switzerland.
Included in the ticket is a full day of workshops and sessions as well as catering and the get-together after the conference.
Welcome to Brugg, the scenic host of the Digital Leadership Forum and about 30 minutes from Zurich airport!
Located in the picturesque region of Aargau, Brugg offers a unique blend of history and modernity. Known for its proximity to the famous Roman site of Vindonissa and nestled along the River Aare, Brugg provides an inspiring setting for innovation and networking.
Discover its rich heritage and inviting atmosphere as you join us for an engaging conference!
Address of conference venue:
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
Campus Brugg-Windisch
Bahnhofstrasse 6
5210 Windisch
Switzerland
Map (pdf)
Hotel suggestion
Advatera
Advatera stands for the regular exchange of experiences between digital, communication and marketing managers. Challenges you have faced in digital, web or intranet projects have almost certainly been experienced by others. The sharing of experiences can help your organization reduce its costs and sharpen its focus on essential success factors.