The GSMA has announced further details of MWC Barcelona 2020 activity, including additional keynote speakers, participating companies, programmes and events. MWC Barcelona will take place 24-27 February 2020, with events across Fira Gran Via, Fira Montjuïc and La Farga L’Hospitalet.
“Our vision at the GSMA is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry and society thrive. The MWC20 theme of ‘Limitless Intelligent Connectivity’ features how 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Big Data are doing just that,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “MWC Barcelona continues to lead as the world’s ‘must-attend’ industry event where over 100,000 participants will explore and experience how the mobile industry will continue to transform our everyday lives.”
Additional Keynote Speakers Confirmed
The GSMA announced several new keynote speakers for the four-day conference programme, representing companies across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industry sectors. Newly confirmed speakers include:
• Tony Fernandes, Group CEO, Air Asia Group
• Poppy Gustafsson OBE, Co-CEO, Darktrace
• Maria Teixidor i Jufresa, Director, FC Barcelona Femení
• Eugene Kaspersky, CEO, Kaspersky
• Rosa Whitaker, President, Mercy Ships
• Katica Roy, CEO & Founder, Pipeline
• Jim Whitehurst, President and CEO, Red Hat
• Kurt Azarbarzin, President and CEO, Verb Surgical Inc.
• Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware
Women4Tech Summit Speakers
Back for its fourth year with a renewed and expanded focus, Women4Tech Summit will showcase the trailblazing individuals and organisations who are advocating for making diversity and inclusion a business imperative. The Women4Tech Summit will provide hope for under-represented individuals equality and a series of inspiring case studies in workplace equality diversity and authentic leadership. We are excited to announce some of the first confirmed Women4Tech speakers including:
• Dana Eaton, Senior Managing Director for Communications, Media and Technology Europe, Accenture
• Isabel Ferrer de Casacuberta, EMEA Marketing Director, Dolls Portfolio and Barbie Franchise, Mattel
• Kirti Lad, Executive Director, Meraki Executive Search and Consulting Limited
• Peko Wan, Chief Ecosystem Officer, Pundi X
• Vicki Mealer-Burke, Chief Diversity Officer, Qualcomm
• Mary Clark, CMO, Synchronoss
• Aparna Khurjekar, SVP Customer Experience and Transformation, Verizon Wireless
Discover the Power of Diverse Thought
We are proud to premiere a brand new set of topics on the Summit agenda this year where a set of exciting additions of inclusion topics are added:
• Calling out Unconscious Bias in Business;
• Understanding the Business Imperative for LGBTQ Equality in the Workplace;
• Realising the Benefits of Incorporating Neurodiversity and Disability Into The Talent Pool;
• Authentic Leadership Lessons to Inspire and Empower Underrepresented Groups;
• Addressing the AI Diversity Crisis; and
• Fairer Funding for Female-Led Start-Ups and The Rise of Femtech In the Fight for Equality.
Joining Official Summit Sponsor Accenture and Supporting Summit Sponsor Synchronoss, is Roundtable Sponsor Red Hat and partner CBS Interactive Tech.
GSMA Leading the Way
In addition to the 2019 edition of MWC being officially certified as carbon neutral by AENOR International, which secured MWC Barcelona’s position as the world’s largest carbon-neutral tradeshow, the event has now been recognised, for a fourth time, as the Guinness World Record holder for the Largest Carbon Neutral Trade Show. For MWC Barcelona 2020, the GSMA is focused on further reducing the environmental impact and carbon footprint of the event, offsetting any outstanding emissions as necessary.
The GSMA’s successful BREEZ (Biometric Recognition Easy Entry Zone) contactless entry solution returns for a second year. The opt-in enrolment service provides attendees with frictionless access to the event through any BREEZ perimeter access lanes and eliminates the need to show identification or have badges scanned in order to enter the event. In its first year, more than 40 per cent of attendees used the service to enter MWC19.
4YFN20
4YFN has launched a series of vertical hubs that each include a start-up showcase, targeted networking and a one-day summit to help investors, corporations and entrepreneurs to navigate and benefit from 4YFN. The hubs include the Fintech Hub sponsored by Mastercard, the Health and Wellness Hub with partner ECHAlliance and the Intelligent Connectivity Hub, sponsored by Telefonica.
The first speakers at 4YFN are announced as:
• David Siegel, CEO, Meetup
• Valentin Stalf, Co-founder and CEO, N26
• Anne Boden, CEO, Starling Bank
xside Presents Internationally Acclaimed Musicians
The new xside experience, a collaboration between 4YFN, Sónar and MWC to explore the role that technology, design and innovation play in the future of creativity, cultures, and business – presents artists as both speakers and performers for its first event. Internationally acclaimed DJ, producer and technologist, Richie Hawtin, will deliver a keynote exploring the boundaries of creativity and technology, while acclaimed house music artist and fashion designer, Honey Dijon will be among the DJs performing at xside Night from 18:00 at Fira Montjuic each evening. Other recently confirmed artists include French house sensation Folamour and the UK’s urban music trendsetter Jamz Supernova, among many other names.
New Partners and Sponsors Announced
For over a decade, companies from across the mobile ecosystem have delivered partner programmes at MWC Barcelona. Offering attendees, the opportunity to engage with, and gain insights from, some of the top thought-leaders in the industry as they share their vision on a variety of complex ecosystem challenges. For the first time, Tech Mahindra will join MWC and in collaboration with the GSMA present a manufacturing summit entitled ‘5G the NxT of Manufacturing’ additionally they will also be hosting the first Manufacturing Pavilion in Hall 8.0, where they shall be demonstrating the mini-factory and networks of the future.
New partners include Accenture, AWS, Geekpark, Google Assistant, GTI, Latvijas Mobilais Telefons, mSchools, Quiet Media, realme, SAP, and Afilias. Elastic Path, fonYou, Royole and Telecommunications Industry Association will hold Power Hours.
The GSMA announced several new exhibitors for MWC Barcelona, including Amazon, China Information and Communication Technologies Group, Flex, Hyundai, ServiceNow and Vivo. Several new industry and regional pavilions were also announced: Telecom Infra Project Pavilion; Russian and Italian Pavilions and additionally, new sponsors were revealed: Garden Sponsors LINK Mobility and Tappy Technologies and Official Digital Planet Sponsor is the Government of Catalonia.
MWC Tours
For the 5th year, MWC Barcelona will again offer attendees six focused Topic Tours, led by industry experts. Each tour will take attendees through the show floor to visit unique exhibitor stops and learn about the topic from thought leaders. Topics are 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Marketing Technology, Retail & Digital Commerce, and What’s Hot at MWC.
Newly announced Topic Tour Partners include:
• Chris Reece and Mark Harms from Award Solutions, Inc. leading the 5G and IoT Tours
• Maggie Tinsley and Doug Chavez from Geometry Global leading the Marketing Technology and Retail and Digital Commerce Tours
• Ben Gauthier and Manolo Almagro from Stratacache, Inc. leading the Transformative AI and What’s Hot at MWC Tours
News by Mohammad Tanveer
