From Technology Needs to Semiconductor Demand

Michel Sarlotte is a hardware technology expert at Thales Communications & Security (Thales SIX). He coordinates work on electronic solutions, packaging and interconnect, and on the long-term technology roadmaps Thales needs. He was previously Head of the System-on-Chip Department at Thales SIX. In that role he oversaw ASIC, SoC and FPGA development for telecom, network, security and radio applications. He is active in European collaborative research projects and serves as a technical expert for the Eureka cluster Xecs. He is an engineer in electronics and ASIC design.

Dr. Ignacio M. Llorente is Managing Director of OpenNebula, the open-source platform for managing cloud, edge and AI infrastructure. OpenNebula runs more than 5,000 clouds worldwide. Since 2022 he has chaired the Cloud and Edge Working Group of the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud. Since 2024 he has coordinated the Advanced Cloud Capabilities workstream of the €3 billion IPCEI-CIS programme. He is one of the early contributors to cloud computing research and a highly cited author, and he received the ARITMEL 2020 Computer Science Award. He is Full Professor at Complutense University of Madrid and has held positions at Harvard University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and NASA. He has advised the European Commission, the World Economic Forum and national governments. He holds a PhD and an Executive MBA from IE Business School.

Bernard Barani is a senior telecom and IT consultant. He spent nearly three decades at the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, most recently as Deputy Head of the Future Connectivity Systems unit. There he led the design and rollout of the Smart Networks and Services (6G) partnership and, before it, the 5G Public-Private Partnership. Before joining the Commission in 1994, he worked for 11 years as a communications engineer in industry and at the European Space Agency. He is a Fellow of the Wireless World Research Forum. He holds an engineering degree from École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne.

Finland-based strategy leader whose career has centred on bringing new technologies into practical use, Timo Tenhovuori drives growth initiatives "at the intersection of advanced technologies, industry ecosystems, and public policy" at Nokia, working across advanced semiconductors, edge cloud, AI and lean/agile methodologies to advance green and digital transformation. His current focus includes foundational technology development for EU strategic ecosystems in 5G/6G networks and AI Edge Cloud, and he leads an EU-wide Work Group on "Secure Communications Semiconductors" as part of the IPCEI AST (Advanced Semiconductor Technologies) initiative. Timo also sits on a strategic Industry Advisory Group providing guidance to the European Semiconductor Board, and supports stakeholders including mobile operators, the European Commission, the Finnish government, universities and the semiconductor industry in developing and executing digitalisation strategy. He holds an M.Sc. degree and the European Engineer (Eur.Ing) qualification.

Eric Eppe is Chief Technology Officer and a member of the Executive Committee at Bull, a European leader in computing solutions for HPC, AI and quantum technologies. He leads Bull’s technology strategy and long-term roadmap. His CTO Office of senior experts covers cybersecurity, cloud, HPC and AI, and silicon. He has more than 25 years of experience in HPC, AI and quantum computing. He also sits on the board of the Ultra Ethernet Consortium, where Bull is the only non-US founding member.