14:15 – 15:00: Keynote speech on striking the right balance between innovation and regulation in the new EU landscape

Speakers:

MEP Aura Salla, National Coalition Party (Finland); European People’s Party; Member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs; Substitute of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

15:00 – 16:00: Panel I – Startup success in the EU: Fostering competitiveness and overcoming competition barriers

As the EU strives to foster innovation and competitiveness, startups still face unique challenges in navigating competition policies. As suggested in the Letta and Draghi reports, some see the creation of an EU Capital Markets Union along with a 28th regime within the Single Market as a silver bullet. What needs to be done for the startup ecosystem to overcome regulatory barriers and remain competitive in the EU?

Speakers:

Daniel Dalton – Senior Advisor, Allied for Startups (moderator)

Lucia Bonova – Head of Unit responsible for the implementation and enforcement of Digital Markets Act, DG COMP, European Commission

Ana Barjasic – CEO, Connectology; Board Member, European Innovation Council

Camilla de Coverly Veale, Policy Director, Startup Coalition

16:00 – 17:00: Panel II – Life after the AI Act: Startup perspective

As the EU moves forward with the implementation of the AI Act, startups must not only navigate new compliance requirements, but also need to anticipate upcoming policy discussions, such as the AI Liability Directive and what AI means for copyright. What does life after the AI Act look like and what does it mean for startups operating in the EU?

Speakers:

Maxime Ricard – Policy Manager, Allied for Startups (moderator)

Anne-Gabrielle Haie – AI, Data & Digital Partner, Steptoe

Gianluca Maruzzella – Co-Founder & CEO, indigo.ai

Giacomo Pizza – Account Manager, FIPRA Public Affairs

17:00 – 18:00: Networking reception

Aura Salla, PhD, MEP

National Coalition Party (Finland), European People’s Party

Member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Substitute of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Aura Salla is a Member of the European Parliament. Prior to this, she was a Member of the Finnish Parliament, where she actively engaged in focused on international and EU affairs. Before entering the Finnish Parliament, Aura held the role of Managing Public Policy Director and Head of EU Affairs at Meta’s Brussels office. She also has extensive experience in the European Commission, where she worked as a Foreign Policy and Communications Adviser in the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC) and as a Member of Cabinet for Vice President Jyrki Katainen. Aura holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Turku, focusing on the politicization of the European Commission during the euro crisis, and has lectured at Harvard University on European economics.

Anne-Gabrielle Haie

AI, Data & Digital Partner at Steptoe LLP

Anne-Gabrielle Haie advises clients on a wide range of digital-related matters, with a strong focus on data protection, privacy and cybersecurity. In addition, she has developed considerable expertise on AI and blockchain. She advises clients on compliance with EU laws and risk management. Anne-Gabrielle also has strong experience advising clients on data privacy and cybersecurity issues related to strategic transactions and commercial negotiations. She further assists clients with cybersecurity preparedness and response to data breaches and other security incidents.

Anne-Gabrielle’s practice includes representing clients in enforcement and litigation actions before European supervisory authorities and courts. Her clients include multinationals, start-ups and scaleups in diverse industries, and she has a strong track record in the Life Sciences and Technology sectors.

Lucia Bonova

Head of Unit, DG COMP J.1, European Commission

Lucia Bonova heads a unit at the European Commission responsible for the implementation of Digital Markets Act and antitrust enforcement in the area of digital platforms. She holds a law degree from Université Panthéon-Assas in Paris and an LLM in International Business law from McGill University in Montreal. Lucia spent her entire professional career devoted to competition law enforcement, in particular merger control, and to a lesser extent, antitrust.

Previously, she served in the private office of the Executive Vice-president of the European Commission for Competition and Europe fit for Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager. In addition to her experience at the European Commission, in 2009 Lucia spent three months at the Federal Trade Commission as an exchange official. Lucia was featured amongst 26 women at the forefront of global antitrust in GCR Women in Antitrust 2016 : Enforcers and in 30 in their 30s Notable Women Competition Professionals in Enforcement in 2017.

Ana Barjasic

Founder & CEO, Connectology

Board Member, European Innovation Council

Ana Barjasic is an entrepreneur, angel investor, policy adviser, and ecosystem builder, with over a decade of experience in international startup ecosystems. In 2024, Ana was listed as one of Europe’s top 100 influential women in the startup and VC space. Combining her hands-on experience and knowledge of startup and innovation ecosystems and investment communities across the EMEA region, Ana founded Connectology, an international boutique agency for access to finance, innovation, and investment readiness.

Ana is also an Obama Leader Europe, Executive Committee Member of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (Europe), and a Board Member of the European Innovation Council, the largest innovation fund for deep tech in Europe with an investment capacity of 10 billion euros. Ana is the Chair of the Widening Countries/Opening for Excellence Working Group of the EIC Board, recommending concrete actions across the EU to increase participation and success rates of entrepreneurs from widening countries of Horizon Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia).

Camilla de Coverly Veale

Policy Director, Startup Coalition

Camilla de Coverly Veale is Policy Director at the Startup Coalition, a group dedicated to advocating for the startup ecosystem in the UK. She oversees all policy campaigns but has a special focus on competition and procurement policy. Previously she led public affairs at an aerospace company.

Gianluca Maruzzella

Co-Founder & CEO, indigo.ai

Gianluca is an entrepreneur with experience in AI, marketing, and communication services. He is the founder and CEO of indigo.ai, a B2B SaaS platform that leverages generative AI to enhance business-user communication, leading the digital transformation of numerous fast-growing brands.

Recognized by Forbes as a leader of the future under 30 in New Enterprise Technologies, Gianluca is also an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IULM University and a lecturer in Artificial Intelligence at top Italian universities, where he mentors future entrepreneurs. He co-hosts the popular Italian tech podcast, Talk Magic, and holds a master’s degree with high honors in Management Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan. Passionate about using technology to improve lives, Gianluca is committed to building a strong ecosystem for SaaS entrepreneurs in Italy, believing that the best way to predict the future is to create it.

Giacomo Pizza

Account Manager, FIPRA Public Affairs

Giacomo is a seasoned consultant specializing in digital and transport policy at FIPRA. With a deep understanding of the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and the data economy, he helps clients navigate these complex areas through effective government relations strategies. Giacomo’s expertise spans various sectors, including data analytics, digital education, and the application of AI tools and general-purpose AI models.

Giacomo holds a master’s degree in international relations from LUISS Guido Carli University and a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies from Sapienza University of Rome.

Other events

Bridging the Gap in Digital Health

Interested in digital health? Join us for our panel Bridging the Gap in Digital Health to explore what innovative strategies are needed to bridge these gaps in the healthtech ecosystem, and what collaborative approaches can enhance accessibility and interoperability for startups.

Europe Incorporated: Challenges and Solutions for European Excellence

Join us for an upcoming event hosted by Allied for Startups, Startup Hungary, and the founding members of eu/acc. Titled Europe Incorporated: Challenges and Solutions for European Excellence, the event will mark the launch of “The European Inc.” petition which aims to establish a new pan-european legal entity for European startups, addressing the friction and fragmentation that hinder growth. The event will bring together policymakers, founders, and investors to discuss actionable solutions for fostering a thriving European startup ecosystem, with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe.