Founders Track: Where Business Leaders Connect

Invest in your company’s growth by learning from top industry leaders and engaging with like-minded peers.

All business, no fluff.

Who is this track for

A dedicated place for founders and business leaders in digital service companies. If you are balancing between roles as CEO, COO, CFO or Business Development Head, take the opportunity to learn from industry leaders and peers.

The main goal of the track is to help founders learn from industry leaders and other founders who successfully scaled their businesses. Through hands-on workshops and open discussions, participants will gain insights in a supportive environment where sharing experiences takes center stage.

We are limiting the number of attendees to 50 maximum, to provide the best environment for networking and meaningful connections. Do not miss out!

What should you expect

The track brings interactive sessions covering topics such as profitability, growth, HR, marketing, etc.

On Saturday, this track merges with the Digital Change track for dynamic discussions on digital transformation, the impact of AI, and strategies for managing successful projects in today’s digital landscape.

Thursday and Friday sessions

Speakers

Marcel Petitpas

CEO & Co-Founder @ Parakeeto

Marcel is the CEO & Co-Founder of Parakeeto, a company dedicated to helping agencies measure and improve their profitability. As a speaker, podcast host, and consultant, specializing in Agency Profitability Optimization, he's helped thousands of clients worldwide measure the right metrics and improve their profitability.

Petra Grundler Glavica

HR Consultant, Trainer & Coach @ Strive

Petra Grundler Glavica has built a successful career over 14 years in global companies like Carlsberg and A1. Her expertise lies in organizational design, performance management, people and leadership development, employer branding, and talent management. She is a psychologist, an EMCC Accredited Coach at Practitioner level and holds certifications as an SDI and DISC Flow facilitator and AOPL practitioner.

Bart Versteegen

Senior Product Consultant & PST @ Scrum.org

Bart has over a decade of experience in Agile Product Management, with roots deep in product roles. He has been responsible for multiple products and services, covering multi-million budgets, and a transformation partner for multiple organizations. He's now a full-time trainer at the Prowareness Academy, providing Scrum.org and LCS training sessions.

Sanja Karan

Head of People and Culture @ Ars Futura

Sanja studied psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, where she developed an interest in organizational psychology. She started her career in FMCG companies, building expertise in HR processes. As the first HR Manager at a creative agency, she established HR systems, later bringing her pioneering approach to Ars Futura.

Robert Craven

Director @ Grow Your Digital Agency

Team leader at the GYDA.co. Known for his no-nonsense approach to business growth. Robert runs Mastermind programs across Europe for agency and e-commerce CEOs and provides bespoke consulting programs. Project director in the EMEA region.

Ivan Vukičević

Co-founder @ Impulsima

Co-founder of Impulsima, focused on setting up sales teams and processes. Ivan has worked as Director of sales and Head of Bizdev for digital agencies, products, and startups. He loves unconventional approaches to sales and enjoys drafting bold BizDev strategies.

Nikola Tavić

Founder @ Impulsima

Nikola is the Co-Founder of Impulsima, a Business Development consultancy helping SME tech companies set up and scale their commercialization efforts, especially in new markets. He’s active as a Business Development and International Sales Mentor at Zagreb Innovation Center.

Saturday talks (with DC track)

Speakers

Tim Walters

Founder @ Zero Theory

Marketer, analyst, advisor, and keynote speaker with 25 years of experience in WCM, CXM, data privacy, and trust. Formerly with Forrester Research and New York University.

Christoph Schacher

CISO @ Wienerberger

Christoph is Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Wienerberger AG, a global leader in innovative, ecological solutions for the entire building envelope and for infrastructure in water and energy management. He is advancing the company's cybersecurity strategy, ensuring resilience across its complex operations, and playing a key role in enabling digital transformation efforts.

Johanna Halfmann

Software Product Design @ CoreMedia

Product Designer at CMS vendor CoreMedia in Hamburg, with a healthy appetite for asking necessary questions, looking at the big picture and occasionally seeing light in the darkness.

James Royal-Lawson

Senior digital adviser & founder @ Beantin

James Royal-Lawson is a senior digital adviser, designer, digital analyst, economist, and co-host of UX Podcast, driven by an endless curiosity. He has been creating, managing, measuring, and experimenting with digital experiences since first going online as a teenager in the 1980s—and professionally since the late 1990s.

Noz Urbina

Founder @ Urbina Consulting

Globally recognized omnichannel content strategist. Pioneer in experience mapping and adaptive content design for personalized, contextually relevant content for omnichannel experiences. Author of the book “Content Strategy: Connecting the dots between business, brand, and benefits”.

Secure the Early Bird price now!

Tickets

Timetable

Wednesday, July 2nd

19:30 - 20:30

Welcome drink

at the pool terrace of Hotel Ambasador

Thursday, July 3rd

9:00 - 10:00	Registration & coffee
9:50 - 10:00	The shortest opening keynote ever at the pool terrace of Hotel Ambasador
10:00 - 10:40	WORKSHOP Scaling Leadership: Building a Management Layer That Works Petra Grundler Glavica, HR Consultant, Trainer & Coach @ Strive
10:40 - 11:00	Coffee break
11:00 - 12:20	WORKSHOP Scaling Leadership: Building a Management Layer That Works Petra Grundler Glavica, HR Consultant, Trainer & Coach @ Strive
12:20 - 13:40	Lunch at Hotel Ambasador restaurant
13:40 - 14:00	WORKSHOP Scaling Leadership: Building a Management Layer That Works Petra Grundler Glavica, HR Consultant, Trainer & Coach @ Strive
15:00 - 15:20	Coffee break
15:20 - 16:20	WORKSHOP From Projects to Products: Unlocking the Power of Value Stream Mapping Bart Versteegen, Senior Product Consultant & PST @ Scrum.org
16:20 - 16:40	Coffee break
16:40 - 17:40	WORKSHOP From Projects to Products: Unlocking the Power of Value Stream Mapping Bart Versteegen, Senior Product Consultant & PST @ Scrum.org
19:30 - 21:30	Beer & BBQ hangout at Garden Grill "Hortenzija"

Friday, July 4th

9:00 - 10:00	Coffee hangout
10:00 - 10:40	WORKSHOP The Three Immutable Forces of Profitability Marcel Petitpas, CEO & Co-Founder @ Parakeeto
10:40 - 11:00	Coffee break
11:00 - 12:20	WORKSHOP The Three Immutable Forces of Profitability Marcel Petitpas, CEO & Co-Founder @ Parakeeto
12:20 - 13:40	Lunch at Hotel Ambasador restaurant
13:40 - 15:00	INTERVIEW Building and Growing People First Sanja Karan, Head of People and Culture @ Ars Futura
15:00 - 15:20	Coffee break
15:20 - 16:20	WORKSHOP How to Position Your Agency as the Number One Choice in Your Market? Robert Craven, Director @ Grow Your Digital Agency
16:20 - 16:40	Coffee break
16:40 - 18:00	WORKSHOP Actionable tips for expanding internationally Ivan Vukičević, Co-founder @ Impulsima Nikola Tavić, Founder @ Impulsima
19:30 - 21:30	Wine & pasta hangout at Garden Grill "Hortenzija"

Saturday, July 5th

9:00 - 10:00	Coffee hangout
10:00 - 10:40	TALK Defending against future cyber threats Christoph Schacher, CISO @ Wienerberger
10:40 - 11:00	Coffee break
11:00 - 11:40	TALK The hidden curves of the Gartner hype cycle James Royal-Lawson, Senior digital adviser & founder @ Beantin
11:40 - 12:20	TALK Mind the Gap: Do you design to get the product sold or to provide a useful tool? Johanna Halfmann, Software Product Design @ CoreMedia
12:20 - 13:40	Lunch at Hotel Ambasador restaurant
13:40 - 15:00	TALKS to be announced
15:00 - 15:20	Coffee break
15:20 - 16:20	TALK Marketing in the next decade Noz Urbina, Founder @ Urbina Consulting
16:20 - 16:40	Coffee break
17:00 - 17:40	KEYNOTE 404: Trust Not Found – How to Debug Your Customer Experience Tim Walters, Founder @ Zero Theory
17:40 - 18:00	Closing session
19:30 - 23:30	Dinner & final party