Chris Barnard is vice president, European Telecoms and Infrastructure, at IDC. He joined the company in 2000 and is responsible for European research covering all aspects of telecoms and IoT, datacenter infrastructure, networking, unified communications & collaboration, related professional services.

Based in Amsterdam, Chris and IDC’s region-wide team of analysts focus on the major shifts taking place in the markets, as organizations move from physical, premise-based environments to services delivered via virtual and cloud solutions in a business world that is mobility-centric. Chris and team work very closely with a range of telecoms providers and infrastructure vendors, from industry leaders to start-ups, to identify the drivers and opportunities on offer.

He is the author of numerous white papers and trade press articles on telecoms, professional services, convergence, unified communications, ebusiness, infrastructure, and networking strategies. He is widely quoted in the international technology and business press. In 2010, Chris was named telecoms analyst of the year by the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR). He is frequently asked to speak at international industry conferences, customer events, and road shows.

In the late nineties he worked for three years at Montreal-based software company Essentus as special projects manager and customer support manager (Europe). Before joining this supply chain management vendor, he was employed by Fast Lane, an Oracle consultancy in the Netherlands. Chris, who holds a master’s degree (cum laude) from Stellenbosch University, also has six years’ experience in content and management roles at media companies.

Gary Middleton is a business leader and go-to-market executive within the networking business at NTT DATA, Europe. He strives to make a difference working as part of a cross functional team providing leading network solutions and services that deliver for clients’ business. He has broad experience and has held positions in cybersecurity and networking in a variety of country, regional and global leadership roles. His current position is VP Networking at NTT DATA in Europe with responsibility for the networking Technology Solutions business across 14 countries in the region.

Stefaan Hinderyckx is a distinguished graduate of KU Leuven University, holding a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA. With over 35 years of experience in the IT industry, including 25 years specializing in cybersecurity and networking, Stefaan has held numerous senior, pan-European positions at global ICT companies such as Symantec, Verizon, Unisys, Getronics, Dimension Data and NTT.
In his current role as Senior Vice President for Cybersecurity at NTT DATA, Stefaan focuses on translating the technology, people, and process elements of security solutions into tangible business value. This outcomes-focused approach has made his services highly sought after by NTT DATA’s strategic global clients. Stefaan is also a frequent keynote speaker at industry and government cybersecurity events, where he discusses the innovative potential of security technology to transform business and society.

In his role, Hendrik is passionately building trusted partnerships to drive secure and impactful digitization. Together with his team of engineers and architects, he is responsible for enabling & growing Cisco’s broad ecosystem of partners across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region as well as driving innovation by developing new partner managed services and API-driven solutions and integrations. Recently he also accepted an additional responsibility to lead the recent acquisition of Splunk from a partner perspective.

He’s been with Cisco for 27 years and held several leadership positions in Engineering, Sales, Strategy & Planning and Investments.

Hendrik is also a board member of STT, The Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends, an independent Expertise Centre, established in 1968 by the Royal Dutch Engineering Society. The aim of STT is to explore the future on the leading edge of technology and society. He is founder of the Present Foundation in his local city of Zeewolde, Netherlands offering a platform to connect volunteers to people in need.

He is passionate and ambitious on what digitization can do for our economy and society. Fascinated by the power of new digital connections between people, things, processes and data, to give the world a serious update! Using new connections followed by secure and intelligent interactions building trust as our new currency, we can build a unique platform for open innovation. And we all have the opportunity (or obligation?) to be involved!

To unwind and rewind Hendrik uses the wind, as a passionate kitesurfer. To keep him grounded he also tries to play golf. And as a geek he is keeping his 1984 Sinclair ZX Spectrum alive.