Elena Fersman is a leading expert in the field of AI, serving as Vice President and Head of Global AI Accelerator at Ericsson. In addition to her role at Ericsson, Fersman is also a docent and adjunct professor specializing in Cyber-Physical Systems and Automation at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

A trailblazer in AI, she is a sought-after speaker, covering topics such as generative AI, remote robotics and AI, and the transformative role AI plays in telecom. Fersman is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. She has co-authored over 50 patent families and a popular science book Confessions of an AI Brain, which offers an overview of AI technologies and applications.

Fersman holds a PhD in Computer Science from Uppsala University and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Paris-Saclay.

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Kathleen Fraser is a computer scientist at the National Research Council Canada’s (NRC) Digital Technologies Research Centre, specializing in AI. In 2024, she represented Canada as part of the NRC delegation at the inaugural meeting of the International AI Safety Institutes and participated in an international joint testing exercise presented at the AI Action Summit in Paris in early 2025, highlighting her leadership in AI safety and ethics.

Fraser’s research focuses on natural language processing (NLP), addressing biases and safety issues in AI. She has co-authored papers on racial and gender biases, human rights concerns in toxic language detection and mitigating stereotypes. She also explores NLP applications in healthcare.

Fraser earned her PhD in computer science from the University of Toronto, followed by a postdoc at the University of Gothenburg. She has been an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University since 2022.

Mary Kelly is an Assistant Professor in Carleton University’s Department of Cognitive Science and leads the ANIMUS lab, which studies cognition using computational models and artificial intelligence (AI).

With a background in machine learning, psychology and philosophy, Kelly examines how cognitive processes like learning, memory and language acquisition can inform AI. One focus of her and her team’s research at the ANIMUS lab is on ethical AI–exploring how current AI can make unsafe decisions and, by studying how humans cooperate, reason and empathize with each other, we can develop safer, more caring AI. By bridging human cognition and AI, she aims to develop fairer, more adaptable systems.

Kelly holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from Queen’s University and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Carleton. She was previously a Researcher at Penn State and an Assistant Professor at Bucknell University.

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Jordan is the current Senior Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet at Privy Council Office, and helps lead Canada’s Artificial Intelligence Secretariat.

Kate Purchase is the Senior Director for International AI Governance at Microsoft, based in Washington, D.C. where she leads Microsoft’s global AI governance work, shaping policy across international and multilateral forums. Prior to this, Purchase worked in the Office of the CEO at Microsoft, leading a team designed to consider the implications of technology, public opinion, strategy and corporate leadership.

Before Microsoft, Purchase spent 15 years in politics, specializing in foreign policy and communications strategy. She led Justin Trudeau’s communications through his Liberal Party leadership and 2015 election win, later serving as his Director of Communications—the youngest person to hold the role.

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