Kristoffer Tamsons is the Regional Minister for Transport of Region Stockholm and Chairman for Stockholm Public Transport (SL). He has been in office since 2014 and is among other things known for the ongoing expansion of Stockholm’s Metro lines in four sections, eleven new stations and 24 kilometers of new rail. Former positions include Chief of Staff, senior special advisor and speechwriter to Sweden’s former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Dr. Alexander Pischon (54) studied economics at the universities of Berlin and Heidelberg and graduated in 1993. Following his doctorate at the University of Heidelberg, various national and international positions at ABB and Deutsche Bahn, Dr. Pischon assumed his current positions as Chairman of the Management Board of the Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe GmbH (VBK), the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft mbH (AVG), the Karlsruher Schieneninfrastruktur-Gesellschaft mbH (KASIG), the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund GmbH (KVV) and is Managing Director in the holding company, Karlsruher Versorgungs-, Verkehrs- und Hafen GmbH (KVVH).

In addition, he has actively represented Karlsruhe in various public transport industry associations since 2019, as chairman of the VDV Baden-Württemberg regional group, as a member of the VDV executive committee at federal level and as a member of the policy board of the international industry association UITP.

Qbuzz is one of the five public transportation companies in the Netherlands, that operate in the so-called ‘free’ market. Qbuzz operates in three concessions, with bus, tram and train services. Qbuzz employs 2.200 people and transports approximately 370.000 passengers per day. Qbuzz is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato, the Italian state owned rail company.

Gerrit Spijksma has been CEO of Qbuzz since 2018, and joined Qbuzz in 2015 as the CFO. He started his career as an auditor at Deloitte and held management positions at ABN Amro, McGregor Fashion and Twentsche Kabelfabriek before joining Qbuzz.

Dipl.-Ing (FH) Michael Rüffer (51) is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt (VGF).

After his study of electrical engineering (specialisation Drives) at FH Darmstadt he joined Siemens AG in Erlangen and worked in the electrical development of Trams, LRV and Metros.

In his former function at VGF he was the Executive Director Operations and Vehicles and „Betriebsleiter BOStrab“ (Safety Manager) and responsible for the so called “Divison Rail”, which consists of the rolling stock, the workshops, the driver department and the traffic control center. As “Betriebsleiter BOStrab” he was responsible for the safety of Frankfurt’s Tram and LRV lines.

In his first function at VGF as Vehicle Workshop Manager he was as well the Project Director at VGF for the S- an U5-Type vehicle projects.

Additional he was in the railway-sector in charge as „Eisenbahnbetriebsleiter“ at the former VGF subsidiary railway company VIAS.

He’s as well member of several VDV Committees and member of the UITP Light Rail Committee.

Maurice Unck has been RET’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since June 2017. RET is the public transport company for The Netherlands’ second largest city and the region, servicing 176 travelers per year (2019). Mr. Unck previously was a member of the Executive Committee of the NS (operating on the Dutch main rail network). He has a long track record in the public transport sector and a clear vision on its role in society.

Molly joined the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in June 2019 as the Agency’s first Chief Innovation Officer. At the CTA, she is responsible for leading the development and implementation of new technology and digital strategies focused on customer communication and engagement tools, data management and data analytics programs, and operational improvement and service efficiency projects. She also oversees the development of new fare collection and service integration products with a focus on digital products and strategic third party initiatives that will help reduce mobility friction for transit customers. Since joining the CTA, she has developed and implemented a brand new regional trip planning and Ventra fare collection app, established a closed loop Ventra Card with Apple Pay and will soon be launching a Ventra Card on Google Pay, and led the development of a host of customer-focused initiatives to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including: launching a vehicle crowding dashboard for customers, piloting new passenger counting technology, and various social distancing and face mask compliance efforts.

Prior to joining the CTA, she spent seven years working for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city of Chicago in various roles, including serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Development where she led the City’s Mobility Task Force and the creation of the city of Chicago’s Roadmap for the Future of Transportation and Mobility in Chicago report.