“The Wave” is an initiative of the Vice-presidency of the Government of Aragon that seeks to consolidate Aragon as a European technological hub.
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM or Linkedin are part of the participating companies of an event that is born with the vocation to rise as one of the three largest national technology events for the year 2027.
A meeting between emerging digital technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain, and the company. This is how “The Wave” is presented, a technological event, an initiative of the Vice-Presidency of the Government of Aragon, which will be attended by the heads of the most cutting-edge Aragonese, national and international technology companies of the moment. The event, to be held on May 15 and 16, 2024 at the Palacio de Congresos de Zaragoza, is one of the main initiatives of the Government of Aragon aimed at consolidating Aragon as a European technology hub, and is born with the aim of becoming one of the three major national technology events for the year 2027. An event that will be attended by national managers of American giants such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, as well as CEOs of Aragonese technology companies such as Oboria Digital, responsible for the creation of MSG Sphere, the so-called “Las Vegas dome”, or speakers such as Marc Vidal.
“The arrival in Aragon of two large companies with their data centers, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, has made visible something that already existed,” says Javier Martinez, director of the European Business and Innovation Center of Aragon (CEEI Aragon), on the growing positioning of Aragon as a European technology center. A reality that has as an exponent “The Wave”, an event that was born with the vocation of bringing together and disseminating the knowledge and ‘Know How’ of specialists and CEOs of the most leading technology companies. The event, aimed at professionals, entrepreneurs, self-employed and workers, is an initiative of the Vice-Presidency of the Government of Aragon, which organizes the Tech Expo together with CEEI Aragon, with the collaboration of the Aragonese Institute of Development (IAF). A congress that will talk about IoT (Internet of Things), Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing and Blockchain, and “how these technologies will impact the daily lives of professionals, companies, managers and people,” says Javier Martinez.
Talking about trends in a natural way and for everyone.
“What is coming now will have an impact on all companies. We need someone to land these concepts, which seem so complicated: from an economist to a small businessman, a professional services firm or a large company,” says Javier Martínez. Something that “The Wave” is looking for, a sort of “technological expo in which all this is talked about in a natural way, and for the general public”, he points out. One more step towards the consolidation of Aragon as a European technological hub, one of the objectives of the Government of Aragon’s legislature.
“The technology sector in Aragon is one of the great unknowns. There have been a number of strategic sectors for the autonomous community that have been talked about more, such as agri-food, logistics or automotive. But there was one that was growing and consolidating without anyone realizing it, which was the technology sector. I think the arrival of Amazon and Microsoft has ‘completed the package’. First, because we have many leading companies here, and of very relevant sizes compared to the national level, such as Hiberus or Integra. In fact, if you take the Spanish capital companies, we probably have three or four among the top ten, and two among the top five, at national level,” Martínez explains. “Secondly, because here we have installed a multitude of delegations of large corporations: DXC, with more than 1,500 employees, Adidas, with 600 people in Aragon dedicated to cybersecurity, NTT Data, with its top global head of generative digital AI, Carlos Galve, at its headquarters in Zaragoza. And only one part was missing, the super projects, those that give projection and image, such as the arrival of the data centers of Microsoft and Amazon Web Services”, argues the director of CEEI Aragón.
The technological ‘old guard’, in search of generational relief
“The Wave” will take place on May 15 and 16, 2024 at the Palacio de Congresos de Zaragoza, an event in which the relevance of the most cutting-edge digital technologies for business and society will be made known. The event will be attended by the vice-president of the Government of Aragon, Mar Vaquero, who will open the congress, as well as the president of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, who will close the first day of the conference. Among the speakers are Marc Vidal, lecturer and consultant in digital transformation, Raúl García, Ecosystem Leader Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel of the American technology company IBM, and Sergio Beguería, youtuber and entrepreneur.
The technological appointment of the Government of Aragon arises after a process of gradual consolidation of the autonomous community as a technology center. “There was an ‘old guard’ twenty years ago, where Alicia Asín (Libelium), Sergio López (Hiberus), Ángel Asín (Espúblico)… those of us who were awakened by the ‘little bug’ of technology, and who set up technology companies. That is the origin of Aragon’s technology sector. What worries me is that I can’t find the ‘new guard’, I think that we have to produce that effect-call of that time, and that there is a new generation that takes the baton from those who participated in that time”, says Javier Martinez. “We have reached cruising speed, we should worry about how to accelerate it. What can really stop us is the issue of talent,” he laments.
A change of era that is inevitably “traumatic”.
In “The Wave” the various experts invited will make an x-ray of the trends and digital technologies and their practical applications in the company and the day-to-day life of people. A change of era that “is going to be traumatic, and there is no capacity to do otherwise. What is coming affects us all, and we have to hybridize profiles. We need a new type of competencies, a change in the training model, both for those who come after us and for those of us who are already here. In addition, the tools to establish these models will also evolve and will be affected by the arrival of new technologies,” says Javier Martínez, who stresses the importance of the trade, “what you learn through experience” in a new technological era in which “the real workhorse will be vocational training adapted to these technological sectors,” he says.
Also participating in “The Wave” as speakers are Esther López (Data, Privacy and Measurement Specialist at Google, Oscar Landeta, CEO of Certest Biotech, María López, CEO of Bitbrain, José Antonio Mayoral, rector of the University of Zaragoza, Silvia Carrascal, rector of the San Jorge University, Ángel Sáenz de Cenzano, Country Manager Spain & Portugal at Linkedin, and Nacho Torre, general director of Strategy, Transformation and Data at Ibercaja.
The Wave” program
Wednesday, May 15th
10.00 h.: Opening Vice-president, Mar Vaquero
10.30 h.: “Tech Wave”: PLD Space, Ezequiel Sanchez (Executive President DLP)
11.30 h.: Coffee Break
12.00 h.: “Tech Talks”: Oboria Digital, Miguel Fontgivell (CEO of Oboria and Saco Technologies); DXC, Jorge Calderón (Business Director); Accenture, Toni de la Piedra (Managing Director Lead); Microchip Technology, Pedro Melero (Principal Client Engagement Manager).
13.00 h.: “Tech Talks”: Fersa, Sergio Santo Domingo (Global R&D Director at Fersa Group); Stellantis, Álvaro Martínez (Project Manager); Grupo UB, Jesús Urbano (CEO & Founder).
13.30 h.: “Tech Talks”: Google, Esther López (Data, Privacy and Measurement Specialist); Havas Media, David Rascón (Data&Madtech Consultant).
16.00 h.: Opening remarks by the Mayoress of Zaragoza, Natalia Chueca.
4.15 p.m.: “Tech Talks”: IBM, Raúl García (Ecosystem Leader Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel); Deloitte, Alfons Buxó (Global Cloud Transformation Leader).
4.45 p.m.: Coffee break.
5.30 p.m.: Microsoft, Alberto Granados (Country General Manager. President Microsoft Spain).
18.00 h.: Amazon Web Services, Suzana Curic (Country Leader AWS Iberia. Spain and Portugal)
18.30 h.: Marc Vidal, speaker and consultant in digital transformation.
19.15 h.: Closing remarks by Jorge Azcón, President of Aragón.
19.30 h.: Afterwork
Thursday, May 16th
10.00 h.: Opening Vice President, Mar Vaquero, and Imascono, Peter Lozano.
10.30 h.: “Tech Talks”: Linkedin, Ángel Sáenz de Cenzano (Country Manager Spain & Portugal); Ibercaja, Nacho Torre (General Manager of Strategy, Transformation and Data).
11.30 h.: Coffee Break
12.00 h.: “Tech Talks”: KPMG, Ana Peñuela (Partner, Technology Enablement); Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, María Comín (Director of Pre-University Education).
12.45 h.: “Tech Talks”: Certest Biotech, Oscar Landeta (CEO); Bitbrain, María López (Co-Founder and CEO); Longwood, Miguel Giralt (CEO); Podoactiva, Víctor Alfaro (General Manager).
13.30 h.: “Tech Talks”: Inycom, Beatriz Calvo (General Manager); Nologin, Javier Sánchez (Founding Partner).
17.00 h.: Institutional Opening
17.15 h.: “Tech Talks”: José Antonio Mayoral, Rector of the University of Zaragoza; Silvia Carrascal, Rector of the University San Jorge; Alejandro Cebrián, General Manager of Edelvives Spain.
18.00 h.: “Tech Talks”: Adidas, Fernando Comago (Vice President Digital Tech); Futbol Emotion, Carlos Sánchez (CEO and Co-owner).
18.45 h.: “Tech Talks”: Nyxell, Asier Isasi (Co-founder & Co-CEO); Zeta Gaming, Nacho Ortiz (Chief Operating Officer & Co-founder).
19.15 h.: Sergio Begueria, youtuber and entrepreneur.
