Keynote Speakers

Felipe de Borbón y Grecia

The Prince of Asturias

His Royal Highness The Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, was born in Madrid on 30 January 1968. Crown Prince since his father was proclaimed King on 22 November 1975, His Royal Highness trained at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, the Military Naval School in Marín, and at the General Air Force Academy in San Javier. His current ranks include Army (Infantry) Lieutenant-Colonel, Navy Commander, and Air Force Wing Commander. He has his helicopter pilot’s wings for both the Army and the Navy. He graduated from the Autónoma University of Madrid in 1993 with a degree in law, and from Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) in 1995 with a master’s degree in international relations. After completing his academic studies, Prince Felipe has fulfilled the institutional commitments deriving from his status as Crown Prince, both in Spain and abroad, and he participates in the most important events of Spanish public life.

Montserrat Gomendio Kindelan

Secretary of State for Education, Training, and Universities, Spain

Born in Madrid, Ms. Gomendio Kindelan has a biology degree from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom). She is a graduate of the General Management Program at IESE Business School (Madrid), conducted research for several years at the University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, and there developed her teaching skills. She joined the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in 1991 as a research scientist and is currently a research professor attached to the National Museum of Natural Sciences.

Xavier Prats Monné

Deputy Director-General for Education of the European Commission

Xavier Prats Monné is currently director-general for education of the European Commission, and in July 2014 he will be director-general for education and culture. He is responsible for EU policies and program in the field of education and training, including ICT and digital learning, and for the new 2014–2020 Erasmus+ program of the EU. He represents the European Commission in the Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

John Fallon

Chief executive, Pearson plc John became Pearson’s chief executive on 1 January 2013, succeeding Marjorie Scardino. Since 2008 John has been responsible for the company's education businesses outside North America, and a member of the Pearson management committee. He joined Pearson in 1997 as director of communications and was appointed President of Pearson Inc., a role he combined with his communications responsibilities, in 2000. In 2003, he was appointed CEO of Pearson's educational publishing businesses for Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMA) and gradually took on a broader international education brief.

Jan Muehlfeit

Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation Jan Muehlfeit is an ICT industry veteran with nearly 19 years at Microsoft. After serving in different positions in the Microsoft Czech/Slovak subsidiary from 1993 to 2000, he led the CEE region in 2000–2005 and later served as vice president of the Microsoft Public Sector team in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and as vice president of EMEA Corporate and Government Strategy. Mr. Muehlfeit is a vice-chair of the Academy of Business in Society (ABiS), board member of JA, co-chairman of the European e-Skills Association, and a member of the Board of AIESEC and Ovum advisory body. Mr. Muehlfeit has advised governments in the field of ICT, national competitiveness, and education. He also represents Microsoft on the Transatlantic Business Dialogue and is an advisor in different projects of WEF, OECD, and European Policy Center (EPC). He graduated from Czech Technical University and later completed executive development programs at Wharton, LSE, and Harvard.

Anthony Salcito

Vice President, Microsoft Worldwide Education, Microsoft Corporation As vice president of education for the Microsoft Worldwide Education organization, Anthony Salcito works with education institutions and partners globally to embrace technology to optimize learning environments and student achievement. In this role, Anthony oversees the worldwide execution of the Microsoft vision for education and its partnership and technology outreach efforts via the Worldwide Partners in Learning, Shape the Future, and Public and Private Partnerships programs. Anthony joined Microsoft in 1992, eventually rising to be general manager of education in the United States, where he helped launch the Partners in Learning program in 2003. He moved to his current role in 2009.