GSMA Announces New Keynote Speakers, Participating Companies and Programme Updates for Barcelona Event

LONDON - Wednesday, November 30th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The GSMA today provided an update on the 2017 Mobile World Congress, unveiling newly confirmed keynote speakers for the conference and additional participating companies and programmes. Mobile World Congress will be held 27 February – 2 March 2017 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, with events also taking place at Fira Montjuïc.

“We have a great event lined up for February – I’m particularly excited about the conference, where we’ll see several keynote speakers make their Mobile World Congress debut,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “Across the entire event, attendees will have the opportunity to explore and experience the cutting-edge technologies, products and services that have become so fundamental to our everyday lives.”

Additional Keynote Speakers Confirmed

The GSMA announced several new keynote speakers for the four-day conference programme, representing companies across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industry sectors. Newly confirmed speakers include:

    Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Chairman-Elect, GSMA
    Takashi Niino, President and CEO, NEC Corporation
    Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO, Netflix
    Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC
    Allison Kirkby, President and Group CEO, Tele2
    John Martin, Chairman and CEO, Turner
    Jeff Lawson, Founder, CEO and Chairman, Twilio
    Patrick Gelsinger, CEO, VMware

For more information on the conference, including keynotes and the full agenda, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/conference/.

Exhibition Highlights: Innovation City and NEXTech

Now located in Hall 4, the GSMA Innovation City will feature more innovative mobile products and services than ever before, allowing visitors to explore and connect with the latest innovation in areas such as 5G, the Internet of Things, security and identity. Huawei and UNLIMIT powered by Reliance are the newest organisations participating in the Innovation City, joining previously confirmed companies AT&T, Cisco Jasper, KT Corporation and Sierra Wireless in this unique experiential exhibition space.

New for the 2017 edition of Mobile World Congress, Hall 8.0 NEXTech showcases forward-thinking companies and disruptive technologies, from virtual reality/augmented reality and robotics, to cognitive computing, artificial intelligence and more. The hall features several pavilions and zones including the NEXTech Pavilion (incorporating VR/AR, robotics and AI), the IoT Pavilion and the Drone Zone. The NEXTech Lab will also form part of the pavilion, with an open theatre offering content-led presentations by industry experts leading in these cutting-edge technologies. Companies confirmed for NEXTech include the AR/VR Association, DJI, OptoVR, Softbank Robotics and VRtify.

Building on the success of the Graphene Pavilion in 2016, the Graphene Flagship, a consortium of over 150 academic and industrial research groups in 23 countries, will return to Mobile World Congress with the Graphene Experience Zone. Additionally, on Thursday, 2 March, the Graphene Flagship will present a full-day conference on graphene and its impact on the mobile industry, featuring a keynote speech by Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novoselov focusing on “From Datacom to IoT, Enabled by Graphene”.

The GSMA announced additional companies participating at Mobile World Congress, including Baidu, BT Group, China Mobile, GoPro, MasterCard, Netflix, NTT DOCOMO, Ooredoo, PayPal, SEAT, SK Telecom, Tencent, Twitter and Verizon. These companies join previously announced exhibitors including AOL, Cisco Systems, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Ford, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HTC, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, NEC, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Oracle, Orange, Philips Lighting, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics, SAP, Sony Mobile, Telefónica, Vodafone, Volkswagen and ZTE, among others. For more information on the Mobile World Congress exhibition, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/exhibition/.

New Partner Programmes

The GSMA announced additional companies participating in Partner Programmes in Barcelona. On Monday, 27 February, ZTE will offer a half-day programme, while on Tuesday, 28 February, GTI will host the GTI Summit 2017. mSchools, a programme of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, will hold a full-day event on Wednesday, 1 March, alongside Palo Alto with a half-day programme. The GSMA also announced several new Power Hour sessions taking place on Thursday, 2 March, featuring Appboy, National Instruments and PGi. For more information on Partner Programmes, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/events/partner-programmes/.

Speakers Confirmed for Women4Tech Summit

The GSMA announced new updates for the Women4Tech (W4T) programme at Mobile World Congress. The Women4Tech Summit, which will be held on Thursday, 2 March and is sponsored by Accenture, will include presentations from leaders in mobile and related industries:

    Harmeen Mehta, Global CIO, Bharti Airtel
    Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President EMEA, Facebook
    Nathan Ott, CEO, The GC Index Ltd
    Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA
    Laureen Cook, Principal TMT Advisor, IFC (World Bank)
    Renee La Londe, Founder and CEO, iTalent
    Dr. Patricia Fletcher, SAP-SuccessFactors, SAP
    Mary Clark, Chief Marketing Officer, Syniverse
    Jenny Fielding, Managing Director, TechStars New York
    Lauren Hurvitz, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer, Turner
    Gary Stewart, Director, Wayra UK

The GSMA also announced that the W4T Hack_D_Gap Global Challenge at 4YFN, which is designed to generate innovative solutions, products or services that drive gender diversity and equality in the tech industry, is now open for registration. Further, Think Purple Ltd. is confirmed to lead the Women4Tech Speed Coaching and Networking session on Wednesday, 1 March, with SAP as the sponsor for that event. For more information on Women4Tech, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/events/women-for-tech/.

Get Involved at Mobile World Congress 2017

For more information on Mobile World Congress 2017, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com. Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress on Twitter @GSMA using #MWC17, on our LinkedIn Mobile World Congress page https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-world-congress or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress/. For additional information on GSMA social channels, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/about/contact/social-media/.

The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital, which will be hosted in Barcelona through 2023. The Mobile World Capital encompasses programmes and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

Contacts

Media Contacts:

For the GSMA

Charlie Meredith-Hardy

+44 7917 298428

CMeredith-Hardy@webershandwick.com

or

Xavier Serra

+34 93 236 09 30

xserra@webershandwick.com

or

GSMA Press Office

pressoffice@gsma.com

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