Designing Beyond the Interface:AI, Influence & Human Connection

AI can speed up work, but also change how you design. Get a glimpse into
our design team’s roadmap from individual experiments and first AI product
launches, to scalable, agentic workflows.

In this talk, Marta Andreoni, Head of Design at SMG Automotive, will share
real use cases from discovery to delivery and lessons from the field that
might give you ideas for moving yourself and your team beyond the hype.

Without a CXO job title, convincing your stakeholders can feel like an
uphill battle. Until you realize that stakeholders aren’t just obstacles,
they’re fellow humans with their own pressures, fears, and pet peeves.

In this talk, Arjanna van der Plas and Nele Clüver will share actionable
tips to help you build trust, navigate office politics, and drive alignment
by tapping into the power of empathy and human connection.

We’ll explore how to:

• Spot the human behind the role, uncovering their motivations, fears, and
  priorities.

• Use active listening to create buy-in and foster collaboration.

• Leverage psychological principles to build influence organically.

This isn’t about manipulation - it’s about working with people, not against
them. Join us to learn how to turn stakeholders into allies, one human
connection at a time.

A moderated discussion with the speakers and the audience, connecting the evening’s themes: how organisations structure knowledge so that people, teams and AI can find and use it.