Author: Art Ryan

Paula Port, Vice President of Global Marketing at Destination Toronto, will be a featured speaker at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, where she will share her expertise on leveraging data and storytelling to drive tourism growth and community engagement in one of North America’s most dynamic cities. At Destination Toronto, Port leads the organization’s global marketing, content, media relations, and business intelligence strategies—all aimed at showcasing the rich cultural fabric and diverse experiences that define the city. Her work spans both B2C and B2B audiences, ensuring that campaigns resonate with leisure travelers, meeting planners, and industry stakeholders alike.…

Kurien Jacob, Partner and Managing Director of Highgate Technology Ventures (HTV), will bring his extensive industry expertise to the stage at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, where he will speak on the strategic intersection of venture capital, travel technology, and AI-driven disruption. As the leader of HTV—a value-driven investment firm focused on travel technology—Jacob is instrumental in backing and scaling companies that are transforming the travel and hospitality landscape. HTV makes venture and growth equity investments in high-impact startups, with a sharp focus on innovation, data, and next-generation digital infrastructure. Prior to launching HTV, Jacob served as Chief…

Scott Drey, Creative Director at Meta Creative Shop and Vertical Lead for Travel, will join the influential speaker lineup at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, offering expert insights on how AI, creators, and messaging platforms are redefining digital storytelling in the travel industry. With over nine years of creative leadership at Meta, Drey has been at the forefront of innovation across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Reels, and WhatsApp. He played a pivotal role in Instagram’s early advertising evolution, helping establish creative benchmarks and launching ad formats like Stories that transformed mobile engagement. Currently, Drey leads Meta’s global travel…

Matthias Keller, Chief Product Officer at Kayak, will take the stage as a featured speaker at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, offering a front-row view into how cutting-edge AI is transforming the travel search and booking experience. Keller leads global product strategy and innovation at Kayak, the world’s leading travel search engine, where he has spearheaded the development of some of the brand’s most groundbreaking technologies. These include KAYAK PriceCheck, Ask KAYAK (2024), the KAYAK ChatGPT Plugin (2023), Passkeys (2022), Siri Shortcuts (2018), and even voice-based hotel booking via Alexa (2017). Under his leadership, Kayak has become a…

Marilyn Markham, Vice President of AI Strategy and Automation at American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), will be a featured speaker at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, offering her expertise on how enterprise AI can transform customer experience and unlock business value in corporate travel. At AMEX GBT, Markham leads the company’s AI vision—driving enterprise-wide adoption, identifying strategic AI applications, and overseeing a team of engineers focused on automation. Her work lies at the critical intersection of business strategy and advanced technology, where she ensures that AI is not just implemented but optimized to enhance both operations and…

Janette Roush, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Chief AI Officer at Brand USA, is set to speak at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, bringing her forward-thinking perspective on how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing destination marketing on a global scale. At Brand USA—the official destination marketing organization for the United States—Roush leads the charge in integrating AI across the organization’s promotional, trade, and partnership initiatives. Her work focuses on leveraging emerging technologies to more effectively position the U.S. as a premier travel destination, while delivering measurable value to stakeholders and travel partners. With a strong background in media…

Rodrigo Acuna Agost, Head of Research and the AI Center of Excellence at Amadeus, will join the roster of top-tier speakers at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, bringing decades of expertise in artificial intelligence, operations research, and real-world travel tech innovation to the stage. With over 20 years of experience in AI and applied research, Acuna Agost leads Amadeus’ global efforts to explore and operationalize advanced technologies across the travel industry—from airlines and airports to agencies and digital platforms. Under his leadership, Amadeus’ AI Center of Excellence has evolved into a powerhouse of innovation, with numerous research projects…

Naveen Manga, Global Chief Technology Officer of Marriott International, is confirmed as a featured speaker at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, where he will share his bold vision for how cutting-edge technology will redefine the travel experience over the next decade. As Global CTO, Manga is at the helm of Marriott’s technology strategy, leading transformative initiatives that blend innovation with business value at scale. Known for building a high-performing team with a relentless focus on customer-centric solutions, Manga is driving Marriott’s efforts to harness emerging technologies—from AI and hyper-personalization to immersive experiences and sustainable digital innovations. With over…

Mit Shah, founder and CEO of Noble Investment Group, will be among the distinguished speakers at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025, bringing his celebrated leadership and deep industry expertise to the forefront of discussions on innovation and investment in hospitality. As the driving force behind Noble, Shah leads the firm’s strategic direction and chairs its investment committee. Under his guidance, Noble has grown into one of the most respected institutional real estate investment management platforms in the travel and hospitality sector. His insights at the Summit will offer a rare glimpse into how leading firms are leveraging data…

Chris Silcock, President of Global Brands and Commercial Services for Hilton, is set to take the stage at the Skift Data + AI Summit 2025 as one of the featured speakers. With nearly 30 years of experience driving transformative innovation and commercial excellence in the hospitality industry, Silcock will offer a unique perspective on how data and AI are reshaping global travel and guest experiences. At Hilton, Silcock leads a broad portfolio spanning brand development, performance support, product design, and food and beverage strategies. On the commercial side, he oversees core business functions including technology, sales, revenue management, enterprise data…

New York City, June 4, 2025 — As the intersection of artificial intelligence and data analytics reshapes every corner of the global travel industry, today’s Skift Data + AI Summit promises to be a defining moment. Held at 117 West 46th Street in the heart of Manhattan, the one-day event brings together leading minds from travel, tech, and finance to unpack the transformative role of AI in the business of moving people. With competition surging and consumer expectations evolving at breakneck speed, the summit arrives at a critical inflection point. Airlines, hotels, online travel agencies, and mobility platforms are all…

New Delhi, June 3, 2025 — The third and final day of the 81st IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS) is taking place today at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in New Delhi. Hosted by IndiGo, this historic gathering marks India’s first time hosting the AGM since 1983, drawing over 1,700 aviation leaders, regulators, and media representatives from around the world. Focus Areas on the Final Day As the global aviation community wraps up this landmark summit, today’s sessions will spotlight: Highlights from Previous Days As Day 3 unfolds, the focus is on solidifying the…

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP Cargo) is to offer a more personalised and responsive service for its customers with the launch of CRM360, a global artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform codeveloped with customer relationship management (CRM) software company Salesforce. This next-generation solution is designed to ensure “consistent, efficient and customised support” throughout a customer experience, the Franco-Dutch cargo carrier said. AFKLMP Cargo is investing in various AI-enabled tools – such as chat, voice and priority models – to provide customer service teams with what it described as “cutting-edge tools, insight and expertise”. GertJan Roelands – SVP Commercial AFKLMP Cargo Said…

Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab will invest $400 million in Switzerland, the company said on Monday, with the money going towards developing its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The U.S. tech company announced the investment at a meeting of Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin and its vice chair Brad Smith in Bern. Microsoft, which employs 1,000 people in Switzerland, did not give details on how many jobs the investment would create.The money will be used to expand and upgrade its four data centres near Geneva and Zurich, responding to increased demand for AI and cloud computing services in Switzerland, it said.…

Generative AI inference systems company Recogni Inc. and sustainable AI cloud company DataVolt announced a partnership to build what they say will be the most energy-efficient AI cloud. “Recogni’s inference system leverages AI logarithmic math on purpose-built silicon and networking to set new standards in energy efficiency and performance, making it an ideal fit for DataVolt’s cost/environmentally friendly energy-optimized AI infrastructure,” the companies said in their announcement. At the U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum, DataVolt signed a $20 billion agreement, marking a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to advancing AI and data center infrastructure. As part of the heterogeneous compute strategy, DataVolt…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today launched Elsa, a generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool designed to help employees—from scientific reviewers to investigators—work more efficiently. This innovative tool modernizes agency functions and leverages AI capabilities to better serve the American people. “Following a very successful pilot program with FDA’s scientific reviewers, I set an aggressive timeline to scale AI agency-wide by June 30,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. “Today’s rollout of Elsa is ahead of schedule and under budget, thanks to the collaboration of our in-house experts across the centers.” Built within a high-security GovCloud environment, Elsa offers a…

Cathay Innovation, a Paris-based venture capital firm affiliated with Cathay Capital, announced on May 28 the final closing of its third fund: Fund III, amounting to $1 billion. This investment vehicle aims to support the sustainable transformation of critical sectors such as healthcare, energy, finance, and consumer industries through so-called “vertical” AI, designed for specific uses in each industry. This announcement comes at a particularly complex time for venture capital, marked by a global decline in fundraising, cautious revaluation of tech assets, and increasing attention to sustainable economic models. Connecting Emerging Start-ups to Real-World Industries According to Denis Barrier, co-founder of Cathay Innovation, “Fund III…

Thomson Reuters (TSX/Nasdaq: TRI), a global content and technology company, today unveiled its next major leap forward — agentic AI systems, beginning with the launch of CoCounsel for tax, audit, and accounting professionals. While today’s most advanced AI assistants can generate results when prompted, agentic AI goes beyond simply responding under a pre-defined sequence of actions. It plans, reasons, acts, and even reacts — operating inside real workflows to complete complex, multi-step assignments with the transparency, precision, and accountability professionals require. Unlike generic AI, Thomson Reuters agents are refined by legal and tax, audit, and accounting experts to reason in alignment…

The owner of Facebook and Instagram is to help advertisers to fully create and target campaigns using artificial intelligence tools by the end of next year, in a move that sent shock waves through the traditional marketing industry. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, which also owns WhatsApp, aims to directly target brands’ marketing budgets, posing a threat to the advertising and media agencies that handle client campaigns and budgets. The AI tools under development, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will allow brands using Meta’s advertising platform to create ads using a product image and a planned marketing spend. Meta’s platform already offers some…

Microsoft Bing announced today that it is introducing the Bing Video Creator to its app, which uses OpenAI’s Sora model to let users generate videos from text prompts. OpenAI, which has a longstanding partnership with Microsoft, has locked down access to Sora‘s video generation for paying customers only. Its integration in Microsoft Bing represents the first time that it will be available for free. At launch, Bing Video Creator is not yet available on desktop, and videos can take hours to generate, even when using the “fast” mode, which is supposed to take just a few minutes. All users, so long as they are logged…