DDX Innovation & UX Conference - Munich 2025 | Balanstraße 63, 81541 München, Germany

About DDX Innovation & UX Conference - Munich 2025

T H E M E 2 0 2 5

INNOVATION MEETS IMPACT.

Discover pathways to design outcome-driven digital innovation.

The DDX Conference is open to anyone who is interested in gaining knowledge in the field of Innovation. Whether you are a UX Manager, Innovation Manager, Digital Product Manager, Designer & Strategist, Founder & Entrepreneur or simply passionate about innovation it’s an ideal event for professionals and enthusiasts alike who want to stay up-to-date with the latest trends, learn from industry experts, and connect with the Innovation community.

All things digital innovation - an event designed for experienced professionals in UX Design, UX Research, UI Design, Product Management, Brand Strategy, Innovation Strategy, Customer Experience Strategy & more.

The conference about the future of digital innovation.

Digital Experience
Product & Innovation
New Ventures

Learn from and meet speakers from SAP, Expedia, IBM - and leading startups and agencies.

Meet new like-minded people and get inspired about the future of design.

Discover open job and project opportunities as well as new future career paths.

Speakers

Lea Bachmann

Responsible AI Experiences Lead at Microsoft Microsoft

Joshua Benke

Business Development Startups, Digital Natives & VCs at Microsoft Microsoft

Dr. Maria Garbuzova

Business Acceleration with AI Co-Innovation at Microsoft Microsoft

Marcus Ruebsam

Founder and CEO at Showboerd Advisory GmbH Showboerd Advisory

Tim Kawohl

Head of UX/UI at Cobe COBE

Pauline Vage

Lead Ul/ UX Designer at Cobe COBE

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Alina Rubina

Business Design Lead at Allianz Allianz Partners

Kirsten van Dam

Strategic Foresight Director at Manyone Manyone

Dr. Eike Wagner

Transformation Designer at Change Workout Change Workout

Dr. Tina Weisser

Professor for Service Design, UX, Leadership at Hochschule München Hochschule München

Sebastian Löwe

Author - Design and Artificial Intelligence; Director User Experience Design at Virtual Identity Virtual Identity

Sonali Müller

Corporate Program Manager at Start2 Group Start2 Group

Gonzales Perez

Head of Investments at Wayra Germany - Telefonica Telefonica Ventures

Anja Popović

Ecosystem Innovation Designer at IBM IBM

Jennifer Kaiser-Steiner

Head of Learning & Exchange Center at UnternehmerTUM UnternehmerTUM

Klaus Sailer

CEO at SCE; Professor for Entrepreneurship at Munich University of Applied Sciences Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship

Mareike Hoffmann

Director, ISV Partner Business Germany at Microsoft Microsoft

Stephanie Weber

Head of UX Design at Fielmann AG Fielmann AG

Gavin Ivester

Senior Design Director at Cisco (ex-Apple, Nike, Puma) Cisco

Thorsten Jonas

Sustainable UX, Responsible AI & Digital Sustainability, Founder of SUX Network & SUX Academy SUX Network

Felix Rank

Young AI Leaders, Co-founder of the German Forum for EMDM, Product Owner P&C at Allianz Allianz

Jomy Jose

Head of AMS Business Solutions EMEA at Munich Re Munich Re

Celine Marie Perrot

Team Lead Incubation at BMW Group BMW

Christoph Ortmann

Design Leader at Ex-Bosch Home Appliance BSH Home Appliances Group

Reem Alwahabi

Design Manager at DeepL DeepL

Ioannis Nousis

Head of Product Design at Skroutz (ex-Google) Skroutz

Sebastian Gier

Co-Founder & Managing Director at Footprint Intelligence, Founder at DDX DDX

Erik Spiekermann

Founder at EdenSpiekermann EdenSpiekermann

Patrick Melchner

Partner Technology Strategist for ISVs at Microsoft Microsoft

Dr. Florian Lautenschlager

Partner Technology Strategist for ISV at Microsoft Microsoft

Yan Liu

Principal Product Designer at Microsoft Microsoft

Ingrid Gerstbach

Design Thinking Expert, Management Consultant, Author, Business Psychologist GERSTBACH.at

Peter Gerstbach

Business-Analyst & Design-Thinking-Expert, Consultant and Managing Director at GERSTBACH GERSTBACH.at

Martin Tantow

Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures Pegasus Tech Ventures

Philip Prestele

Startup & Ecosystem Evangelist at UnternehmerTUM UnternehmerTUM

Sebouh Yeghiayan

Deal Flow & Portfolio Manager at Intel Ignite, Advisor at Loyal VC Intel Ignite

Robin Neff

VC at World Fund World Fund

Christine Purnell

Startup Finance Strategist at RESULTING RESULTING

Agenda

10:00 - 10:30 am – DDX, MCBW, Microsoft, UnternehmerTUM, Pegasus Tech Ventures: Welcome (Host & Partners) – Lea Bachmann

10:30 - 11:00 am – Driving Responsible AI: Ethics and Inclusion in Tech – Joshua Benke, Maria Garbuzova, Marcus Ruebsam

10:30 - 11:00 am – Accelerate Your Startup with Microsoft: From Cutting-Edge AI Prototype to Market Entry – Tim Kawohl, Pauline Vàge

10:30 - 12:00 pm – Talk & Workshop: The Changing Role of UX/UI Designer in View of AI & AI x Design – Alina Rubina

11:00 - 11:30 am – Transforming Design Governance at Allianz – Kirsten van Dam

11:00 - 11:30 am – Unlock Innovation through Collaborative Strategic Foresight – Moderator: Eike Wagner – Panel: Tina Weisser, Sebastian Löwe

11:30 - 12:00 pm – Enable and accelerate digital innovation and change – Moderator: Sonali Müller – Panel: Gonzales Perez

11:30 - 12:00 pm – Built to Evolve: Why Corporates Need Startups To Stay Ahead

12:00 - 1:00 pm – Table Talks, Lunch, Live Innovation Interviews

1:00 - 1:30 pm – Fostering Innovation and Growth Within Ecosystem Partnerships – Moderator: Jennifer Kaiser-Steiner – Panel: Klaus Sailer, Mareike Hoffmann

1:00 - 1:30 pm – The Power of Startup Ecosystems – Kirsten van Dam

1:00 - 2:00 pm – From Signals to Strategy: Turning Change into Impact – Stephanie Weber

1:30 - 2:00 pm – From Resistance to Readiness: Using Emotional UX to Enable Innovation

1:30 - 2:00 pm – 5 Digital Innovations & New Business Ventures Pitches – Pegasus Tech Ventures

2:00 - 2:30 pm – Light Break, Coffee & Networking

2:30 - 3:00 pm – How to drive brand innovation through sustainability – Moderator: Felix Rank – Panel: Jomy Jose, Celine Perrot

2:30 - 3:00 pm – Innovating Between Possibility and Responsibility with AI – Tina Weisser, Kirsten Heller

2:30 - 3:30 pm – Shaping the Future: Service Design, UX, and Leadership in the Digital Age – Moderator: Gavin Ivester – Panel: Thorsten Jonas, TBA

3:00 - 3:30 pm – Sustainability in Digital Design & UX

3:00 - 3:30 pm – 5 Digital Innovations & New Business Ventures Pitches – Pegasus Tech Ventures

3:30 - 4:00 pm – Light Break, Coffee & Networking

4:00 - 4:30 pm – Scaling & Managing UX/UI Teams – Christoph Ortmann

4:00 - 4:20 pm – Hybrid Roles and AI: Redefining the Designer’s Place in a Post-Gen AI World – Reem Alwahabi

4:00 - 5:00 pm – Workshop: AI Meets Design Thinking: Accelerating Innovative Customer Experiences – Moderator: Sebastian Gier – Panel: Christoph Ortmann, TBA

4:20 - 4:40 pm – Scaling Product Design for Impact and Growth – Ioannis Nousis

4:40 - 5:00 pm – Designing for the Empathic Web – Sebastian Löwe

5:00 - 5:30 pm – Light Break, Coffee & Networking

5:30 - 6:00 pm – TBA – Erik Spiekermann

5:30 - 6:00 pm – TBA – Patrick Melchner, Florian Lautenschlager

5:30 - 6:00 pm – The Designer's Evolving Role in the AI Era: From Maker to Strategist – Yan Liu

6:00 pm+ – Participation Certificate, Award Ceremony, Afterparty w/ DJ Carolina Klass