Agenda
Conference tracks
Tuesday 13th May 2025
FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub meeting – open to Corporate Partners only
Taking place at the Hyatt Pittsburgh International Airport
FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group meeting – Open to members only
Taking place at the Hyatt Pittsburgh International Airport
FTE Smart Ramp meting
Taking place at Pittsburgh International Airport
Guided tours & exclusive look at the brand-new PIT terminal ahead of opening
Pittsburgh International Airport is transforming travel by undergoing an ambitious, airport-wide modernization to better meet the needs of a region on the rise, providing Western Pennsylvania with an elevated platform for exploration, development and innovation in 2025.
A transformed PIT is designed to deliver a more intuitive, cohesive and carefully crafted passenger journey – from curb to gate and back again.
FTE World Innovation Summit will get the chance to tour this landmark new facility with specialist briefings from PIT specialist to tell the story behind these key areas:
- Design, Construction, Sustainability, Delivery & ORAT
- Technology & Operations
- Service Design & Commercial
Kickoff Event – doors open, registration & networking, open bar & food
Make the most of the vital networking opportunities provided at the Kickoff event where delegates can network with their peers over drinks and delicious food amidst the incredible surroundings of the new PIT terminal ahead of its opening later in 2025.
Opening Keynote Session in new PIT terminal
Daniel Coleman
Founder & CEO
Future Travel Experience
Christina Cassotis
CEO
Pittsburgh International Airport
How AI and technology is helping to transform British Airways
Networking & Open Bar
Wednesday 14th May 2025
Breakfast served at Carnegie Mellon University
Opening Remarks, Insights & Scene Setting
Daniel Coleman
Founder & CEO
Future Travel Experience
Christina Cassotis
CEO
Pittsburgh International Airport
Farnham Jahanian
President
Carnegie Mellon University
Energy & Sustainability Conference Session – Part 1
Alternative Choice
How do we ensure air transport gets the green credentials it needs at best speed?
Each speaker will talk for 10-15 minutes about their approaches and views before participating in an interactive panel discussion.
Mary Kirby
Founder, Editor and Publisher
Runway Girl Network
John Thomas
CEO
Connect Airlines
Tom O'Leary
Co-Founder
JetZero
( speaker Invited)
Costa Samaras
Director, Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation; Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Advanced Technology Innovation Tours across Pittsburgh
Alternative Choice
Attendees will have the opportunity to explore Pittsburgh’s vibrant robotics, AI & advanced manufacturing ecosystem with behind-the-scenes access to local companies at the forefront of global innovation including Gecko Robotics, Robotics Factory plus a visit to the GHC High Bay & Mission Control, plus the Biometrics Center at CMU.
Future Airports Conference Session
Outstanding innovation approaches from airports around the World to take inspiration from
Each speaker will talk for 10 minutes about their approach to innovation before participating in an interactive panel discussion.
Ryan Ghee
Chief Operating Officer
Future Travel Experience
Afrin Shaikh
Head of Digital
Noida International Airport
Steve Armitage
Head of Innovation
Heathrow
Johnathan Lewis
Division Director Innovation
Miami International Airport
( speaker Invited)
Martin Kamlah
VP Corporate Development & Operations
Munich Airport International
Coffee Break for all participants at CMU
Energy & Sustainability Conference Session – Part 2
What are the best approaches to scaling the use of SAF, Electric & Hydrogen across air transport?
Following a scene setting case study the session will move to a panel discussion where each speaker will talk for 5 minutes about their approaches and views before participating in an interactive panel discussion.
Manuel van Lijf
Director Innovation – Travel & Transportation
nlmtd
Pittsburgh International Airport became the first airport in the world to be completely powered by natural gas and solar energy when it went live with its microgrid in 2021, and now it’s working to become the first major U.S. airport to produce sustainable aviation fuel on-site, so how is it going about it and what can the industry learn from those efforts so far?
Chad Willis
Director, Planning, Environmental, & Sustainability
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Pasha Saleh
Head of Corporate Development
Alaska Airlines
( speaker Invited)
George Skoptsov
CEO
H Quest
( speaker Invited)
Marion N. Chivot-Legris
Director, ESG & Sustainability Strategy
Edmonton International Airport
More Speakers to be announced soon
Future Airports Conference Session – PIT Transformation Deep Dive
Design, Construction, Delivery & ORAT
Following a Scene-Setting presentation by the PIT lead in this realm a panel discussion will take place to talk through the unique details on how this effort was conceived and delivered, whilst sharing how unique challenges were overcome along the way.
Paul Hoback
Chief Development Officer
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Carolyn Sponza
Principal
Gensler
Supporting speakers to be announced soon
Networking & Lunch for all participants at CMU
Advanced Technology Conference Session – The FTE Cybersecurity Symposium
Alternative Choice
Leading approaches to Cybersecurity & Resilience for air transport tech infrastructure
Deepak Nayyar
EVP – CIO
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Matt Breed
CIO
Port of Seattle
Theresa Blackwell-Frank
Chief Information Security Officer, Virtuo Group Corporation & V-CISO
Pittsburgh International Airport
Dr. Lorrie Faith Cranor
Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor in Security and Privacy Technologies, CyLab
Carnegie Mellon University
More speakers to be announced soon
Advanced Technology - Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session
Alternative Choice
Cole Wolfson
Director, xBridge
Pittsburgh International Airport
One of the most exciting and unique aspects of our shows in Pittsburgh in recent years has been about uncovering ideas, solutions and tech from startups and local innovators outside of our industry, and matching them with innovators inside of our sector, who are looking for bold new approaches to advance our industry. We have had these groups collaborate to help each other understand what is needed in our sector, and to help find ways to bring exciting approaches used in other verticals into our industry, and we have already seen exciting concepts enter aviation as a direct result of this matchmaking. Read more
To keep this important DNA of our work in Pittsburgh alive, and to take it to the next level, in 2025 we will invite leading technologists, entrepreneurs, researchers, academia & innovators from outside of our sector within 500 miles of Pittsburgh, and startup members from the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub to the FTE World Innovation Summit to pitch their ideas to our audience of air transport innovators to receive direct feedback on the viability, and the potential use cases, of their ideas across aviation.
In this workshop those pitching will be tasked with sharing ideas on how advanced technology could be leveraged in exciting ways across commercial air transport in any fashion whether that be from enhancing operations or safety through to improving commercial performance, and anything in between.
The audience will decide which pitch is the most impressive and should be voted through to go forward to pitch in the finale closing session of the Summit for all participants where the leading pitches from each of our 3 interactive workshops will be presented and the audience will vote on which concept is the most exciting for the future of our sector, and they will be presented with our FTE World Innovation Summit Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session Award.
Finalists
Future Airports Conference Session - Smart Airport Operations & Passenger Journeys
Following a Scene-Setting presentation by the PIT lead in this realm a panel discussion will take place to talk through the unique details on how approaches for the new terminal were conceived and will be delivered, whilst sharing how unique challenges were overcome along the way.
Ryan Ghee
Chief Operating Officer
Future Travel Experience
Travis McNichols
Chief Operations Officer
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Todd Sickles
President & CEO
BioFlyte
( speaker Invited)
Yuval Kossovsky
Managing Director, Transportation
Mappedin
Energy & Sustainability Innovation Tours across Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s energy legacy, once rooted in fossil fuels, is now at the forefront of innovation, blending traditional resources with cutting-edge renewable technologies. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy behind-the-scenes access to local companies at the forefront of global innovation in the energy and sustainability realm across Pittsburgh by visiting the Energy Innovation Center and H-Quest.
Future Airports Conference Session - Baggage
Following a Scene-Setting presentation by the PIT lead in this realm a panel discussion will take place to talk through the unique details on how approaches for the new terminal were conceived and be delivered, whilst sharing how unique challenges were overcome along the way.
Rusty Hottenfeller
Director of Facilities and Airline Services
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Phil Wellington
Senior Project Manager
Daifuku Airport America
Coffee Break for all participants at CMU
Future Airports – Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session
Alternative Choice
Cole Wolfson
Director, xBridge
Pittsburgh International Airport
One of the most exciting and unique aspects of our shows in Pittsburgh in recent years has been about uncovering ideas, solutions and tech from startups and local innovators outside of our industry, and matching them with innovators inside of our sector, who are looking for bold new approaches to advance our industry. We have had these groups collaborate to help each other understand what is needed in our sector, and to help find ways to bring exciting approaches used in other verticals into our industry, and we have already seen exciting concepts enter aviation as a direct result of this matchmaking.
Read more
To keep this important DNA of our work in Pittsburgh alive, and to take it to the next level, in 2025 we will invite leading technologists, entrepreneurs, researchers, academia & innovators from outside of our sector within 500 miles of Pittsburgh, and startup members from the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub to the FTE World Innovation Summit to pitch their ideas to our audience of air transport innovators to receive direct feedback on the viability, and the potential use cases, of their ideas across aviation.
In this workshop those pitching will be tasked with sharing ideas on how Future Airports could be enhanced with new concepts in any fashion whether that be from the way they deal with baggage and security through to the retail offering and digital services for passengers, and anything in between.
The audience will decide which pitch is the most impressive and should be voted through to go forward to pitch in the finale closing session of the Summit for all participants where the leading pitches from each of our 3 interactive workshops will be presented and the audience will vote on which concept is the most exciting for the future of our sector, and they will be presented with our FTE World Innovation Summit Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session Award.
Finalists
Advanced Technology Conference Session – Part 1
What are the advanced technologies that will help revolutionise our sector, and what building blocks need to be put in place to implement and make these technologies flourish within your organisation?
Each speaker will talk for 10 minutes about their approaches and views before participating in an interactive panel discussion.
Manuel van Lijf
Director Innovation – Travel & Transportation
nlmtd
Kurtulus Ozturk
Director of Technology, Operational & Enterprise Solutions
Pegasus Airlines
Claus Grunow
Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Digitalization
Fraport
Dimitris Bountolos
Chief Information & Innovation Officer
Ferrovial
Volkert Paap
Vice President Technology & Technical Innovation
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
( speaker Invited)More Speakers to be announced soon
Advanced Technology Conference Session - Innovating the Customer Journey
Andrew Price
Managing Director
Opermium
Each speaker will talk for 5-10 minutes about their approaches and views before participating in an interactive panel discussion.
Xerez Bridglall
Manager Future Travel Experience
Toronto Pearson
Christie Liu
Manager – Portfolio Planning and Methods
SkyTeam
Siri Betts-Sonstegard
SVP, Experience & Design
Pittsburgh International Airport
Oren Cohen Butansky
EVP & Chief Customer Experience Officer
EL AL Israel Airlines
Offsite Networking Reception
Thursday 15th May 2025
Breakfast served at Carnegie Mellon University
Day 3 Opening Keynote for all
Reimagining the Gate Experience and Ramp Operations with AI, Computer Vision and Digital Twins
Energy & Sustainability – Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session
Cole Wolfson
Director, xBridge
Pittsburgh International Airport
One of the most exciting and unique aspects of our shows in Pittsburgh in recent years has been about uncovering ideas, solutions and tech from startups and local innovators outside of our industry, and matching them with innovators inside of our sector, who are looking for bold new approaches to advance our industry. We have had these groups collaborate to help each other understand what is needed in our sector, and to help find ways to bring exciting approaches used in other verticals into our industry, and we have already seen exciting concepts enter aviation as a direct result of this matchmaking.
Read more
To keep this important DNA of our work in Pittsburgh alive, and to take it to the next level, in 2025 we will invite leading technologists, entrepreneurs, researchers, academia & innovators from outside of our sector within 500 miles of Pittsburgh, and startup members from the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub to the FTE World Innovation Summit to pitch their ideas to our audience of air transport innovators to receive direct feedback on the viability, and the potential use cases, of their ideas across aviation.
In this workshop those pitching will be tasked with sharing ideas on how new approaches to Energy & Sustainability could help aviation reduce its carbon footprint, and increase efficiencies in any fashion whether that be the way we power our aircraft and airport infrastructure & vehicles through to significantly reducing the levels of waste and noise our sector produces, and anything in between.
The audience will decide which pitch is the most impressive and should be voted through to go forward to pitch in the finale closing session of the Summit for all participants where the leading pitches from each of our 3 interactive workshops will be presented and the audience will vote on which concept is the most exciting for the future of our sector, and they will be presented with our FTE World Innovation Summit Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session Award.
Finalists
Advanced Technology Conference Session – Part 2
Alternative Choice
What does the future hold for robotics & AI in the aviation industry and the world at large, and where are the biggest opportunities for airlines, airports and their partners? Insights from first movers.
Each speaker will talk for 10 minutes about their approaches and views before participating in an interactive panel discussion.
Ryan Ghee
Chief Operating Officer
Future Travel Experience
Zahra Merchant
Chapter Lead Robotics
Royal Schiphol Group
Gus Naughton
Senior Software Engineer, Emerging Technologies
Alaska Airlines
Andrew Wang
Director of Enterprise Sales
Boston Dynamics
Raj Rajkumar
George Westinghouse Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
More Speakers to be announced soon
Future Airports Conference Session – PIT Transformation Deep Dive
Following a Scene-Setting presentation by the PIT leaders in this realm a panel discussion will take place to talk through the unique details on how approaches for the new terminal were conceived and be delivered, whilst sharing how unique challenges were overcome along the way.
Bryan Dietz
SVP Air Service and Commercial Development
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Alwyn J Veliyeth
Chief Technology Officer
Rezcomm
More speakers to be announced soon
Coffee Break for all participants at CMU
Future Airports Conference Session – PIT Transformation Deep Dive
Technology & Innovation
Following a Scene-Setting presentation by the PIT lead in this realm a panel discussion will take place to talk through the unique details on how approaches for the new terminal were conceived and be delivered, whilst sharing how unique challenges were overcome along the way.
Deepak Nayyar
EVP – CIO
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Supporting speakers to be announced soon
Advanced Technology Conference Session
Successful Change Management strategies, and approaches to creating a data driven mindset in your organisation
A fast-moving panel discussion on successful approaches, and key learnings from organisations going through or have experience of major transformation programs.
Chairman:
Darin Juby
Head of Transformation
Future Travel Experience
Nick Woods
CIO
Manchester Airports Group
Nicole Hodges-Austin
Manager of Airport Innovation & Standards
Frontier Airlines
Brandy L. Aven
Associate Professor of Organizational Theory, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship - Tepper School of Business
Carnegie Mellon University
More Speakers to be announced soon
Advanced Technology Conference Session
Accelerating Innovation – How to Engage and Collaborate with Emerging Tech Companies
Jim Jen
Director, Corporate Startup Lab
Carnegie Mellon University
Working Lunch
Inspirational Closing Keynote
If at first you don’t succeed – how Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic will become the first commercial company to successfully land on the moon through Griffin Mission One.
Summit Finale, Voting, Winner Unveilings & Closing Remarks
Following the culmination of the interactive workshops, tours and conference sessions, the Summit will close with a memorable finale.
First we will have Mike Formica, one of our workshop facilitators from last year and founder of Formica ProtoFab discuss the ideas that came from last year’s workshops, Pittsburgh’s Henry L. Hillman Foundation pledge of $75,000 to the Allegheny County Airport Authority Charitable Foundation to explore the initial commercialization stages of one of the ideas emanating from the interactive workshops, and the process of technical investigation, business analysis, and customer discovery undertaken to move one of those ideas from an idea to an early prototype. Hear about the considerations, challenges, and process of taking one idea from concept to prototype in the aviation sector.
Following that we will bring the winner from each Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session from this year’s show to present to the audience who will then vote on which pitch is the most exciting for the future of our sector, and they will be presented with our FTE World Innovation Summit Meet the Innovators: Pitch Session Award.
The event will then conclude with closing remarks, an outline of the all-important next steps, and a call to action designed to ensure that everything achieved during the event and workshops lives on beyond the Summit.
“I believe innovation is a mindset, and the primary goal of this Summit is to co-create new approaches and highlight how first-movers and pioneers are already leading the charge when it comes to new technology adoption, and energy and sustainability innovation. It will also provide the perfect showcase for our transformational new terminal program, with multiple conference sessions and dedicated tours of the new terminal - opening in 2025 - sure to be among the many event highlights.”
Christina Cassotis, Chief Executive Officer, Pittsburgh International Airport
Read the full letterWhy attend FTE World Innovation Summit 2025?
“This event is the highlight of my year and the conversations, ideas, and collaborations that come out will have a lasting impact on this industry. I think the format (day 1 demos, day 2 lectures and tours, day 3 workshop) allows professionals to get inspired and really drive meaningful conversations.”
“Absolutely wonderful. It was very well coordinated, the speakers were phenomenal, the events were engaging, and the attendees were friendly and hospitable. Wonderful job!”
“The Summit served as a thought-provoking platform for Alaska Airlines. It was two days filled with engaging interactions with core engineers and product demonstrations by innovators in Pittsburgh. The experience of exploring potential applications of these technologies across various facets of our industry was intellectually stimulating, competitively thrilling, and enlightening.”
“The Summit brings together forward-thinking individuals from across the industry in one of the most innovative cities in America. It’s an incredible opportunity to think outside the box and envision the possibilities that lie before us in the future of aviation.”
“The Summit is the only event I’ve participated in – in any industry – that proactively works to develop new partnerships, technologies, and companies to address aviation’s most critical needs. By dedicating significant time to workshops focused on building multi-disciplinary groups of aviation professionals alongside technologists, roboticists, researchers and entrepreneurs, the Summit has created a unique environment than can actually lead to real advances for the industry.”
Our Sponsors
Headline Partner
Official Kick-Off Hospitality Partner
Gold Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Emerging Technology Showcase Sponsor
