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Michael Backes
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05 · About

Michael Backes
© Jennifer Weyland

Keynote Speaker

Making complex technology matter to the people who shape what comes next.

Michael Backes has spent more than two decades speaking about science, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, technological transformation and leadership to extraordinarily diverse audiences around the world.

His audiences have ranged from world-leading scientists and researchers to presidents, chancellors, ministers and senior political decision-makers; from parliaments, ministries, high-level think tanks and policy forums to executive boards, supervisory boards, CEOs, business leaders and institutional decision-makers; and from highly specialized scientific communities to major public events designed for broad audiences.

Few speakers move naturally across all of these worlds.

Backes has done so throughout his career.

He has delivered keynotes and invited talks at major international scientific conferences, addressed parliamentary and governmental audiences, presented to senior political and institutional leaders, spoken before executive and economic organizations, engaged with high-level policy and think-tank audiences, and communicated the implications of emerging technologies to the broader public.

The settings may differ dramatically, but the underlying challenge is remarkably similar: take something extraordinarily complex, identify what truly matters, and translate it into a perspective that allows people outside the immediate technical field to understand its strategic significance.

That ability has become one of the defining features of his communication.

From the frontier to the audience

01

From Scientific Complexity to Strategic Clarity

Michael Backes does not speak about technology from the outside.

He speaks from more than two decades at its scientific frontier.

His work has ranged from fundamental cryptography and privacy to cybersecurity, machine-learning security, trustworthy AI and the security of generative artificial intelligence. At the same time, he has built a major international research institution, recruited and developed exceptional scientists, translated research into technologies and companies, and worked extensively at the intersection of science, politics, industry and regional transformation.

This breadth allows him to do something that is unusually difficult:

Translate highly complex technology into the language of strategy, leadership and consequence.

02

What Each Audience Actually Needs

Five different audiences. Behind all of them, the same four questions.

For a scientific audience, that may mean explaining the fundamental research challenge.

For political leaders and policy institutions, it may mean understanding what a technological development implies for sovereignty, security, competitiveness or society.

For executive boards, CEOs and business leaders, it may mean separating structural technological change from short-term hype and understanding what a development means for an organization, its strategy and its future competitive position.

For think tanks and policy forums, it may mean connecting scientific evidence with long-term strategic and societal questions.

And for a broad public audience, it means making difficult ideas accessible without making them simplistic.

The objective is never simply to describe technology.

It is to answer the questions that follow from it:

Why does this matter? What changes because of it? What should leaders understand now? And what comes next?

Speaking across worlds

Over the course of his career, Backes has addressed audiences across virtually every environment in which science and technology shape important decisions.

  • Scientific leadership

    He has spoken at countless international scientific conferences, research institutions and universities, presenting both frontier research and broader visions for the future of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

  • Presidents, chancellors and political leadership

    He has repeatedly presented scientific and technological developments to the highest levels of political leadership, including presidents, chancellors, ministers and senior government officials.

  • Parliaments and governmental bodies

    His speaking experience includes parliamentary audiences, ministries, expert bodies and high-level governmental forums in which complex developments in cybersecurity, privacy and emerging technologies must be translated into policy and long-term strategy.

  • High-level think tanks and policy forums

    He has contributed to strategic discussions in environments where technology, geopolitics, security, science and long-term public policy intersect.

  • Executive boards and supervisory boards

    He speaks to board-level audiences about technological change, strategic risk, AI, cybersecurity, talent, innovation and the long-term implications of emerging technologies.

  • CEOs, senior executives and business leaders

    His talks connect scientific and technological developments with organizational strategy, competitiveness, leadership and transformation.

  • Business and economic organizations

    He has addressed economic and institutional audiences on the broader consequences of technological change, innovation and science-driven economic development.

  • Investor and leadership forums

    His perspective is also relevant in environments where technology, capital, entrepreneurship and strategic decision-making come together.

  • Universities and research institutions

    He has spoken extensively to academic audiences around the world, from specialist scientific communities to institutional leadership.

  • Major public events

    Backes has also spoken at large public events, bringing complex scientific and technological topics to audiences far beyond the research community.

More than technology

Today, the range of topics Backes can address is considerably broader than cybersecurity alone. His speaking draws on five interconnected dimensions of his career.

  1. 01

    Science

    More than two decades at the international frontier of cybersecurity, privacy and trustworthy AI.

  2. 02

    Technology

    Translating emerging scientific developments into their practical and strategic consequences.

  3. 03

    Institution building

    Creating and scaling a research institution from an initial idea to international leadership.

  4. 04

    Talent

    Attracting, developing and leading exceptional scientists and building an academic school that has produced a new generation of scientific leaders.

  5. 05

    Economic and societal transformation

    Connecting world-class research with entrepreneurship, companies, investment and regional development.

This makes it possible to speak not merely about technologies, but about the larger questions they create for leaders and societies.

Communication and leadership at scale

  • 25+ yearsSpeaking internationally about cybersecurity, AI, science and technological transformation
  • 500+Talks & presentationsAcross scientific, executive, industry and high-level political audiences
  • Heads of governmentPresentations and discussions with presidents, chancellors, ministers, governmental bodies and parliamentary audiences
  • Global scientific stagesInvited talks and keynotes across leading conferences, universities and research institutions
  • Policy and think tanksStrategic discussion of technology, science, security, competitiveness and long-term public policy
  • Boards and executivesTechnology and strategy communicated to executive boards, supervisory boards, CEOs and senior business leaders
  • Major public audiencesComplex scientific and technological ideas translated for broader society

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