Elmar Jürgens

CQSE, Germany

Elmar works both as a researcher and a founder. Elmar wrote his award-winning PhD thesis on static code analysis and is still active as a researcher in software quality analysis.

In 2009, he co-founded CQSE GmbH. He (and his 60 colleagues) since help international teams in using software intelligence analyses to write better software in less time.

Elmar frequently gives keynotes and talks at research conferences (e.g. ICSE, ICPC, SANER) and industry events (e.g. Software Quality Days, Agile Testing Days, AutomationSTAR, EuroSTAR). He was elected best speaker 10+ times. His research was cited 3600+ times.

René van Veldhuijzen

Testimist, Netherlands

With 25+ years of rich experience in Testing, René brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the table. Navigating politically sensitive projects as a Test Manager or crafting intricate testscripts using various tools, his journey in testing has been anything but dull.

Calling himself the Test Positivo, he is the propagator of the Fun Driven Testing methodology, which is reflected in his work and presentations. As organizer of the conference TestMass, René found a positive way to spread knowledge about testing and provides another modest contribution to a healthy testing climate.

Bart Knaack

Professional Testing B.V, Netherlands

Bart Knaack is an IT consultant at at Professional Testing B.V. Bart has more than twenty years of experience in testing and test management. He’s contributed to testing projects and processes in roles of test manager, test data management team lead, and process improvement agent. Bart has coached testers, built up test teams and developed processes in test, test support and overall quality management and improvement. Bart is a frequent speaker at conferences, universities, and colleges. At EuroSTAR 2009, Bart co-founded the TestLab with James Lydnsay.

Lalitkumar Bhamare

Accenture Song, Germany

For the past 16 years, Lalit has excelled in test engineering and software quality leadership, currently serving as Engineering Manager at Accenture Song in Germany. He leads the Innovation and Thought Leadership group for Quality Engineering Services across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Lalits proprietary framework, Quality Conscious Software Delivery (QCSD), earned recognition at EuroSTAR 2022.

A dedicated contributor, he founded the non-profit Tea-time with Testers and serves as Director at the Association for Software Testing. Lalit is also an international keynote speaker and thought leader, continuously advancing the field of software testing. Learn more at https://talesoftesting.com/.

Wim Selles

TechChamps, Netherlands

Wim Selles is a mobile automation expert with a career that began in 2007. After honing his skills as an automation consultant in the Netherlands, he joined Sauce Labs in 2018 as a Senior Solution Architect, specializing in mobile and web automation.

Wim is a Core Contributor to WebdriverIO and serves on its Technical Steering Committee. In February 2024, he became the Director of TechChamps, leading a team of dedicated engineers to solve complex automation challenges.

Benjamin Johnson Ward

BJW Consulting, US

Ben has over a decade of experience pioneering innovative testing techniques and tools in the software industry. With a background in behavioural economics from LSE, he explores how unconscious biases influence behaviour and critical thinking in testing.

Throughout his career, Ben has applied this introspective mindset across various quality roles—including developer, product manager, and tester—working with both start-ups and multinational corporations.

He’s helped shape testing techniques at global organisations and is passionate about model-based testing, test data, and recently, AI- especially how we can understand AI systems themselves, and explore new frontiers in AI-driven testing.

Davy Kenis

AE, Belgium

Davy Kenis is a (technical) QA coach who helps out several companies to structurize and improve their Quality Assurance DNA. Over the past 15 years he was able to work in different kinds of domains: Telecom, Banking, Logistics, B2B, both national and international organisations.

He started his career as a test exert, being passionate about building quality in every aspect of the SDLC. Today he focuses on helping organisations in realising their goals while delivering qualitative products and services. 

Davy has found his passion within public speaking where he sees it as a mission  to inspire and entertain an audience.

Abiola Rasaq

The Bug Detective, Nigeria

Abiola Rasaq is an award-winning Quality Assurance (QA) professional, community leader, and advocate for innovation within Africa’s tech industry.

As the founder of The Bug Detective and the Women in Testing Initiative, Abiola is committed to redefining quality standards and fostering diversity in QA. She is the organizer of the annual Test Festival, which has become a key event in Africa’s tech calendar, and has trained and mentored over 2000 aspiring QA professionals across the globe.

Passionate about driving change, Abiola’s work focuses on empowering professionals of all backgrounds to excel in QA and leadership roles, reaching over 50,000 people all while elevating the importance of quality in tech.

Through her initiatives, she continues to shape the future of Africa’s growing tech ecosystem, inspiring the next generation of innovators and leaders in software testing and beyond.