Gary Shannon

Optimal, UK

I am an active member of the software testing community and have delivered talks at the National Software Testing Conference and BCS SIGiST. Following the impact of my contributions, I was invited to join the BCS committee, where I continue to support the profession and community initiatives.

I organise monthly meetups for the testing community and also host my own podcast show, giving people in the industry a voice.

I will be hosting TestBash, and I have delivered three different talks across industry events. I’m passionate about sharing insights, building inclusive communities, and helping others grow through knowledge exchange and collaboration.

Gek Yeo

AICPA-CIMA, UK

Gek Yeo is a technology leader with 15 years’ experience in QA, DevOps and AI-driven automation. As Head of QA, DevOps at AICPA-CIMA, she built self-sufficient teams, introduced AI-enabled testing, and delivered significant cost savings ahead of schedule.

Previously at SAP, she led automation initiatives and agile coaching across three continents. A STEM advocate, international podcaster, Gek speaks worldwide on “testing at its best”- combining AI, DevOps, and culture to deliver high-quality outcomes while empowering diverse teams. She was the Problem Solver of the Year and Woman of the Year (Finance) finalists at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards 2025.

Andrew Brown

Independent, UK

Dr Andrew Brown is a leading authority on why human mistakes lead to software defects and an acknowledged expert on systems thinking in software development. His recent book on technical debt is Taming Your Dragon.

Leonardo Lanni

QA Roots, Spain

Leonardo Lanni, founder of QA Roots, is a global expert in Quality Engineering with 18+ years of experience. He helps companies build scalable QA strategies, focusing on automation, shift-left, and coaching. An international speaker, he’s also a patent inventor, music lover, and passionate about Agile and Startups.

Evgeny Tkachenko

ServiceTrade, USA

Evgeny Tkachenko is a Quality Engineering Program Lead at  ServiceTrade, with nearly 20 years of leadership experience across test automation, release management, and quality strategy.

He has held senior roles at EPAM Systems, Wayfair, and Amazon, and is the author of two industry-acclaimed books: Navigating Quality Engineering in the AI Era and Testing AI-Powered Applications.

A regular speaker at global conferences and a contributor to international publications, Evgeny is known for delivering actionable insights that help teams build smarter, safer, and more trustworthy software. His work champions the evolving role of quality professionals in the AI era.

Thomas Decock

b.ignited, Belgium

Thomas Decock is a passionate Test Automation Engineer at b.ignited, where he’s spent the last 6 years diving deep into automation, AI, and cloud testing. From Cypress to Selenium, he enjoys blending tools and strategies to build smarter, faster testing pipelines. As a team lead, he regularly shares his knowledge through internal workshops, and now he’s excited to take the stage at EuroSTAR for the first time.

Ashish Ghosh

ING Bank, Netherlands

Ashish Ghosh is a Test Automation Architect with over 13 years of experience in the software testing industry. As the leader of ING Bank’s Test Center of Excellence, he has driven transformative change across Functional and Non-Functional testing domains.

Ashish is the creator of INGenious, a low-code, open-source automation framework built on Playwright, recognized for its impact on testing efficiency and reliability. His work has been acknowledged by Forrester and widely adopted across teams.

A passionate advocate for knowledge sharing, Ashish contributes extensively on GitHub and Medium, empowering the tech community with over 60 repositories and practical guides.

Ester Greenwood

Sopra Steria, Netherlands

What’s in a name? Some might joke that ‘Ester the Tester’ was born to be a Test Engineer. She loves to solve the puzzle of how to test, what to test and when to test. Besides testing, she regularly goes into deep-dives on subjects that spark her interest.

Get her to talk about one of her interests, and you’ll get a free lecture. Ester sees a conference talk as the perfect opportunity to learn, research and ramble to her heart’s content. At 31 years of age, with 8 years of experience in IT, she is ready to take the stage.

Chris Ambler

Chris Ambler Consulting, UK

Chris Ambler, FBCS, GMBPsS, combines 45 years of IT leadership in QA and testing with honours degrees in Computer Science and Psychology. He has led both global and local teams in industries such as telecoms, finance, transport and defence. He latterly led European teams at both Electronic Arts and Microsoft Game Studios.

He now mentors future leaders, assesses software testing apprentices, and is a published author of ‘Psychology of AI Decision Making’. Now retired from the day job, he challenges how AI shapes our future, provoking debate, inspiring action, and giving back to his industry with insight, integrity, passion, and vision.