Artificial Intelligence, Innovation and Cybersecurity Keynote Speaker
Technology without the jargon: clarity for your team to understand, decide and apply.
Edney “InterNey” Souza is a keynote speaker on artificial intelligence, innovation and digital transformation, cybersecurity and data-driven culture. A professor at ESPM, Insper, PUCRS, USP and IBGC, he has worked in technology since 1990 and gives talks and keynotes for conferences, festivals, associations and corporate events, from conventions and kick-offs to workplace safety weeks, in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Every talk starts with a briefing with the organizer and is tailored to the audience and the industry.
- Professor at ESPM, Insper, PUCRS, USP and IBGC
- Amazon best-selling author
- TOP 5 at CBTD 2025
- Member of the Google AI Community
- Advisory Board Member
- Leader of national and international innovation immersions
The portfolio lists the topics and outline of each talk, the formats, credentials and clients served. WhatsApp is answered by Bruno Gimenez, who handles the commercial side.
Talks, keynotes, workshops and executive sessions in Português, English and Español.
Who has hired me
Technology translated for some of the largest organizations in Brazil and the world
And also JBS, Bayer, UPL, Thomson Reuters, AXA, SAP, XP, Banco do Brasil, Pirelli, Mackenzie, MetLife, Daiichi Sankyo, Beneficência Portuguesa, VIX Logística, Livelo, Senior Sistemas, SEBRAE, Tribunal de Contas SC, Scania, Minerva Foods, Valtech, Flash Benefícios, Editora FTD, B. Braun, Pandapé, Colégio Eleva, Sankhya and Biolab.
Before you decide
Watch a talk before you hire the speaker
A good technology talk has to combine depth with clarity.
My job is to make complex subjects understandable and relevant to different audiences, connecting concepts, stories, real examples and practical applications.
From the professional who is just starting to use Artificial Intelligence to the board member who needs to weigh risks and investments, the goal is for the audience to understand better in order to decide better.
Main stage at RD Summit. 5,000 people in the audience. Talk in Portuguese.
The challenge
More technology created a new scarcity: clarity
Companies have access to more tools, more data and more information than at any other time.
At the same time, leaders and teams have to make decisions amid Artificial Intelligence, new digital threats, trends, vendors and promises of transformation. My job is to turn that excess of options into decisions.
UNDERSTAND
Translate complex concepts into accessible language, keeping the depth needed to grasp what is really happening.
DECIDE
Separate opportunity from hype, identify risks and ask better questions before investing time, money and reputation.
APPLY
Turn knowledge into actions, behaviors, tools and next steps that fit the reality of the organization.
Who takes the stage
Market experience, classroom and strategy
I have worked with technology since 1990. I followed several cycles of transformation: before the commercial internet, during the expansion of the web, in the explosion of social networks, in the consolidation of the digital economy and now in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence.
That track record makes it possible to put novelty in perspective and to focus the conversation on what really matters to companies and professionals.
I teach at ESPM, Insper, PUCRS, the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC), connecting Artificial Intelligence, technology, data and business in different executive education settings.
Author of “Prompt Engineering in Practice”, the English edition of the Amazon bestseller “Engenharia de Prompts na Prática”, translated automatically by Amazon, and of the book “Transformação Digital”, in Portuguese, as well as co-author of works on technology, innovation and governance.
I took part in the creation of seven startups across different cycles of the digital economy. My view on innovation also comes from having had to turn technology into product, operations and business.
I serve as an advisory board member: on the board of IAV (Instituto Inteligência Artificial de Verdade), in a working group of the IBGC and as an individual advisor to executives and mentees, in strategic discussions on technology.
Third-party evaluation
Who evaluated, and by what criteria
- TOP 5 at CBTD 2025: one of the five best-rated sessions by attendees of the Brazilian Training and Development Congress, organized by ABTD, in scores for content and teaching.
- Pulso 2026/2027: one of the 30 most influential names in artificial intelligence in Brazil, in the study by Deck and Nexus (see the methodology, in Portuguese).
- iBest Award: juror as a member of the iBest Academy from 2020 to 2023 and, earlier, Top 10 in the award in 2003. iBest is Brazil’s best-known internet award.
- Press: columnist at InfoMoney and a source on AI for outlets such as g1, Bloomberg Línea and Times Brasil.
Global perspective
The future, observed where it is being discussed
Beyond research, classroom and business experience, I follow in person some of the main international technology and innovation ecosystems.
I have taken part in SXSW since 2011, with 11 editions of the event, and I was a mentor at the event in 2025. I currently lead international innovation immersions for Brazilian executives at SXSW in Austin and VivaTech in Paris.
I also follow, with recurring attendance, technology events in the United States, such as Google I/O, Adobe Summit, IBM InterConnect/Amplify and Social Media Week. My field record also includes time in innovation ecosystems in China and Israel, a personal immersion in Singapore and a period of work in Argentina.
The goal is to understand which trends should change a decision in Brazil, not to import them.
Topics
Four areas of talks for companies and events
Today, most of the requests I receive involve Artificial Intelligence.
Each talk is tailored to the sector, the goal of the event, the maturity of the organization and the profile of the audience.
AI applied to business, productivity, leadership in the age of AI, governance and talks for each industry.
SEE AI TALKSAmbidexterity (innovating without stopping today’s operation), futures design (preparing the company for possible scenarios), the future of work and the trends from SXSW and VivaTech.
SEE INNOVATION TALKSWorkplace safety weeks, social engineering, AI-powered scams, deepfakes and cybersecurity for leaders.
SEE CYBERSECURITY TALKSData-driven culture, data storytelling, data literacy (knowing how to read and question data) and evidence-based decision making.
SEE DATA TALKSArea 01 · Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence talks for companies
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a topic confined to the technology department. It already changes productivity, strategy, leadership, people management, marketing, sales, innovation, risk and practically every function in an organization.
My talks help companies understand what has changed, what can already be applied, which decisions need to be made and where the risks are.
Artificial Intelligence applied to business
The most requested talk and training right now. We go beyond the hype to teach how to apply Generative AI in day-to-day operations.
The content combines enough fundamentals to understand the technology with applications, use cases, risks and business implications. The presentation is continuously updated and customized to the reality of the company and the audience.
What we cover
- Generative AI, language models and AI agents
- What companies can already apply
- Individual and organizational productivity
- Use cases across different business areas
- Prompt engineering and new ways of interacting with AI
- Data and preparation for Artificial Intelligence projects
- ROI and criteria for evaluating AI initiatives
- Risks, bias and governance
- Impacts on work, leadership and decision making
- Critical thinking and the risk of cognitive surrender
- Trends and the next moves in Artificial Intelligence
Ideal for: conventions, corporate events, leadership meetings, innovation weeks, clients and cross-functional audiences.
AI talks by industry
Examples, risks and cases are swapped for those of the industry. Each topic can be a talk or an in-company training.
Productivity and High Performance with AI
How to do more, better and in less time using Artificial Intelligence.
I call it cognitive surrender: the risk of handing over to technology not only tasks but also parts of our judgment. Delegating too much to AI weakens a professional’s reasoning instead of strengthening it. That is why I propose a relationship with AI based on four capabilities: ASK, DELEGATE, VERIFY and DECIDE.
What we cover
- Reorganizing routines and time management with the help of AI
- Practical tools for individual productivity and team collaboration
- How to measure real efficiency gains and sustain results over time
- Change management in practice: rituals to build an AI culture that does not depend on a single enthusiast
Related reading, in Portuguese: critical thinking in the age of AI and context engineering.
Leadership in the age of AI: executives, leaders and board members
Executive sessions on what changes for those who lead and answer for risk: governance, decision making and AI adoption.
What we cover
- Institutional and strategic AI governance: policy, oversight, ISO/IEC 42001, roadmap and investments
- The five board responsibilities that cannot be delegated to management in AI projects
- Explainability: how the company explains a decision made with the support of AI
- The seven ethical dimensions executives need to address before approving an AI project
- How to evaluate AI investments, measure real return and build the business case for the board
- Change management and organizational adoption of AI: how to overcome resistance and create rituals that sustain the culture
- Practical tools for leaders who need to understand AI without becoming technical specialists
Related reading, in Portuguese: board member accountability in the face of AI and leadership in the age of AI.
Area 02 · Innovation and Digital Transformation
Innovation and digital transformation keynote speaker
Companies need to deliver this year’s results and, at the same time, prepare the next business. Today, much of that preparation runs through AI.
My innovation talks help leaders interpret technological and behavioral change, identify relevant signals and turn uncertainty into hypotheses that can be explored.
Ambidextrous Innovation and Future Design
I teach leaders and managers to keep operations running while investing in innovation.
What we cover
- Organizational ambidexterity: the three types and how to apply micro-ambidexterity at team level
- Corporate innovation culture, Open Innovation and Corporate Venture
- Future Design: the seven-step Futures Radar, STEEP analysis, Wildcards and AI-assisted Backcasting
- TRIZ and other structured innovation frameworks applied with generative AI
- Digital innovation applied to Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare, Legal and other sectors
- How to build a trend radar for your industry
- Change management in innovation: rituals to keep the culture of exploration alive in day-to-day operations
Ideal for: leadership teams, strategy and innovation areas, digital transformation and executive education programs.
Related reading, in Portuguese: future design at SXSW 2025.
SXSW and VivaTech: What Really Matters for Business
A curated view of the signals, technologies, behaviors and debates observed at the main international innovation events, translated for the Brazilian context.
The question that guides this talk is: What did we see there that should change a decision here?
Related reading, in Portuguese: SXSW 2026 and VivaTech 2026.
Future of Work and Technology Trends
What changes in how we work, lead and organize teams.
- The three forces that are dematerializing, delocalizing and decentralizing work
- VUCA, BANI and the latest models for reading context: what each one demands of leadership in practice
- New organizational models (Spotify, Holacracy, Flatarchies) and what each one demands of those who lead
- Social health as a leadership indicator: why employee loneliness is the hidden cost of adopting technology without caring for people
- Digital literacy for leaders and managers
Related reading, in Portuguese: the future of work with AI and careers in the age of AI.
Innovation for Executives, Leaders and Board Members
Executive session on how to govern innovation and digital transformation at the strategic level.
- Digital Board Canvas and innovation management frameworks for boards
- Shadow IT and digital risks in corporate accountability
- Trends that boards of directors need to monitor over the next two years
- How to balance innovation and operational efficiency without sacrificing one for the other
Area 03 · Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity talk for workplace safety weeks and leadership
Digital attacks do not only exploit system vulnerabilities. They also exploit trust, urgency, distraction and human behavior.
With Artificial Intelligence, phishing, fraud, social engineering and deepfakes have become more convincing and scalable.
My talks treat cybersecurity and digital security as behavior and business risk, in language that non-technical audiences can follow.
Edney “InterNey” Souza during a talk on cybersecurity and digital security.
What we cover
- Social engineering
- Phishing and digital fraud
- Voice and video deepfakes
- AI-powered scams
- Ransomware and malware
- Shadow IT
- Safe use of generative AI at work
- Security best practices
- Culture of prevention
- Responsibilities of employees and leaders
Talk for workplace safety weeks: digital security for employees
Digital scams are now a workplace risk, which is why they belong in SIPAT, the workplace accident prevention week Brazilian companies hold every year. In accessible language, the talk covers digital behavior, social engineering, fraud and deepfakes. Suited to SIPAT, safety weeks, awareness campaigns and internal events. Everyone leaves knowing that one click, one reused password or one call answered without suspicion puts the whole company at risk.
Cybersecurity for Leaders and Board Members
Executive session on cybersecurity as a business risk.
- The seven questions every executive should know how to ask the CISO to assess the company’s real maturity
- How to tell whether the company has a real Incident Response Plan or only one on paper
- Deepfakes and social engineering aimed at the C-level: the most sophisticated attacks today
- Cybersecurity in corporate accountability and governance
- Shadow IT and invisible vulnerabilities
Area 04 · Data
Talks on data, data-driven culture and data storytelling
Artificial Intelligence has raised the importance of data. Organizations need to develop the ability to ask good questions, interpret evidence, question metrics and turn information into decisions.
My data talks bring the subject closer to leaders and business areas, creating an evidence-driven culture without requiring everyone to become a data scientist.
Data-driven culture and data storytelling for leaders
Talks, training and workshops to change the team’s mindset: from “I think” to “the data shows”.
What we cover
- The five levels of analytical maturity and what keeps most companies from moving past the second
- How to build a data-driven culture without depending on a team of data scientists
- Data Literacy: the skills leaders and managers need to make decisions with data
- Data storytelling: how to make numbers drive decisions with non-technical audiences
- The seven dangers that make data cultures fail
- Change management: practical rituals to build a data-driven culture without depending on a transformation project
- Data as a product: the model that separates companies that use data from companies that are data-driven
- Synthetic data: when it makes sense for testing and training AI in the company
Ideal for: leadership teams, sales areas, Marketing, Strategy, digital transformation, data teams and executive education programs.
Data for Executives, Leaders and Board Members
Executive session on data as a business asset.
What we cover
- How to assess the analytical maturity of the organization
- The five Data Literacy skills for questioning reports intelligently, not just approving them
- Data KPIs for boards and the C-level: the indicators that reveal the real health of the company’s data asset
- How to measure the ROI of data initiatives and build the business case for analytics investments
- Data governance and corporate accountability
- How two-way mentoring between senior board members and young digital natives speeds up board maturity
Quick guide
Which talk fits your event?
| If your goal is… | Recommended talk |
|---|---|
| Prepare the company for Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence applied to business |
| Bring AI into the reality of an industry | AI talk for your industry |
| Develop the C-level or the Board | Leadership in the age of AI: executives, leaders and board members |
| Increase productivity | Productivity and High Performance with AI |
| Prepare leaders for future change | Ambidextrous Innovation and Future Design |
| Put innovation on the board’s agenda | Innovation for Executives, Leaders and Board Members |
| Bring in international trends | SXSW and VivaTech: What Really Matters for Business |
| Hold a workplace safety week or raise employee awareness of digital scams | Talk for workplace safety weeks: digital security for employees |
| Treat cybersecurity as business risk with leadership | Cybersecurity for Leaders and Board Members |
| Improve evidence-based decisions | Data-driven culture and data storytelling for leaders |
| Prepare the board to decide with data | Data for Executives, Leaders and Board Members |
| Work on a specific challenge | Tailored talk |
Not sure which angle to choose?
Tell us the goal of the event and who will be in the audience. From there we can build the most suitable format.
How it works
A talk built for your audience
Every project starts with a briefing. The goal is to understand the organization, the audience and the expected outcome before deciding which examples, cases and concepts belong in the presentation.
OBJECTIVE
What does the organization want the audience to understand, question or do after the talk?
AUDIENCE
Who will be in the room, and what is their level of knowledge and responsibility on the topic?
CONTEXT
Which challenges, examples and cases make sense for that company and that sector?
DELIVERY
Which ideas, frameworks and next steps do people need to take with them?
The result is a talk that speaks to the reality of the organization from the first minute to the last.
For organizers and agencies
The event’s promotional material, in a single file
The organizer kit, in Portuguese, brings a short, medium and long bio, high-resolution photos, talk titles and summaries and the stage tech sheet. Agencies and speaker bureaus are served by the same commercial contact as every other client, Bruno Gimenez, on WhatsApp or through the form.
Social proof · translated from Portuguese
What people say about my work
Exceptionally talented at training sessions and talks. I was impressed by his ability to mentor and by his teaching skill in turning something complex into something simple to apply to business.
He studies everything he does in depth and thinks about his audience with great care. In his workshops and corporate training he always goes further, delivering much more than theory and practice.
An extremely well-informed professional, active in digital transformation, as well as attentive and empathetic. Qualities rarely found in a single person.
One of the people I admire most for the ability to anticipate trends and turn innovation into practical learning. I keep learning from his posts, talks, podcasts and interviews.
Charismatic, an excellent teacher, with an endless repertoire of references and contagious good humor. From the very first class I came away with practical lessons I could apply to my daily work.
Besides being a great teacher, he holds everyone’s attention with his knowledge and the way he leads the session. I highly recommend the training: it is useful both at work and in personal life.
These and other testimonials in full in the recommendations on my LinkedIn profile.
Formats
Formats for different goals
From a keynote for thousands of people to in-company training for a closed team, the content is the same repertoire adjusted to the duration, the size of the room and the level of interaction.
About 1 hour
Trends and what they change in practice, for conferences, conventions and corporate events.
About 1 hour
Starts with interviews and a diagnosis inside the company, for a challenge the client defines.
1 to 2 hours of conversation
An introduction of up to 15 minutes followed by a guided conversation with leaders or teams.
2 to 4 hours
Guided exercises with examples from the team’s daily work, to apply the next day.
Duration is adjusted to the client’s request: some events ask for 40 minutes and others for 1h30.
After the event
To go deeper after the talk
Writing, teaching and working with companies are part of the same process: studying technology, testing its implications and turning complexity into applicable knowledge. These are the channels where I continue this conversation after the talk.
Prompt Engineering in Practice
English edition of the Amazon bestseller, translated automatically by Amazon. Learn AI from zero to advanced with ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
GET IT ON AMAZONThe Explorer’s Map
Technology trends industry by industry, for those who need to understand the subject without being on the technical team.
GET IT ON AMAZONTransformação Digital (in Portuguese)
Mindset, culture, business and leadership in the digital age, published by DVS Editora. Print edition and e-book, in Portuguese.
BUY ON AMAZONNewsletter on Substack
AI and innovation learnings, every week, straight to your inbox. In Portuguese.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTERQuestions
Frequently asked questions about the talks
Yes. Before the event we hold a briefing on the goal, audience, industry and context of the organization. Examples, cases, depth and provocations are adjusted based on that information.
The talks are organized into four areas: Artificial Intelligence; Innovation and Digital Transformation; Cybersecurity; Data, Data-Driven Culture and Data Storytelling. Artificial Intelligence is currently the most requested topic.
No technical knowledge is required. The depth is adapted to the audience, from large corporate audiences to executives, specialists and board members.
Yes. There are ready-made AI talks for HR, legal, insurance, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, financial services, marketing and sales, retail, education, telecom, agribusiness, logistics and energy. The briefing swaps examples and cases for those of the industry.
Yes. The innovation talks cover ambidexterity, futures design, the future of work and the trends from SXSW and VivaTech, with AI-driven digital transformation as the common thread.
Yes. The talk for SIPAT, the workplace safety week Brazilian companies hold every year, treats digital security as risk prevention: social engineering, AI-powered scams, deepfakes and safe behavior, in language for any audience. For leadership and boards, there is an executive session on cybersecurity as business risk.
The reference is 1 hour. Duration adjusts to the client’s request, from 40 minutes to 1h30. Fireside chats, panels, workshops and training sessions have longer formats.
Yes. I serve events across Brazil and abroad, in person or online.
Yes. I give talks in Portuguese, English and Spanish.
The investment depends on the format, duration, city, level of customization and the needs of the event. To receive a proposal, share the company, date, location, approximate audience size and goal, through the form or on WhatsApp.
Yes. The commercial team works with agencies and bureaus, and the organizer kit brings the bio, photos, talk summaries and tech sheet for promotion.
Download the portfolio, fill in the form below or message on WhatsApp, where Bruno Gimenez, who handles the commercial side, will answer. If possible, include the company, date, location, approximate audience size and goal of the event. With that, we recommend the topic and format that fit the event.
Hiring
Shall we bring this conversation to your company?
Tell us briefly what you are planning. Event, audience, date and goal are already enough for us to start the conversation.
From that information we can define the most suitable topic, customization and format.
The form is right below. If you prefer, talk directly to Bruno Gimenez on WhatsApp.
