Keynote SpeakersDaniël Rood is one of the few executives in the world who has built a billion-dollar Generative AI business from the ground up.
As the Director of AI Go-to-Market (GTM) for Google Cloud, he is the commercial leader responsible for helping enterprises adopt the latest AI technology at scale. After building Google’s first AI team in Europe, Daniël architected and executed the GTM strategy that took Google Cloud’s AI business from zero to over $1B in annual recurring revenue in under three years.
His success is rooted in a rare ability to bridge the gap between high-growth technology and complex enterprise needs. He fundamentally reimagined the commercial engine through an AI-first lens, developing the playbook that others now follow. His unique perspective was forged by leading both Google’s AI Startups division and its highly-regulated Financial Services, EMEA business, giving him unmatched experience in scaling innovation from scrappy startups to the world’s most complex institutions.
This in-the-trenches experience has made him a trusted advisor to the C-suite. Daniël actively works with executives at invite-only executive summits and has led the strategic engagement for major clients, including building Google Cloud’s foundational business in Financial Services, Retail, Pharma, and Manufacturing. He doesn’t just talk theory; he partners with leaders to solve their live, high-stakes challenges in AI implementation, commercial strategy, and cultural transformation.
As a keynote speaker, Daniël Rood cuts through the media hype to deliver the realities of AI transformation. He provides organisations with the proven, operational playbook for this new era. What sets Daniël apart is his ability to make the abstract tangible; he moves audiences beyond simple AI model prompting by bringing strategy to life with exciting, live demonstrations of how AI is applied to critical business processes. He reveals what agentic AI truly means for revenue, why traditional business metrics are breaking, and how to master fundamentals before deploying agents at scale or risk automating the path to failure faster. Daniël Rood delivers the candid AI strategy that only a proven operator can.
Daniël Rood Speeches – AI, AI Strategy, and Agentic AI
The Agentic Leap: From AI That Knows to AI That Does
- Theme: Vision & Strategy (The “What’s Next” Talk)
- Description: The generative AI hype has focused on models that know the next trillion-dollar shift is Agentic AI models that do things. Daniël Rood, who leads Google Cloud’s AI business, is at the forefront of this leap. He reveals how autonomous AI agents are moving from simple information retrieval to intelligent action and task completion. Drawing from Google’s latest advancements, he provides a clear-eyed executive playbook on what is required in technology, talent, and strategy to architect the foundations for this shift, maximise business impact, and build a sustainable competitive advantage.
The AI-native commercial engine: A ‘Zero-to-$1B’ GTM playbook
- Theme: Commercial Transformation (The “How-To” for CROs, CMOs, & CFOs)
- Description: AI amplifies everything, including your failures. Daniël Rood built Google’s AI business from zero to $1B+ ARR by fundamentally reimagining the entire go-to-market engine. In this talk, he makes the abstract tangible. He cuts through the hype with exciting, live demos to show what an “agentic GTM” actually means for revenue leaders. He demonstrates live on stage how marketing campaigns are created in 5 minutes for $3, how sales processes scale without proportional headcount, and why your traditional SaaS metrics are now broken. You will leave with a clear, proven plan to start building your own AI-native commercial engine.
The C-Suite AI Playbook: Brutal realities from the Executive front lines
- Theme: Peer-to-Peer C-Suite & Board Advisory
- Description: What are your peers really doing with AI? As a trusted advisor to Global executives in the world’s most complex industries, Daniël Rood shares the candid, “closed-door” lessons from the front lines of enterprise AI adoption. He confronts the “brutal realities” of transforming commercial models from commit-based contracts to outcome-based partnerships, reveals the cultural shifts required to position your teams as AI advisors, and provides a playbook to master fundamentals before you deploy agents at scale or risk automating your way to failure faster.
C-Suite session: The “automate or fail” fireside chat & implementation workshop
- Theme: Candid Q&A and Interactive Problem-Solving
- Description: This is not a one-way keynote. It is a candid, interactive discussion for leaders, hosted by the executive who built the $1B playbook. Daniël confronts the core tensions and brutal realities of AI transformation, from real-world implementation challenges to cultural resistance. This session is a rare opportunity to engage directly with one of the industry’s foremost practitioners on your specific strategic challenges, moving from theory to an actionable, prioritised plan.
