Keynote talk
30–60 minutes
The signature format. Conferences, corporate events, and internal summits, as delivered at PyData London 2025.
Speaking
An AI keynote speaker
who builds what
she talks about.
Keynotes, in-company workshops, podcasts, and panel discussions on conversational AI, LLM evaluation, and AI ethics — across the Netherlands, Europe, and online. Technical enough for engineering audiences, accessible enough for leadership.
I'm usually booked about 3 months in advance, so reach out early.
- 40+
- keynotes, talks & workshops
- 8 years
- in AI
- 110+
- organisations helped
- 20+
- conferences & communities
As seen at: PyData London · AI Builders · European Chatbot & Conversational AI Summit · Maven · Rotterdam School of Management
Why book me
A builder & practitioner, not just a speaker.
Trained in the fundamentals
I trained as a computational linguist and hold a research degree in Artificial Intelligence. I started my career in NLP research at Textkernel and published a peer-reviewed paper on cross-lingual embeddings. When I explain how language models behave, it comes from the fundamentals, not from headlines.
Still hands-on
I founded ParsLabs in 2018 and I still stay close to the code. Every framework I share on stage was tested on production systems first, with real users, real conversation logs, and real failure modes.
Patterns from 110+ organisations
As a consultant I have advised 110+ organisations in fintech, real estate, mental health, edtech and more. Seeing the same problems across very different industries lets me tell your team which patterns will transfer to your case, and which will not.
A speaker, not just an expert
I have delivered 40+ keynotes, talks and panels, from PyData London to guest lectures at the Rotterdam School of Management. I adjust depth for the room, so the same topic lands with engineers, product teams, and executives.
Independent & vendor-neutral
I don't sell a tool or represent a vendor. Whether the answer is ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or Gemini, your audience hears what genuinely works — opportunities and risks alike.
Evaluation-first
My talks don't stop at what AI can do — they show how to prove it works. Audiences leave with evaluation frameworks that turn “we tried AI” into “we can show it works”.
Topics
Signature talks
AI Strategy
Adapted in depth and tone for your audience
What's possible to automate today (and why automations fail)
The AI automation landscape, the top business use-cases that actually deliver, and the most common mistakes that make automations fail in practice.
As seen at: Maven Lightning Lessons
Best for: Business leaders · Ops managers
Finding the best automation opportunities in your workflow
A hands-on process audit workshop: map your workflows, calculate the ROI of each automation, and decide what should — and shouldn't — be automated.
As seen at: Maven AI Automation course
Best for: In-company workshops · Ops & business teams
AI Strategy
Adapted in depth and tone for your audience
What's possible to automate today (and why automations fail)
The AI automation landscape, the top business use-cases that actually deliver, and the most common mistakes that make automations fail in practice.
As seen at: Maven Lightning Lessons
Best for: Business leaders · Ops managers
Finding the best automation opportunities in your workflow
A hands-on process audit workshop: map your workflows, calculate the ROI of each automation, and decide what should — and shouldn't — be automated.
As seen at: Maven AI Automation course
Best for: In-company workshops · Ops & business teams
Conversational AI
Adapted in depth and tone for your audience
Making LLMs reliable: a practical evaluation framework
How to test and evaluate LLM-based assistants: metrics, test sets, and an evaluation workflow that takes teams from vibe-checking to production reliability.
As seen at: PyData London 2025 · CDI · Maven
Best for: Engineering teams · Tech conferences
Advanced RAG techniques: optimising retrieval at scale
A deep dive into advanced retrieval methods for RAG architectures, and how to curate data for LLM-powered assistants at scale.
As seen at: Comet
Best for: Developer conferences · Data teams
Responsible AI
Adapted in depth and tone for your audience
Identifying and mitigating AI risks in your product
How to identify the risks AI introduces in your product, plan for the worst that can happen, and turn mitigation into part of your AI strategy.
Best for: Product teams · Leadership
A talk built for your event
Every talk is adapted in depth and tone for technical, product, or executive audiences. Tell me about your event and audience.
Who it's for
Who books me
Conference & meetup organisers
Technical and business AI conferences, from PyData London to community meetups — a talk with substance that still lands with a mixed room.
Corporate events & internal summits
Keynotes and sessions for company-wide AI days, leadership offsites, and kick-offs, tuned to your organisation's AI maturity.
L&D & People teams
An inspiration session as the first step of an AI upskilling rollout — often followed by in-company workshops or a full learning program.
Universities & business schools
Guest lectures on AI ethics and conversational AI, including at the Rotterdam School of Management.
Podcasts & media
Long-form conversations on AI in production, LLM evaluation, and ethics — grounded in real systems, not headlines.
Communities & accelerators
Webinars, live builds, and startup judging — from founder communities to accelerator programs.
In action
See me on stage
Get my 12 best AI talks
A curated Notion collection of my selected AI talks from 2025 — LLM evaluation, conversational AI, and AI ethics. Leave your email and it's yours.
Formats
Flexible formats for every event
In-company workshop
Half or full day
Hands-on deep dive tailored to your team's stack, role-based per department where useful — online, in Amsterdam, or at your office.
Lunch & learn session
60 minutes
A practical midday session that fits into the workday — insights your team can apply the same afternoon.
Expert panel
Moderated or as a panelist
Conversational AI, LLM evaluation, AI ethics, and AI in production.
Podcast & interview
Long-form
In-depth conversations on AI that works in production.
Webinar
60–90 minutes
Open or private online sessions, often hosted together with partner communities.
Based in Amsterdam and available as an AI keynote speaker across the Netherlands and Europe in person, and virtually worldwide. International travel by arrangement. Recent stages: London, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Lisbon.
Need more than a talk?
I also design and deliver corporate AI trainings, AI literacy tracks, and AI transformation programs — from lunch & learn sessions to company-wide, multi-day formats.
Reviews
What organisers and teams say
"Lena led a full-day workshop, bringing us up to speed on the latest in LLM chatbots, agent-driven solutions, and RAGs. She expertly balanced conversational design with technical depth, tailoring all content specifically to our use cases and architecture. The workshop provided clear, actionable insights that are already shaping our roadmap, and the energy in the room was fantastic."
Stephan Kockelkoren
Senior Product Manager, Bullhorn
Trusted by teams at
Appearances
Recent appearances
Panel discussionDigital colleagues
Can digital colleagues already facilitate real-time collaboration?
Collabix 2025 · View the event
Startup judgeConversational AI
Startup competition judge at the European Chatbot Summit
European Chatbot & Conversational AI Summit 2024
Meetup talkAI ethics
Making AI sound human: should we, can we, and what happens when we do
AI Builders 2025 · Watch the recording
Panel discussionConversational AI
Implementing GenAI in conversational AI experiences
Convers(AI)tions · Watch the recording
WebinarLLM evals
Evaluating LLM-based chatbots: a framework for reliable AI assistants
CDI · Watch the recording
Conference talkLLM evals
Making LLMs reliable: a practical framework for production
PyData London 2025 · Watch the recording
FAQ
Common questions from event organisers
What topics do you speak about?
Conversational AI and agents, LLM evaluation and reliability, AI automation for business, AI ethics, and AI transformation. Every talk is grounded in 8 years of building production systems for 110+ organisations.
What formats do you offer?
Keynote talks (30–60 minutes), half-day or full-day in-company workshops, lunch & learn sessions, expert panels, webinars, and podcasts — in person across Europe or online.
Do you adapt the talk to our audience?
Always. The same topic is delivered differently for engineering, product, or executive audiences — we agree the depth and angle upfront, and no two talks are the same.
Do you give university guest lectures?
Yes. I teach AI ethics as a guest lecturer at the Rotterdam School of Management, and I'm available for guest talks at universities and business schools.
Where are you based, and do you travel?
I'm based in Amsterdam and available as an AI keynote speaker across the Netherlands and Europe, and virtually worldwide. Recent stages include London, Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Lisbon.
Where can I watch your previous talks?
Download the 12 selected AI talks collection on this page, watch recordings on my YouTube channel, or follow my work on LinkedIn, where 10,000+ practitioners, leaders, and AI builders read my posts.
How does the fee work, and how far in advance should we book?
The fee depends on format, audience, and travel — tell me about your event and I'll come back with a quote within a few days. I'm usually booked about 3 months in advance, so reach out early.
Book me
Book me for your next event
Tell me about your event, audience, and dates. I'll come back within a few days. I'm usually booked about 3 months in advance, so reach out early.
