Keynote Speaker on Enterprise AI
Keynotes, executive workshops and panels on AI in production, small language models and the AI industry. In English and French.
Sample talks
Three examples from a wider range. Julien covers AI strategy, engineering, open models, hardware, cloud and the AI industry, and builds each talk around your audience, your sector and the question you need answered.
Why enterprise AI pilots stall, and what production teams do differently
Five mistakes that keep AI agents out of production, and the changes that move a pilot onto the P&L.
For CEOs, executive committees, portfolio leaders
Small language models: free, private, local
When a small model on your own hardware beats a hosted API on cost, privacy and control, and how to prove it on your data.
For CTOs, engineering leaders, product teams
Open models, sovereignty and hardware: choosing what to run where
Open-weight, self-hosted and sovereign are three different properties. How to choose models and infrastructure on license, cost and legal scope.
For CTOs, boards, public-sector technology leaders
Formats
Keynote
30 to 45 minutesOne argument, told with real deployments, ending on what the audience changes on Monday.
Conferences, customer events, leadership offsites
Executive workshop
Half dayA working session on your own AI portfolio: which projects to stop, which to fund, and how to measure a result.
CEOs, executive committees, boards
Fireside chat or panel
30 to 60 minutesModerated conversation with direct answers and named examples. No slides required.
Investor days, founder and portfolio events
Technical deep dive
60 to 90 minutesLive demos on small language models, local inference and agent evaluation, with code the team keeps.
CTOs and engineering teams
Recent talks
November 10, 2026 · Namur, Belgium
Stop the POCs: how to choose, orchestrate and transform with AI
IAKA 2026
October 6, 2026 · Berlin, Germany
Panel: How Big SaaS and AI Converge
SaaS & AI Kitchen (OMR Reviews & Carlsquare)
October 1, 2026 · Palo Alto, CA
AI Assurance & Governance Summit 2026
Stanford Faculty Club
September 29, 2026 · Online
We reduce risk thanks to AI
Bizzmine Digital Summit 2026
September 22, 2026 · Paris, France
Vous avez investi dans l'IA. Pourquoi les résultats ne suivent-ils pas ?
Sommet de la Transformation Agentique (Ofelia)
Speaking Locations Worldwide
Browse by Year
Bio
Short bio
Julien Simon is Operating Partner and Head of the AI Studio at Fortino Capital, where he helps portfolio companies move AI from pilot to production. He previously led evangelism at Arcee AI, Hugging Face and AWS, and writes The AI Realist, a newsletter built on primary sources.
Long bio
Julien Simon is Operating Partner and Head of the AI Studio at Fortino Capital, a private equity and venture capital firm. He works with portfolio companies on the step most AI programs miss: getting an agent or a small language model into daily use, and measuring what it returns. Before Fortino Capital he was VP and Chief Evangelist at Arcee AI, Chief Evangelist at Hugging Face, and Global Evangelist for AI and machine learning at AWS. He wrote Learn Amazon SageMaker, runs a YouTube channel on AI engineering, and publishes The AI Realist, a newsletter that reads filings, model cards and legislation instead of press releases. He speaks in English and French.
Request a talk
Keynotes and workshops for companies are paid engagements, quoted on the format, the travel and the rights you need. Send the brief below and Julien replies within two business days.
- Event name and organizer
- Date and city, or online
- Audience: who they are and how many
- Format and length
- Language
- Budget or fee range
- Recording and distribution plans
Or message Julien on LinkedIn.
Event organizers can also find Julien on Sessionize.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many speaking engagements has Julien Simon delivered?
- Julien Simon has delivered 693+ speaking engagements across 37 countries and 96 cities, including keynotes at AWS re:Invent, ODSC, and talks at institutions like UNESCO in Paris, the World Bank in Washington, DC, the Bank of Italy in Rome, and the New York Federal Reserve.
- What topics does Julien Simon speak about?
- Julien Simon covers enterprise AI strategy and deployment, small language models, open-source and open-weight AI, AI hardware, cloud computing, and the AI industry. Typical talks include why enterprise AI pilots stall and what production teams do differently, small language models that run free, private and local, and how to choose open models and hardware for sovereignty and cost. Every talk is customized to the audience and sector.
- What formats does Julien Simon offer?
- Keynotes of 30 to 45 minutes, half-day executive workshops, fireside chats and panels, and 60 to 90 minute technical deep dives for engineering teams. He speaks in English and French.
- Who is Julien Simon as a speaker?
- Julien Simon is Operating Partner and Head of the AI Studio at Fortino Capital. He previously led evangelism at Arcee AI, Hugging Face and AWS, and writes The AI Realist newsletter. Audiences include CEOs and boards, CTOs and engineering teams, investors, and public-sector decision makers.
- How do I book Julien Simon for a keynote or workshop?
- Email julien@julien.org with the event name and organizer, date and city, audience and size, format and length, language, budget, and recording plans. He replies within two business days. Keynotes and workshops for companies are paid engagements, quoted on format, travel and rights.