Dr Alex Zarifis

Dr Alex Zarifis is a leading Artificial Intelligence keynote speaker, academic and author specialising in AI, trust and leadership. His work focuses on how organisations must adapt as artificial intelligence shifts from a supportive tool to an active, autonomous participant in teams and decision-making. Alex is widely recognised for his ability to connect rigorous research with practical leadership challenges, helping senior leaders understand how authority, accountability and trust need to evolve in AI-enabled organisations.

Alex is currently a Lecturer at the University of Southampton and a Research Affiliate at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, University of Cambridge. He previously held academic and research positions at the University of Manchester, University of Mannheim, University of Nicosia and PSL Research University in Paris, where he teaches management and information systems on a top 25 global Executive MBA programme. Before AI became a mainstream leadership concern, Alex was already researching emerging technologies, exploring cryptocurrencies as early as 2012 and later contributing to the creation of the world’s first government recognised university degree in blockchain technologies.

A defining achievement in Alex’s career is his pioneering research on trust. In 2014, he published the first peer-reviewed academic research on trust in digital currencies worldwide, establishing himself as a global authority on how trust shapes technology adoption. Since then, he has authored over thirty academic publications examining trust in artificial intelligence, Fintech, Insurtech, blockchain, virtual worlds, online collaboration, e-health and ransomware attacks. His work has appeared in leading journals including Computers in Human Behaviour, Information Technology and People and Internet Research, and has been featured in influential media outlets such as Times Higher Education and The Conversation.

As an AI keynote speaker, Alex is best known for his thought leadership on leadership in the age of agentic AI. His recent book, ‘Leadership with AI and Trust’, explores how leadership models must change when humans rely on autonomous AI agents for analysis, decisions and execution. Drawing on real research and applied case studies, Alex delivers compelling keynotes on leadership with AI, building trust with customers and staff, and redesigning business models to fully utilise artificial intelligence. His talks are trusted by executives, universities and policymakers seeking clarity, confidence and ethical direction in an AI-driven future.