WAVE 2026: Meet the minds behind AI and CX transformation

Next month, over 30 speakers and 700 AI and CX innovators will take over Wilhelm Studios in Berlin for WAVE 2026 (opens in a new tab), Parloa’s flagship conference that explores the intersection of AI and CX. From October 7-8, leaders in enterprise customer experience, data, and artificial intelligence will collaborate on where agentic CX is headed through workshops, panels, and networking. 

The WAVE 2026 preview covered the six major themes shaping the event: the AI reality check, new rules for AI-era customer service, moving from pilot to production, the CX business case, governance, and what’s next in agentic CX. Now, it’s time to introduce the people taking the stage. 

Senior leaders from OpenAI, Volkswagen Financial Services, Allianz Partners, SAP, Microsoft, Booking.com, OBI, and more will share what they’ve found to work (and not work) with agentic CX, and where they’re looking next: 

Day 1: Build with Parloa experts 

No slides. Just Parloa experts and partners working alongside you to build AI agents, observe them, and organize teams to work with them.

Marco Badorrek (opens in a new tab), Director of Solution Engineering, Parloa

During Build your own voice AI agent, Marco will walk participants through customizing a pre-built Parloa agent with Parloa Navigator's no-code workflow.

Andrey Shilin (opens in a new tab), Principal Product Manager | Ni Xiong (opens in a new tab), Engineering Manager, Parloa

During See what your agents are actually doing with Parloa Lens, Andrey and Ni will demonstrate how AI-powered performance monitoring flags issues with agentic interactions in real time and unpack the scoring methodology behind it.

Ziv Baum (opens in a new tab), Principal Product Manager | Rômulo Luzia (opens in a new tab), Lead Agent Architect for Strategic Projects, Parloa

In Self-improving agents: Building your optimization loop, Ziv and Rômulo will demonstrate how elements of Parloa Lens and Navigator work together to put expert-level optimization in the hands of business teams.

Frauke von Polier (opens in a new tab), AI Transformation Board Member, & former CPO at Zalando & SAP | Corina Taban, CEO, 934 Advisors  (opens in a new tab)

Technology is only half the transformation. In The hybrid organisation: A practical blueprint for human + AI teams,  Frauke and Corina will break down the human side of redesigning an organization around AI.

Hans Agnischock, (opens in a new tab)Partner | Thomas Kindler, (opens in a new tab)Manager | Nicholas Sauder, (opens in a new tab)Manager, Deloitte

Deloitte brings a client's-eye view to scaling AI in customer service. During What successful companies do differently, Hans, Thomas, and Nicholas will unpack the four dimensions of AI transformation, from business value to customer journeys, governance and trust, and the operating models that separate AI initiatives that scale from those that stall.

Day 2: Production Stories from those who have automated already 

Following a keynote address from Parloa CEO and Co-Founder, Malte Kosub (opens in a new tab), including major innovation updates presented by Chief Product Officer, Csaba Tamas (opens in a new tab), and VP of Product Marketing, Kevin Boyer (opens in a new tab), Day 2 will highlight stories of scale, learning, and how teams are preparing for what’s coming next. 

Laura Modiano (opens in a new tab), Founder Experience, OpenAI will join Malte on stage to talk about why the future of customer experience is now, and what’s coming next.

Pieter Viljoen (opens in a new tab), Chief Data & AI Officer, Allianz Partners will provide a candid look at what it takes to scale complex AI integrations across markets, business units, and high-impact use cases. 

Tobias Babic, Head of Customer Process & Data Management, Volkswagen Financial Services | Ben Ellermann (opens in a new tab), Managing Partner at MUUUH!

In a panel, Tobias and Ben will unpack what it takes to treat strategy, build, and enablement as one motion, where the line between external expertise and internal ownership belongs, what’s changed for the people building the agents over the last two years, and what they'd decide differently today if they were just starting out.

Marco Casalaina (opens in a new tab), VP Products, CoreAI and AI Futurist, Microsoft | Stefan Ostwald (opens in a new tab), Co-Founder & CAIO, Parloa

Most voice AI failures trace back to a handful of preventable design mistakes. Marco will break down the four cardinal sins of building a voice AI agent, and Stefan will demo the fixes live, turning theory into a playbook you can take away.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (opens in a new tab), Football world champion

After lunch, the conversation shifts from technology to leadership. Bastian will talk virtually about how to lead under pressure. 

Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker (opens in a new tab), Professor of Law and Ethics of the Digital Society | Dr. Carolin Gütschow (opens in a new tab), Director of Legal, Parloa

Philipp and Carolin will bring a regulatory angle to the conversation, grounding the practical, industry-specific realities of deploying AI agents in the strategic role of governance. 

Further insights from industry leaders 

Senior leaders from HealthEquity, IKEA, OBI, Booking.com, AUTO1 Group, Transcom, Advanzia Bank, OBjektkultur, and assona will share how they’ve deployed AI agents in business-critical use cases first and then scaled them across countries and languages. They’ll reveal what made their pilots successful and what they'd recommend to companies just starting out.

Be part of what's next

More speakers are being added every day. Check out the full lineup and get the full agenda here.

WAVE 2026 runs October 7-8 at Wilhelm Studios, Berlin.

See you there.