Alexander CS Hendorf
Alexander C. S. Hendorf has over 20 years of experience in digitalization, data, and artificial intelligence. As an independent consultant, he focuses on the practical implementation, adoption, and communication of data- and AI-driven strategies and decision-making processes.
While still in law school, he worked as a DJ—before dropping out to join a transatlantic music start-up. The venture evolved into a decent independent label group and, eventually, a small stock corporation, where Alexander became a partner and, at 28, took over as COO. He led the company’s digital transformation and designed systems that could scale with growth. This entrepreneurial journey laid the foundation for his deep understanding of business strategy, technology, and innovation.
After closing the chapter on digital music, Alexander turned his focus to data science and AI—initially driven by curiosity, with weekends on Coursera and evenings on GPUs. That passion evolved into a career advising organizations on AI integration, data strategy, and building impact-driven teams.
Some say he just picks the flashiest jobs—record label owner, data scientist—but really, he follows his passion: for what’s new, what matters, and what connects people and technology.
Today, he supports clients—especially in regulated or legacy-heavy industries—in aligning emerging technologies with real-world business goals. His work emphasizes cultural impact, sustainable change, and interdisciplinary thinking.
Alexander is a recognized expert in data intelligence and a frequent speaker and chair at international conferences, including PyCon DE & PyData, Data2Day, and EuroPython. He’s a Python Software Foundation Fellow, EuroPython Fellow, and board member of the Python Software Verband (Germany).
Since 2024, he has been driving Pioneers Hub, a non-profit supporting vibrant, inclusive tech communities—and helping innovators keep pace in a rapidly changing world.
Sessions
Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to models and APIs—it now shapes systems, hardware, and real-world agents. In this talk, I reflect on strategic insights gained at NVIDIA’s GTC 2025, where AI’s convergence with simulation, synthetic data, and robotics signals a fundamental shift. Drawing from over 1,100 sessions and personal experiences at the heart of Silicon Valley, I explore emerging patterns that redefine what it means to build and deploy AI at scale. We’ll look beyond the hype of large language models to examine autonomous systems, interdisciplinary development, and the infrastructure shifts enabling AI everywhere—from cloud to desktop. This session is a call to technical leaders and practitioners to broaden their perspective, think beyond tools, and engage strategically. Whether you’re developing agents, managing data pipelines, or scaling AI across teams, this talk will challenge assumptions and highlight what truly matters in 2025 and beyond.
This fireside chat brings together leading voices from industry and open-source to explore how artificial intelligence is being meaningfully integrated into enterprise environments—beyond the buzzwords. Moderated by Alexander CS Hendorf, the conversation features Walid Mehanna (Chief Data Officer, Merck), Dr. Alexander Beck (CTO, Quoniam), and Ines Montani (co-founder explosion.ai, spaCy), who share their diverse perspectives from pharmaceuticals, finance, and AI tooling.
Together, they’ll explore the cultural, technical, and ethical dimensions of AI adoption in large organizations, the growing influence of open-source ecosystems, and the long-term vision required to build sustainable, human-centered AI systems. This session is designed for those who want to move past the hype and better understand what real-world innovation at scale looks like—and what it demands from leadership, infrastructure, and community.