ASTANA – Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova, former Google X executive Mo Gawdat and Nobel laureate Joel Mokyr are among the speakers expected at the INMerge Innovation Summit, scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at the Baku Congress Center. Organized by PASHA Holding, the summit is considered one of the region’s largest innovation and technology platforms, bringing together international business leaders, technology experts, investors and startup representatives.
This year’s lineup also includes Greg Hoffman, who spent nearly three decades at Nike, rising from an intern to chief marketing officer. Sharapova, who achieved a Career Grand Slam during her professional tennis career, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025.
She is now active as an entrepreneur and investor, serves on the board of directors of Moncler and is a New York Times bestselling author. Gawdat, the former chief business officer of Google X, is known for his work on artificial intelligence and its societal implications.
He is the author of the bestselling books “Solve for Happy” and “Scary Smart.” Hoffman is the author of “Emotion by Design,” which explores the role of emotion in building successful brands and businesses. Mokyr, a professor at Northwestern University and prominent economic historian, received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on technological progress and economic growth.
The full speaker lineup and ticket information are available here. Launched in 2021 by PASHA Holding, the INMerge Innovation Summit has developed into a regional platform connecting corporations, investors, startups and government representatives from Azerbaijan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
The event aims to strengthen regional cooperation and support Baku’s development as an innovation hub. At the 2025 edition, the summit attracted more than 5,000 participants, over 180 speakers, 122 startups and 80 investors. To get a glimpse of last year’s atmosphere and key discussions, watch our special report from Baku on The Astana Times’ YouTube channel.