The 22nd Annual Leasing Life Conference kicks off today at Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, Germany, bringing together leading figures from the leasing and asset finance industry to discuss how technology, sustainability, and regulation are reshaping the sector.

What’s on the agenda

Global trends & digital transformation
The event’s opening stream promises to set the tone for the day. Speakers including Dr Claudia Conen (Secretary General, German Leasing Association) will provide a macroeconomic overview.

Key topics:

• AI & IoT in Leasing: Stefano Galleni, founder of FinWave, will present on how connected assets and data-driven models are reshaping risk, compliance, and operations.
• Lifecycle Leasing & ESG: Carmen Ene (CEO, BNP Paribas 3 Step IT) and Pascal Layan (Deputy CEO, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions) will articulate a vision of lessors evolving from financiers into full lifecycle and sustainability partners.
• ERP Innovation: Nuno Silva, CEO of VTXRM, will highlight how his company’s Accipiens platform is helping leasing firms improve efficiency and structure.
• A high-level panel featuring these figures and others (including Odile de Saivre of BPCE Equipment Solutions) will discuss how to navigate change and capture future value.

Sustainable finance & the energy transition

A dedicated track will focus on climate-aligned asset finance:

• Jakob Teschke (Siemens Financial Services) will argue that retrofitting existing assets must play a central role in leasing’s decarbonisation strategy.
• Ivan Bagaliyski, Director of Strategy & ESG at Solifi, will examine innovative ESG-driven leasing models that align financing with sustainability goals.
• A panel discussion will debate how ESG ambition can translate into real financial returns, not just green credentials.

AI Governance & cross-border risk
Regulation, risk, and automation are central to the third stream:

• François-Xavier Roth (Invigors) will open the session with a dive into compliance frameworks for AI-based leasing tools.
• Thomas Nokin, CEO of Basikon, will unveil his concept of “agentic AI” — autonomous systems that can learn to price, assess risk, and make decisions.
• A panel moderated by Peter Krause (Invigors) will discuss pay-per-use and subscription leasing, pricing under volatility, and how to localise or standardise in different markets.

Regulation & the next horizon
The final session looks ahead to the regulatory shifts and growth paths that will define the next phase of leasing:

• Professor Thomas Hartmann-Wendels (University of Cologne) will address how the European implementation of Basel IV could reshape capital models in leasing.
• A forward-looking discussion will explore emerging business models, including how usage-based contracts and asset development are driving innovation.
• The day will close with a CEO roundtable, featuring senior executives from BNP Paribas, BPCE, Invigors, and others, debating how to align digital, ESG and growth strategies for 2026 and beyond.

Why It Matters

• Leasing companies are increasingly pivoting toward full lifecycle service rather than simply providing finance, a shift that could reshape which players lead in the industry.
• Sustainability is no longer an afterthought: the conference highlights how ESG initiatives are rapidly being integrated into leasing propositions and risk frameworks.
• AI and automation remain front and centre, but so do the questions around ethics, compliance, and cross-border risk.
• The debate around Basel IV signals that regulatory change could force a major recalibration of how leasing firms allocate capital and price risk.