Tech Mastery Unconference

Meet tech leaders from across Europe and learn from inspiring CTOs.

Sept 15th 2025 9:30 - 18:00

Tolhuistuin - Amsterdam

What makes us different?

This Unconference started with our network of 300 product and tech leaders. They mentioned missing real conversations with peers — no pitches, no huge event and no window-dressing.

So we asked around… Would an unconference on Tech Leadership make sense? Statistically speaking, that’s probably what brought you here. Welcome! 🙂

It’s all happening this September. Created by and for the community. The program is shaped by input from about 60 CTOs, making sure we create something that actually fits you. The goal? To be practical, in-depth, and instantly applicable.

Max 150 people

When groups get too big the attention drifts and there a certain barrier starts to appear between audience and speaker/moderator. Therefore we keep our events intimate with a hard max of 150 people, which we split into subgroups after the keynote.

Authentic stories

Ever been to a 'look at how cool I am' talk? Just shallow stories about successes? That is not our forte, we like to keep it real, so all our speakers will share authentic stories. While we will help them communicate well, we also assure nothing is edited out. This way everything is connected to real life examples on challenges most of recognize (impactful tech leadership, focussed strategy, effectively communicating with others, keeping your calendar under control, and more)

No Sponsors

You're coming out to learn, have fun, and connect with other tech people. Even thought they bring down costs, sponsors distract, steal valuable time and reduce the space for authentic connections. So just like I did at previous events... they are not welcome here! You can relax and focus on learning.

Some of the Speakers

Jonathan Ginter

With 30+ years in tech, Jonathan has led teams at FedEx, eBay, and France Telecom. He’s known for modernising broken systems without pausing delivery — or as he says, “turning a beaten-down Ford into a Mustang while it’s still flying down the highway.”
At Tech Mastery Unconference, Jonathan will share how he navigates these high-stakes rebuilds — and invites you to bring your own real-world challenges to the table.

Primož Bevk

After reading Radical Candor, Primož turned its ideas into a 3-step ritual that reshaped how his team connects and performs. But his session goes deeper than the book.

This is about how to take any big idea — and actually make it work inside your culture.

Expect real-world lessons, honest exchange, and a chance to walk away with tools that stick.

Your host - Martijn Versteeg

Martijn is the co-creator of this conference. He works with 200+ (tech) leaders in over 20 peer groups spread across Berlin, Amsterdam & London. As a part of this, he has trained the Tech Leads of many CTOs in these groups. Because >80% of you voted on the topic of improving Tech Lead Leadership he will have a sessions on the main stage. This will be around:

1. The specific leadership lessons he teaches
2. How to put them into a context that works for Tech Leads
3. A solid method to guarantee newly aquired knowledge and skills will be applied by the Tech Leads.
It’s planned to be intro first, and plenty of time for interaction later.

Sessions at the Unconference

At an unconference the program is crafted with and by participants.
What we do different is that we co-create their session to guarantee quality.
There are already excellent hosts! Here’s the current list:

⚖️ Fixing Decision Quality: Why Agile & Others Still Fail
(Philipp Schütte – Skysails, deep in hardware)

🔧 Rebuilding Legacy Without Breaking Everything
(Jonathan Ginter – 30+ yrs in CTO roles)

🗣 Storytelling for Trust
(Ryan Preece – Deputy CTO, ex-MoD & Cabinet Office)

🧍 Teaching Your Team to Speak “Non-Tech”
(Claudia Vicol – Decathlon)

🏗 Build the Machine that Builds the Machine

🧘‍♂️ Leadership & Communication: Less Structure Than You Think
(Joaquim Rendeiro – ex-Microsoft, Unity, Meta)

😤 Coping with the Brilliant Jerk
(Jonathan Ginter – back again with wisdom bombs)

🎯 You Can’t Scale Without Alignment + Autonomy

⚡️ Radical Candor: Turning Theory into Reality
(Primož Bevk – from journalist → dev → leader)

💬 Communication and Soft Skills
(Jim Allen – relationship-driven technologist)

📈How to align tech strategy with buisness goals, a discussion
(Wim Veninga – in software since ’99… has seen it all)

Oh, and we have an incredible person for the first talk as well.. He founded and build 6 (!) companies as a CTO.

🧠 How Not to Become Irrelevant as a CTO in 5 Years
(Paweł Kaminski – built 6 companies as CTO)

VOTING WILL BE ON TUE 22ND- THU 24TH OF JULY AND IS ONLY.
TO BE ABLE TO VOTE, GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

Program

Travel and parking

Location: Tolhuistuin, IJpromenade 2, 1031 CC Amsterdam, Netherlands

How to get there

Public transport:

🚤 5 minute (free) BOAT RIDE!! from Amsterdam Central train station. Take the free ferry to Buiksloterweg. At the jetty the building is immediately on your left.

🚆 20 minutes (!) from the Schiphol airport to Amsterdam Centraal

Car:

There is two locations to park:
A’DAM Toren : Overhoeksplein 1,1031 KS -> 150m to the building.

Or:
Amsterdam Central, Parking Centrum, Oosterdokstraat 150 -> Take the ferry as mentioned above.

Need help convincing your CEO or HR? Use this draft:

Hi ,

I’d like to request approval to attend the Tech Mastery Unconference 2025 on Leadership. Ticket prices start at €399 (excl. VAT). This event is on September 15th 2025 in Amsterdam at the Tolhuistuin. It will feature top industry experts. I expect to update my knowledge while getting practical tips we can implement immediately. This should positively influence tech, strategy, and innovation.

What’s the ROI?
The Unconference will make us better — because I’ll get access to knowledge I can use to tackle CTO challenges faster and better. It’ll help me avoid missteps and stay sharp. Here’s why:

1. The sessions are interactive and connect me to >70 years of CTO experience.
2. The host has worked with 200 tech orgs this year — and he’s sharing what actually works.
3. The agenda is crowdsourced (so it’s highly relevant), and the event is sponsor-free — no sales pitches.

Please let me know if you need any further details.

Kind Regards

Tickets

Tech Mastery Unconference General Admission

€ 399

No Sponsors, just real talk
Practical and authentic insights
All day access
Good food & Coffee
Value adding surprises throughout the day

Popular

€ 999

Everything from regular
Front-row seats to the sessions
High quality leadership dinner
Tailored networking experience
VIP surprises throughout the day