Nicole Büttner

CEO and Founder

Merantix Momentum

Germany

Anna Gressel

Partner

Paul, Weiss

USA

Anna R. Gressel is a partner in the Paul, Weiss Litigation Department and a member of the firm’s Digital Technology Group. Anna is a sought-after advisor to leading global businesses on a wide range of complex and high-impact matters related to artificial intelligence and other innovative technologies. A pioneer in AI law, she was named by Re-Work as one of the “Top 100+ Women Leading AI in 2023”—one of only three lawyers in private practice listed.

Anna leverages her extensive knowledge of emerging regulations and industry best practices to counsel companies on their most complex and cutting-edge AI issues, including AI safety, integrity, intellectual property, testing and red-teaming, governance, compliance, risk management, national security, privacy, data governance, regulatory compliance and consumer protection. Given her broad experience and up-to-the-minute knowledge of AI policy and legal developments worldwide, Anna often also serves as global AI policy counsel to major companies. Her clients have included leading public and private companies in the technology, asset management, banking, insurance and life sciences sectors, among others.

Maurice Beckand Verwee

Managing Partner

Curiosity VC

Netherlands

Founder of several tech companies and (angel) investor in tech companies and VC funds in and outside Europe

Pablo Delcan

Founder

Delcan & Company

USA

Pablo Delcan is a graphic designer and art director originally from the island of Menorca in Spain, who has made a significant impact in the world of graphic design and visual arts. He is a visual contributor to The New York Times, where he communicates complex ideas through compelling imagery. He has designed numerous covers for The New York Times Magazine and illustrated hundreds of op-ed articles, some for noted figures such as Joe Biden, Mikhail Gorbachev, and John McWhorter, and for the infamous anonymous op-ed article "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" that became a political sensation in 2018. His work has appeared in publications such as Le Monde, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Forbes included him in their “30 under 30 in Art and Style” and he was honored as a Young Gun by the Art Directors Club in 2016. He lives with his young family in upstate New York, where he works out of his studio in a barn with large letters that state "THIS PLACE."

Thomas Jarzombek

Member

Bundestag

Germany

Thomas Jarzombek is from Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia and has been politically active for more than 25 years. He was a member of the City Council of Düsseldorf, as well as a member of the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2009, he has been a member of the German Bundestag. From 2014-2018 he was the spokesperson of the CDU/CSU-parliamentary group in the Digital Agenda Committee of the Bundestag. He was also a member of the Transportation and Digital Infrastructure Committee from 2009-2021. From 2018-2021 he was the Commissioner for Digital Economy and Startups within the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy. Currently he is the spokesperson of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for Education, Research and Technology Assessment and a member of the Digital Committee.

Antonio Krüger

CEO

German Research Center for AI (DFKI)

Germany

Antonio Krüger is CEO and scientific director of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence GmbH (DFKI) and head of the department “Cognitive Assistants” at DFKI. He is a full professor for Computer Science at Saarland University (since 2009), Head of the Ubiquitous Media Technology Lab and scientific director of the Innovative Retail Laboratory (IRL) at DFKI. Prof. Krueger is an internationally renowned expert on Man-Machine-Interaction and Artificial Intelligence. In 2010 he has established the Mediainformatics study programme at the Saarland University and directs it to this day. Antonio is a co-founder of the Saarbrücken-based technology company Eyeled GmbH, which focuses on the development of mobile and ubiquitous information systems. Many of his research findings have found their way into applications in retail and other industrial domains. From 2004 to 2009 he was a professor of computer science and geoinformatics at the University of Münster and acted as the managing director of the institute for geoinformatics. He studied Computer Science and Economics at Saarland University and finished his Ph.D in 1999 as a member of the Saarbrücken graduate school of „Cognitive Science“. Antonio has published more than 200 scientific articles and papers in internationally recognized journals and conferences and is member of several steering committees, editorial boards and scientific advisory committees.

Arnaud Castaignet

VP, Strategic Partnerships

Skeleton Technologies

Estonia

Arnaud Castaignet is Vice President of Government Affairs & Strategic Partnerships at Skeleton Technologies, the European leader in mission-critical high-power and fast-charging energy storage technology, powered by its own patented “curved graphene” material. Skeleton’s supercapacitors and high-power batteries power AI data centres, decrease CO2 emissions, stabilize grids, and enable the twin energy and AI revolutions. Skeleton Technologies Group currently employs more than 300 people and has four main locations: its HQ in Tallinn (Estonia), its supercapacitor manufacturing in Saxony (Germany), its materials development in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany), and its SuperBattery pilot production facility in Varkaus (Finland). Since its inception, Skeleton has raised over 330 M EUR from European and non-European leading industrial investors. Arnaud has been working in government and public affairs for 15 years. Additionally, he is also a business mentor in several incubators such as NATO DIANA accelerator.

Dr. Carolina Pinart

AVP, Group Head R&D IT

Nestle

Switzerland

Dr. Carolina Pinart is the Group Head for R&D Information Technology at Nestlé, the world’s biggest food and beverages company. Before that, she was Nestlé’s global Product Director for new generation technologies, in charge of industrialising emerging technologies across the group, including augmented reality/virtual reality, artificial intelligence, chatbots or voice. She also led Nestlé’s company-wide AI Global Strategy Program.

She holds a PhD in engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and has conducted business studies at the London Business School and New York University, specializing in executive leadership. and organizational behavior. Prior to Nestlé, Carolina was the chief operating officer of a New York City-based start-up, where she developed and launched an app ecosystem to match taxi supply and demand in real time. She also led Telehealth and Connected Car product development and new business launches for wireless carrier Telefónica, based in Madrid and the UK, with operations in Europe and Latin America.

Carolina started her career as a consultant for Altran in France and worked in research and innovation for Siemens in Germany and for the Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions in Barcelona. Over that period, she published more than 70 papers in international journals and conferences and obtained one patent in diverse areas such as mobile video, wireless communications and optical networking.

Besides her research record, Dr. Pinart has given 50+ talks about technology and leadership, appeared in 15+ press articles and has been a mentor in several tech startup programs (Conector Accelerator, LactApp startup, EU-Silicon Valley Startup Accelerator) and graduates and women in tech (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona Tech, European Innovation Council, Esade). She is also a Partnerships Committee Member of European Women on Boards and an ambassador for AI Swiss Cognitive, AI4 and London & Global Tech Advocates, and an expert reviewer in Data & AI for Horizon Europe.

Last, Carolina is the recipient of a Nestlé CIO Award, DonaTIC award by the Generalitat de Catalunya, post-doc fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, pre-doc award by Agrupació Mútua and executive education fellowships for sustained high performance at Telefónica and Nestlé.

Christian Darkin

Head of Creative Artificial Intelligence

Deep Fusion Films

UK

Daniel Abbou

CEO

German AI Association - KI Bundesverband

Germany

Daniel Abbou has been Managing Director at the German AI Association since May 1, 2020. His responsibilities include political and press communication as well as support for funding projects.
Daniel Abbou previously founded AI Hub Europe and advised politicians and companies. He was press spokesman in various ministries of finance and economics, including spokesman for the former Senator of Finance and current State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics Ulrich Nußbaum. In the first Baden-Württemberg cabinet of Kretschmann, he held the position of deputy government spokesman. His enthusiasm for digitization and innovation has accompanied him since his time as a television and radio journalist for new technologies.

Dr. Feiyu Xu

Non-Executive Director

Airbus

France

Dr. Feiyu Xu is a distinguished AI expert with extensive leadership experience in research and industry. She is CEO of Amber Iris AI Consulting, serves on the supervisory board of ZF Group, and is a Non-Executive Director at Airbus Group, ChainIQ Group, and Zühlke Group. As senior advisor of A.T. Kearney,  she helps many companies by defining their AI governance and AI strategy. Previously, as Senior Vice President at SAP SE, Dr. Xu led the corporation's intelligent transformation as Global Head of AI, defining and implementing a comprehensive AI strategy integrating R&D, productization, marketing, and partnerships. At Lenovo Group (2017–2020), she was Vice President and Head of the AI Lab, driving AI strategies and solutions for PCs, devices, and data centers, integrating advanced technologies such as NLP, computer vision, and IoT. Prior to Lenovo, she was Principal Researcher at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and co-founded Yocoy Technologies GmbH.

Dr. Xu holds a PhD in applied NLP and a habilitation in big-data text analytics. Her contributions have earned prestigious accolades, including the DFKI Research Fellowship and a Google Focused Research Award. She combines deep expertise in AI with hands-on innovation and commercialization experience, making her a transformative leader in the field.g

Michael Müller-Wünsch

Executive board member Technology (CIO) & Logistics

OTTO

Germany

Dr. Michael Müller-Wünsch is the Executive Board Member for Technology (CIO) and Logistics at the Hamburg-based platform provider OTTO. Born in Berlin, he studied computer science and business administration at the Technical University of Berlin and earned his doctorate in artificial intelligence. After holding various executive positions in the IT world, he joined OTTO in August 2015 as the Executive Board Member for Technology, shaping business transformation and since then has been responsible for the development of the IT landscape and the 1,000-strong tech team. Müller-Wünsch is actively involved as a board member, presidium, and advisory board member in various tech initiatives (IT Executive Club, University of Hamburg Endowed Chair for IT Management and Consulting, VOICE, Hamburg IT Strategy Days, BMBF Research Program "Future of Value Creation", BMBF "Quantum Computing/RYMAX One", BMBF "Data Competence Toolbox", Expert Council "Artificial Intelligence" Microsoft) and promotes networking, exchange, and expansion of IT experts and tech knowledge. Müller-Wünsch has been awarded CIO of the Year twice (Innovation Award 2017 and Large Enterprise Award 2022) by a renowned jury from academia and practice. He often speaks on topics such as business and technology transformation, artificial intelligence, cloud architectures, sustainability in and by IT, and tech talent development at conferences and podcasts. His passion is to have more women in tech professions. As a father of three, he actively advocates for establishing more training and educational opportunities for girls and women and inspiring them for tech topics.

Garima Singh

Global VP & Chief Architect

IKEA Ingka Group

Sweden

At Ingka group, Garima leads global teams of architecture (data & tech), engineering services and platform engineering teams. A tech passionate by heart and value-driven executive technical leader, who has a proven record in driving successful digital transformation, enterprise data transformation and creating digital products, across diverse industries (Retail, automotive, industrial etc). A leader with extensive experience in tech (Data/AI, Cloud, IOT/connectivity), and well-known international tech speaker. She is co-author of several ISO standards and recipient of several data and leadership awards in Nordics.

Roman Khaves

Co-founder

Rizz

USA

Roman's entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 16 when he founded his first business, displaying an early knack for identifying opportunities and bringing ideas to life. As he honed his skills and ventured into the world of growth hacking, Roman quickly made a name for himself by acquiring millions of users for several venture-backed apps. His expertise in user acquisition and understanding of the market have been instrumental in the success of his projects.

In 2021, Roman found himself struggling with the reality of dating apps: trying to stand out in a sea of carefully crafted profiles, vying for attention from potential matches with the wittiest lines he could think of, only to find his messages left with no response. Feeling discouraged, he often sent "SOS" screenshots to a group chat with some of his friends, pleading for help on what to say next. When he embarrassingly admitted this to a female friend of his, she laughed and told him that she does the same with her girl friends. Roman knew there had to be a better way.

With the advent of OpenAI's GPT technology, Roman and his co-founder, Josh, saw an opportunity to revolutionize the online dating space. They decided to create RIZZ, a platform designed to provide invaluable assistance to millions of men and women who struggle with the online dating experience. Roman's drive, vision, wealth of experience as a prolific entrepreneur, and personal understanding of the challenges faced by online daters are key factors in the team's commitment to transforming the way people connect and find love in the digital age.

Bruno Kovacs

Head of Security Standards

Cartes Bancaires (CB)

France

Bruno Kovacs, MSc. from Royal Holloway Univ. of London, has over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity. He leads the team in charge of defining security requirements and evaluation schemes for a wide spectrum of card payment services and solutions, including cards and mobile, acceptance devices and HSMs. He is an active member of PCI SSC standardization working groups and was a contributor in the CSA-led Key Management & Cloud HSMs WG. Bruno has been actively involved in topics such as the migration of payment applications to the cloud and the threat of quantum computing to payment systems.

Jelena Zelenovic

CISO

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Luxembourg

Respected and leading CISO, awarded the CISO of the year for 2019 in Luxembourg, Sentinel CISO Global 2020, EU CISO 2020, and recently Ambassador of the year 2021 in Luxembourg. Versatile and innovative Cybersecurity professional with emphasis on cyber security risk management, policies and procedures creation, IT/IS security, IT Operations, audit, risk mitigation, business process improvement, IT governance. Passionate about participation and encouragement of women in cybersecurity and in STEM programs.

Prior to current role, served as the Senior Operational Risk and ISO manager for another EU Institution. Earlier in career, managed IT Audit and Compliance for Sobey’s, one of the two national grocery retailers in Canada and Audit, Corporate Development, M&A and growth strategies and IT Audit for George Weston, one of the Canada’s largest publicly traded food processing and distribution companies.

Dr. Arthur Schmidt

Head of Division T 24: Artificial Intelligence - General Policy, Strategy, and Verification

Federal Office for Information Security

Germany

Dr. Schmidt has studied computer science and mathematics. In his career he worked as researcher, software developer, IT consultant and civil servant in Germany and Canada. His professional specializations include cyber security, artificial intelligence and cryptography.

Linda Strick

Managing Director of EMEA

Cloud Security Alliance

United States

Linda has worked more than 30 years with the Fraunhofer-Institute FOKUS in Berlin, Germany. Since August 2018 she is in the free block of part-time employment prior to retirement. During her active work she has worked in the area of Cloud Computing over the last 9 years, recently she has focused on cloud security and privacy, standardization and certification processes. She started in 2016 with Innovation Management and Technology Transfer and supported within Fraunhofer-Institute FOKUS the process of innovation findings and technology transfer. She has long experience with the public sector and pre-commercial procurement as a new instrument for innovation in the public sector. She has been working with national and international projects, in standardization organizations and published several papers, amongst other Cloud Computing for the public sector (2010). She has coordinated several EU Projects, recently a Horizon 2020 project “European Security Certification Framework for Cloud services”. She is a member of the European Open Science Cloud High Level Expert Group (EOSC HLEG) and a member in the Cloud Stakeholder Working Group on Cloud Security Certification. She is also Member of the Cloud Security Alliance and responsible for the further development of the CSA European GDPR Center of Excellence and runs her own company.

Dr. Martin Wolff

Chairman of the Board

CNSS; KRITIS & Cyber GmbH

Germany

Dr. Martin C. Wolff combines disruptive technologies, geopolitics, economics, and strategy in his interdisciplinary background. As a founder, board member, and researcher, he develops digitalization and cybersecurity solutions and supports initiatives in business, church, and the non-profit sector.

Since 2016, he has taught philosophy, governance, economics, and ethics in the digital age at Humboldt University of Berlin and the Hasso Plattner Institute. His 2022 theory on digital sovereignty influenced the development of legal norms for digitalization in government ministries.

He holds a Magister (Master’s degree equivalent) in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Supervision and Pastoral Psychology. From 2004 to 2014, he trained police and security forces in communication, de-escalation, and self-defense at the Berlin Administrative Academy.

Since 2016, he has been a board member of CNSS, serving as chairman since 2019 and as head of the International Clausewitz Center (ICZ) at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College since 2021.

For his contributions to strategy development and security, he was awarded Germany’s Federal Order of Merit in 2024.

Murat Lostar

President

Cloud Security Alliance-Türkiye Chapter (CSA-TR)

Turkey

Murat is a distinguished cybersecurity expert with a career spanning over three decades. He is the founder and president of Lostar Information Security, established in 1998, which has been a pioneer in information security in Turkey. Murat played a pivotal role in the cybersecurity community as the founding president of ISACA’s Istanbul Chapter in 2009 and the Cloud Security Alliance’s Turkey Chapter. His dedication to combating cybercrime is further demonstrated through his instructional roles at institutions such as Istanbul Bilgi University, Galatasaray University, and Sabanci University. Murat’s extensive experience and leadership have significantly contributed to the development and implementation of robust cybersecurity practices.

Pete Chronis

Former EVP, CISO

Paramount

United States

Aris Koios

Technology Strategist, CEUR

CrowdStrike

Germany

Aris Koios has over 18 years of experience in the cybersecurity industry across Europe, Australia, and Asia. In his role as Senior Manager for Technology Strategy, he focuses on educating the Central European market about CrowdStrike's vision and strategy. Before joining CrowdStrike, Aris held various leadership positions, concentrating on cyber defense as well as the development, implementation, and operation of security solutions to prevent breaches and mitigate risks for organizations across a wide range of sectors, including government agencies, FSI, MSSP/SPs, universities, ICS, and large multinational enterprises.

Bastian Bahnemann

Bastian Bahnemann

Microsoft

Germany

Christine Rößler

Senior Security Experts & Corporate Lawyer

Deutsche Telekom Group

Germany

Anja is an experienced lawyer with deep expertise in security-related law. She specializes in positioning and implementing security regulations within Deutsche Telekom Group. Her work ensures compliance with evolving legal frameworks, including the AI Act, and integrates regulatory requirements into corporate strategies and operational processes.

Anja Zalewski

Senior Security Experts & Corporate Lawyer

Deutsche Telekom Group

Germany

Anja is an experienced lawyer with deep expertise in security-related law. She specializes in positioning and implementing security regulations within Deutsche Telekom Group. Her work ensures compliance with evolving legal frameworks, including the AI Act, and integrates regulatory requirements into corporate strategies and operational processes.

Daniele Cattaddu

Chief Technology Officer

Cloud Security Alliance

United States

Daniele Catteddu is an information security and risk management practitioner, technologies expert and privacy evangelist with over 15 years of experience. He worked in several senior roles both in the private and public sector. He is a member of various national and international security expert groups and committees on cyber-security and privacy, keynote speaker at several conferences and author of numerous studies and papers on risk management, cyber security and privacy.

Currently he is the Chief Technology Officer, at Cloud Security Alliance, where he is responsible to drive, on a global scale, the adoption of the technology strategy roadmap within key CSA lines of business: Research, Membership Services, Standards, Education and Products. He identifies technology trends, global policies and evolving social behavior and their impact on information security and on CSA’s activities.

Daniele leads the product management for CSA and chairs the Futures Advisory Committee. Mr. Catteddu is the co-founder and executive of the CSA Open Certification Framework / STAR Program. Moreover, he leads definition and implementation of the CSA research agenda in Europe and manages the relations with European public institutions and is a member of the CSA International Standardization Council.

He has been recently appointed as Member of the Policy and Scientific Committee of the European Privacy Association.

In past he worked at CSA as Managing Director for the EMEA Region, at ENISA (European Network and Information Security Agency), as Expert in areas of Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP) and Emerging and Future Risks Management, and in particular, having a leading role in developing EU cloud security research. Before joining ENISA, Daniele worked as an Information Security consultant in the banking and financial sector. Daniele graduated from the University of Parma (Italy) in Business Administration and Economics, and he is an ISACA Certified Information Security Manager.

Jacques Federspiel

CISO

Hôpitaux Robert Schuman

Luxemburg

Lars Ruddigkeit

Senior Manager Cyber Cloud Security

PwC

Switzerland

Dr. Lars Ruddigkeit is a globally recognized cybersecurity thought leader specializing in cloud security, Zero Trust and Artificial Intelligence. He advises high-level government institutions on critical security strategies including financial and therapeutic products regulators. Furthermore, he serves as Co-Chair for the Swiss Chapter and Zero Trust Work Group Lead for the Cloud Security Alliance and is a member of the prestigious World Digital Technology Academy Expert Committee. His dedication to technical expertise and life long learning is demonstrated by over 50 professional certifications encompassing agile project management, Cybersecurity, cloud technology and Data Science.

Manuel Bach

Head of the Department “Cyber ​​Security for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)”

BSI (Federal Office for Information Security)

Germany

Manel Bach has many years of professional experience in the field of IT security.

After working at various start-ups in Germany, the USA and Switzerland, he joined the civil service.

At the BSI, he has been working on the topic of “operational cyber security” since 2011, including as head of the National Cyber Defense Center. Since the regular handover of this coordination task to another federal authority, he has been setting up the new unit “Cyber Security for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)”.

Marco Preuß

Deputy Director, Global Research and Analysis Team

Kaspersky

United Kingdom

Rolf Becker

President

Swiss Chapter Cloud Security Alliance

Switzerland

Troy Leach

Chief Strategy Officer

Chief Strategy Officer

United States

Andrew Barratt

Vice President - Financial Services, Fintech, B2B

Coalfire

United States

With 20+ years experience working in IT infrastructure, cyber security and assurance services Andrew is among the most experienced PCI DSS QSAs in Europe and leader of Coalfire's global technical certification services.

Andrew is actively involved in supporting security and the alphabet soup of compliance (ISO,DPA, PCI, GDPR, FCA) with a number of technology companies, software vendors, payment processors, acquiring banks, insurance underwriters and other complex service providers. He has sector experience in financial services, oil & gas, retail, software, cloud and technology.

Lorenzo Dambrosi

CISO

Rothschild & Co

Switzerland

Lorenzo D’Ambrosi is the Regional Information Security Officer at Rothschild & Co Bank AG in Zurich and subsidiaries in Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, and Israel. He is an experienced professional with extensive expertise in Cybersecurity.  As the Regional Information Security Officer at Rothschild & Co Bank AG, Lorenzo leads the information security program and governance of the firm. He started his career in consultancy and then moved on the client side, mainly in the finance industry and is both a Certified Blockchain Expert and Certified Information Security Manager. 

Dr.-Ing. Ashar Javed

Head of Security Technology Section & CISO

Hyundai AutoEver Europe GmbH

Germany

Ashar Javed has been a valued member of the Hyundai AutoEver Europe GmbH team since 2015. He honed his skills through penetration testing and vulnerability assessments before becoming the manager of the security team in January 2022. Since November 2023, HAEE has assigned him the additional role of CISO. He also has three years of experience as a security researcher at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany, making him a seasoned cybersecurity professional with a strong background.

Ashar holds a PhD from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and an MSc from Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg. He is a respected speaker at prestigious cybersecurity conferences such as BlackHat, HITB, and DeepSec.

Ashar's significant contributions to the cybersecurity world have earned him global recognition. He topped Microsoft's Top 100 Security Researcher List in 2018 and secured the fourth spot on Microsoft's Most Valuable Researcher List in both 2019 and 2020. In his free time, Ashar participates in bug bounty programs, continuously sharpening his skills and contributing to web application security.

Ashar also runs a blog called "Respect XSS," where he shares insights and knowledge on cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. His favorite quote, "When You Really Pay Attention, Everything Is Your Teacher," encapsulates his approach to work and reflects his constant pursuit for learning and improvement in his field.

You can follow Ashar on Twitter at @soaj1664ashar for the latest insights and discoveries in web application security.

Massimo Mercati

Head of the ESA Security Office

European Space Agency

Italy

Senior Manager expert of complex Space and Security multinational programmes, such as ISS (International Space Station), MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defence System) and GALILEO, with high knowledge in identifying and managing innovative engineering and technology solutions with regard to complex dual use or military space systems.

More than 20 years of experience in Space, in Security and the Electronic Technology field, most of which was spent leading teams in Industries, in International and Intergovernmental Agencies/ Organizations, such as NATO, the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency, along with Governmental Institutions as Space Security and Galileo Public Regulated Service Expert for the Italian Prime Minister, Military Advisor Cabinet Office.

In ESA since the 2010, working in the Galileo Programme, and, since the beginning of 2019, filling the role of ESA Security Authority leading the ESA Security Office Team, with direct reporting line to the ESA Director General. This responsibility, performed in synergy with Member States' security specialists (the ESA Security Committee), includes the identification and analysis of the ESA Security Strategy, the definition of the ESA Security Policy and establishment of the Security Framework, the Corporate and Space Programme Security implementation supervision and Accreditation Engineering Management, and, finally, as Cyber Security Authority, the development of specific ESA Cyber Security Resilience capabilities.

The ESA Security Office aims to grant an appropriate level of Security Assurance in all ESA activities in order to safeguard the investments and interests of ESA Member States and international partners.

Albert Vartic

OT Cyber Security Officer

OMV Petrom

Romania

With over 19 years Instrumentation & Control background in different International projects moved to ICS (OT) Cybersecurity for the last 6 years and always meeting new challenges. Working in critical infrastructure playing active role in implementation of OT Cybersecurity Frameworks, security countermeasures, risk assessment.

Alessandro Menna

Chief Security Officer

Italgas SpA

Italy

Alessandro Menna is an engineer. He began his career in 2003 as a consultant at EricssonLab, where he studied and researched innovative electronic communication solutions for computer networks. In 2004, he joined Leonardo (Formerly Finmeccanica), a global high-tech leader in the aerospace, defense, and security sectors, in the Strategy division. There, he focused primarily on Special Projects, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and alliances, as well as business development and strategic planning for the companies operating in the electronics sector.

In 2012, he assumed the role of Head of Product Management & Partnerships in Cyber Security & Defense, where he supported the post-merger integration process of five legal entities in Italy and the United Kingdom. His work concentrated on cybersecurity services, consulting, and investigative support systems while leading the Project Office and the Operational Transition Team. In 2013, he advanced to Head of Systems Engineering for Cyber Security & Information Assurance at Leonardo, and two years later, he became Vice President of Sales Technical Support, responsible for engineering, pre-sales and tenders related to Cyber Security and ICT solutions. During these years, he contributed to building cyber protection capabilities for the country’s critical infrastructure.

In January 2019, he became Vice President at Capgemini, where he established the Italian branch of the Global Business Line for the French multinational. He managed a portfolio focused on cybersecurity, cloud migration, datacenter transformation, and infrastructure managed services. By January 2020, he was appointed Managing Director of the Italian business. Between 2018 and 2020, he also served as a Member of the Permanent Stakeholders' Group (now the Advisory Group) at the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), advising the Executive Director on the agency’s annual work program and operations.

In September 2020, he joined Italgas as Chief Security Officer, responsible for protecting the Group's physical and IT assets and coordinating activities with national and international authorities in accident prevention, response, and fraud management. In July 2021, he was assigned additional responsibilities for the Group's Real Estate sector, along with General Services, defining the current scope of the Group Security Unit. In November 2021, he was appointed Executive with Strategic Responsibilities by the Board of Directors.

He is also the Chairman of Enaon EDA, the Greek Gas Distribution System Operator which is re result of the merger of the group of companies acquired by Italgas in 2022.

Since 2023, he has been appointed as a Member of the Board at the European Cybersecurity Organization.

He currently serves as an advisor to the Executive Director of ENISA, the European Cybersecurity Agency.

André Mertschuweit

CISO

LichtBlick SE

Germany

Bianca Lopes

Board member and advisor

UNESCO International Research Center for AI and ESG

Denmark

Danni Brooke

Investigation & Intelligence expert

UK

Danni Brooke is an award-winning and best-selling author, former UK covert police officer, and the founder of a leading cybersecurity company. With a distinguished background in undercover operations, Danni has become a prominent voice and consultant in the cyber security world, where she is a global speaker on cyber threats, security, and digital resilience. Her expertise has also led appearances as a TV personality, where she shares her insights on crime and security. Through her work, Danni continues to influence the future of cyber defence and inspire audiences worldwide.

Dhruv Bisani

Head of Adversarial Attack Simulations

Starling Bank

UK

Dhruv is an experienced cybersecurity professional with a key interest in leading & delivering Adversarial Attack (Red/Purple Team) simulations. He currently is the Head of Adversarial Attack Simulations at Starling Bank UK and formerly established & served as the Head of the Red Team at Resillion.

Over the last few years, Dhruv’s core focus has been on developing the red team capability, while focusing on testing less common environments such as MacOS. He has successfully delivered advanced attack simulations across a range of sectors including finance, healthcare, legal, and retail. Dhruv possesses extensive experience in executing projects under the UK CBEST/TBEST schemes. Dhruv’s role encompasses a wide array of responsibilities such as recruitment, training, and overseeing sales/finances, as well as enhancing technical methodologies and processes.

Dimitri van Zantvliet

Cybersecurity Director / CISO

Dutch Railways

Netherlands

Dimitri van Zantvliet is the Cybersecurity Director / CISO of Dutch Railways (NS). He’s also co-chair to the Dutch and European Rail ISAC and European Rail CISO Forum, Cyber columnist and Speaker. He is fulfilling his community service as member of the oversight committee of the Dutch Expertise Centre Digital Child Abuse (OFFLimits). Active in the digital realm for 3 decades as CIO, CTO and CISO for a broad range of organizations. Dimitri holds an international master’s degree in business administration and cyber certificates such as CISSP, CRISC, CISA, CISM, CDPSE, CIPP/E, CIPM, FIP.

Dirk-Andrew Heil

CISO

Stadtwerke Norderstedt

Germany

Education: Apprenticeship on Math.-techn. Assistent; Master in Computer Science (RWTH Aachen); certified Telecommunications manager (University Ilmenau); certified Data Privacy Officer (TÜV Nord)

Profession:
1984-1997: several IT roles in largest German Health insurance company : DKV AG, Cologne, now part of ERGO
1997-2001: consultant, project manager at Mummert+Partner (today Sopra Steria Consulting, Hamburg)
2001-2018: Senior Manager/Authorized Officer at ISS Software GmbH (subsidiary to Sopra Steria Consulting), Hamburg
2018- 2024: Head of Corporate IT of BDO Germany; since 2020 CIO of BDO Germany
2024 on-going: CISO, Stadtwerke Norderstedt Group (public supplier, Energy/Electricity, Water, Gas, wilhelm.tel / Telecommunications)

Dr Martin Krämer

Security Awareness Advocate

KnowBe4

Germany

Dr. Martin J. Kraemer is a Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4. He has over 10 years of research and industry experience in cybersecurity, with a focus on human-centered computing. Martin previously held roles in innovation, research, and technology consulting. He has worked with both public and private organizations on information security and data protection.

Martin holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford. His areas of expertise include communal privacy and security behaviors. He has also conducted research in cyber risk management and systems security. Martin strives to enable people to establish a resilient cybersecurity posture. He regularly speaks on topics related to security awareness and privacy behavior. Martin provides expert advice on smart home privacy, data protection, and product design.

Brigadier General Dr. Volker Pötzsch

Chief of Division Cyber/IT and AI

Federal Ministry of Defence

Germany

Brigadier General Dr Pötzsch is Chief of Division for Cyber-/IT-Governance and Chief AI Officer in the Federal Ministry of Defence. His division is responsible for the cyber and digital policy, including national cyber security as well as national and international cooperation. Furthermore, it hosts the responsibility for research and development, and for innovations in the field of cyber and information technology. Equipped with experience and expertise from various command assignments and assignments as a desk officer and head of branch in the Federal Ministry of Defense, he led a German task force in Slovakia in 2022/2023 to help to protect against Russian threats. Most recently he was responsible for armaments and procurement in the IT sector. Brigadier General Pötzsch holds a doctorate in computer science   

Ioannis Alexakis

Director General

National Cybersecurity Authority

Greece

Mr. Ioannis Alexakis is Director General in the National Cybersecurity Authority of Greece (NCSA), responsible for Cyber Security Strategic Planning. He leads cybersecurity support at strategic and regulatory level for the Greek government, as well as for essential and important entities in Greece. He is responsible for nation-wide cybersecurity projects and emblematic actions of NCSA, such as the formation, coordination and implementation monitoring of the National Cyber Security Strategy. He actively engages in EU policy formation and implementation, representing Greece in relevant EU bodies and fora as well as forming national positions in the cybersecurity domain.

Furthermore, he has a strong interest in cybersecurity technologies, Information Security Management System implementation and privacy protection in cyberspace, having relevant professional certifications, academic background, and work experience.

Itay Livne

CISO

SIXT SE

Germany

Itay serves as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at SIXT, a leading global premium car rental company. In his role, he is responsible for devising and implementing the company’s global security strategy and overseeing its global information security organization.

With over a decade of experience in military-grade defensive and offensive cyber operations, Itay has held various technological, operational, and management roles within the Israeli 8200 cyber unit. His extensive career also includes significant expertise in Cyber Crisis Management and Incident Response, providing consultation to Boards and key stakeholders of Fortune 500 companies and large enterprises.

Itay’s background in developing and working with cutting-edge technologies and teams equips him with a unique overview of the information security landscape, enabling him to effectively strategize and lead the implementation of resilient and efficient security programs.

Julia Dudenko

Group CISO / Group AI Community Chair

Haniel

Germany

Julia Dudenko is a prominent figure in the global cybersecurity space, currently holding the position of Group Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Haniel, a leading international company. With extensive experience in cybersecurity, Julia is recognized for her strategic leadership in implementing advanced security solutions, addressing complex threats like ransomware, and preparing for emerging technologies such as quantum computing.

As an international speaker, she advocates for the critical importance of cybersecurity education, particularly focusing on engaging younger generations and increasing the representation of women in the tech industry. Julia is an active voice in promoting diversity, inclusion, and the need for a comprehensive understanding of business processes to manage security risks effectively.

She regularly participates in global panels and conferences, sharing her insights on evolving cyber threats and the need for innovative AI-driven security strategies. Julia’s thought leadership and commitment to shaping the future of cybersecurity make her a sought-after speaker and expert in the field

Lajos Szabo

Director

National Cyber Security Center

Hungary

Mr. Lajos Szabo is the Director of National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in Hungary, a central organization providing network and information security support to the entire Hungarian government administration and local municipalities, also playing a vital role in Hungary’s critical infrastructure’s cyber protection. NCSC is a separate directorate of a larger organization in Hungary’s state administration called SSNS (Special Service for National Security), that provides classified and covert information and data gathering service to other national security services and law enforcement agencies.

With IT systems, network, infrastructure and information security engineering background prior to his appointment as Director of NCSC in February 2022, Mr. Szabo spent more than 15 years leading IT professional teams working for international companies.

Luca Tagliaretti

Executive Director

European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC)

Romania

Luca has more than 20 years of experience working with European Institutions and International Organisations, specialising in the domains of digital transformation, cybersecurity, and research and development. Before joining the ECCC as Executive Director in 2024, he held the roles of Deputy Executive Director and Interim Executive Director of eu-LISA, the European Union Agency for the management of large-scale IT systems. Prior to that he served as head of the Global Technical Centre of the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group at the European Central Bank. Luca's academic achievements include an Engineering Degree from the Polytechnic University of Milan, a master’s degree from the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan (MIP), and an MBA from Oxford Brookes University. He has completed the Advanced Leadership and Management Programme (OALMP) at Saïd Business School, Oxford University, as well as the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard University.

Captain Patrick Ghion

Chief Cyber Strategy Officer

Geneva State Police

Switzerland

Captain Patrick Ghion joined Geneva State Police in 1997 after five years of experience in Swiss Banks. Since 2015, he has been Executive Head of Forensic Sciences and has developed the Strategy of Cyber Investigations with a triptych of Analysts, Investigators, and Forensics. This long-coming strategy led him to build and run the Regional Cyber Competence Center for Western Switzerland (RC3) in 2019. Since 2023, he has been the Chief Cyber Strategy Officer at Geneva State Police while keeping his duties of the RC3. He is now responsible for building partnerships between Law Enforcement agencies and Public, Private, and Academics at the International Level.

Stéphane Duguin

CEO

CyberPeace Institute

Switzerland

Stephane DUGUIN, CEO at CyberPeace Institute

Humanitarian, entrepreneur, investigator, he spent two decades tracking how criminals groups and terrorists organisation weaponize disruptive technologies, such as Al, against vulnerable communities. Stephane leads the CyberPeace Institute to provide free cybersecurity for the most vulnerable and hold threat actors to account for the harms they cause. Prior, at Europol, Stephane led major international counter cybercrime, terrorism, and hybrid threats operations, and investigated threat actors deploying cyberattacks, illegal content and disinformation techniques

Stéphane Duguin is a member of the Advisory Board of the Open Quantum Institute, the Global Forum on Cybercrime Expertise (GFCE), the Tech4Trust initiative, the Fighting Terrorist Content Online (FRISCO) and the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA).

Stuart Frost

Head of Enterprise Security & Risk Management

UK Government

UK

Stuart Frost, BEM, is head of Enterprise Security and Risk Management within the UK Government.

A vastly experienced, highly certified Security and Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) professional with extensive sector knowledge and significant experience of delivering successful risk-based security programmes, across large scale, multi-disciplined and geographically dispersed organisations. He is also a leading voice on managing the risks faced by the burgeoning use of interconnected supply chains.

Stuart has won multiple industry global awards for his work in the GRC space and is adept at integrating all security disciplines to enable a holistic approach in support of business objectives.

He was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in 2017 for his services to the local community. In 2023 he was also the proud recipient of the Coronation medal in recognition of his contribution to the Coronation of King Charles III.

Ugo Vignolo Lutati

Group CISO

Prada Group

Italy

Ugo has got a bachelor degree in Management Engineering at Politecnico di Torino with maximum of votes.

After that he moved his first steps as a professional within the consulting firm PwC, based in Turin, contributing in developing and growing of a new group of professionals specialized in Financial and IT Risk & Controls models and analysis; during this experience he also moved two times in North America (Vancouver and Washington DC). After years, he moved to EY Advisory to accept a challenge in leading the IT Risks Turin Team and to manage primarily the SOX project for a big Italian American car maker.

In 2018 he finished his path within consulting firms and he joined the cruise industry in Genoa under Costa Crociere flag. Here he led the Internal Control, Governance and Finance Change Management Team reporting to the Group CFO, improving his Finance knowledge and experience, reaching also the role of Finance Director for a new joint venture, defined with a Chinese partner. In his role he also has been covered as a member of Collegio Sindale and of Organismo di Vigilanza for Costa Crociere.

Due to pandemic and the crisis of Cruise Industry in September 2020 he decided to accept a new opportunity offered by EY in leading the design and the implementation of a new Centre of Excellence in Delivery and Innovation for Assurance business line in Bari; he manage the start-up for 3 years and he left an organization up and running, producing efficient and effective activities to support smartly the parent external projects.

Recently, one year and half ago he accepted another new challenge, offered by Prada Group, to create a new team and lead Cyber Security strategy, as Group CISO.

Christos Syngelakis

Group CISO

Group Motor Oil

Greece

Mr. Christos Syngelakis is Group Chief Information Security Officer and Group Data Protection Officer of Motor Oil since 2016. He is responsible for the IT and OT digital security strategy and for the proper use of personal data. With more than 30 years of experience in the IT field. He has a degree in Informatics, a degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from the Athens University of Economics and Business. He has CISSP, CISM and ISO27001: 2013 LA certifications. Awarded Global CISO 100 for 2022 by Cyber Defense Media Group.

Ejona Preçi

Global CISO

Lindal Group

Germany

Ejona Preçi is a cybersecurity expert with over a decade of experience in the field, demonstrating a profound dedication to promoting diversity within the cybersecurity realm. She holds the position of Global CISO at Lindal Group and serves as the President for WiCyS Germany.

Ejona has earned recognition as a prominent figure in the industry, garnering features in online magazines and social networks for her roles as a mentor, author, podcaster, community builder, and keynote speaker. She is an avid writer, actively crafting articles, and industry news on cybersecurity topics.

Ejona has been recognized as one of the Global 40-under-40 in Cybersecurity for 2024 and was awarded the Cybersecurity Woman of the Year 2024 Trophy in Las Vegas.

Eugenio Santagata

Chief Public Affairs & Security Officer

Gruppo TIM

Italy

Filip Nowak

Global Head of Cyber Defense

Ferrero

Luxembourg

Nowak is a strategist and scientist with over ten years of experience in cybersecurity in various industries, focused on cyber defence and risk management. Interdisciplinary education within computer science, business management, and security studies. Nowak deals with the issues of organization, coordination, and consistency of approaches to solving systemic problems. Professionally, he manages the global unit of detection and response to cyber threats in the IT, OT, and cloud environments.

Guilherme Tamagnini Santos

Security Architect

Kuehne+Nagel

Germany

Guilherme Santos is a cybersecurity architect at Kuehne+Nagel and an offensive cybersecurity specialist and researcher with a focus on AI security.

With a strong foundation in AI and robotics from his university days, he followed a greater passion and pivoted early to cybersecurity, combining technical depth with hands-on expertise from years of red teaming and offensive security.

Over the past few years, Guilherme has focused on uncovering vulnerabilities in machine learning models, sharing his knowledge on how these systems can be hacked - and ways to mitigate them.

Mahdi Abdulrazak

Group Information Security and Risk Officer

SHV Energy

Netherlands

Mahdi Abdulrazak is the Group Information Security and Risk Officer at SHV Energy, a leading global distributor of off-grid energy. With more than twenty years of experience in the security domain, Mahdi brings a deep and broad knowledge of standards, technologies, and legislation. In addition to his role at SHV Energy, Mahdi is ambassador for the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) and board member at CISO Platform Nederland.

Mark T. Hofmann

International Profiling-Expert

Germany

Mark T. Hofmann is a Crime- & Intelligence Analyst ('Profiler') and Business Psychologist (M.A.). He is a famous Profiling-Expert known through international TV- & streaming series (CNN, CBS, Forbes, 60 Minutes). He focused on Behavioral & Cyber-Profiling. As a Keynote Speaker and Podcaster, he inspires people around the world for the Psychology of Cybercrime. Hofmann has met and interviewed hackers and shows how hackers use AI and Deepfakes. Get a rare glimpse into the Dark Side of AI from one of the best-known experts in his field and become a "human firewall"

Max Imbiel

Global CISO

Bitpanda

Austria

Max Imbiel is a seasoned Cyber Security expert, the Global CISO for the Crypto Broker Bitpanda and the driving force behind "ahead Security", specializing in CISO activities, comprehensive consulting, and bespoke training programs aimed at bolstering cyber resilience and compliance. His illustrious career began in IT and software development, leading to roles in software engineering, IT management, and security architecture across various industries, including aerospace, e-commerce, automotive, and banking. Max's notable leadership roles include Head of Security Architecture at Sky Deutschland, being the Deputy CISO at UniCredit Bank AG as well as Deputy Group CISO at N26. Now as Global CISO at Bitpanda he leverages his vast experience to ensure unparalleled security, resilience and regulatory compliance for the crypto broker's cutting-edge technology and operations. Max Imbiel is dedicated to advancing cyber resilience and security excellence. He excels in crafting secure solutions, managing security teams, and fostering collaboration with stakeholders at all levels. His broad experience across industries enables him to spearhead successful security projects, advocate for security awareness, and champion a culture of security. His expertise also extends to engaging effectively with top-level management, providing strategic insights, and ensuring alignment with organizational security goals.

Miguel De Bruycker

Managing Director General

Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium

Belgium

After completing his studies at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Miguel De Bruycker served as a company commander in Germany for two years. He then transitioned to the information technology branch within the Belgian Defence, where he was responsible for implementing Local Area Networks and services across more than 20 sites in Belgium. He later joined the Military Staff and completed his master's degree in Information Technologies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. In 2005, he contributed to a long-term vision document and wrote a dissertation on Cyber Defence. He joined the General Intelligence and Security Service, where he was responsible for securing classified networks and creating the first cyberdefence unit in Belgium. Since 2008, he and his cyber team have been involved in handling all major cyber incidents in Belgium. In 2012, he took the initiative to write the first National Cybersecurity Strategy. On August 17, 2015, he founded the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium, where he continues to serve as Director General. Under his visionary leadership, this national centre has significantly enhanced Belgium's cybersecurity, making it one of the least cyber-vulnerable countries in the EU

Julie Kitcher

Chief Sustainability Officer

Airbus

France

Aneri Pradhan

Climate Ecosystem Builder and Entrepreneur

Germany

Aneri is an award-winning climate and clean energy ecosystem builder, with extensive experience in driving transformative solutions across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. As the founder of ENVenture, Africa's largest energy access accelerator, she spearheaded innovative efforts that brought clean energy to over 150,000 people in rural communities by strengthening community-based distribution models. ENVenture was acquired by New Energy Nexus (NEX), where she served as a Board member and later as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing global programs, strategic planning, and organizational culture.
With a deep commitment to addressing the intersection of climate change, gender, and energy access, Aneri has worked at the forefront of building sustainable, inclusive ecosystems. She led initiatives that empowered marginalized communities, especially women and girls, through building inclusive entrepreneurship programs. She is passionate about elevating women as key drivers of climate solutions—believing that investing in their education, leadership, and innovation will be critical to the world’s path toward a sustainable future.
Aneri’s career spans corporate startup partnerships, energy access program design, and growing global clean energy networks. She built a network of 3,000 energy access practitioners with the UN, operationalized Meta’s Social Innovation Lab in partnership with the U.S. Government and MIT Media Lab, and connected over 1,000 clean energy businesses globally through New Energy Nexus. Additionally, she has advised numerous climate and energy startups and created data-driven cultural policies for over 150 staff at NEX.
A systems thinker, Aneri believes that a thriving, supportive environment for underrepresented entrepreneurs is essential for technological breakthroughs to succeed at scale. As a sought-after speaker and writer, she frequently advocates for the role of women in climate action, leveraging their untapped potential to drive the solutions we need.
Aneri holds a Master’s in Environment & Development from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor's from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She resides in Berlin, Germany, with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. When she’s not working to accelerate climate action, she enjoys vegetarian cooking (@worldvegkitchen) and traveling the world.

Aura Cuellar

President

LanzaTech

USA

From environmental engineer to executive business leader, Aura Cuellar is determined to carve a path to profitable carbon solutions. As LanzaTech’s President, Aura is responsible for all revenue-generating business lines through scaling technology and bringing to life LanzaTech’s mission to recycle carbon with biology. She has extensive experience in capital project development, manufacturing and global business strategy along with managing key investor relationships. Her time living and working in Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America has shaped her inclusive world view and deep appreciation for regional approaches to address climate change and deliver growth.
Prior to joining LanzaTech, Aura served as Vice President of Energy Transition for Shell in the United States. In her 25-year tenure at Shell, she advanced across various global senior executive roles including Head of Projects and Turnarounds in The Netherlands where she oversaw an annual capital projects portfolio of $500 million. Aura’s leadership was forged in manufacturing assets, including P&L responsibility and strategic commercial partnership development for sustainable revenue pipelines. Aura is passionate about cultural transformation with a focus on innovation and social equity. She excels in building integrated, robust teams in which individuals are empowered to deliver impactful commercial results.
Aura also serves as Honorary Consul to the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Houston, a role in which she contributes to addressing the shared challenges of climate adaptation and resilience, health and vitality, sustainable mobility and the energy transition. Originally from Colombia, Aura holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental and civil engineering from Seattle University, an MBA from Western Washington University, an Executive General Management degree from INSEAD and completed Harvard’s Women on Boards Program. Aura currently lives in Houston with her husband and two young boys. In addition to enjoying reading, traveling and long-distance running, Aura is committed to supporting young Latinas and women in the energy industry and beyond.

Glory Oguegbu

Chief Executive Officer

Renewable Energy Technology Training Institute

Nigeria

Glory Oguegbu is a climate change activist working to advance a climate-smart Africa by promoting climate literacy and developing renewable energy projects that give Nigerians access to clean electricity. Since 2013, Glow Initiative has connected 4,352 households with clean electricity, educated 18,562 students and 470 farmers on climate action and trained climate fellows working in 160 schools across Nigeria. In 2021, Glow Initiative created the Climate Leadership Fellowship Program to invest in a new generation of climate leaders. At COP 27, Glory launched the School of Climate Action and its flagship project; Climate Data Policy to generate real-time global climate impact data, recommend solutions, and facilitate a need-based climate investment. Glow Initiative’s social enterprise, the Renewable Energy Technology Training Institute, has trained over 3,000 installers and designers and created Africa’s first online solar education platform, which has trained 1,450 individuals on solar design and installation and offset 840,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Glory is eager to utilize the Scholars program to further develop her understanding of climate-action best practices and empower a new generation of renewable energy entrepreneurs who will create a zero-carbon Africa.

Axel Roitzsch

Founding Partner

Vanagon Ventures

Germany

Axel Roitzsch is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Vanagon Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on supporting startups with a positive impact on climate and the planet. With a background in media studies and philosophy, Axel has co-founded several successful ventures, including Kekulee and Agenturmatching. He also served as Chief Marketing Officer at Soma Analytics, where he contributed to the development of a scientifically validated app for managing stress and mental health at work. Axel's work in business development at fischerAppelt and his role as Managing Director at Sortlist SA have further solidified his reputation as a leader in the tech and marketing sectors. His dedication to fostering green innovation and supporting impactful startups continues to drive positive change in the industry

Axel Dickenbrok

Investment Director

EIT InnoEnergy

Germany

Dr. Axel Dickenbrok is Investment Director at InnoEnergy, leading the team and the investments of InnoEnergy in Germany, Austria, Switzerland. InnoEnergy invests early-stage in breakthrough technology ventures in the Climate Tech space. Before joining InnoEnergy four years ago, Axel worked six years at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he was a core member of the Corporate Finance & Restructuring Task Force. Most of his projects have been related to corporate finance topics, transformation, turnaround strategy, restructuring, due diligences for private equity and venture capital firms, etc. Axel studied Management & Finance at EBS Universität, University of Mannheim and did his PhD about Private Equity & Venture Capital IPOs at HHL Leipzig

Bulent Karakaya

Managing Director, Global Lead Sustainable Finance

Commerzbank

Germany

Bülent Karakaya is an executive leader, banking senior and university lecturer. He currently holds a role as Managing Director for Asset Management at Commerzbank, Germany’s 2nd largest commercial bank. His sustainable finance enthusiasm was boosted when he successfully developed ESG in corporate customer business from an initial project and transferred it to regular business operations within two years. He was responsible for the coordination of the entire sustainable finance business on a global level. With many years of experience in the capital markets sector, Bülent has held various key positions within the bank and has made a significant contribution to client business as well as risk and control functions, including the topic of sustainability.

Daria Saharova

Founder

World Fund

Germany

Ms. Daria Saharova serves as a General Partner at World Fund. She is also a Co-Founder of 1E9. She has experience as an entrepreneur and investor and was awarded the German Startup Award as the best investor by the German Startups Association in 2020. He is an expert advisor to the European Commission and maintains a close relationship with international industry thought leaders as co-founder of the think tank 1E9 Denkfabrik. She is also a board member at Planet A Food, Juicy Marbles, Customcells, Space Forge, and IQM. She holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Munich.

Demetris Skourides

Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation & Technology

Government of Cyprus

Cyprus

Demetris Skourides is the Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology of the Republic of Cyprus.

Demetris Skourides holds a BSc in Computer Science, with an emphasis on Software Engineering, from Arizona State University, USA, and an MBA from Henley Management College, UK. Among other things, he has been trained in digital transformation, artificial intelligence, data monetisation and sales, in programs at Columbia, Stanford, MIT and Harvard Universities respectively.

Demetris Skourides has worked with technology giants Oracle and Amazon Web Services. He joined Oracle Cyprus in 2006 after two years at the Cyprus Organisation for standardisation and has since followed an international career with Oracle, taking on management roles across South East Europe and Commonwealth countries. Among others, he held executive positions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific countries, as a Cloud & ISV Solutions transformation leader.
Demetris Skourides spearheaded the establishment of Cloud Partner Centres of Excellence in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, South Korea, Kenya and South Africa, which enabled partners to innovate, create new solutions and bring them to market, creating new revenue streams.
In his most recent role, he worked at Amazon Web Services, Dubai, UAE, as Industry Strategist for EMEA Commercial Sales, driving innovative solutions for the financial services, retail, manufacturing and energy sectors.
The Chief Scientist chairs, ex officio, the Board of Directors of the Research and Innovation Foundation.

Felix Plog

CEO

Thermondo

Germany

Felix Plog, based in Berlin, DE, is currently a CEO at thermondo. Felix Plog brings experience from previous roles at thermondo, ARIVE, Red Hook Ventures and Honeysales. Felix Plog holds a 1995 - 2002 Masters in Industrial Engineering at Technische Universität Berlin

Franziska Bell

CTO & SVP, Digital Tech

BP

USA

Leading data science and AI for world’s leading 4000+ employee enterpriseAs bp's CTO Dr. Franziska Bell leads software and platform engineering, data and analytics and design and change management, and chairs bp’s centre of excellence for accelerating digital technology and cultural transformation.Fran received her PhD in theoretical chemistry at UC Berkeley, before working as a postdoc at Caltech in approximate quantum dynamics.Before joining bp, Fran led both battery and fuel cell materials discovery and artificial intelligence research for Toyota Research Institute; and headed up the platform data science organization at Uber to transform every employee into a data scientist at the push-of-a-button.Throughout her career, Fran has received several awards - most recently she made the 2023 Top 50 most influential UK tech leaders list.

Gavin Towler

Chief Scientist for Sustainability Technologies & CTO

Honeywell

USA

Dr. Gavin Towler is Honeywell’s Chief Scientist for Sustainability. Before that he held several R&D roles including Chief Technology Officer of Honeywell UOP. He has worked in process design and clean fuels technologies for 32 years, has 77 patents, co-authored a textbook on process design, and is a Chartered Engineer, AIChE Fellow, and member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Gavin has a BA and MEng from Cambridge and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, all in chemical engineering. An AIChE member for 35 years, Gavin has been active in programming and leadership of the Computing and Systems Technology (CAST), Process Development, Fuels and Petrochemicals, and Management divisions. He also served on the Board of Directors (2008–10), Chemical Engineering Technology Operating Council (CTOC), Membership Committee, Foundation Board, CCPS Board, Industrial Advisory Board, and CEP editorial advisory board.
He is a trustee of CACHE Corporation and helps teach design at the National University of Singapore.

Goncalo Amorim

Chief Executive Officer

Building Global Investors

Portugal

Gonçalo Amorim combines over 16 years of actual deployment of venture capital investment, from restructuring (company turn-arounds) to early stage (tech transfer & commercialization). His on-going mission for the past 7 years at the MIT Portugal – Innovation & Entrepreneurship initiative (MPP-IEI) has been to facilitate a model for early stage commercialisation of IP-intensive startups in a global marketplace, launching a global, hybrid accelerator – Building Global Innovators (BGI). Gonçalo serves in the board of several startups in Portugal and abroad either as BOD or independent advisor. Gonçalo holds an MSc in Engineering Management from the University of Bristol with a Mechanical Engineer degree from Brighton University. Is a Chartered Engineer by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK).

Ilkay Demirdag

Independent Board Member

Aksa Energy

Turkey

Ilkay Demirdag is a globally recognized and highly resourceful Investment and Impact Strategist. Her vision is to create a world of sustainable and prosperous ecosystems that serves people and planet first.
She is a futuristic connecting and interlinking trends and concepts to create future-ready strategies and maximize value for all stakeholders.
Ilkay has a track record for leadership and influence, bringing the value of her extensive global expertise and networks, unique blend of commercial acumen to the corporations, boards, start-ups and investors.

James Alexander

Chief Executive Officer

UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association

UK

James is Chief Executive of UKSIF, driving the organisation’s objective of advancing sustainable investment and finance in the UK, and also serves as Chair of the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA), working to unlock the power of the worldwide financial services industry to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.
James joined UKSIF in 2020 with a background in international climate finance and infrastructure finance as well as many years’ experience in leadership roles in membership organisations. Since then, UKSIF has grown substantially, now representing over 300 organisations, collectively managing over £19tn. He has also overseen the expansion of UKSIF’s communications, public affairs and events programmes, increasing the organisation’s capacity to influence decision makers, promote sustainable finance in the media, and facilitate industry collaboration.
James has represented UKSIF at Treasury and DWP select committees and is a member of multiple government and regulatory working groups. In August 2023, he was appointed Chair of the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance and he also serves as Treasurer of Eurosif, the European Sustainable Investment Forum. In November 2023, James was awarded Outstanding Individual Contribution to the ESG Investment Industry at the Clear Path Analysis ESG Investment Leader Awards.
Previously, James supported global megacities to overcome the substantial barriers to financing climate action as Director of the City Finance Programme at the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and Head of the C40 Cities Finance Facility – a project preparation facility he developed, now supporting cities across the world to structure nearly a billion dollars of sustainable infrastructure transactions. James has worked on international climate finance issues at the UN level and remains a member of the UN SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, Chaired jointly by Jeffrey Sachs and the Mayors of Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

Jamil Wyne

Co-Founder

Riffle Ventures

USA

I am a specialist in climate technology and investment in emerging markets, focusing on venture capital, entrepreneurship ecosystems, and climate finance, among other sectors.
I have spent my career working with development finance institutions, impact investment firms, and technology startups, including the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Schmidt Futures, Clean Energy Venture Group, the United Nations, Oxford University, the World Wildlife Fund, Wamda, Ashoka, and Mercy Corps.
I am the founder of the Climate Tech Bootcamp, a global platform supporting early-stage founders, and a co-founder of Riffle Ventures, a company supporting the creation of high-impact venture studios.
I have advised governments on their climate tech and climate finance strategies and am also an investor in multiple climate-tech startups. I have also helped to build funds and technology ecosystems in a range of countries, including Jordan, Greece, Serbia, Singapore, Oman, Ukraine, Egypt, Japan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bangladesh.
I am currently a Fellow at the Truman National Security Project and an On Deck Climate Tech Fellow. I was also a Fulbright Fellow, and a Fellow at New America Foundation, and am also an adjunct professor at George Washington University.
My work has been featured or cited in SSIR, WEF, McKinsey, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Innovations Magazine (MIT), Al-Jazeera, World Bank, United Nations, Brookings, and Wharton publications, as well as university curricula and books.
I have an MBA from INSEAD, an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a BA from Bowdoin College.

Jan Lozek

Founder & Managing Director

Future Energy Ventures

United States

I am a specialist in climate technology and investment in emerging markets, focusing on venture capital, entrepreneurship ecosystems, and climate finance, among other sectors.
I have spent my career working with development finance institutions, impact investment firms, and technology startups, including the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Schmidt Futures, Clean Energy Venture Group, the United Nations, Oxford University, the World Wildlife Fund, Wamda, Ashoka, and Mercy Corps.
I am the founder of the Climate Tech Bootcamp, a global platform supporting early-stage founders, and a co-founder of Riffle Ventures, a company supporting the creation of high-impact venture studios.
I have advised governments on their climate tech and climate finance strategies and am also an investor in multiple climate-tech startups. I have also helped to build funds and technology ecosystems in a range of countries, including Jordan, Greece, Serbia, Singapore, Oman, Ukraine, Egypt, Japan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bangladesh.
I am currently a Fellow at the Truman National Security Project and an On Deck Climate Tech Fellow. I was also a Fulbright Fellow, and a Fellow at New America Foundation, and am also an adjunct professor at George Washington University.
My work has been featured or cited in SSIR, WEF, McKinsey, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Innovations Magazine (MIT), Al-Jazeera, World Bank, United Nations, Brookings, and Wharton publications, as well as university curricula and books.
I have an MBA from INSEAD, an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a BA from Bowdoin College.

Lisa Reehten

Managing Director

Bosch Climate Solutions

Germany

After graduating in International Business Management and working abroad in Abu Dhabi and Hungary, Lisa Reehten began her career at IBM in 2012. After business development with cloud start-ups, she took over various key account and management functions for industrial companies, in which she built up her expertise in the electronics, automotive and manufacturing industries, as well as with technologies such as IoT, AI, analytics and cybersecurity. In 2021 she moved to Bosch Climate Solutions and in 2023 took over the CEO role for the boutique consultancy in the field of sustainability and climate protection. At the same time, she completed her MBA in Sustainable Management and Future Trends. In 2023, she furthermore took over the CEO role of Bosch Energy and Building Solutions GmbH, another BOSCH subsidy in the area of energy services.

Massimo Falcioni

Chief Competitiveness Officer

Abu Dhabi Investment Office

UAE

Massimo Falcioni is the Chief Competitiveness Officer at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). He leads the organisation’s efforts to grow and diversify Abu Dhabi’s economy through private-sector investments. He also oversees strategic initiatives that accelerate innovation and financial services development contributing to the economic diversification of the emirate and enhancing its reputation on the world stage. Massimo previously held the role of Chief Executive Officer at UAE Federal Company Etihad Credit Insurance, where he established and led the national export credit agency for five years, helping accelerate the UAE’s economic non-oil diversification by supporting exports and re-exports of goods, services, and capital, ensuring in the process that UAE exports would not fail due to lack of credit insurance or financial guarantees. In a career spanning over three decades of professional experience, he led regional operations as the Chief Executive Officer of Middle East at Coface as well as Allianz Trade (previously Euler Hermes), as the Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Cooperation Countries. He also held several senior management positions at Philip Morris International, Volkswagen Financial Services and Exxon-Mobil. Massimo holds numerous awards for his leadership, management style, and competence in financial services and risk management, including the Knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy conferred by the President of the Italian Republic. Massimo currently sits on several boards and graduated with highest honors in Economics and Business from La Sapienza, University of Rome, Italy.

Matthias Berninger

EVP, Head of Public Affairs, Sustainability and Safety

Bayer AG

Germany

Mihir Sarkar

Head of AI

Engie

France

Building ENGIE's "Breakthrough AI" Acceleration Program to power the energy transition. Ex-Chief Data Officer, Engie DigitalDr. Mihir Sarkar is Head of AI at ENGIE where he applies Artificial Intelligence to help lead the zero-carbon energy transition. Mihir received a PhD from MIT in Media Arts and Sciences where he founded and led an international innovation program to empower organizations and communities around the world to design and build solutions to solve their own problems. Mihir co-founded two startups in applied AI in Silicon Valley and previously worked in the finance, consumer electronics, semiconductors, automotive, education, health, media, and music industries. Mihir is a pioneering figure in AI and sustainability, and recently launched the ‘Powered by AI’ conference, a talk series for a sustainable future. He previously contributed to the development of several technologies such as online creation and remote collaboration, infotainment and telematics systems, audio compression, voice control, and online trading systems. Mihir currently lives in Paris where he speaks about and teaches AI, sits on technology startup boards, and helps new ideas emerge by bringing people together.

Raphael Guerithault

Managing Director - North Sea & Scandinavia

SLB

Norway

Raphael has over 20 years of leadership experience in the oil & gas industry. His extensive international and cross-functional exposure with Schlumberger has brought him to the forefront of strategic transformation, enterprise digitalization and sustainability programs.
He was appointed Managing Director Scandinavia in August 2022, based in Stavanger. In this role, Raphael is responsible for expanding Schlumberger’s position as the partner of choice for driving the high performance and sustainable evolution of the Scandinavian offshore energy system.
Prior to his current role, he held the positions of Marketing & Strategy Director Offshore Atlantic, Managing Director East & Southern Africa, VP Digital Technology & Solutions, Global Workforce Productivity Transformation Manager, and HR Director Egypt & East Med. He joined Schlumberger in the US as Reservoir Engineer in 2001, before heading to South-East Asia where he led the transformation of customer E&P Planning and Integrated Operation programs for 7 years.
Raphael holds M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute in Toulouse, France and from the University of Houston, USA.

Roberta Boscolo

Non-profit

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

USA

Dr. Boscolo has over twenty years of experience in climate services, focusing on the Water-Energy-Food nexus in regions including Africa, South America, the Pacific, and Southeast Asia.
She develops weather, water, and climate services to support energy resilience and renewable energy. Her role includes membership on the scientific advisory board for several European Commission projects.
Dr. Boscolo's work bridges climate science with socioeconomic sectors, especially energy. She partners with stakeholders such as international organizations, public and private sectors, academia, civil society, and media.
Dr. Boscolo is also celebrated as a top Sustainability Influencer by the Sustainability Magazine and Onalytica and was awarded as one of the Global 50 Women in Sustainability by the SustainabilityX Magazine for her commitment to advancing resilient, low-carbon energy solutions for all. Since 2022, she is a member of the Expert Advisory Panel of the Earthshot Prize and Top Voice of LinkedIn for Green Economy.
Early in her career, Dr Boscolo served as a scientific project officer for the World Climate Research Programme, coordinating scientific efforts worldwide to address the knowledge gaps in understanding the Earth's climate system. The IPCC milestone reports assess such knowledge. She launched and managed multi-stakeholder development projects in 20+ countries, a portfolio of several multi-million projects funded by the European Commission, Adaptation Fund, and Swiss Development and Cooperation.
She holds a degree in Physics and an MSc in Physical Oceanography. Subsequently, she obtained a Diploma in Advanced Study in Leading International Organizations from the University of Geneva and a Certificate on Analysis and Management of Energy and Climate Change Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Rolf Brink

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Promersion

Netherlands

Rolf Brink, Founder and CEO, Asperitas After nearly 20 years in IT and a successful circumnavigation with sailing yacht Helena, Rolf Brink founded the disruptive cleantech company Asperitas. His background in product development for cloud architectures and datacentre infrastructure, combined with a passion for cleantech innovations like liquid cooling, are the foundation of the development of Immersed Computing® within Asperitas.

Siddharth Malik

Chief Executive Officer

Vulcan Green Energy

Oman

Mr. Siddharth Malik is the Chief Executive Officer of Vulcan Green Energy (VGE), a Renewable Energy developer in Oman and part of $25 Billion India-based Jindal Group. Prior to VGE, Mr. Malik led Jindal Renewable Power Ltd., a renewable energy business with 12 GW of renewable portfolio comprising of solar, wind and energy storage assets under development to deliver round the clock green power and green hydrogen to decarbonize steel manufacturing. He also led the Energy Transition business at a NYSE-listed renewable energy developer with 7.4GW of clean energy portfolio. Mr. Malik was founder-CEO of Megawatt Solutions, a specialist company in industrial decarbonization solutions including concentrated solar thermal, thermal storage and electrification of industrial heat. Under his leadership, the company was ranked in top five of global list by the International Climate Initiative. Mr. Malik has more than 20 years of experience leading large businesses in areas of clean energy technology, project development, strategy, and execution. He is a TED speaker and is widely covered in media for his subject matter expertise in decarbonization at various global forums including by the World Bank. Mr. Malik is also an inventor with various patents to his name and holds master’s degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Tanya Horowitz

Co-founder, Capital A Partners

Partner, Butterfly Ventures

Sweden

Till Stenzel

Founder

SET Ventures

Netherlands

Arvind Bodhankar

Chief Sustainability Officer & Board Member

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel

India

Dr. Bodhankar leads the sustainability agenda for AM/NS India, focusing on defining and implementing medium and long-term actions for decarbonisation, reducing environmental impact, and enhancing the climate agenda of the organisation.
Dr. Bodhankar was formerly Executive Director – ESG & Chief Risk Officer at Dalmia Bharat Group. There, he led the sustainability and risk management functions, overseeing initiatives for renewable energy, circular economy, carbon capture, and green building projects.
With over three decades of experience in diverse manufacturing and carbon-intensive industries including petrochemicals, fertilisers, steel, cement and automotive, Dr. Bodhankar has been in leadership roles in operations, quality & quality systems, health, safety and environment. He has also led the Sustainability agenda for leading manufacturing companies.

Adrian Locher

Co-Founder & General Partner

Merantix Capital

Germany

Adrian Locher is Cofounder and General Partner of Berlin-based Merantix Capital, an early-stage AI investor, and co-founder and member of the board of Merantix, a group of companies and initiatives driving AI forward in Europe.

He has been a serial entrepreneur and investor for the past 20 years, founding more than 10 companies both in Europe and the US, in software, technology, e-commerce and AI. Adrian holds a degree in business and economics from the University of St. Gallen (HSG).

He sold his previous company, a leading Swiss e-commerce firm, at EUR 100M revenue. Adrian has received various awards, presides the board of START, Europe’s largest student entrepreneurship initiative, and is a board member of University St. Gallen Alumni.

Johannes Verst

CEO & Founder

QBN

Germany

As the CEO and founder of QBN, the premier industry network for quantum technologies in Europe and Germany, Johannes plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between industry, academia, governments, and investors. With a robust background in deeptech and quantum physics, Johannes brings a wealth of experience in company and ecosystem building, as well as private investments. His extensive international experience in cluster management, applied R&D, and years as a company builder and advisor, enable him to leverage his expertise and global network to drive the growth of the quantum industry.

Marta Estarellas

CEO

Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech

Spain

Marta is the CEO of Qilimanjaro, a full-stack quantum computing company based in Barcelona with the goal of bringing practical quantum solutions through app-specific analog quantum platforms. Before that, she had an academic position at the Global Research Center for Quantum Information Science at the National Institute of Informatics in Tokyo. She completed her PhD in Physics at the York Centre for Quantum Technologies (University of York, UK). Her previous background spans different fields, with a BSc in Chemistry, a MSc in Physical-Chemistry, an inter-university European Master’s in Theoretical Quantum Chemistry and Computational Modelling, and an Engineer’s Degree in Computer Engineering with a focus in Computer Architecture and Networks.

Almudena Justo Martínez

Director, International Quantum Center

Fsas Technologies, Fujitsu 

Spain

As Director of the Fujitsu International Quantum Center —launched in collaboration with Cesga to advance Fujitsu’s Quantum business in Spain and Europe—Almudena Justo leads strategic quantum business opportunities with customers in Europe in quantum and hybrid computing. She is the representative of Fujitsu in the Quantum Network of the World Economic Forum and external expert of the European Commission and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

With international experience at the London School of Economics, the Coller Institute at Tel Aviv University, and the Spanish Office for Science and Technology (Ministry of Science) in Brussels, Almudena Justo has extensive business expertise in executive roles focused on business development and strategic & innovation consulting. She is an expert in European R&D and innovation public funding policies. She has worked on different public-private strategic digital transformation projects at the European level, such as smart city projects and implementation of low emission zones, digital transformation of the water sector, among others

Carlos Kuchkovsky

CEO & Co-Founder

QCentroid

Spain

Carlos Kuchkovsky is the co-founder and CEO of QCentroid, a Quantum as a Service and Operations platform. Our mission is to democratize and accelerate access to quantum computing for companies of all sizes that face complex problems. The focus is on those aiming for sustainable transformation, net-zero goals, and climate adaptation solutions.

At BBVA, Kuchkovsky held key leadership roles, including Chief Research Officer, CTO of New Digital Businesses, and Head of the Patent Office. He significantly contributed to the bank's advancement in quantum computing, blockchain, machine learning, and cryptography. As a member of the European Quantum Flagship's Strategy Advisory Board, Carlos influences the industry's vision and direction. In the World Economic Forum, he is member of in the climate adaptation working group and was a part of the Future Council on Quantum Technologies, emphasizing the sustainable use of quantum technology.

Carlos has authored research publications in machine learning, quantum technology, and blockchain. He is also an active lecturer in international MBA programs.

His commitment to innovation is evident in his development and contribute to more than 30 patents, demonstrating his belief in the transformative power of disruptive technologies for societal change.

Dr. Araceli Venegas-Gomez

Founder & CEO

QURECA

UK

Dr. Araceli Venegas-Gomez spent several years working for Airbus in Germany and France as an aerospace engineer, before falling in love with quantum mechanics. She then decided to follow her passion for physics and moved to Scotland to pursue a PhD in quantum simulation at the University of Strathclyde. Following discussions with the different quantum stakeholders she had over the last years, Araceli identified the need to bridge the gap between businesses and academia, as well as to raise the quantum awareness to the general public. Continuing her work on outreach advocating quantum technologies, she was named the “quantum ambassador”, after winning the Optical Society Milton and Rosalind Chang Pivoting fellowship in 2019. Araceli founded her own company called QURECA (Quantum Resources and Careers) to create a link between the different stakeholders in the quantum community through a common language, and to generate global opportunities with quantum technologies. QURECA provides a range of professional services, business development, and the solution to the quantum workforce skills bottleneck: the first online platform for quantum training, to support individuals and businesses to be part of the quantum revolution.

Dr. Enrique Solano

Co-CEO

Kipu Quantum

Germany

Fabienne Marco

Program Coordinator, Quantum Social Lab

TUM School of Governance

Germany

Fabienne Marco pursued her studies at the Technical University of Munich, earning degrees in Mathematics (B.Sc.), Mathematics in Data Science (M.Sc.), Political Science (B.Sc.), and Politics & Technology (M.Sc.). In November 2022, she co-founded the Quantum Social Lab at the TUM Think Tank alongside Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser and has been leading it ever since. Additionally, she heads the QuantWorld project, an advanced learning platform dedicated to exploring next-generation quantum technologies.

From 2023 to 2024, she advised the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts on the Hightech Agenda Bayern as part of a specially established think tank.

Her research focuses on Quantum Natural Language Processing (QNLP) and the broader opportunities and risks associated with second-generation quantum technologies. In particular, she examines how quantum computing and quantum algorithms can be leveraged for societal benefit while mitigating potential risks.

Himadri Majumdar

CEO

SemiQon

Finland

Himadri Majumdar is the CEO and Co-Founder of SemiQon, leading the development of semiconductor-based quantum integrated circuits to make quantum computing scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective. His mission is to establish SemiQon’s technology as the industry standard.

With over 20 years of experience in innovation and management, he previously led both Finnish and European strategic initiatives as Programme Manager for Quantum Technologies at VTT. He also co-founded Finland’s quantum technology ecosystem, InstituteQ, and played a key role in launching its business arm, BusinessQ.

Trained as a physicist with a PhD in Applied Physics, Himadri has dedicated his career advancing semiconductor industry innovation. His vision is to drive SemiQon and quantum technology toward success in Finland and globally through strong collaboration and partnerships.

Dr. Ilana Wisby

Quantum & Deep Tech Advisor

UK

Dr. Ilana Wisby is a deep-tech leader, quantum physicist, and entrepreneur with a track record of building and scaling world-class technology ventures. As the founding CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), she transformed an academic patent into one of the world’s leading quantum computing companies, securing major commercial partnerships and pioneering cloud-based quantum access. With expertise spanning quantum physics, deep tech, national security, and ethical leadership, Ilana works across industry, government, and academia to drive responsible technological innovation. A passionate advocate for diversity in STEM and love-based leadership, she is committed to shaping the future of transformative technologies.

Dr. Jan Goetz

Co-CEO & Co-Founder

IQM Quantum Computers

Finland

Jan is a quantum physicist and co-founding co-CEO of IQM, building next-generation quantum computers. IQM has assembled an exceptional team of international professionals to build quantum computers for high-performance centers, academia, and industry. IQM has raised €128 million in Series A2 funding (in 2022), largest ever funding round raised by a European quantum computing company. Jan did his doctorate on superconducting quantum circuits at TU Munich and worked as a Marie-Curie Fellow in Helsinki at Aalto University, where he holds the title of docent. In 2023, he was selected as Founder of the Year by Handelsblatt. In 2020, Capital magazine selected him as one of 40 under 40 in Germany and he received an entrepreneurship award from the KAUTE Foundation. Jan was in the Board of the European Innovation Council EIC and holds a Board seat in the European Quantum Industry Consortium QuIC. He is also and member of the German Federal Economic Senate, an EIC Scaling Club Council member, member of the Hall of Future, as well as a Digital Leader and Global Innovator at the WEF.

Dr. Jasper Krauser

Central Coordinator of Quantum Technologies

Airbus Group

Germany

Jasper Krauser is the Central Coordinator of Quantum Technologies in Airbus. As part of Airbus central R&T organization, his team is exploring quantum technologies for aerospace applications in the fields of quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing. Jasper joined Airbus in 2015, where he was leading a team to explore the next generation of optical instruments in Space before his current assignment. Jasper was a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Optical Quantum Technologies in Hamburg, after he acquired his PhD in quantum physics from the University of Hamburg. 

Luke Preskey

CRO

Quantum Insider

Spain

Dr. Mira Wolf-Bauwens

Responsible Quantum Computing Lead

IBM Research Europe

Germany

Dr Mira Wolf-Bauwens Responsible Quantum Computing Lead at IBM, and one of the foremost leaders in the Responsible Quantum Computing movement, championing the use of technology for societal good and benefit. Mira's team collaborates to tackle business and socio-economic challenges through technological innovation. They address the societal questions arising from the development of Quantum Computing and Quantum-safe technologies. As a leading expert in quantum computing and its ethical implications, Mira is highly sought after for her insights on the intersection of emerging technologies and societal impact. Among others, she has co-authored the first Quantum Computing Governance Principles and Quantum Economy Blueprint with the WEF and is on the Advisory Board of the Open Quantum Institute and advises UNESCO’s comest on questions of quantum ethics.

Neil Abroug

Head of Quantum

Inria (French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology)

France

Sameer Chauhan

Director

UNICC - United Nations International Computing Centre

Switzerland

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Mr. Sameer Chauhan as the Director of the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) on 1 December 2019. 

As the head of the organization, he has the responsibility to lead all aspects of UNICC’s strategy and operations, to facilitate the provision of services to more than 100 Clients and Partner Organizations, to establish the UNICC strategy, to develop a biennial business plan and budget and to implement the approved plan. He is accountable to the UNICC Management Committee (MC) that governs the organization and represents the entire United Nations system.

Mr. Chauhan effectively led a strategic transformation of UNICC with the advice and backing of his board. This has allowed UNICC to become the preferred strategic digital partner for the whole UN system. The organization has successfully built capabilities in areas such as cybersecurity, data, AI, crypto and automation, as well as in key business areas like treasury, finance and HR. He started his career at UNICC in August 2015 in New York as Chief of Clients and Projects.

Sergio Gago

Managing Director, AI & Quantum Computing

Moody's Analytics

Germany

Sergio Gago, MD of AI and Quantum Computing leader at Moody’s. Sergio started with technology early, founder of 5 companies before the age of 25 (3 of which are still in business today). The last one leading Acquire Media, company he sold to Moody's Analytics in 2020 after almost two decades as a CTO. He is now the Managing Director in charge of Moody's Analytics AI and Quantum Computing business, after leading Media Solutions where he coordinated a team of data scientists, data modeling strategists and technologists. Sergio's expertise lies on build on decades of learnings from artificial intelligence and text-based data processing blended with financial forecasting and risk assessment models to surface business insights earlier than traditional data modeling alone. He also is the Academic Coordinator of the Masters of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence at BTS/University of Barcelona where he teaches several courses and advise on student capstone projects. He is the co-founder of QCentroid, a quantum algorithm marketplace. Sergio has lived in 7 countries, and crossed the world several times, specializes in multicultural environments, remote, diverse teams. He is an active angel investor in early stage startups focused on deep tech and data.

Shohini Ghose

Chief Technology Officer

Quantum Algorithms Institute

Canada

Shohini Ghose is a Professor of Physics & NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering at Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Chief Technology Officer of the Quantum Algorithms Institute. She is an internationally recognized theoretical physicist working on foundational questions in quantum information science as well as developing real-world application of quantum technologies with industry partners. She is a member of Canada’s Quantum Advisory Council for the National Quantum Strategy, and she has served on the Advisory Board of the UNESCO International Basic Sciences Program. Dr. Ghose is the founding Director of the nationally recognized Laurier Centre for Women in Science and was President (2019-20) of the Canadian Association of Physicists. Her awards include a TED Senior Fellowship and selection to the College of the Royal Society of Canada, and her online talks and videos have received over 8 million views. Her recent book Her Space, Her Time won the 2023 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada book award. Dr. Ghose recently founded the Centre for Responsible Quantum Innovation and Technologies (CRQIT) with partners from academia and industry across Canada.

Prof. Dr. Tommaso Calarco

Director, Institute for Quantum Control PGI-8

Jülich Research Institute

Switzerland

"Prof. Dr. Tomasso Calarco has been a full professor at the University of Cologne since 2018 and at the University of Bologna since 2023. He received his PhD at the University of Ferrara and started to work as a postdoc in the group of P. Zoller at the University of Innsbruck. He was appointed as a Senior Researcher at the BEC Centre in Trento in 2004 and as a Professor for Physics at the University of Ulm in 2007, where he then became Director of the Institute for Complex Quantum Systems and of the Centre for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology. He has authored in 2016 the Quantum Manifesto, which initiated the European Commission’s Quantum Flagship initiative, and is currently the Chairman of one of the Flagship’s Governing Bodies: The Quantum Community Network (QCN). In 2020, together with the QCN, he has launched an initiative towards the creation of a consortium of European quantum industries, which has been legally established in 2021 under the name of European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC)."

Maurice Beckand Verwee

Managing Partner

Curiosity VC

Netherlands

Michael Kubiena

Partner

Konsultori

Austria

In his 20+ years of working across Central & South-eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, Michael has gained experience in expert, managerial and consulting roles. Throughout his career, Michael had managed HR departments of various sizes, in start-ups as well as in corporate environments, primarily in the ICT & service industries.

In his consulting practice, he focuses on organization design, people & culture as well as on concept & strategy development in the food world and for non-profit organizations.

Michael has degrees in business administration (Vienna: 1996) and cultural studies (Istanbul: 2011) and education in systems thinking & design (2015).

His interest in food practices and sustainable urban food systems, in particular, led to his civil society engagement with the Vienna Food Policy Council where he is one of the speakers.

Mike Collett

Managing Partner

Promus Ventures

USA

Mike Collett is Founder and Managing Partner of Promus Ventures. Since its inception in 2012,
Promus Ventures invests in DeepTech early-stage startups, with offices in Chicago, San
Francisco and Luxembourg. Mike has been a venture capital investor for over 20 years. Mike
has invested in over 100 startups, including Rocket Lab, AngelList, Whoop, Mapbox, ICEYE,
Bellabeat, FLYR, Kensho, Swift Navigation, Spire Global and others.

Prior to Promus Ventures, Mike was Founder and Managing Partner of Masters Capital
Nanotechnology Fund, a venture capital firm. While working at Masters Capital, a hedge fund,
Mike invested in software and hardware startups. Prior to venture capital, Mike was a Vice
President in Merrill Lynch’s Mergers & Acquisitions group.

Mike holds a BA in Math and BA in English from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a MBA in
Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

Mike and his wife Paige have four children and live in Chicago.

Mikkel Sørensen

Managing Director

DTU Skylab

Denmark

Mikkel Sørensen is the founding director of DTU Skylab – the innovation hub of the Technical University of Denmark. Mikkel holds an Executive MBA from DTU, a master's degree in Modern Culture from the University of Copenhagen, as well as a master's degree from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen.

Over the past 10 years, Mikkel has led the establishment, development, and scaling of DTU Skylab from a small pilot initiative to its current stage as an award-winning and internationally leading innovation environment with approximately 60 employees and 60,000+ ft2 of innovation infrastructure. Each year, DTU Skylab supports over 300 startup projects from DTU's staff and students and engages in innovation collaborations with existing companies, along with educational activities.

Prior to his current role, Mikkel was the National Manager at Venture Cup Denmark. Mikkel is also partner in the hard-tech venture fund TechStation Invest, co-founder of Stormglas, and serves on several boards

Oliver Holle

Managing Partner

Speedinvest

Austria

With more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience in the mobile and internet industries and 12 years as co-founder of Speedinvest, Oliver Holle is a leading expert in Europe’s technology startup scene. In 1997, he founded one of the first European internet startups. After two successful mergers, 3united was sold for €55M to US giant VeriSign in 2006, and Oliver worked for the company in Silicon Valley for several years overseeing their mobile business and more than 600 employees.In 2011, he returned to Austria and secured €10M from private investors to found Speedinvest. As of 2024, the early-stage venture capital fund has more than €1B in AuM, +300 portfolio companies, five offices across Europe, and is routinely ranked as one of Europe’s most successful and most active early-stage venture capital funds.

Petra Wolkenstein

CEO

Konsultori

Austria

Petra Wolkenstein is a seasoned expert in business development, dedicated to helping startups and innovative SMEs scale and grow. With extensive experience in international market entry, lead generation, partnership development, investor acquisition, and M&A, she provides strategic guidance to entrepreneurs. Petra and her team founded the Konsultori Academy, an online platform offering training on growth and scaling strategies to empower entrepreneurs.

Rasmus Rothe

Founder

Merantix Capital

Austria

Sven Meyer-Brunswick

Principal

Alpine Space

USA

Theodora Preda

Principal

Plug and Play Tech Center

Germany

Theodora brings five years of experience at Plug and Play, where she steers startup-corporate innovation projects spanning mobility, sustainability, enterprise, and production for a network of 30+ industry leaders. With a track record of 500+ startup pilot projects, she has played a pivotal role in the growth of the largest open innovation platform in Europe. Theodora also evaluates hundreds of early-stage investments for Plug and Play's VC arm and is an active supporter of FoundHER initiatives, always advocating for female entrepreneurship. Prior to joining Plug and Play, Theodora honed her skills in investment banking M&A in London, having graduated with a MSc in Corporate Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Alexis Houssou

Founder & Managing Partner

HCVC

France

Alexis Houssou is the Founder and Managing Partner of HCVC, a $130m early-stage venture firm dedicated to hardtech companies with offices in Paris, London and San Francisco. HCVC’s mission is to back companies on a mission to industrialize technological progress. Prior to HCVC, Alexis started the world’s largest founder collective of hardware startups and helped launch several other initiatives in the early European tech ecosystem like deeptech competition Hello Tomorrow. Alexis launched his first startup at age 20 and he’s now been investing in startups for more than 13 years. Alexis is also a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and a regular columnist in European newspapers Le Monde and La Tribune.

Arnaud Castaignet

VP, Strategic Partnerships

Skeleton Technologies

Estonia

Arnaud Castaignet is Vice President of Government Affairs & Strategic Partnerships at Skeleton Technologies, the European leader in mission-critical high-power and fast-charging energy storage technology, powered by its own patented “curved graphene” material. Skeleton’s supercapacitors and high-power batteries power AI data centres, decrease CO2 emissions, stabilize grids, and enable the twin energy and AI revolutions. Skeleton Technologies Group currently employs more than 300 people and has four main locations: its HQ in Tallinn (Estonia), its supercapacitor manufacturing in Saxony (Germany), its materials development in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany), and its SuperBattery pilot production facility in Varkaus (Finland). Since its inception, Skeleton has raised over 330 M EUR from European and non-European leading industrial investors. Arnaud has been working in government and public affairs for 15 years. Additionally, he is also a business mentor in several incubators such as NATO DIANA accelerator.

Benjamin Erhart

General Partner

UVC Partners

Germany

Benjamin Erhart is a General Partner at UVC Partners, where he focuses on robotics, IoT, mobility, and industrial software investments. With a passion for building category-leading companies, he has driven numerous successful exits, including Fazua to Porsche and Cumulocity to Software AG. His current portfolio includes notable investments in companies like TWAICE, DyeMansion, and planqc. Previously, as one of the first employees at High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), he helped build a portfolio of over 480 investments and served on their investment board.

Elisabeth Schrey

Managing Director

DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF)

Germany

Dr. Elisabeth Schrey is one of the Managing Directors of the DeepTech & Climate Fund (DTCF), where she leads early growth investments in groundbreaking technologies with a focus on industrial applications, sustainability, and climate tech. Driven by intellectual curiosity and business acumen, she is committed to fostering Europe's next generation of technology leaders and bridging cutting-edge research with real-world impact.

Before joining DTCF in 2023, Elisabeth gained extensive experience in venture capital, specializing in industrial tech through key roles at Matterwave Ventures, btov Partners, and TechVision Fund. She has a background in Industrial Engineering and earned her PhD in Innovation Management at RWTH Aachen University, where she explored the intersection of technology, business, and industrial transformation.

Helmut Schoenenberger

CEO

UnternehmerTUM

Germany

Isabell Gradert

VP, Central Research & Technology

Airbus Group

Germany

Kelly Richdale

Venture Partner

Amadeus Capital Partners

Switzerland

Lene Oddershede

Senior Vice President, Natural & Technical Sciences

Novo Nordisk Foundation

Netherlands

Kerry Baldwin

Co-Founder, Managing Partner

IQ Capital

UK

Co-founder, Managing Partner IQ Capital - UK deeptech early-stage VC $1bn AUM investing from seed to - £30m from 4th. Chair, BVCA (2021/22). Chair of the Mansion House Pensions and Private Capital Expert Panel. Member of the Competitiveness Advisory Board for The City of London Corporation, Honorary Fellow in Entrepreneurship at Cambridge University, Independent IC member for British Patient Capital - Life Science, Co-invest programmes and Future Fund:Breakthrough. International advisor to Governments on VC and R&D ecosystems. Board of Governors, Plymouth University, Steering Committee for scale-ups Royal Academy of Engineering. Specialist in Regtech, Suptech, Cyber, complex big data, defence and security investments, GTM, competitive intelligence and mar-tech scale.

Pablo Delcan

Founder

Delcan & Company

USA

Pablo Delcan is a graphic designer and art director originally from the island of Menorca in Spain, who has made a significant impact in the world of graphic design and visual arts. He is a visual contributor to The New York Times, where he communicates complex ideas through compelling imagery. He has designed numerous covers for The New York Times Magazine and illustrated hundreds of op-ed articles, some for noted figures such as Joe Biden, Mikhail Gorbachev, and John McWhorter, and for the infamous anonymous op-ed article "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" that became a political sensation in 2018. His work has appeared in publications such as Le Monde, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Forbes included him in their “30 under 30 in Art and Style” and he was honored as a Young Gun by the Art Directors Club in 2016. He lives with his young family in upstate New York, where he works out of his studio in a barn with large letters that state "THIS PLACE."

Anna Klaft

Chairwoman

German Datacenter Association

Germany

Anna Klaft is Chairwoman of the German Datacenter Association (GDA), the association of the data center industry in Germany. The GDA represents the interests of data center operators and companies from the data center ecosystem with their specific concerns and interests in politics, society and the media. The aim is to improve the framework conditions for the operation of data centers in Germany in the long term. Since 2021, Anna Klaft has been responsible for the development of the organisation and the growth and awareness of the association in Germany and the European market.

In her 'day job' Anna Klaft is Global Vice President IT at RITTAL. RITTAL is a leading global provider of solutions for industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure, as well as software and services. She is responsible for the global IT team with a focus on growth, quality and people in the IT and data centre industry.

Anna Klaft is also a member of the Supervisory Board of LEFDAL Mine Datacenters in Norway. LEFDAL offers one of the most cost-efficient, secure, flexible and green data center solutions in Europe.

Prior to joining RITTAL, she worked for 15 years for large organisations such as CBRE and WISAG in various management positions. In these roles she focused on business development and market growth within the property and IT sectors in Europe.

Daniel Oscar Baskoro

Chief PMO Smart City

Nusantara Capital Authority

Indonesia

Daniel Oscar Baskoro is a practitioner in the field of data and public sector digital transformation. He graduated from Universitas Gadjah Mada with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and from Columbia University, New York with a Master of Science in Technology Management. He also received professional education at MIT, Cambridge. Currently, Oscar serves as the Chairman of the FMIPA UGM Alumni Association. Oscar is a recipient of various international awards, including Champion Winner from ITU and Innovation Global Winner from the World Bank. He was recognized as Pemuda Hebat Republik Indonesia and was selected as one of the Top Ten Outstanding Young Persons by Junior Chamber International in 2022. Additionally, he received the Universitas Gadjah Mada Alumni Award in 2023. Oscar has held key positions in the digital transformation of the public sector, such as Manager for One Data Indonesia Governance at Bappenas, Head of Open Government at the Presidential Staff Office, and Chief Operating Officer of DTO at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. Currently, Oscar works as the Chief PMO Smart City at the Nusantara Capital Authority. He is also active as a practitioner and advisor in various government agencies, communities, and international organizations related to digital transformation initiatives.

Delphine Jamet

Deputy Mayor and Digital Councillor

City of Bordeaux

France

Ms. Delphine Jamet has served as a Councilor of the City of Bordeaux since her election in June 2020, for a six-year term.
Currently, she is the Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux, responsible for general administration, evaluation of public policies, and data strategy. In addition, Ms. Jamet holds the role of Digital Councilor for Bordeaux Métropole, overseeing Bordeaux Métropole’s digital strategy built around seven key priorities:
1. Promoting digital inclusion to address and bridge digital divides.
2. Placing citizens at the heart of user-friendly, accessible, and impactful digital services.
3. Advocating for responsible and ethical digital design.
4. Advancing the digital transformation of public services while reducing their environmental footprint.
5. Developing connected cities that enhance quality of life, ecological transition, and regional attractiveness.
6. Establishing robust data governance as a cornerstone of strategic decision-making.
7. Ensuring a secure, resilient, and sovereign digital ecosystem to guarantee the continuity of public services.
Before entering public office, Ms. Jamet built a distinguished career as an archivist, specializing in World War II Gironde archives, digital archiving systems, and the dematerialization of archives.
A native of the Bordeaux metropolitan area, Ms. Jamet holds a Master’s degree in History from the University of Bordeaux. Her strong ties to the community, combined with her expertise in digital transformation and historical preservation, make her a driving force for innovative and inclusive policy-making in Bordeaux and beyond

Fernando de Pablo Martín

Digital Office Director

City of Madrid

Spain

Ger Baron

CTO

City of Amsterdam

Netherlands

Ger Baron is the Chief Technology Officer of the City of Amsterdam. His professional career started at Accenture, where he worked as an analyst in the consulting department. In 2007, he was hired by Amsterdam Innovation Motor (AIM) in the role of project manager, specifically to develop and enhance the role of ICT. Baron was responsible for starting up the Amsterdam ICT-cluster and he initiated several projects in public-private partnership. Among these were a number of projects related to the development of Amsterdam’s Smart City initiative. Currently, Mr Baron is responsible for innovation, R&D and innovation partnerships within the City of Amsterdam. In addition, he serves as president of the City Protocol Society

Klemens Himpele

CIO

City of Vienna

Austria

Klemens Himpele was born in 1977 in Emmendingen/Germany. He studied economics at the University of Cologne where he graduated in 2005. He started his professional career as an educational researcher in Cologne and Berlin. After this, he worked for Statistics Austria in Vienna and the German Education Union (GEW) in Frankfurt am Main. Between 2012 and 2020, he was head of the City of Vienna’s Department for Economic Affairs, Labour and Statistics. He has been CIO of the City of Vienna since October 2020.

Andreas Zaby

Innovation Manager (Head)

Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND)

Germany

Külle Tärnov

Head of Innovation

FinEst Center for Smart Cities

Estonia

Külle Tärnov is an acclaimed Director of Innovation at the FinEst Centre for Smart Cities, renowned for her pioneering work in leading the process of creating new smart city solutions that scale. With over 15 years in the innovation domain Külle has a profound expertise in supporting the teams to start and scale up the new innovations. She holds an MBA from the Estonian Business School and has been instrumental in boosting several award-winning smart city solutions that are implemented in several cities around the globe.
Throughout her career, Külle has been honoured with the Business Innovation Award, reflecting her commitment to her wholehearted support for collaboration between different stakeholders: startups, large companies, academia and public sector. Before joining the FinEst Centre for Smart Cities, she worked as a board member in a top IT company in Estonia, EKTACO, and lead the business development unit of the Science and Business Park Tehnopol for more than 10 years. There she led major international innovation projects, initiated and launched the Estonian Connected Health Cluster and coached many startups but also strong international companies, like Nortal, Helmes, etc., always with a focus on achieving beyond borders with collaboration and open innovation. Her work has not only reshaped skylines but also set new benchmarks in innovation processes that make the difference.
Külle Tärnov frequently speaks at national and international forums, sharing insights on new smart city solutions, innovation processes with cities and academia, and the integration of new technologies in cities. Outside of her professional life, Külle is an avid world literature reader, a passion that complements her deep appreciation for various cultures, histories and understandings about life and the universe.

Pablo Delcan

Founder

Delcan & Company

USA

Alexander Rabe

CEO

eco - The Association of the Internet Industry

Germany

Audrey Plonk

Deputy Director, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

France

Dr Bastian Koller

Managing Director

High Performance Computing Centre Stuttgart

Germany

Dr.-Ing. Bastian Koller joined the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) in 2004 after his diploma degree in computer science and received his PhD in engineering in 2011. Being active in many research activities, national and international, in HPC and associated technologies such as Cloud, Data Analytics or AI he has been heavily involved in shaping the research strategy of the center. In 2014 he became Managing Director of the Centre and is currently also acting as coordinator of the EXCELLERAT P2 Centre of Excellence on HPC engineering applications and leads the efforts of HLRS in managing the EuroHPC projects on the National Competence Centres (EuroCC 2 and CASTIEL 2), the EuroHPC SME Initiative (FFPlus) and the HammerHAI AI Factory, with a particular focus on industrial use cases.

Jens-Peter Feidner

Managing Director, Germany

Equinix

Germany

Managing Director, GermanyJens-Peter (JP) Feidner has been Managing Director Germany at Equinix, the leading global digital infrastructure provider, since 2019. In this role, Feidner is responsible for growing the business in Germany and defining the company's local strategy, as well as driving Equinix's local sustainability efforts. Feidner has many years of experience in the data center industry and has been with the company since 2014, most recently as Senior Director Business Development for the EMEA region.Feidner sees data centers as the foundation for sustainable digitalization, which offers greatopportunities for the economy and climate protection. In addition to his work at Equinix, he is also a member of the advisory board of the German Datacenter Association e.V. ( GDA) and is involved in the digital associations Bitkom e.V. and eco - Association of the Internet Industry e.V. to promote a sustainable, secure and strong digital transformation in Germany. 

Jan Ellsberger

Director General

European Telecommunications Standards Institute

France

Jan Ellsberger is a globally recognised leader in the ICT industry with more than 30 years of experience with research and innovation, industry ecosystem development, standardisation, policy development & regulation, and strategy development in the telecommunications and automotive industries. From 2000-2012 he was leading Ericsson’s global standardisation operations. He has also served in leading positions in several industry associations such as 3GPP, 5GAA, ERTICO and the Horizon Europe CCAM Association.

Elio Schiavo

Chief Enterprise and Innovative Solutions Officer

Gruppo TIM

Italy

Federico Menna

CEO

EIT Digital

UK

Michael Ørnø

Director-General

Statens IT

Denmark

Ulrich Ahle

Chief Executive Officer

Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL

Belgium

Ulrich is a reputed executive in the IT sector, formerly Vice President and leader of the Manufacturing and Industrie 4.0 System Integration business at Atos in Germany. He is also founder and member of the Board of the International Data Spaces Association in Germany and served 16 years in the Board of the prostep IVIP organization until April 2018.

After an apprenticeship as toolmaker at Hella KG, he studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Paderborn. In his career, Ahle held several positions as development engineer, Director of PLM services, sales director and Vice President. He has been part of Nixdorf Computer AG, Siemens and Atos. From January 2017 until the end of 2023 Ulrich Ahle was Chief Executive Officer of the FIWARE Foundation headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Starting from November 2023 Ulrich became CEO of the Gaia-X Association headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

Christiane Seifert

Chair

Electronic Communications Committee (ECC)

Germany

Paul McDonagh-Forde

Assistant Commissioner

Irish Data Protection Commission

Ireland

Paul McDonagh-Forde is the Irish Data Protection Commission’s Brussels-based Attaché. He leads the DPC’s interactions in Brussels with a wide variety of organisations, including the European Commission, the European Data Protection Board and the European Parliament, as well as civil society organisations and regulated entities that have a presence in Brussels.
Having first joined the DPC as a member of the legal unit in 2019, Paul has advised primarily on large scale cross-border regulation, with a focus both on Irish and EU law, in his capacity as an Irish-qualified barrister. He also has extensive experience of engagement with a variety of expert sub-groups within the European Data Protection Board, including procedures that have given rise to opinions, guidelines and binding decisions.
Paul holds an LL.B from Trinity College Dublin, an LL.M from the University of Edinburgh and a Barrister-at-law degree from the King’s Inns in Dublin. Prior to joining the DPC, Paul worked as a judicial assistant/clerk at the Supreme Court of Ireland.

Christian Claussen

General Partner

Ventech VC

France

Christian is a General Partner with Paris-based Ventech and based in Berlin. He looks back on 25 years of hands-on innovation financing and has personally managed VC-investments into 27 start-ups with an aggregated investment of more than €150m. 15 of which have been profitably exited while 6 companies are still successfully pursuing their growth strategies. Moreover, Christian has actively participated in raising 5 Venture Capital funds totaling of AUM €800m and has developed a profound understanding of organizing and running Venture Capital Management organisations.

He currently represents Ventech in the boards of Ventech’s portfolio companies The Customization Group, Speexx, Codasip, TrustYou, Microoled and many more.

Prior to joining the VC Industry in 1998, Christian spent 10 years in Europe's Telecommunications Industry and holds an EE MSc. with the Technical University of Karlsruhe (D), University of Essex (Colchester/UK) and Ecole Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Electronique et Electrotechnique (Paris/F).

Sebastian Heinz

Founder and CEO

AI Hub Frankfurt

Germany

Sebastian is a leading expert in Data & AI with over a decade of experience in the industry. He is the founder and CEO of statworx, one of the top-tier Data & AI consultancies in the DACH region, as well as the AI Hub Frankfurt, the leading AI ecosystem in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region.

Sebastian is a pioneer in the AI industry and has actively shaped the German AI landscape. He is not only a successful entrepreneur, but also an active business angel and early-stage investor in AI startups. With the AI Hub Frankfurt and his role as Co-CEO at AI Frankfurt Rhein-Main e.V., he supports the AI transformation of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main region and Germany. He is also board member of the newly founded IHK Frankfurt stat-up committee.

Besides his passion for Data & AI, Sebastian loves to cook as an ambitious hobby chef while enjoying a glass of excellent wine.

Amy Lewin

Editor

Sifted

UK

Amy Lewin is the editor of Sifted, the leading media publication for Europe's startups and tech ecosystem, backed by the Financial Times. She heads up a team of a dozen journalists based in London, Berlin, Stockholm and Paris. Amy also hosts Sifted’s podcast, Startup Europe, writes a weekly newsletter on venture capital and regularly appears onstage at events across the continent. She joined Sifted as its first employee in 2018.

Mats Herding

Chief Design Officer

reMarkable

Norway

Mats Herding Solberg – Chief Design Officer, reMarkable

 Mats Herding Solberg is the Chief Design Officer (CDO) and a founding team member of reMarkable, where he has been a driving force behind the company’s product innovation since joining in October 2015.

With deep expertise in design and product management, Solberg is dedicated to creating intuitive, high-impact user experiences. His leadership and user-centric design philosophy have been instrumental in shaping reMarkable’s success, positioning it as a leader in the digital paper tablet market.

He holds a Master of Science in Industrial and Product Design from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway.

Nils Wagner

CEO

REHAU New Venture

Switzerland

About Nils Wagner

Nils Wagner is the CEO of REHAU New Ventures, the independent innovation unit of the REHAU Group. He embodies a global, multicultural entrepreneurial personality. As the grandson of REHAU's founder, entrepreneurship runs in Wagner’s veins. He built upon this with a wide range of international experiences, having lived and worked across the globe in Switzerland, the United States, and China - a journey that has shaped him into a holistic thinker and innovator. Wagner's personal mission transcends merely preserving and growing the existing corporate; he is committed to actively developing corporate values and exploring new entrepreneurial horizons.

About REHAU New Ventures 

REHAU New Ventures is the REHAU Group’s independent innovation unit, focused on developing groundbreaking business models. Operating globally from the United States to Germany and China, the team develops innovative, market-driven solutions for challenges across REHAU’s wide range of subgroups, including the automotive, construction, interior and industrials sectors, using a rigorous innovation process.

Sarah Ranchev-Hale

Head

Imperial Enterprise

UK

Sarah Ranchev-Hale leads Imperial College London’s Enterprise Lab, driving world-class entrepreneurship education and initiatives for students, alumni, early-career researchers, academics, and industry partners. Sarah is dedicated to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. Her expertise spans designing and driving impactful initiatives, building collaborative partnerships, and engaging a global network of stakeholders. Since 2016, the Enterprise Lab has grown to support over 2,500 unique participants annually across fifteen core programs and specialized training opportunities. The Lab has over 400 active startups that have collectively raised more than £600 million in investment and generated over 5,000 jobs. Driven by a mission to foster creativity and diversity, Sarah is committed to nurturing entrepreneurial talent and creating a vibrant ecosystem for transformative innovation.

Alexander Glätzle

Co-Founder & CEO

Planqc

Germany

Dr. Alexander Glätzle is CEO and co-founder of planqc, the company that is developing the first German quantum computer based on neutral atoms. As a quantum physicist with an entrepreneurial spirit, he brings quantum technology from research intopractice. After working as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and at the Center for Quantum Technologies in Singapore, where he researched ultracold atoms and quantum annealing, he moved to industry in 2018. At a leading consultancy, he developed strategies for the use of quantum computing and blockchain before taking the next step.Today, Glätzle is driving Europe's quantum revolution with planqc. The company secured a 50-million-euro investment, is developing a 1,000-qubit quantum computer for the Leibniz Supercomputing Center and is building quantum computing power for research and industry. His vision: quantum computers “Made in Europe” that solve real billion-dollar problems.

Daniel Kreter

Managing Director

Taxfix

Germany

Dr. Daniel Kreter is the COO and Managing Director of Taxfix, Europe’s leading financial platform for digital tax filing. With over 20 years of leadership experience, Daniel has driven innovation and scaled companies across various industries. Before joining Taxfix, he operated as COO at DaWanda, leading marketing, seller development, customer service, business intelligence, and finance. Prior to that, he founded and led Zalando’s in-house consulting unit, focusing on strategy development, process optimisation, and product management. Daniel started his career working at Norddeutsche Landesbank and Commerz Business Consulting, specialising in post-merger integration and strategic development.

Denis Barrier

Co-founder and CEO

Cathay Innovation

France

Denis Barrier, the is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Cathay Innovation, Cathay Capital's Venture Capital practice. Prior to Cathay, he was at Iris Capital where he managed the international activities of the Orange/Publicis fund. He has also been the Head of Corporate Venture at Orange Telecom, Managing Director at Innovacom, and has worked as an Officer at the French Treasury Department, in charge of all the Sovereign holdings in Aerospace, Defense, and Media companies. Denis has pioneered a unique way to invest in technology, leveraging the traditional playbook of venture capital investing, but also integrating the larger social evolutions at play, analyzing the competitive landscape at a fully global level, and integrating in the insights of numerous Fortune 500 companies committed in his ecosystem in the due diligence process. He believes that this fosters deeper relationships with entrepreneurs from the start and helps them lead faster and further on the global stage. Denis has a deep technical background and started as a Researcher in the laboratories of Orange Telecom, working on semiconductor quantum dots. He holds a Ph.D. in solid state Physics, is a graduate of Ecole Normale Supérieure, and is an engineer of Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications.

Laura Moritz

Country Director

Global Women Tech

Germany

Laura Moritz is a seasoned Data & AI expert with over 10 years of experience leading digital transformation projects. She currently works at Globant, driving AI-powered solutions for enterprise clients. Passionate about diversity in tech, she serves as Country Director Germany for Global Women TechLeaders, advocating for more women in leadership roles.

Beyond her corporate role, Laura actively mentors early-stage startups, supporting market access and success through institutions like BIH at Charité Berlin and K.I.E.Z. (Artificial Intelligence Entrepreneurship Center). As a speaker and panelist, she shares insights on Female Empowerment in Tech and how enterprises can use AI to strengthen their business.

Roy Hefer

Chief Financial Officer

TravelPerk

Spain

Roy Hefer is the Chief Financial Officer of TravelPerk, one of the fastest growing European unicorns, building the #1 travel platform for SMBs. Prior to TravelPerk, he spent a decade scaling hyper-growth tech companies and helped raise over $1.2b in private and public financing including through two IPOs (NYSE: HIPO, NASDAQ: LMNS). He began his career with McKinsey & Company advising leadership teams of Fortune 500 companies. Roy believes that the role of the CFO has fundamentally changed from a scorekeeper to a trusted thought partner and is passionate about building world-class finance teams that help their companies win. 

Sinéad Fitzmaurice

CEO

TransferMate

Ireland

Sinéad Fitzmaurice is the first female CEO of an Irish tech unicorn. Being part of the leadership team of TransferMate since its inception, initially as CFO and now CEO, Sinéad has strategically structured the business to establish the largest and most secure cross-border payments network from the ground up.

Continuously diversifying the business, under Sinéad’s award-winning leadership, TransferMate has built a network of strategic partners globally across multiple verticals including Wells Fargo, ING, Coupa, SAP Concur, Harvard University and most recently Amazon.

Sinéad was the driving force behind TransferMate’s global regulatory license approval project across Europe, UK, Australasia, East and Southeast Asia, Canada and the USA, State by State. Today, her responsibilities include maintaining one of the industry's widest regulatory footprints while strategically driving TransferMate's global scale.

Patrick Huke

Partner & Head of

Porsche Ventures

Germany

Patrick joined Porsche Ventures in 2016. He is based in Frankfurt and is a Partner, leading the European investment team.

Since joining Porsche in 2012, Patrick has held numerous leadership roles across Porsche, where he directed the business development and partnering initiatives. His extensive involvement in the VC and startup ecosystem is highlighted by his previous work at Venture Capital firm Rocket Internet and his advisory and board positions in various VCs and technology companies.

Patrick holds a degree in Media & Communications Technology and Economics from University of Mannheim, University of Basel, and London School of Economics.

Costanza Carissimo

Investment Director

Cathay Innovation

France

Costanza Carissimo, Investment Director at Cathay Innovation

Costanza is leading Berlin’s office at Cathay Innovation, covering early-growth investments across DACH. Her portfolio includes Nelly, Resilience.care, Medwing, Xepelin, Firstvetand others. Prior to joining Cathay in San Francisco in 2017, she was at Cherry Ventures, an early-stage VC fund based in Berlin. Before finding her true calling as a VC, she was once a lab researcher in low energy astroparticle physics at the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich. Costanza holds a Master’s Degree in Physics from Imperial College London.

Ingo Kloeckner

Head of Portfolio Stra

Leaps by Bayer

Germany

Ingo Kloeckner is responsible for portfolio strategy and reporting in Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment unit of Bayer AG. Leaps is investing in early-stage companies that tackle fundamental breakthroughs and shift core paradigms in the Bayer industries. In the agricultural sector, these companies tackle fundamental breakthroughs to drive next-generation agriculture technologies that provide solutions to sustainably meet the demands of our growing population. Since 2015, Leaps by Bayer has invested over $1.7B in over 55 ventures working on disruptive innovations.

Ingo has more than 25 years of experience in Bayer, which started in the pharmaceutical division, including around six years in healthcare strategy, and he joined the Leaps team at the end of 2017. This allowed him to add to his passion for early-stage pharmaceutical treatment options to improve the lives of patients also his interest in the potential of new digital healthcare solutions as well as the significant impact of new agricultural technologies. In his role, Ingo is working to define the investment strategy of Leaps, but he also executes selected investments.

Julian David

CEO

TechUK

UK

Julian David is the CEO of techUK, the leading technology trade association that aims to realise the positive outcomes that digital technology can achieve for People, Society, the Economy and the Planet.

He leads techUK’s nearly 100 strong team representing over a thousand British based tech companies, comprising global and national champions and more than 600 SMEs and ScaleUP companies.  techUK is the voice of the tech industry in the UK with 21 member led programmes covering all of tech from ‘Chips to Clicks’ and addressing 11 market sectors from Defence and Central Government, through to Health, Consumer Electronics and Financial Services.

In 2021 techUK launched TechSkills, the employer-led accreditation organisation that aims to improve the flow of talent into the digital workforce and open up access for all to high value tech jobs.

Julian represents techUK on a number of external bodies including the Digital Economy Council, the National Cyber Security Advisory Council and the Department of Business and Trade’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group. He is member of the NTA Advisory Board of DIGITALEUROPE and is a member of the Board of the Health Innovation Network the South London Academic Health Science Network.  

Julian has over thirty years of experience in the technology industry. Prior to joining techUK, he had a series of leadership roles at IBM including Vice President for Small and Medium Business and Public Sector.  After leaving IBM he worked as a consultant helping tech SMEs establish successful operations in the U.K. His personal interests include Football (West Ham, Balham FC and Real Madrid) and Art.

Angie Gifford

Senior Advisor to COO & Supervisory Board Member

Meta

Germany

Angie Gifford serves as Senior Advisor to the COO at Meta. She previously held the position of Vice President for the EMEA region and, before that, Vice President for Central Europe at Meta, overseeing the business development for the platforms Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Reality Labs in countries across Europe, the Middle East, and the African continent. Prior to her time at Meta, Angie led Hewlett-Packard's (HP) software and digitization business in German-speaking countries as managing director until the end of 2018. She also spent over 20 years at Microsoft, holding various senior management positions both in Germany and internationally, including as a member of the German executive management team. In 2009, an independent organization honored Angie as “businesswoman of the year”. The leading German business publication “manager magazin” voted her one of the 100 most influential businesswomen. Angie also serves as a member of the board of the German-American non-profit association “Atlantik-Brücke” and is part of the corporate supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp. She formerly served on the supervisory boards of TUI, ProSiebenSat.1 and Rothschild

Ana Alvarez

Co-Founder & CEO

Migrapreneur

Germany

Multiple award winner entrepreneur and consultant with a strong background in social innovation and migration. Founder of award-winning organizations through Migration Hub®, and now Migrapreneur®. In the past 8 years, executed more than 14 projects across the EU, and is now recognized for transforming the narrative around migration in Germany. Speaker, lecturer and TV guest expert at global institutions and media. Mentor to incubators and accelerators including migrants, named as one of the EU Future Leaders and one of the 20 more influential people in EU Tech for the year 2023. Chair of multiple non-profits, and advisory board in different initiatives and conferences such as SXSW. Passionate about creating inclusive societies

Bartosz Skwarczek

Founder & President

G2A

Netherlands

An entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience, coach, mentor, and public speaker. The founder and President of the Supervisory Board G2A Capital Group, to which belongs G2A.COM - the largest and most dynamically developing global marketplace with vouchers for digital products such as games, gift cards, subscriptions, or software. The marketplace already has had over 35 million users from 180 countries around the world.

A winner of the Forbes magazine’s BrandMe CEO award given to the best CEOs in the country, as well as of the Digital Shaper Award, the Gold Medal of Polish Academy of Success, and the Manager of the Year title awarded by the government of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship where G2A.COM began its journey. He’s also a co-founder and member of many business organizations such as the International Leaders Forum, Google Next Gen CEO Club, Facebook Client Advisory Board, and the Polish Council of Global Businessmen. Speaker for business events such as The Economic Forum, Merchants Payment Ecosystem Conference in Berlin, MIT in Boston, or Gamescom in Cologne.

Graduate of the AGH University (University of Science) of Krakow and the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, as well as Executive Education programs on Harvard (Finance), MIT (IT, Blockchain, Platformization, Productivity), and Oxford (Fintech). He also actively participates in society – he initiated the creation of the działajmyrazem.pl platform for organizing aid for Ukraine, with several dozen companies joining in solidarity. He’s involved in the SaveTheChildren program and supports local orphanages. Privately, he loves animals and is a fan of tennis.

Benjamin Erhart

General Partner

UVC Partners

Germany

Benjamin Erhart is a General Partner at UVC Partners, where he focuses on robotics, IoT, mobility, and industrial software investments. With a passion for building category-leading companies, he has driven numerous successful exits, including Fazua to Porsche and Cumulocity to Software AG. His current portfolio includes notable investments in companies like TWAICE, DyeMansion, and planqc. Previously, as one of the first employees at High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), he helped build a portfolio of over 480 investments and served on their investment board.

Benoist Grossmann

CEO

Eurazeo

France

Benoist Grossmann is Senior Managing Partner Venture.
Before joining the Group, Benoist worked for several venture capital funds for over 10 years. He was a Partner at Viventures from 1998 to 2002 and worked as Investment Manager at La Financière de Brienne. He had previously spent over 10 years working in the industry as a laser systems specialist at EDF, NASA and Thomson-CSF Optronique, for whom he invented five patents and authored over twenty publications.
Since December 2019, Benoist has been President of France Digitale. At the same time, he is a director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of CNES. Benoist is also a member of Meta France’s advisory board, a director of Swile and Withings, and a member of BPI France’s Innovation Committee. He currently sits on the board of Ogury, and previously on the boards of Criteo, Dailymotion, Deezer and Meetic, France Invest, Frichti and Molotov.
Benoist Grossmann has a PhD in Physics from the Université de Paris VI and an MBA from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris.

Christian Teichmann

CEO

Burda Investments

Germany

David Nothacker

CEO & Founder

Sennder

Germany

David Nothacker is the co-founder and CEO of sennder, Europe’s leading digital road freight forwarder. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, sennder has 1,600 employees across 20+ European offices. To date, sennder has raised over $ 350m from leading investors

Elisabeth Gunner Schermer

Head of Maersk Growth

Maersk

Denmark

Elizabeth's entire career has been with Maersk. Here, she has gained experience spanning Customer Service, Ocean Products, Organizational Effectiveness, and now the Open Innovation space.

At Maersk Growth, Elizabeth leverages her knowledge of the organization to ensure the team provides the greatest value to both their organization and their external stakeholders. Here, her role is to help navigate the internal organization and critical strategic areas where external innovation can support the transformation of Maersk.

Eva Schramm

Head of Innovation

Elia Group

Belgium

Eva has extensive experience in the finance and energy sectors. She began her career at PwC in 2011 as a consultant specializing in Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory services.

In late 2014, she moved to 50Hertz Transmission GmbH as an Expert in Consolidation and Reporting, where she established an RPA Centre of Excellence during her role as a project manager for Digital Finance.

In May 2020, Eva became Innovation Manager for Elia Group a German and Belgian Transmission System Operator, designing innovation projects and services. Since May 2021, she has led the Tech Lab within the Innovation team, focusing on emerging disruptive technologies.

As of May 2024, Eva serves as the Head of Group Innovation at Elia Group, leading a team of more than 15 people focused on innovation in various domains such as High-voltage Offshore interconnection, Building the future grid infrastructure, System operations and stability, Digital Innovation and Cyber Security, Asset Management, Markets and Flexibility.

Her role aims to drive an affordable energy transition in Germany and Belgium, connected to Europe. This involves an open innovation approach, working closely with startups, peers, and academia.

Throughout her career, Eva has sharpened her expertise in areas including digitalization, innovation, and project management in the energy sector.

Dr. Elisabeth Schrey

Managing Director

DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF)

Germany

Dr. Elisabeth Schrey is one of the Managing Directors of the DeepTech & Climate Fund (DTCF), where she leads early growth investments in groundbreaking technologies with a focus on industrial applications, sustainability, and climate tech. Driven by intellectual curiosity and business acumen, she is committed to fostering Europe's next generation of technology leaders and bridging cutting-edge research with real-world impact.
Before joining DTCF in 2023, Elisabeth gained extensive experience in venture capital, specializing in industrial tech through key roles at Matterwave Ventures, btov Partners, and TechVision Fund. She has a background in Industrial Engineering and earned her PhD in Innovation Management at RWTH Aachen University, where she explored the intersection of technology, business, and industrial transformation.

Hannah Huber

SVP Technology / CTO

Flix

Germany

Dr. Hanna Huber, CTO of Flix Tech, is responsible for the Technology & Product division at Flix. She is an expert in technology strategy and the development and professionalization of tech organizations, with more than 20 years of professional experience. 

Before, she was Chief Information & Digital Officer of the Swiss Calida Group. Prior to that, Group Vice President Technology Strategy of the otto group. She also held various tech leadership positions at Zalando and was responsible for the operationalization of Zalando's technology strategy.

Hanna started her career in multimedia agencies during the new economy, studied Electronic Business at the University of Arts in Berlin, and earned her PhD in innovation diffusion processes at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Jager Mcconnell

CEO

Crunchbase

USA

As the CEO of Crunchbase, Jager leads the world's most comprehensive and trusted platform for startups, investors, and the people who want to connect with them. Crunchbase boasts over 80 million users and 3 million company profiles, solidifying its reputation as the go-to source in the innovation economy. With 20+ years of experience in building and scaling software and platforms for enterprises, Jager is deeply committed to empowering entrepreneurs and sales teams to thrive. Before Crunchbase, he served as the Vice President of Product for the Sales Cloud at Salesforce, leading a product team that spearheaded the core Salesforce automation product line. He is also an active angel investor and advisor to several early-stage startup

Justin Grooms

CEO

Bolt

USA

Justin Grooms is the CEO of Bolt, a leading checkout technology company. Bolt ignites retailers’ brands by unlocking access to a universal shopper network of 80 million shoppers—enabling merchants to offer a seamless shopping experience to customers at every touchpoint in their journey.

Since 2019, Justin has been powering growth for Bolt, originally as General Manager of Global Sales. Previously serving as Chief Revenue Officer of Leap Motion, Justin brings an extensive background in executive-level leadership roles and a history of scaling revenue for companies across a range of industries.

Justin is a graduate of UC San Diego and holds an MBA from UC Irvine.

Kerry Baldwin

Co-Founder, Managing Partner

IQ Capital

UK

Co-founder, Managing Partner IQ Capital - UK deeptech early-stage VC $1bn AUM investing from seed to - £30m from 4th. Chair, BVCA (2021/22). Chair of the Mansion House Pensions and Private Capital Expert Panel. Member of the Competitiveness Advisory Board for The City of London Corporation, Honorary Fellow in Entrepreneurship at Cambridge University, Independent IC member for British Patient Capital - Life Science, Co-invest programmes and Future Fund:Breakthrough. International advisor to Governments on VC and R&D ecosystems. Board of Governors, Plymouth University, Steering Committee for scale-ups Royal Academy of Engineering. Specialist in Regtech, Suptech, Cyber, complex big data, defence and security investments, GTM, competitive intelligence and mar-tech scale.

Mark Kleyner

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Dream VC

UK

Mark Kleyner is a venture capital expert, startup advisor, and ecosystem builder with deep experience in global and emerging markets. He has worked across four continents with leading investment firms, launching multiple VC initiatives, and training hundreds of investors through Dream VC’s industry-leading venture capital upskilling programs.

Prior to co-founding Dream VC, Mark worked at 7+ VC firms, developing investment strategies and guiding funds on entering new markets. He has helped launch three $10M+ fund vehicles, trained 600+ early-stage founders, and served as a mentor for Founder Institute, Seedstars, Village Capital, and other global accelerator programs. As a recognized advocate for and thought leader in corporate venturing, Mark has advised global corporations and institutional investors on CVC strategy, helping them navigate the complexities of investing in Africa and other emerging markets. His expertise spans corporate-startup partnerships, strategic venture investments, and innovation-driven growth.

Inside Dream VC, Mark serves as a senior lecturer across all training programs, leads company growth & B2B initiatives, and co-leads EDGE by Dream VC, supporting corporations in designing and scaling CVC strategies for emerging markets.

Mike Collett

Managing Partner

Promus Ventures

USA

Mike Collett is Founder and Managing Partner of Promus Ventures. Since its inception in 2012,
Promus Ventures invests in DeepTech early-stage startups, with offices in Chicago, San
Francisco and Luxembourg. Mike has been a venture capital investor for over 20 years. Mike
has invested in over 100 startups, including Rocket Lab, AngelList, Whoop, Mapbox, ICEYE,
Bellabeat, FLYR, Kensho, Swift Navigation, Spire Global and others.
Prior to Promus Ventures, Mike was Founder and Managing Partner of Masters Capital
Nanotechnology Fund, a venture capital firm. While working at Masters Capital, a hedge fund,
Mike invested in software and hardware startups. Prior to venture capital, Mike was a Vice
President in Merrill Lynch’s Mergers & Acquisitions group.
Mike holds a BA in Math and BA in English from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a MBA in
Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.
Mike and his wife Paige have four children and live in Chicago.

Mikkel Sørensen

Managing Director

DTU Skylab

Denmark

Mikkel Sørensen is the founding director of DTU Skylab – the innovation hub of the Technical University of Denmark. Mikkel holds an Executive MBA from DTU, a master's degree in Modern Culture from the University of Copenhagen, as well as a master's degree from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen.
Over the past 10 years, Mikkel has led the establishment, development, and scaling of DTU Skylab from a small pilot initiative to its current stage as an award-winning and internationally leading innovation environment with approximately 60 employees and 60,000+ ft2 of innovation infrastructure. Each year, DTU Skylab supports over 300 startup projects from DTU's staff and students and engages in innovation collaborations with existing companies, along with educational activities.
Prior to his current role, Mikkel was the National Manager at Venture Cup Denmark. Mikkel is also partner in the hard-tech venture fund TechStation Invest, co-founder of Stormglas, and serves on several boards

Mohammed Sijelmassi

CTO

Sopra Steria

France

Mohammed Sijelmassi is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Sopra Steria Group, leading the implementation and development of the Group's technological expertise to serve the business needs of its clients. He has been a member of the Sopra Steria Executive Committee since 2018.
With degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, and from the IAE (Institute of Business Administration), he began his career in the oil sector before joining Sopra Steria in 1988. Over the years, he has held various leadership roles in program management and consulting, particularly in the aerospace and automotive industries.
His work in technology consulting for the aerospace sector led him to pioneer innovations in augmented factories, task automation, and predictive maintenance, with a strong focus on systems and human-machine interfaces.
As the CTO of Sopra Steria, Mohammed Sijelmassi has deep expertise in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. He is particularly interested in artificial intelligence as a tool for business process reengineering.
In his role, he oversees the entire technological expertise of Sopra Steria Group, defining the company's technology strategy to support clients' digital transformation projects. In coordination with Sopra Ventures, he is also responsible for identifying and evaluating emerging technologies to shape the future of the industry.

Olivier Martret

Partner

Serena

France

Hanna started her career in multimedia agencies during the new economy, studied Electronic Business at the University of Arts in Berlin, and earned her PhD in innovation diffusion processes at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Passionate about entrepreneurship, Olivier teaches the subject at EDHEC as a university lecturer and mentors young entrepreneurs through the SISTA network and beyond.

Before joining Serena, he played a key role in the creation of 50 Partners, a French accelerator backed by 50 prominent entrepreneurs from companies such as Blablacar, Leboncoin, Priceminister, Talentsoft, Showroomprivé, and Aramisauto. As one of its early team members, he helped develop and strengthen the accelerator program. Over four years, he built a strong portfolio that includes Brigad, Datadome, Evina, Wakeo, Processout, and Qopius.

Rachel Delacour​

Founder & CEO

Sweep

France

Sweep Co-Founder and CEO Rachel Delacour is an award-winning repeat entrepreneur with a background in finance. In 2009, she co-founded BIME Analytics, a pioneering business intelligence SaaS which was acquired by US customer service company Zendesk six years later. Rachel worked there as General Manager until she decided to use her talent to help clean up the climate mess with Sweep. A leading female figure in European tech, Rachel was elected Co-President of France Digitale in 2018 and her thought leadership has been featured in The Economist and The Wall Street Journal. An advocate for women in tech, she has backed several female-founded US and French startups.

Sacha Michaud

CEO & Founder

Glovo

Spain

Socheat Chhay

Managing Director

Sopra Steria Ventures

France

Socheat is the Managing Director for Sopra Steria Ventures, based in Paris. He has over two decades of experience across various industries, starting in trading functions, then as an operator of a financial service unicorn. He founded a cleantech startup, transitioned to tech as a senior digital corporate executive for a mission-driven public investment bank before turning to VC. He also spends time as a business angel, mentor for impact startups, and jury member for various top-tier accelerators. Socheat holds an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford, a Master in Finance from Paris II Assas, and a VC program diploma from Stanford University. Socheat still enjoys his mate from his Uruguayan days.

Tamara Steffens

Managing Director

Thompson Reuters Ventures

USA

Tamara is a business and sales leader with 20 years of experience driving growth and facilitating successful exits for early-stage consumer and enterprise start-ups. She has scaled teams, infrastructures, and products at six startups and managed field operations, engineering, and customer support divisions at multibillion-dollar organizations like Microsoft and Openwave. She is a master of complex, multi-party deals and has an uncanny ability to envision and successfully evangelize the potential of nascent technology.

Tamara currently leads the global investment team at Thomson Reuters Venture Fund, a $100M strategic fund with financial returns as the objective. She previously led investing and venture capital partnerships in North America and India for M12, Microsoft’s venture fund. She was the executive sponsor of the fund’s Female Founders Competition and sat on the board of 11 portfolio companies to provide guidance around sales, go-to-market, and talent acquisition strategies. Before joining M12, Tamara led business development for the broader Office 365 organization and was responsible for building Microsoft Outlook’s mobile strategy from the ground up, to more than 100M users in one year. In this role, she architected, negotiated, and closed one of the largest deals in Microsoft’s history: a multibillion-dollar partnership between Samsung, Google, and multiple telecom operators.

Tamara joined Microsoft through the company’s acquisition of email app Acompli, a sale she negotiated as the startup’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. Over the course of her career, Tamara has positioned and facilitated the sales of multiple other startups, including Path (a mobile-only social network, acquired by KakaoTalk), Fusion One (a mobile cloud backup solution, acquired by Synchronoss), and Color (live streaming technology, acquired by Apple). She also helped to facilitate the IPOs of Boingo (WiFi) and Software.com (email).

Tamara started her tech career at Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics at the time when major Telecoms were pioneering internet services for the first time. She has a B.S. in Finance from Michigan State University and sits on the Broad Business School Board for Michigan State, as well as the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Udayan Goyal

Managing Partner

Apis Partners

UK

Udayan has been a keen proponent of the fast-changing landscape of Financial Services in the transition
from an industrial era to the information age and now to the networked economy.
He fell into the intersection of Financial Services and technology well before the term FinTech was coined
and traversed the Growth Markets when they were called frontier markets.
His global experience began as the son of a diplomat living across multiple continents with his working life
commencing in traditional investment banking and transitioning through to investing and entrepreneurship.
Prior to co-founding Apis, Udayan co-founded and lead Anthemis Group, the first specialist global investor
in FinTech based in London where he made 32 investments including well-known names such as Simple,
Betterment and Trov. Prior to that he was Global Head of Financial Technology Advisory at Deutsche Bank.
Udayan lives in London, is married with two children, and enjoys trying out innovative spinning studios to
work off his passion for food and wine wherever his Apis travels take him.

Kelly Richdale

Venture Partner

Amadeus Capital Partners

Switzerland