Katharina Gehra

CEO of Immutable Insight

Katharina Gehra is the CEO of blockchain company Immutable Insight. She is a member of the supervisory board of Fürstlich Castell'sche Bank and the Stuttgart Stock Exchange. She is an expert advisor on blockchain related topics for both the German government and the House of Parliament (Bundestag). Besides, she has been nominated several times as one of Germany's “Top 40 under 40” by Capital Magazine and as one of Germany's “Top 50 Most Influential Women in Tech” by Handelsblatt. Katharina is also a guest author for Handelsblatt, WirtschaftsWoche and Capital, and has her own podcast "Block52" with more than 200,000 listeners.

Katharina received a Master of Science in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She started her career at Boston Consulting Group and Commerzbank. Afterwards, she became CEO of Interritus Limited, a private equity firm based in London.

Philipp Schmid

Head Research and Business Development for Industry 4.0 & Machine Learning at CSEM

Philipp Schmid is Head Research and Business Development for Industry 4.0 & Machine Learning at CSEM. He holds an engineering degree in Microtechnology focused on Robotics and a MAS in Management, Technology and Economics from ETH Zürich. Before joining CSEM he worked in several industrial companies including Roche and spent one year as research fellow at the ICT Robotics group (CSIRO) in Australia. From his experience as Section Head, he gained a profound expertise in delivering advanced solutions in robotics and machine learning to industry. Now he manages the research, development and industrialization of new technologies. He is member of various expert committees such as SATW and Data Innovation Alliance, works as an innovation coach and is co-founder of the Digital Innovation Hub Raisehub.swiss for Robotics & Artificial Intelligence. In 2022, he was awarded “Digital Shaper” in the category Digital Manufacturers.

Andreas Schneider, PhD

Innovation and Business Development Director at Ypsomed Delivery Systems

Andreas Schneider, PhD, is the Innovation and Business Development Director at Ypsomed Delivery Systems. He leads the design and development of new products, services, and business models focussing on improving the self-management of chronic diseases. He specializes in the pharmaceutical industry and medical devices with an emphasis on drug delivery technologies, pharmaceutical development & manufacturing, and digital health. Andreas has published numerous articles on innovation management and drug-delivery and is an avid speaker on these subjects. He holds a Ph.D. in Innovation Management from ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Yulia Sandamirskaya, PhD

Head of Cognitive Computing in Life Sciences at ICLS/ZHAW

Yulia Sandamirskaya leads the research center “Cognitive Computing in Life Sciences” at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and is a part-time research scientist at Intel. She worked in the research field of neuromorphic computing and robotics since her Dr. rer.nat. at the Institute for Neural Computation at the Ruhr-University of Bochum in 2010. She led a research group "Neuromorphic Cognitive Robots" at the Institute of Neuroinformatics at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich and led the Applications research team of the Neuromorphic Computing Lab at Intel Labs. She currently works towards commercializing neuromorphic technology for more agile and safe robots.

Endri Dibra, PhD

Founder of Arbrea Labs

Endri Dibra, PhD, leads a team of top-tier experts in Visual Computing & AI, Healthcare Marketing, and Business Development at Arbrea Labs, a deep tech start-up in the healthcare sector. Previous to this, Endri worked for Disney Research, Vizrt Sports, and Compar in the areas of computer vision, robotics, and machine learning. He then moved on to pursue his PhD at the Computer Graphics Laboratory of ETH Zurich, Switzerland. His PhD, at the intersection between Visual Computing and Artificial Intelligence and focused on Reconstructing Digital Human Avatars from Monocular Imagery, led him to co-found Arbrea Labs, a spin-off from ETH Zurich. Born and raised in Durres, Albania, he earned his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Bremen, Germany, and then moved to Zurich. He’s on a mission to revolutionize the healthcare industry by making the Medical Metaverse the meeting point between patients and doctors.

David Balsar

General Manager of Innovation and Ventures at Mekorot

David Balsar is the General Manager of Innovation and Ventures at Mekorot, Israel’s national water company. In the past four years, David has been leading Mekorot’s investment portfolio and innovation strategy. In addition, he is responsible for the company’s R&D activities in water, wastewater and energy. With a strong entrepreneurial experience and corporate background, David focuses on identifying and marrying relevant technologies and business models with industry needs. David is a lawyer and economist with an MBA from INSEAD and a MA in Philosophy from Tel Aviv University. He lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Sandhya Sriram, PhD

Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman of Shiok Meats Pte. Ltd

Sandhya Sriram, PhD, is a food industry pioneer: She’s the Group CEO, Chairman and Co-founder of the first cell-based seafood & meat company in Southeast Asia and the first cell-based Crustacean company globally, Shiok Meats Pte. Ltd., Singapore. A stem cell biologist and scientist by training and education, a former business development professional, a serial entrepreneur, and a thought leader, Sandhya was recently named as part of the 2021 class of Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts and as one of Forbes Women in Tech. She is also an advisor and investor to trailblazing Food Tech start-ups and has spoken at leading industry conferences worldwide. Sandhya’s expertise in working with muscle, adipose, cells, and stem cells spans over 10 years. After graduating with a PhD from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Sandhya pursued her postdoctoral work at A*STAR in Singapore. Following four years of postdoctoral work, she took up business development at a research institute. She’s also a conscious lifestyle blogger and proud mum.

Erik Kuntze, MD

Cardiothoracic surgeon

Erik Kuntze, MD, is a cardiothoracic surgeon with 20 years of surgical and 35 years of clinical research experience in the area of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The last 15 years, until retirement, worked as global medical director for Pfizer, Ethicon and Baxter focusing on user experience and patient outcomes. Currently, he is an authorized clinical reviewer for notified bodies according to the European Medical Device Regulation RE (EU) 2017/745. His main interest is clinical validation and verification of safety and performance of innovative technologies in the area of medical devices and pharmaceuticals in his area of specialization. He has a deep understanding of the need for patients' clinical benefit in accordance with the “state of the art”.

Yash Shrestha, PhD

Assistant Professor and Group Head of Applied AI Lab at the Department of Information Systems within the Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC) of University of Lausanne

Yash Shrestha, PhD, is an Assistant Professor and Group Head of Applied AI Lab at the Department of Information Systems within the Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC) of University of Lausanne. At ETH Zurich, he is Academic Director of the Strategy and AI Laboratory (SAIL). His research program identifies solutions and frameworks for dealing with organizational and technical hurdles business organizations face when adopting AI-based systems. He obtained a PhD degree from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Saarland University, Germany. Prior to starting his PhD, he was a Research Associate at the Cluster of Excellence (MMCI, Germany), which comprises of Saarland University, the Max Planck Institute of Informatics (MPII, Germany), the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI, Germany), and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS).

Gregory Hitz, PhD

Co-founder and CEO of Sevensense Robotics

Gregory Hitz is Co-founder and CEO of Sevensense Robotics, which develops computer vision and AI solutions for the next generation of mobile robots. The company enables robot manufacturers in the logistics, material handling, and industrial floor cleaning industries to use advanced intelligence and AI capabilities to deliver more efficient and versatile machines to the market.

Previously, Gregory was a Post-Doctoral research fellow at the Autonomous Systems Lab of ETH Zurich, where he led multiple research projects and industry collaborations, focusing on the use of robotics, AI and computer vision technologies for applications in the fields of environmental monitoring, aerial mapping and self-driving cars. Gregory holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a PhD in Robotics from ETH Zurich.

Tyson Soutter

Director Global Business Development at Clockworks Analytics

Tyson Soutter is the Director Global Business Development for Clockworks Analytics. Tyson is an IoT and Built Environment Expert, he has worked in the Built Environment for 15+ years covering the full building life cycle of Design, Development and Operations. Tyson’s vast experience has included Automation Technician, Smart Building Integrations, Digital Twins, BIM, Data Analytics, Fault Detection Diagnostics, Demand Response, Smart Grid, Energy Performance Contracting.

Tyson focused much of this work in Australia and North America, his first role based in Europe was with Siemens as Global Manager Digitalization in Zug , Switzerland. Tyson has been heavily involved with systems integration, data modeling and semantic tagging, designing, and implementing Digital Twins, digital frameworks and selling smart building solutions. Tyson is now based in Milan, Italy, working with Clockworks Analytics. Clockworks Analytics was founded in 2008 within MIT’s Building Science Department. Clockworks significantly enhances operations and improves building performance.

Alexander Stumpfegger

Head of Consulting at CID

Alexander Stumpfegger is Head of Consulting at CID, a technology firm and innovator focused on Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Knowledge Management.

In his almost 20 years with CID, Alexander has developed proprietary technological solutions for web crawling, natural language processing, trend detection, and semantic graphs to support efficient information exploration, signals detection, and insights generation to benefit clients in the automotive, insurance, financial services, healthcare, and professional services industries. His background combines technological expertise with business-oriented approaches to Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics.

In 2008, he co-founded CID’s consulting practice embedded into the enterprise software solutions company to support global enterprises establish innovative, AI-driven business models, provide next generation customer experience, and unlock data potential to better leverage market insight, increase risk awareness, and identify business opportunities.

Juergen Eck, PhD

Entrepreneur, Biotechnology Pioneer, and Inventor

Juergen Eck is an entrepreneur, biotechnology pioneer, and inventor holding over 50 patents and patent applications. He is co-founder and former CEO of BRAIN AG, a leading European industrial biotech company specializing in enzymes, performance microorganisms, and bioactive natural compounds for food, feed, cosmetics and industrial applications.

Juergen holds many notable board memberships, including with BIO Deutschland (Association of the Biotechnology Industry Germany), DECHEMA (Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology e.V.), and as a member of the Board of Trustees of MPI (Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology). In 2009 to 2018 he was appointed to the Senate Commission of the German Research Foundation and the European SusChem Core Group. He was awarded "German Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2017.

For over 30 years Juergen has worked as an inventor and technology innovator. Having co-founded BRAIN AG in 1993, he initially established and served as Head of Research & Development, laying the foundation for the success of the company's proprietary technology platform for enzyme discovery, microbial producer strain optimization, and BioActive natural compound discovery and development. Juergen was appointed Chief Technology Officer in 2000 and CEO in 2015, enabling further growth of the BRAIN Group including expanded pipelines of novel biological, enzyme-based, and performance microorganisms products; various spin-offs and acquisitions, and a successful IPO of BRAIN AG at the Frankfurt stock exchange in 2016.

Juergen actively represents industrial biotechnology innovations around the world. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry with focus on molecular biology and biotechnology from Darmstadt Technical University in Germany.

James Khedari

Commercial Director at Green Water and Power

James Khedari is a highly experienced energy industry professional. He brings a unique viewpoint to the clean energy sector, one which is focused on understanding the underlying economics of decarbonization and strong knowledge of emerging biofuels regulations, waste to energy technologies, and co-processing economics. 

James has spent 13 years with Vitol, the worlds' leading energy trading house. His career has spanned across physical energy markets, trading desks as well as the new and emerging carbon and environmental products markets. James has deep experience in the refining sector as well as the trading, manufacturing and development of traditional fossil fuels, and innovative low carbon fuels. After being a Low Carbon Fuels Portfolio Developer at Viva Energy Australia, he moved on to become a Commercial Director at Green Water and Power.

Matthias Erb, PhD

Founder of Boum AG and Professor of Plant Science at the University of Bern

Matthias Erb is a Professor in Plant Science at the University of Bern and an entrepreneur. His research led to the discovery of new functions and effects of bioactive plant metabolites in crop production, biological control and microbiome modulation. He received numerous awards for his work, including the Prix Nexans. He published over 120 papers, submitted several patents, and ranks among the most highly cited researchers in his field .

Matthias is the founder of Boum AG, a bio-tech spin-off that fosters the sustainable transition of urban areas through the combination of IoT and data-driven services with modern plant biology. He is also a co-director of the Institute of Plant Sciences and the director of the Interfaculty Research Collaboration (IRC) One Health at the University of Bern.

He studied agricultural engineering and sustainable agriculture at ETH Zürich and Imperial College London. He then specialized in chemical ecology as a PhD student at the University of Neuchâtel and an independent research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany. 

Nadia Khan, MD

Head of Moyamoya Center at University Children’s Hospital Zurich

Nadia Khan is a practicing neurosurgeon and Professor at the University of Zurich. She specialized in cerebral revascularization-bypass techniques in Zurich and abroad and has spent over 25 years managing children and adults with cerebrovascular diseases, one of them mainly being “moyamoya angiopathy”. Her passion in this field has led her to be a pioneer in stroke prevention and all-round clinical care of these patients. She established two highly specialized and internationally recognized centers of care, one at Zurich children’s hospital and the other one for adults at the university clinics in Tübingen. Ongoing research topics of interest include raising awareness in child- and adulthood stroke along with understanding the pathophysiology of this angiopathy. She continues to be a mentor in microsurgical education and teaches courses throughout Europe, USA, and Asia.

Tristan Salomon

Founder and CEO of Axom

Tristan is a Machine Learning, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence expert. He’s the founder and CEO of Axom, a company that helps customers integrate machine learning into their processes with a special focus on visual inspection and traceability for the healthcare market. He started his entrepreneurial career with a food startup, built the Swiss subsidiary of a later sold consulting company and has founded an IT consulting company that is still successfully running. He holds a Masters in IT and Entrepreneurship from Central Supelec Paris, France. He’s based in Basel, Switzerland.

Agnes Petit, PhD

CEO and founder of Mobbot

CEO of Mobbot , Phd Material Science, Cosmochemistry

Agnes is Founder and CEO of Mobbot a startup offering 3D concrete printing solutions.

Before this endeavor, she was Director of Business Development & Innovation and member of the Management team of a precast and construction sector company. There, she founded and led a 3D concrete printing project for two years. She follows the 3D printing advances since 2011. Agnes started her industrial career as a consultant for the Product Innovation and Commercial services of Holcim Group Support Ltd, where she supported the Innovation and Product Portfolio strategy worldwide.

Previously she worked as a scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich and the Natural History Museum of London where she worked on the formation of the solar system and planets.

Agnes holds a PhD in Sciences with focus on Cosmochemistry and space science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich and a master in Geology Engineering with focus on mining from the University of Lausanne.

Agnes has always been interested in new technologies and startup world. Now she wants to bridge her two passions which are 3D printing and Space Science.

She spends her free time with her two kids and husband and has a private pilote Licence and flies on single-engine land aircrafts.

André Hugentobler

Global Innovation Director at Trinseo

André Hugentobler is the Global Innovation Director for Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, and Elastomers (CASE) at Trinseo, responsible for developing and implementing the division’s innovation strategy worldwide. He brings to the table over sixteen years of experience in commercial and technological-facing roles with expertise in advanced materials.

André began his career with the Dow Chemical Company working across the EMEA and DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) regions, as well as Australia and New Zealand. In 2010 he became Market Development Manager for Asia Pacific with the Dow Chemical spin-off Styron, later rebranded Trinseo. He subsequently went on to assume Global Commercial Manager and Global Technical and Business Development Leader roles, with focus on commercial applications of advanced materials including glass fiber, adhesives and sealants, and functional nonwovens. His own product expertise is in water-based polymers, nanomaterials, and synthetic rubber.

André holds a Masters of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and an Executive MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.

Tilo Huehn, PhD

Professor at the Zurich University for Applied Sciences

Tilo Hühn is a food architect, and professor at the Zurich University for Applied Sciences in Waedenswil, Switzerland, where he heads the Center for Food Composition and Process Design. He holds degrees in biology, Viticulture and Oenology, as well as in Organizational Psychology and Digital Business. His research focuses on regenerative process engineering, analytical science and technology of aroma components, bioactive substances and value-determining ingredients. Together with his team and in collaboration with other stakeholders, he creates, varies, expands, and reproduces the information pathways to explore functional solutions for the food world. In cooperation with industrial partners, he built new solutions for the extraction of additional nutrients from grapes, apples, oranges, olives, tomatoes, spices, herbs, coffee, insects, nuts, cocoa and plant-cell cultures. 

HonMun Yip

Climate investor

HonMun Yip is a climate investor and food- and biotechnology expert. He was the Executive Vice President of TurtleTree, a biotech company based in Singapore and California that uses cell-based technology to create sustainable food and dairy. Prior to this, he held C-level positions at listed companies in Korea, Thailand, and a Government-to-Government JV in China. He combines the extensive experience from three decades in running multinationals and managing family-owned companies in the Alternative Protein, Bio-Tech, Telecom and Food Tech space. He has devoted half of this time to working with Temasek Holdings’ portfolio of companies in Merger & Acquisition Integration.He started his career at international technology companies such as Microsoft, Motorola and Nokia. He is a Fellow as well as Senior Advisor for Impact Investment at Leap201, a philanthropic organization working to alleviate poverty in rural Southeast Asia. HonMun is involved in several Alternative Protein and Clean Tech funds including Big Ideas Venture, SOSV/China Accelerator Fund, Unreasonable Group and Good Protein Fund. As an investor in early- and late-stage start-ups, he focuses on the environmental, sustainability and food security sectors. Yip holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University in Indiana, USA.

Tristan Hocke, PhD

Co-Founder of HoGroTec

Tristan is a 3D Printing and Advanced Materials expert. He’s an academic, but also an entrepreneur at heart. Growing up in a family business specializing in metal processing, he set to co-found his own company HoGroTec after finishing his PhD at Leibniz Universität Hannover. HoGroTec offers 3D Printing-as-a-Service that facilitates the onsite-processing of plastic pellets used for components and small series. A novel technology with a patent pending enables the high precision and speedy production of plastic parts based on pellets. The company also offers 3D printing services via their own online platform. Tristan holds a bachelor in general engineering science and a masters degree in product development, materials and production from Technische Universität Hamburg. He works and lives in Hamburg, Germany.

Tommaso Bonanata

Head of Investment Management at Base 58 Capital

Tommaso is the Head of Investment Management at Base58 Capital, a technology-driven investment firm specialized in crypto assets. He is a former fund manager at Julius Baer and GAM Investment Management, focusing on emerging and frontier market equities. In 2013, Tommaso discovered Bitcoin and has been an advocate since. He developed a passion for decentralized systems that eventually led him to move full-time into the space during 2016.

Over the last 10 years, the crypto asset space has progressed phenomenally fast, and he believes that in the next 10 years, decentralized systems can have the same impact on money, finance and the next generation of digital applications that the internet had on communication and the sharing of information.

Tommaso holds a degree in International Business Studies from the European Business School, London. 

Joscha Krieglsteiner

Co-Founder of Gudemo

Joscha is a 3D Printing and Advanced Materials expert. A mechanical engineer by training, he’s a co-founder of Gudemo, a 3D printing-as-a-service company that he launched after dedicating eight years to academic research and science. Gudemo rents out 3D printers including a proprietary process planning software solution that enables the onsite-printing of plastic parts. These are required for the manufacturing of product prototypes and of technical tools for production and medical application. The company utilizes a novel technology with a patent pending that drastically reduces process times. Before founding his company, Joscha did research on the development of lightweight components at TU Braunschweig’s Institute of Aircraft Design and Lightweight Structures. Previous to this, he worked as an engineer for conveying technology at Fraport AG Frankfurt. He is doing his doctorate on the topic of optimization algorithms in the development of lightweight composite structures. He lives and works in Hamburg, Germany.

Andres Gujan

Co-Founder of Carnot Capital

Andres Gujan is the co-founder of Carnot Capital, an asset management company specialized in the energy transition and the circular economy. Carnot Capital is seen as a pioneer in impact investing in the listed equity space since it launched the Carnot Efficient Energy fund in 2007. Andres is focused on technologies in the field of renewable energies, smart buildings, power storage, future mobility and industry 4.0.

Previously, Andres was an analyst for engineering, real estate, and electricity companies at Valartis Bank. He was responsible for the investment portfolio of Valartis Bank, worked as a consultant for institutional clients, and was involved in the issuing of derivative investment products. Prior to that, he held leading positions in financial analysis at Bank Vontobel and at Kepler Equities, where he was a responsible analyst for the first share placement of BKW FMB Energy. He started his career at UBS.

Andres is a graduate of the University of St. Gallen (lic.rer.publ.HSG) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Lars Jaeger, Phd

Swiss-German Entrepreneur, Scientist, Writer, Financial Theorist, Alternative Investment Manager

Lars Jaeger is a Swiss-German entrepreneur, scientist, writer, financial theorist, alternative investment manager. He is the author of numerous books on subjects of science and technology as well on hedge funds and a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

His writing focuses on two areas: finance and science. In his scientific writing, Lars' focus is on the history of science, the interplay of science and spiritual traditions, how science shaped and continues to shape our modern society, quantum technologies, and how the ongoing technological revolution unfolds itself. He writes a bi-weekly blog on scilogs.de and larsjaeger.ch. In finance, he has been an influential voice in the hedge fund industry fostering developments towards more transparency, liquidity, and cost efficiency.

Lars is currently Head of Alternative Risk Premia at GAM. Before that he was the founder and CEO of Alternative Beta Partners in Zug, Switzerland, that targets the extraction of alternative beta as a cost-efficient way of accessing hedge return sources.

He studied physics and philosophy at the University of Bonn in Germany and Ecole Polytechnique, in Paris and holds a doctorate degree in theoretical physics from the Max- Planck Institute for Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden. Lars has taught at several universities over the years (European Business School, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, ETH Zurich, Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, etc.)

For more information on Lars, see www.larsjaeger.ch .

Johannes Meuer, PhD

Associate Professor of Sustainability Strategy and Operations at Kühne Logistics University (KLU) and Director of KLU’s Center for Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chains

Johannes Meuer is Associate Professor of Sustainability Strategy and Operations at Kühne Logistics University (KLU) and Director of KLU’s Center for Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chains. Johannes also serves as the President of GRONEN (Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment), a prestigious scientific association dealing with various dimensions of management and the natural environment. Before joining KLU, he worked at ETH Zurich where he received his habilitation in 2021, and previously at the University of Zurich. 

He holds a PhD from RSM Erasmus University, and an MSc in International Economics from Corvinus University Budapest. Johannes works at the intersection of corporate sustainability, strategic management, and technological innovation focusing on how firms may effectively integrate sustainability into their strategy and business operations. Complementing his research, Johannes develops innovative skill-building programs for executive and post-graduate training in the field of Sustainable Management and Operations.

Simone Schürle, PhD

Assistant Professor at ETH

Assistant Professor at ETHZ, Member of Global Future Council at WEF, Co-founder of MagnebotiX.

Simone Schürle is Assistant Professor for Responsive Biomedical Systems at ETH Zurich and is researching in the field of biomedical micro-and nanoengineering.

During her studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with specialization in micro/nanosystems, she researched at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, about automated drug infusion and control, and at the University of Kyoto, Japan, in the field of carbon nanotube based nanosensors.

She then joined the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) where she focused on magnetic manipulation techniques for biomedical applications. She was awarded with the ETH medal for her doctoral thesis and with fellowships from the SNSF, DAAD and the Society in Science for her postdoctoral studies at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was researching as postdoctoral fellow from 2014-2017.

She is serving as Global Future Council on the Future of Human Enhancement for the World Economic Forum. She is also co-founder of MagnebotiX, a young spin-off from ETHZ.

Joern Hoppmann, PhD

Full Professor and Head of the Management Research Group at the University of Oldenburg

Joern Hoppmann is Full Professor and the Head of the Management Research Group at the University of Oldenburg. He holds a PhD in Management from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) as well as a diploma (eq. to MSc) in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering from the Braunschweig University of Technology (Germany). Prior to and during his time in Zurich, he held positions as research fellow and associate at Harvard University (Cambridge, USA), and as visiting researcher at the University of Hamburg (Germany), IMD Business School (Lausanne, Switzerland), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA). Joern’s research centers on questions at the intersection of strategic management, sustainability, and innovation, specifically focusing on the energy, mobility, and IT sectors.

John Orthwein

Head of Blockchain and Decentralized Finance at i.AM Innovation Lab

John is the Head of Blockchain and Decentralized Finance at i.AM Innovation Lab. He is the MakerDAO Ambassador for Switzerland, a systems auditor for the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA), a founding member of MAMA, Multichain Asset Managers Association, and the former Head of Risk Engineering for the Melon (now Enzyme) Protocol. 

He worked for over 10 years in the investment management industry with liquid alternatives at LGT Capital Partners, and before that, as an analyst at Man Investments. Previously, John was a software engineer developing distributed, high- availability enterprise systems for pension funds and companies such as SUN Microsystems, PIMCO, State Street, Allianz, and Lufthansa Systems. He studied economics, statistics, and languages, and holds MA and BA degrees in economics from Miami University. 

John continues to be active at the intersection of blockchain and asset management, contributing, consulting, and auditing the code and smart contracts that help make open, decentralized finance a reality.

Sebastian Guenther

Innovation Consultant and Business Strategist at Accenture

Sebastian Guenther is an innovation consultant and business strategist at Accenture, who leads the Innovation & Design Unit in Switzerland and heads Accenture Ventures in the DACH region. His more than 10 years expertise is in identifying, developing and implementing new business models, products and services, and technologies, with particular focus on big data. In his role at Accenture, he has helped clients to establish multiple digital businesses and led them to success.

Sebastian also has broad knowledge and is engaged in the European fintech and startup ecosystems and emerging financial services landscape, i.e. as one of the co-founders of the Swiss FinTech Award program. He is a strong proponent of open innovation, collaboration, and creativity as a source of value creation. Previously, Sebastian was Strategic Product Manager at IBM where he developed 360° go-to-market strategies for their hardware and software business and supporting the business pipeline for analytics solutions.

He holds a BA in Business Informatics from Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg and the Open University London.

David Orban

Founder and Managing Partner of Network Society Ventures

David is the Founder and Managing Partner of Network Society Ventures, an early stage global investment firm focused on innovative startups.

He is an investor, entrepreneur, author, blogger, keynote speaker and thought leader of the global technology landscape. An early adopter of blockchain technologies and an active Bitcoin investor, David led the adoption of Bitcoin and blockchain in start-ups and is an advisor and investor in numerous blockchain companies and funds.

David is the Founder and a Trustee of Network Society Research (a global think tank), the Founder and Chairman of Network Society Lab (a Venture Development firm focusing on innovative startups), a Faculty Member of and Advisor to the Singularity University (CA, USA), and an Adjunct Professor at LUISS Business School in Rome (Italy).

He is also a mentor for the Thiel Fellowship, a Scientific Advisory Board Member for the Lifeboat Foundation, a Founder of the Open Government Data working group, an Advisor to the Institute of Ethics and Emergent Technologies and numerous startups in Europe and North America as well as an Advisor to Humanity+, an organization dedicated to promoting understanding and participation in the field of innovations that benefit the human condition.

David is the author of two books: "Someting New" and "Network Society"

Lukas Schleuniger

Co-Founder of Red or Blue Labs

Born in Switzerland and raised in Palo Alto, CA, Lukas co-founded Red or Blue Labs and is a recognized expert in Augmented and Virtual Reality. At Red or Blue Labs, the company and team push boundaries for uses of Virtual and Augmented Reality and its combined use with Rapid Prototyping, Internet of Things, 3D Printing and other new integrated technologies. Red or Blue Labs seeks practical applications for all their platforms and technologies, and has for example developed advanced virtual reality applications intended to dramatically improve the quality of life for the elderly.

Previously, Lukas was involved with Dacuda, a Swiss-based computer vision startup that the team sold to MagicLeap. The experience of building the company and transacting value fueled a passion to do it all again.

Lukas is a well-known moderator at conferences and large events in Switzerland and abroad and is an outspoken advocat for entrepreneurship, technology and the transformative effects thereof.

Lukas holds a degree in Finance from the University of Zurich.

Laurenz Apiarius

Founder and Managing Partner of Blockwall

Laurenz Apiarius is Founder and Managing Partner of Blockwall, the first regulatory and legally compliant German crypto asset fund on investments in Distributed Ledger/Blockchain technologies offering Institutional Investors, Family Offices and the UHNW community access to this asset class.

In this function, he also advises the OECD as an industry expert on policy making for crypto assets and blockchain technology. 

Laurenz is also non-executive director in two family businesses in high-performance polymer production and a manufacturing of rheological testing devices and is both an active and passive investor in various PE and VC investments.

He is a graduate of EBS University in Germany, University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, and University of St. Andrews in Scotland where he is a member of the EO.

For more information about Blockwall, please see www.blockwall.capital .

Daniel Gasteiger

Entrepreneur

Daniel is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of practical managing director level banking experience at Credit Suisse and UBS covering various disciplines in Investment Banking and Corporate Center (trading, sales, product-, project-, programme- and general management/strategic advisory) both out of Zurich and London HQs. He is also a Board Member of Global Blockchain Council.

In 2015, he co-founded nexussquared, Switzerland's first dedicated blockchain business and start-up platform which runs regular events targeting corporate executives, blockchain start-ups and students interested in the opportunities that come with blockchain technology.

In 2016, he also founded Procivis AG, an "e-governement-as-a-service" start-up leveraging smart phone and blockchain technology to deliver citizen centric services based on government-approved digital identities.

Dr. Ralf C. Schläpfer

CEO of TUBIS Group AG

Ralf is CEO of TUBIS Group AG, member of different boards and President of Schluein. As former Big 4 Managing Partner and Strategic / Digital Growth Specialist he is expert in guiding the delivery of complex business transformations for global expanding companies to drive growth.

Key strengths include: leveraging deep expertise in advising global organisations on business transformations and end-to-end M&A transactions to increase revenue; identifying and delivering opportunities for cross-functional digital growth including IoT, AI and DSN to futureproof the business; utilising extensive entrepreneurial experience of both growing and establishing new businesses to open additional paths to growth; and nurturing collaborative stakeholder relationships up to board level to clearly communicate the business vision and win buy-in to the change agenda. He published extensively on IoT and is a regular speaker on the topic.

Ralf holds an MBA from INSEAD, a Ph.D. in Law from University Zurich, a Swiss Bar Exam and is Member of the Zurich Bar Association. He lives with his wife and two children in the Swiss mountains.