Maria Birlem is the Co-Founder and CEO of Yuri, a startup that is developing a new kind of social media platform. Maria was previously a program manager at Airbus, where they worked for 11 years. Maria's educational career began at Aachen University of Applied Sciences - FH Aachen, where they studied Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik, Aeronautik und Astronautik. After graduation, they began their career as an engineer in the aerospace industry. Maria is one if the winners of the Female Founders Award 2025.