Heba Aguib, Chief Executive RESPOND, joined the BMW Foundation in July 2019 aiming to drive change by strengthening the link between Tech4Good and investors –towards advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She has been a member of the Foundation’s global Responsible Leaders Network since 2017.
Heba played a major role in establishing the Aswan Heart Research Centre in Egypt, as Head of its Biomedical Engineering and Innovation Laboratory and Honorary Fellow at Imperial College London. In 2011, she helped setting up the first satellite campus of a German public university in MENA and Africa as Deputy Managing Director at TU Berlin.
Heba studied Mechanical Engineering and received a doctoral degree in Micro Technology and Medical Device Technology, both at TU München in Germany.

Dr.Eng. Michael Gerd Ardelt is currently COO of Forto, Europe’s first digital freight forwarding company, building a digital backbone for the multi-trillion global trade market. The company offers platform integrated services to business customers for shipping and managing freight via sea, air and rail. Currently the company serves more than 2500 clients with a staff of 300 people in 8 different offices across Asia and Europe. Forto has successfully raised > $50M from Maersk, Northzone and Global Founders Capital. Prior to joining Forto, Michael founded TheAmazeApp GmbH, an app for fashion trends, style and mobile commerce. In 2016 Zalando acquired TheAmazeApp and Michael subsequently worked for Zalando. He previously worked in consulting at Boston Consulting and holds a Doctor of Engineering in electrical engineering and information technology from TU Munich, alongside studying at University of Technology, Sydney.

Jasmin studied management and technology with a focus on IT and entrepreneurship. She always wanted to start her own business. After an exchange in Barcelona, she became interested in the topic of personal development and mindfulness. She participated in the Manage and More scholarship and gained more knowledge in the start-up environment.
At the beginning of 2020, she started her own podcast “EVOLVE” on the topic of mindfulness & entrepreneurship and became self-employed with it.
In cooperation with the TUM Entrepreneurial Masterclass and the Design Education Lab at Stanford, she wrote her master thesis on “The Effect of Mindfulness on Founders of Early-Stage Start-Up Teams” with great support from Professor Sheri Sheppard. She has recently founded her first company and is also Managing Director.

Mehemed Bougsea is Co-founder and CEO of Think-it, an engineering collective of Tunis’ and Berlin’s strongest technologists in Cloud and AI. With a focus on intelligent infrastructure, data-driven innovation and a passion for sustainability, Think-it’s solutions help innovative teams around the world lower costs, democratize data and scale performance.

Previously Mehemed has worked as a strategy consultant at Kompetus Management Consulting as well as for the German, Tunisian, and Libyan governments. He also built the country office of Kiron Open Higher Education in Turkey, a blended learning educational platform connecting more than 2000 students and graduates in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. He holds an MPA in Development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York City and a B.Sc. in International Business from Technical University of Cologne. He is a fellow of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School.

Caleb is excited to meet, listen to, and work with the best and brightest founders from around the globe. He thrives in learning new ideas and loves stories that merge innovation with products that surprise and delight. He has a PhD from Stanford in Materials Science focused on semiconductors for renewable energy, during which he divided his time between research at Stanford and at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. Before Stanford, Caleb spent time in Kolkata, India leading product design for a startup developing affordable air purifiers. 

He completed his BS at UC Berkeley with Highest Honors in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, during which he co-founded UC Berkeley’s Hyperloop team and took time off to work in product design at Apple.

Dr. Dominik Böhler is Head of Entrepreneurship & Tech Education at UnternehmerTUM. He is responsible for the entrepreneurial and technology-oriented teaching activities for students. 

Focal fields are personality development, design thinking, technology development, and business modeling. Dominik and his team put emphasis on developing new methods in teaching and delivering prototypes in a flipped classroom setting. 

He received a diploma in business administration and a PhD in information systems from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU).

Francesca has been listed in the Top 50 Women in Tech by the Forbes Magazine, and in the World’s top 20 most influential people in digital government by Apolitical. She has also been featured in the Italian Magazine Repubblica “D”, amongst the 100 Women Changing the World. In 2020 she has been nominated “Culture Person of the year” by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Francesca Bria has been awarded the honor of Commander of Merit of the Italian Republic.Francesca Bria is the President of the Italian National Innovation Fund, CDP Venture Capital. She is Honorary Professor in the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL in London, and a member of the European Commission New European Bauhaus High-level Roundtable set up by the President of the European Commission. She is also a member of the European Commission High level Expert Group on Economic and Societal Impact of Research and Innovation (ESIR). Francesca Bria is leading the DECODE project on data sovereignty in Europe, she is a Senior Adviser to the United Nation (UN-Habitat) on digital cities and digital rights and she is the former Chief Digital Technology and Innovation Officer for the City of Barcelona in Spain.

Francesca has a PhD in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Imperial College, London and MSc on Digital Economy from the University of London, Birkbeck. As Senior Programme Lead at Nesta, the UK Innovation Agency, she has led the D-CENT project, the biggest European Project on digital democracy platforms and crypto currencies. She also led the DSI4EU project, advising the EU on digital innovation policies and purpose-driven innovation. She has been teaching in several universities in the UK and Italy and she has advised Governments, public and private organizations on technology and innovation policy, and its socio-economic and environmental impact.

Friderike is Co-Founder and CEO of MEDIKURA Digital Health, an ehealth company that aims to capture drug efficacy and safety in the broader society (= real world) through an innovative communication platform. Already today, more than 50% of all safety-related drug information is communicated via the platform in Germany. Previously, Friderike did her PhD at the Entrepreneurship Research Institute of the TUM and also completed her Master in Management and Technology there.

Timo studied engineering science in his bachelor’s degree. After an exchange in Stockholm, he fell in love with the entrepreneurship spirit. He started working at different startups and joined the Manage and More program. To supplement his technical knowledge, he started the Master in Management.
In cooperation with the TUM Entrepreneurial Masterclass and the Design Education Lab at Stanford, he wrote his master’s thesis on the “Enhancement of University Startup Support in the Fields of Mechatronics and Robotics” with the kind support of Professor Sheri Sheppard.

Steffi is Managing Director of DLD Media and Co-Founder of DLD Conference as well as its global spin-offs like DLD Europe, DLD NYC, DLD Singapore, and DLD Tel Aviv.
Joining the Burda group in 1995, Steffi has held several executive positions in new media activities. Her background is in political sciences and communications. She has followed developments in the digital world for over 20 years and focuses on developing branding and communication initiatives.
Steffi was identified as number 30 of The 2015 Wired 100 and has also been chosen as one of the 50 most inspiring women in European tech in 2015 by inspiring50.com for her success in bringing the international digital elite together at DLD.
Furthermore she owns the state medal for special merits to the Bavarian economy (2014) and the “Europa-Medaille” for special merits to Bavaria in a united Europe (2015).

David is Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Consulate of Canada in Munich.  He arrived in Munich in late 2020, following eight years working as a diplomat in China, first at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, followed by an assignment at the Consulate General in Shanghai.  His first posting as a Trade Commissioner was at the Canadian Embassy in Manila, Philippines, where he was also Liaison to the Asian Development Bank.  Prior to joining Global Affairs Canada in 2004, David spent seven years working in the financial industry, with stints at major banks in Sydney, London (UK), and Toronto.

David was born and grew up in London, Ontario before moving on to study Engineering at the University of Waterloo, and later, Commerce at McMaster University.

After graduating from the Wirtschaftsoberschule H. Kunter Bozen with an emphasis on business, management and marketing, Eleonore completed her Bachelor in Industrial Design at the Università IUAV di Venezia. In 2019 she rounded out her knowledge with a Master’s degree from TUM. Since she began her studies at TUM, Eleonore has been conducting research on a highly innovative recycling system. In 2019 this led to the spin-off beworm, which is developing a biotic/biocatalytic recycling process to break down oil-based plastics such as PE (polyethylene). PE is the world’s most commonly used plastic material, which is used in many everyday goods. However, in contrast to the more familiar PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the other main chemical component for consumer goods, it is to date hardly ever being recycled. In addition to beworm, only a handful of other companies worldwide are working on this important task for the future. Eleonore is hoping for a revolution in recycling and she encourages each and every one of us to join: on her homepage beworm.org she provides instructions on how to raise waxworms, who will then munch on plastic waste in a small jar in your kitchen at home.

Lisa is an engaging and motivated leader with a strong passion to create impact through innovation. She has over 20 years’ experience of working with innovation and entrepreneurship tied closely to the academic sphere.

She has held a number of roles at KTH since 2002 and is today CEO of the investment company KTH Holding AB and founder and Head of KTH Innovation the innovation support department.

Lisa studied Business at Orebro University and at HES Amsterdam School of Business, and has taken complementary courses at MIT, Stockholm School of Economics and Cambridge University.

Jack Fuchs is an Investor, Global Entrepreneur, and Lecturer. His current roles include VC Partner, Board Representative, CFO, and Advisor positions with IT, Med-Tech, and clean tech businesses. He is an Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship at Stanford University and is empowering future entrepreneurs in UnternehmerTUM’s Academy for Innovators. As a mentor, Jack helps entrepreneurs to establish the best version of Silicon Valley wherever they are, and conducts workshops in Entrepreneurship around the world.

Jack holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Sciences with honors from Dartmouth College “magna cum laude” and “phi beta kappa”, and he received his master’s degree in Business Administration from Stanford University as an “Arjay Miller Scholar”.

Dr. Philipp Gerbert is future shaper UnternehmerTUM and director of appliedAI. Beyond artificial intelligence, he has made significant contributions to quantum computing in business, including widely acclaimed reviews of the field. In a separate vein, he is committed to driving climate action and was the lead author of “Klimapfade für Deutschland” (BDI/BCG/Prognos) – the most comprehensive study on how to decarbonize a country without hurting the economy.

Before UnternehmerTUM Philipp worked at BCG and other companies, focusing on technology-driven business transformation on both sides of the Atlantic, including Silicon Valley. By background Philipp is a quantum physicist, received his master from the LMU Munich/Max-Planck Institute and his Ph.D. from MIT in Cambridge, USA. 

Judith Gerlach was in November 2018 appointed Bavarian State Minister for Digital. At age 33, the law-school graduate was the youngest-ever appointee as a Bavarian cabinet minister, having become the youngest member ever elected to the Bavarian State Parliament as early as 2013. As State Minister, she co-ordinates the digital measures taken by all ministries, developing a future strategy for Bavaria as a digital location. In the process, she aligns Bavaria’s policies in the most diverse spheres of digital – from cyber security via digital infrastructure up to and including initiatives in the areas of artificial intelligence and blockchain. Furthermore, Judith Gerlach has, in her first one hundred days as State Minister, placed special emphasis on promoting women in careers involving digital. One of her major concerns is entering into dialogue with citizens about ethical questions surrounding digitalisation.

Marco C. Görgmaier – head of DevOps platform, cloud technologies – is responsible for driving the strategic cloud-native platform approach of the BMW Group forward to transform the software application landscape. Marco joined the BMW Group in 2013 as an IT specialist. In 2015 he was assigned to develop the IT strategy of the BMW Group and was appointed head of strategic planning & innovation management two years later.

In 2019 he became head of cloud enabling, before he took over the global responsibility for BMW’s DevOps cloud platform. Marco holds a degree in business informatics at the University of Reading (UK) and started his professional career at Audi AG in 2010 as an international trainee. Marco is also a co-founder of the Munich based recommerce-startup Bonavendi.

Ekaterina is a Co-Founder and Head of Business Development in KEWAZO. The vision of the company is to automate construction logistics with robotics and data analytics. Since 2016 Ekaterina is focusing on the management, business development, sales and fundraising topics in the company.
She holds a M.Sc. in Consumer Affairs with the specialization in Technology and Innovation Management (MCA, TUM) and a B.Sc. in International Economics and Law. She has more than 5 years of experience in areas of sales, finance, accounting and business (was running local business with 2 branches, working in R & D in Allianz and Infineon).

Paul Günther is founder of ProGlove and an inventive talent. He transforms ideas into prototypes overnight, such as the smart glove. Paul studied Technology and Management at TU München and got the idea during his practice at BMW.

After studying computer science at Furtwangen University of Applied Sciences, Alexander Hauswald began his professional career as a Software Developer and Architect in IT consultancies. Then, as Head of Development and Architecture at a medium-sized telecommunications company in Munich, he shaped the digitalization of the company. After moving to BSH Hausgeräte GmbH as Chief Architect, Alexander’s responsibilities were expanded to the areas of Production, Logistics and Industry 4.0, which he can now contribute in his new role as Managing Director of Hörmann Digital GmbH from January 2020.

Niklas Hebborn is an ESCP Europe Master graduate. He worked for digital and high-tech companies as a Roland Berger consultant and gained experience in Private Equity with Quadriga Capital. As a Head of International Business with PEC Group, he scaled up the company from 50 to 120 employees and accompanied the M&A sell-side process to Hilti AG. In his role as Junior Partner at Freigeist, he sources new deals and supports portfolio companies to realize their strategy.

Ferry is serial-entrepreneur, Climate Activist and early stage Investor.
In 2009 he and his brother Fabian founded DailyDeal – the first European couponing portal – sold it to Google in 2011 and subsequently worked for Google. In early 2013 Ferry and Fabian repurchased DailyDeal from Google, turned it profitable and sold it again in late 2015. In early 2016 Ferry co-founded FreightHub – the digital Freight Forwarder (>300 employees, >75m USD funding), which he was leading as CEO. From 2020 he is Chairman of the Board.
Ferry also conducted 25+ Early Stage investments between 2011 and 2015 and has been Venture Partner with Earlybird Venture Capital since 2016.

On a personal level, Ferry is passionate about finding the most impactful ways to fight the climate crisis and create a sustainable society – he is Co-Founder and Vice President of Leaders for Climate Action.

Bayrem is  the Head of the Software Engineering Business Unit within Wevioo, a major Tunisian software company. He is responsible for 150 Software engineers delivering software and embedded projects to customers in Europe, North America and MEA region.

Bayrem studied telecommunication in the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen Nuremberg. He left the university in 2000 as a “Diplom Ingenieur” and started his career with Lucent technologies as an embedded Software engineer and then as a technical Lead and consultant in the semiconductor sector (ex: Infineon)

Bayrem moved back to Tunisia in 2007 to join the French multinational SAGEMCOM as a Senior Project Manager. 2010 He joined Wevioo as Delivery Manager.

As head of strategic development at the Hörmann Gruppe, Anna Hörmann is responsible for corporate strategy, including the recent launch of a corporate digitalization pilot. After completing her master’s at the Technical University of Munich in business and mechanical engineering, Anna worked in management consulting at goetzpartners for a few years before joining the family business in 2018.

Hörmann Gruppe is a mid-cap industrial holding with 27 affiliates operating in the automotive sector, engineering, communication technology and industrial services. The group offers a diverse range of products and services, from sheet metal components for utility vehicles to complex logistic concepts as well as solutions for critical infrastructure and industrial services for manufacturers.

Heiko Huber is Managing Partner at TechFounders.
He’s a mechanical engineer by education and started his entrepreneurial experience in 2009 by co-founding the Munich-based fitness company eGym. He took the German, conservative career path (that’s how he likes to describe it) and left the successful startup to finish his studies, did an MBA, worked for McKinsey & Company and finally found his way back into the startup ecosystem by joining Siemens’ Venture Capital unit “Next47”.
Now at TechFounders he enjoys working at the interface between young, highly innovative tech companies and established corporates.

Moritz Hunger works as a GIZ project manager for the Digital Transformation Centre of the German Development Ministry (BMZ) in Tunisia, facilitating Tunisian and German companies to co-create digital solutions.

Previously, he advised the BMZ on topics such as digital entrepreneurship and the future of work in the development context and supported companies looking to invest in Western Africa.

Moritz is passionate about the creation of local innovation through digital technologies.

Lena Jüngst is Co-Founder and joint inventor of air up, a drinking system that flavors pure water just by scent. As an Industrial Designer her heart beats for innovation and creativity. After a successful market entry in 2019 with the first product of air up, she is now developing a future product vision for the company. air up today has 43 employees and an office in Munich’s city center.

Thomas is founder and member of the advisory board at ProGlove. He has with heart and mind the vision always in view. Whether technical, personnel or business aspects, the founder has a plan and manages to communicate it in a catchy way – whether external or internal, his motivation is contagious.

Christian is a TUM graduate of the 2014 Information Systems class and works as an IT consultant for Comsysto Reply ever since. He has worked with clients of different sizes on their digital products as Software/Cloud Engineer and Agile Coach as well as Scrum trainer. Christian is a passionate evangelist for holistically looking at business and technology to get the most out of both and create real impact. Internally, he is involved in the management and business development of Comsysto Reply.

Gerhard is Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
He is an electrical engineer by training with a doctorate from ETH Zurich and after various different career steps in industry and higher education, he joined TUM in 2010 as Professor and Chair of Communications Engineering.

His research interests are primarily in information theory and communications theory, with applications to wireless, copper, and optical fiber networks.

Holger Mandel completed a bank apprenticeship in his home town Frankenberg/Eder. Building on this, he took part in various management programmes on a part-time basis and completed a Master of Management in St. Gallen (MZSG) from 2004 to 2006.  

He spent almost 20 years – and thus most of his professional career – in management positions in Switzerland and abroad with Caterpillar Financial Services and Volvo Financial Services, including in Brussels. Holger Mandel joined the Volkswagen Group in 2012 as Chairman of the Management Board of MAN Finance International GmbH, Munich and Head of the Truck & Bus Division of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Brunswick.

From 2015 to 2019 he was Chairman of the Management Board of MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland GmbH. Since October 2019, Holger Mandel has been Board Member for Procurement at MAN Truck & Bus SE.

In 2019, innovation expert Christian Mohr joined the innovation consultancy of UnternehmerTUM as a new partner, who is responsible for established organizations. The graduate in business law strengthens the team in order to find holistic innovation strategy solutions for the German Mittelstand with the help of UnternehmerTUM’s ecosystem.

Christian has more than twelve years of project experience at the advisory firm KPMG. There, he was head of the innovation consulting division which he built up with a focus on technology in Germany. He also co-initiated and managed the global innovation advisory network of the consulting company. Christian has also made a name for himself as a tech expert as an internationally sought-after author of specialist books, among others on the subject of “Digitization of the Legal Market”.

Raghu Movva is the Managing Director of School of Entrepreneurship & Innovation.  

Academic background in ICT & Nanotechnology. After brief stints in research and consulting he became an entrepreneur by co-founding three startups and one consulting company over the course of 5 years while also obtaining an MBA. Since 2012, he has been working on “Innovation Management” and developed successful projects like I4C, CDILabs, SEI, ITW and helped build strategic partnerships with CERN & Politecnico di Torino. His main passions are futurism, education, technology, entrepreneurship & science fiction.

Markus is a lawyer by education and founded his first start-up in 2002. He sold it to BlackBerry in 2011 and became Managing Director Germany and later CEO Europe
before he left BlackBerry in 2015. Through his voluntary work as a hospice companion he found out that family caregivers are not well supported through digital
solutions. When he met Chris Ehl, his co-founder, they started Nui Care, where they develop a digital assistant for family caregivers.

Gunda Opitz is head of Entrepreneurial Network at UnternehmerTUM. She has been with UnternehmerTUM since its beginnings in the year 2002. She strongly believes in the power of entrepreneurship as a game changer for the challenges of our time. In 2009 she founded the Entrepreneurial Network section and – with her team – successfully provides the launch pad for international startup teams with a deep tech focus.

She previously worked as a freelancer for a range of organizations, developing and implementing innovation projects and tools. Gunda holds a diploma in architecture and in business administration.

PD Dr. med. Dominik Pförringer is an orthopedic and trauma surgeon in Munich. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and years of work experience as a management consultant in the healthcare sector. He teaches entrepreneurship to young doctors and medical students and fosters the Digital Healthcare ecosystem in Munich by recurring events such as “Digital Healthcare Entrepreneurship” as well as the Digital Health Summit, an annual conference on digital advances in healthcare. Dominik mentors and coaches innovative healthcare teams and lectures frequently about his research and development in the field of digital healthcare innovation. On July 1st he has with an enthusiastic team launched www.MakeHealthDigital.com to connect and broaden the network in the Digital Health Ecosytem.

Ingo has been working in the high-tech industry for more than 25 years. As a venture capitalist, he had the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs in Europe, Israel, the US as well as Asia. Themes and technologies are constantly changing, but success always requires enthusiastic, persistent founders and a strong vision. Ingo is convinced that startups are the driver of innovation, more than ever before, and he is excited to be able to contribute to this development as an investor.

Dirk Rossberg is the CEO of UnternehmerTUM MakerSpace GmbH, a workshop for innovators to prototype high-tech products. Teams who have invented products at MakerSpace have raised a combined amount of approx. 100 MN € and include start-ups Air Up, proGlove, Inveox and corporates BMW AG, Linde AG and Zeiss AG to name a few. In parallel, Dirk looks back on 23 years at BMW AG. He has held roles as software engineer, Head of BMW’s Technology Office in Mountain View and as Architect Future Climatissation. Dirk holds a PhD in Semiconductor Physics from TU Munich.

Tina studied Computer Science, Journalism & Business, sometimes being
claimed a T-shaped, sometimes a Digital Native, usually an entrepreneur.
For her it all belongs together as she believes in technology driving society
forward, especially through innovation & entrepreneurship.
The democratization of resources that started in the technical domain of the
World Wide Web is now evident in any single area of how we work, how we
live, and what we do. Technology entrepreneurship has become the most
powerful instrument for change.
This is why she centers her work around driving this progress on purpose.
She does this by writing and speaking about technology entrepreneurship to
raise awareness about its entire potential, bright & dark sides, by mentoring &
coaching entrepreneurs & organizations, and by using the power of
decentralized Peer-to-Peer technology to scale this to as many people as
possible with her company Mentessa & with the Big & Growing New Work
Festival.

Amel Saidane is an entrepreneur, ecosystem builder and digital transformation expert. She is the president of Tunisian Startups Association, which gives a voice to Tunisian startups. Being a co-founder of BetaCube, a venture builder in mobility solutions, she is an innovation and digital transformation activist acting as a board member for the Digital Center of Excellence of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. She is also a member of the BMW Responsible Leaders Network, and a fellow of the BMW Ready-Go program.

Amel is an engineer in electro-technics, qualified from the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, she also holds a master’s of science in business in digital economy from the University of Maryland.

As Project Leader International Cooperation, Marisa fosters global partnerships at UnternehmerTUM and brings international tech founders to Munich. In her current role she operates a Landing Pad for international start-ups looking to explore the Bavarian market and runs a deep tech start-up program with TUM. Before joining UnternehmerTUM she worked at the German-Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Stockholm.

Marisa owns a Bachelor in Diplomacy (Schiller International University, Heidelberg/ Paris) and a Master in International Management (Stockholm University) and is a strong supporter of international dialogue in the world of innovation.

With a passion for communication, a drive for diversity and a seeming endless curiosity, Daniel joined Netlight in 2012 and has dedicated his energy to grow this Swedish IT Consultancy which dares to do things just a bit different. Over the past 9 years, Netlight in Germany alone, has grown from a handful of colleagues to now more than 450 talents from 30 plus different nationality backgrounds. Those talents who connect through a passion about the possibilities within the realms of IT, have found their home among the 4 offices across the country.

Throughout his career Markus has been dealing with the fundamental effects of technological progress on Western society in general and business enterprises in particular. His activities and accomplishments center around the interactions and interrelationships between the worlds of technology and business. Markus has successfully guided the market launch of a number of groundbreaking innovations, using a broad range of business models for both enterprises and consumer segments. Thanks to these achievements, he has become a highly regarded adviser for corporate decision-makers, and a mentor for German start-ups.

Iris is Co-Founder and COO of HQS Quantum Simulations. HQS, founded in 2017, aims to bridge the gap between research and industry in the field of quantum computing to exploit the immense potential of quantum computers to accelerate the development of new materials in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and materials industry. Iris received her Ph.D. in Physics from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2018. As COO she is now responsible for efficient business operations and organizational development. She also heads the department where the customer-facing software is developed.

Leading promising startups to success, inspiring people for innovation and entrepreneurship – that is the passion of Prof. Dr. Helmut Schönenberger, Co-Founder and CEO of UnternehmerTUM GmbH. As an aerospace engineer and investor, he pursues the goal of supporting scalable high-tech startups, founders and scientists from the initial idea to the successful product.

He is particularly focused on additive manufacturing / 3D printing and smart city solutions. In 2019 he was appointed Honorary Professor at the TUM Entrepreneurship Research Institute (TUM ERI) of the TUM School of Management, followed by the appointment as Vice President Entrepreneurship in January 2020.

Sheri D. Sheppard, Ph.D., P.E., is professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Besides teaching both undergraduate and graduate design-related classes at Stanford University, she conducts research on fracture mechanics and applied finite element analysis, and on how people become engineers. She has held numerous leading positions such as Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Chair of Stanford’s Faculty Senate, and Associate Vice Provost of Graduate Education. Further, Sheri is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
Sheri was awarded multiple times in recognition of distinguished accomplishments in engineering education. In 2010 she was recognized with Stanford’s highest teaching recognition, the Walter J. Gores Award, and in 2014 was named U.S. Professor of the Year-Doctorial and Research Universities (CASE and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching).
Before coming to Stanford University, she held several positions in the automotive industry.

Philippe Souidi is currently heading the SAP.iO Foundry Munich, part of the global network of startup accelerators by SAP, the leading provider of enterprise software. Through this initiative committed to open and inclusive entrepreneurship, Philippe is empowering European startups to deliver immediate value to SAP’s customers, while simultaneously building a compelling ecosystem around SAP C/4HANA and Customer Experience solutions.

With over sixteen years of diverse experience, Philippe specializes in all aspects of digital transformation, strategy creation, and product development from ideation to launch.

Prior to his current role, Philippe headed the Innovation Programs as part of the SAP CX Innovation office.

For the past seven years, Mikkel has been Head of DTU Skylab – the innovation hub at the Technical University of Denmark. During this period, DTU Skylab has developed from a small pilot initiative to a full-scale innovation facility with a wide range of programmes and other activities. In the coming two years, Skylab is expanding to a total size of around 5.500m2/60.000ft2. Mikkel is also the co-founder of Stormglas which drives interdisciplinary art projects. Prior to this, he was the National Manager of Venture Cup Denmark.

John Stubbs is the incoming Public Affairs Officer in Munich, Germany. He previously served as the Senior Press Officer for Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) where he worked closely with both the Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and senior department leadership on complex regional messaging priorities.
Prior to his assignment in Washington, John served as Press Attaché in Doha, Qatar and Assistant Information Officer in Kabul, Afghanistan during their highly contested and violent elections in the spring of 2014. He also worked as a Staff Assistant to Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. John began his foreign service career as a Political-Economics officer in Banjul, The Gambia and as a Vice-Consul in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Prior to joining the U.S. Foreign Service, John was an attorney specializing in both international public and private law. He holds a Master of Laws degree in International and Comparative European Law from the University of Amsterdam and a Juris Doctorate from Campbell University School of Law. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004. He speaks Portuguese, Pashto, and German.

Prof. Dr. Martin R. Stuchtey is the co-founder and managing partner of SYSTEMIQ, an organisation driving system change in clean energy, circular material solutions and sustainable land use. By addressing market failures in these areas, SYSTEMIQ aims to unlock economic opportunities that benefit business, society and the environment.
Prior to founding SYSTEMIQ, Martin worked at McKinsey for 20 years, most recently as director of the Center for Business and Environment. In 2006, Martin Stuchtey co-founded McKinsey’s Sustainability Practice, working with numerous corporate, government and social sector clients on the challenges of climate change, water scarcity, ocean degradation and resource depletion.
He is a professor for resource strategy and management at Innsbruck University. He is married and has six children, he lives at Lake Starnberg in Germany and on his organic farm in Kollreid, Tirol.

Frank Thelen is a European serial founder, technology investor, TV personality and bestseller author. Since 1994, he founded and managed technology and design-driven companies. In his role as the founder and CEO of Freigeist Capital, he focuses on early phase deep tech investments. His products have reached over 100 million customers in over 60 countries. Frank was the first investor in startups like Lilium Aviation, Smartlane, Wunderlist, air up and YFood. At age 42, he released his autobiography „Startup-DNA“, which became a bestseller in Germany.

Susanne is leading UnternehmerTUM’s initiative Women Start-up. The initiative aims to inspire and motivate women for entrepreneurship and technology and develops solutions for a more women-friendly start-up landscape.
Susanne has multiple years of work experience in the field of entrepreneurship education. She was heading the Executive MBA in Innovation and Business Creation at UnternehmerTUM. She has a degree in communication science and business administration.

Johannes von Borries is managing partner at Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners. He loves to see new technologies and products entering the market. One of his most memorable moments was the day when he received the first order for an inspection system his former company, Nanda Technologies, had developed.

Now, as an investor, he enjoys supporting teams to achieve this same moment and to grow their company beyond it. With many years’ experience in the VC industry and being a successful founder himself, he is well-acquainted with the ups and downs of a startup.

Anne is dedicated to fostering innovative startups and unleashing their potential of growing into sustainable, large-scale businesses.

With a strong background in business strategy consulting, the TMT (technology, media, and telecommunication) industries, and biomedical sciences, she commits her know-how to identifying and supporting talented, passionate founders sharing her enthusiasm for novel, disruptive ideas and technologies.

At UnternehmerTUM, Miki Yokoyama is Managing Partner at TechFounders, the startup accelerator brand of UnternehmerTUM, and COO of RESPOND, the impact accelerator by the BMW Foundation, operated by UnternehmerTUM. Further, she is working on the integration of sustainability issues across the VC investment process as well as on how considering sustainability topics can become mainstream for startups. 

Miki started her career in the corporate strategy and sustainability division of the BMW Group and also worked several years for the Boston Consulting Group, mainly advising automotive companies on business strategies and digital transformation.

Thomas started his career in Product Management with the international e-commerce company Ciao. Followed by that he worked in various product- and technology leadership positions at Microsoft and Holtzbrinck before he joined UnternehmerTUM as CDO and Managing Director. In his current role he evangelizes digital technology and culture to students, start-ups, and enterprises. To do so he founded Digital Product School which enables the next generation of digital product makers. UnternehmerTUM’s mission is building an open ecosystem that produces new scalable high-tech start-ups next to fresh innovation inside existing organizations. Thomas owns a diploma in Computer Science for Business (University of Bamberg/University of California at Santa Barbara) and an MBA (Steinbeis University Berlin).