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Meet the Team | Where knowledge merges with curiosity
Our team includes dedicated professionals, the Singularity Think Tank, a global alliance of renowned innovation experts, an acclaimed Board of Directors and a network of trusted partners. Founded in Switzerland, we have been innovating the innovation investing advisory landscape since 2017.
Our team's expertise encompasses investment strategy, asset management, research, entrepreneurship, and more. We bring a range of different skill sets to the table - what we have in common is a thirst for knowledge and for understanding the cutting-edge technologies that shape the world in which we live in. Meet the curious minds behind The Singularity Group.
Meet the Team | Where knowledge merges with curiosity
Our team includes dedicated professionals, the Singularity Think Tank, a global alliance of renowned innovation experts, an acclaimed Board of Directors and a network of trusted partners. Founded in Switzerland, we have been innovating the innovation investing advisory landscape since 2017.
Our team's expertise encompasses investment strategy, asset management, research, entrepreneurship, and more. We bring a range of different skill sets to the table - what we have in common is a thirst for knowledge and for understanding the cutting-edge technologies that shape the world in which we live in. Meet the curious minds behind The Singularity Group.
Evelyne Pflugi
CEO and Co-Founder
Evelyne Pflugi
CEO and Co-Founder
Evelyne has a track record as an Analyst and Portfolio Manager in energy and resources at GAM Investment Management in Zurich and Capital Research Global Investors in London. She began her career at The Capital Group in Los Angeles, California.
Evelyne holds a Masters degree in Engineering from ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology with concentrations in Food Science, Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
In 2017, together with Tobias Reichmuth, Evelyne founded The Singularity Group with the vision in mind to bring cash flow-based returns to innovation portfolios. Publicly, she has presented as an expert on major international televised networks as well as conferences and is often quoted in the press.
Sara Garcia Cantero
Executive Assistant
Sara Garcia Cantero
Executive Assistant
Sara works closely with our CEO Evelyne and provides support in areas such as accounting, office management, and Board of Directors matters. She found her way to us via a lateral entry and after completing business school: Sara actually comes from the food service industry. She has worked in various catering businesses and restaurants with increasing responsibility for more than 10 years.
Katharina Boehringer
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Katharina Boehringer
Chief Marketing Officer
She’s a communications expert specialised in (digital) marketing and content strategy, content creation, campaigning, public relations (PR), consulting, journalism and copywriting. She’s a creative mind, strategic thinker and dedicated copywriter who has gathered a unique blend of experience spanning a 15 year career. She built and led the content creation and PR department of premium sportswear brand KJUS where she shaped the brand image, tonality and storytelling approach. She spearheaded international campaigns from ideation to implementation for different channels (on-, offline, POS) and evaluation. Prior to that, she was a PR consultant in the healthcare sector and has worked as a journalist since 2002 for publications such as Frankfurter Rundschau and sueddeutsche.de. Before joining the Singularity Group she was the Head of Marketing of fintech startup Advanon. She graduated from KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).
Katharina is passionate about writing. Crafting sentences and stories has been her signature skill since early school days. The essence of what defines her today has evolved from writing. And it came with some superlatives: from driving off the world’s highest tee in South Africa to attending the world’s longest concert of a solo artist (27 hours, no sleep) in Paris. She likes to challenge herself and as a result is a late-starter in horse riding (early 20s), skiing and golfing (early 30s). Recently, she joined an ambitious soul and gospel choir. She loves music, tennis, literature - and above all spending time with her ten year old daughter and exploring the world through her eyes.
Johanna Heeb
Head of Business Development
Johanna Heeb
Head of Business Development
Previously, she was Sales Director at Jupiter Asset Management, Switzerland, and member of the Board of Directors, and held senior sales and client relationship positions at State Street Global Advisors and Schroder Investment Management. Johanna holds a Master of Science in Business Administration (MScBA) from the University of Bern and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). She used to compete professionally as a javelin athlete and has stayed connected with the sports as Liechtenstein Athletics Federation's treasurer.
Sabrina Herold
Director of Business Development
Sabrina Herold
Director of Business Development
Sabrina is part of the Business Development Team that drives our customer acquisition and network expansion. Her experience lies in Sales and Marketing in the finance and non-profit sectors. Before joining us, she worked as Partner Client Relations at Tom Capital AG, Managing Director at Myblueplanet and in Global Marketing at Credit Suisse. She is passionate about sustainability and serves as a Board Member of the Greenwishing initiative. Furthermore, she spent time volunteering in South Africa, Borneo and Malawi. Sabrina has a Master of Science in International Business & Management from the University of Groningen.
Pierre Guillier
Chief Investment Officer (CIO)
Pierre Guillier
CIO
Before starting at TSG, Pierre worked at Lombard Odier Asset Management as a Client Portfolio Manager on their active equity fund range. Prior to that he was a Product Specialist for equity and commodity funds at GAM between August 2014 and July 2021 where he built his strong expertise in the investment management industry. He previously worked as a Senior Risk and Performance Analyst on fixed income funds. Before joining GAM Investments in August 2011, he contributed his knowledge to BNP Paribas Securities Services first as a Risk Analyst responsible for risk exposure and stress testing, and later on as a Business Analyst and Product Specialist. Pierre Guillier holds a Master of Science from the Ecole des Mines de Nancy (Tier One French Engineering University). He has strong professional and technical skills in equity investing, fund research, risk management and performance measurement. He is based in Zurich.
Dita Bunjaku
Client and Event Coordinator
Dita Bunjaku
Client and Event Coordinator
Dita brings experience from a wide range of coordinative roles. After working at the University of Zurich, she graduated from business school. Before joining The Singularity Group, she lived in New York as an exchange student. She plays an important key role in communication as well as in the organization and coordination of events.
Dita also acts as an executive assistant to management for client and partner related tasks.
Shiko Ben-Menahem, PhD
Director of Research
Shiko Ben-Menahem, PhD
Director of Research
Shiko guides the company’s proprietary technology and innovation research and leads the Singularity Think Tank—our network of expert advisors. Shiko has over a decade of experience in researching and consulting on organizational innovation processes and has published widely on the topic in leading academic and practitioner outlets. Before joining TSG, Shiko worked as a senior researcher and lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), where he habilitated in 2020, and as an Adjunct Associate Professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Next to his activities at TSG, Shiko holds a position as Associate Professor of Technology and Innovation Management at The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He has a PhD in strategic Management from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Master of Philosophy in Research Methods.
Eric G. Sarasin
Chairman of the Board
Eric G. Sarasin
Evelyne Pflugi
CEO and Co-founder
Evelyne Pflugi
CEO and Co-founder
Evelyne has a track record as an Analyst and Portfolio Manager in energy and resources at GAM Investment Management in Zurich and Capital Research Global Investors in London. She began her career at The Capital Group in Los Angeles, California.
Evelyne holds a Masters degree in Engineering from ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology with concentrations in Food Science, Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
In 2017, together with Tobias Reichmuth, Evelyne founded The Singularity Group with the vision in mind to bring cash flow-based returns to innovation portfolios. Publicly, she has presented as an expert on major international televised networks as well as conferences and is often quoted in the press.
She is based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Tobias Reichmuth, PhD
Co-founder and Member of the Board
Tobias Reichmuth, PhD
Co-founder
Tobias is Co-founder of The Singularity Group. Currently, he's also Chairman of the Board and founder of SUSI Partners AG, a 2 bn FINMA regulated asset manager in Zug/Zürich. Since 2009, he has built up the company to become a leading financing partner for sustainable infrastructure projects globally. He is also Director of Sustainable Sarl, a Luxembourg based infrastructure investment manager, Co-Founder of Crypto Finance AG, a company sold to Deutsche Börse in 2022, and founding partner of Maximon, a longevity company builder.
Prior to these endeavours, Tobias was Strategy Consultant at Boston Consulting Group and completed a PhD at the European Business School. He holds a Masters degree in International Management (CEMS) as well as a Master of Science in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen. In March 2016, Tobias completed the Executive Program at Singularity University, Palo Alto (USA).
Tobias is based in Zug, Switzerland.
David M. Solo
Board member
David M. Solo
Board member
David is currently Lead Director of Trading Technologies International, the dominant futures execution platform serving the largest banks and asset managers globally, where he is additionally responsible for overseeing their extensive acquisition strategy. David also serves on the Advisory Board of Merchant Wealth Partners and is the co-founder of Diversified Credit Investments LLC. He has a long career helping new and established companies develop differentiated growth strategies, often based on the systematic application of analytic technology, and more recently, providing strategic and corporate finance advice. Since 2014, David has advised and invested in a number of innovative businesses.
David was a General Partner and member of the Executive Committee of O'Connor & Associates, the Chicago based derivatives pioneer which was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC) in 1991. David had a long career at SBC/UBS, first as Head of the Global Fixed Income Division, then President of the Global Investment Bank, where he oversaw multiple successful mergers including SG Warburg, Dillon Read, and UBS, then as Chief Risk Officer and Member of the UBS Group Executive Board, and finally as CEO of UBS Capital.
In 2003, David co-founded Diversified Credit Investments LLC, a San Francisco based quantitative credit fixed income manager serving institutional clients, acting as Chairman through 2020 when the business was acquired by the Blackstone Group to become the foundation for their now sizable public debt business.
From 2004 to 2013, David served as the CEO of GAM AG, then a leading $120 billion European active & alternative fund manager, and between 2006 and 2009 was also CEO of Julius Baer Asset Management, later listing the enlarged asset management business on the Swiss Stock Exchange.
David holds MSc and BSc degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He held research posts at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and at the Draper Defense Research Laboratory. He is based in the US.
Anik Thaler
Agriculture, Food Science and Sustainability expert
Anik Thaler
CEO and Founder of Fabas
Anik pursued her passion for Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zürich, where she also laid the groundwork for her entrepreneurial journey. Inspired by a vision of enhancing Swiss nutrition and sustainability, she established Fabas, a venture dedicated to popularizing pulses in Switzerland. Initially, Fabas started with a range of consumer products and pivoted to developing an innovative protein extraction and fermentation technology, revolutionizing the creation of novel protein ingredients for food producers. With a commitment to natural and sustainable production methods, Fabas is reshaping the landscape of plant-based foods.
Anik is a passionate triathlete, a thought-after speaker, and a well-known advocate for the local cultivation of pulses. She also serves on the board of Ernährungsforum Zürich, further solidifying her commitment to shaping the future of food.
Mathieu Munsch, PhD
Quantum Computing and Semiconductor expert
Mathieu Munsch, PhD
CEO and Co-founder of Qnami
Mathieu is a Co-founder and the CEO of Qnami. He holds a Masters degree from the ENS Grenoble INP and a PhD in quantum mechanics from the University Grenoble Alpes. He worked as a researcher developing new sources of quantum light and lasers for 10 years. He is the author of more than 15 publications in high profile papers such as Nature and the Physical Review.
In 2017, Mathieu founded Qnami AG, a pioneer company in the quantum technology industry. Today, Qnami is a leader in the emerging market of quantum sensing and metrology, providing scientific solutions to academics and the semiconductor industry.
Mathieu is actively supporting the creation of a European quantum ecosystem and training of a new, diverse, and inclusive European workforce for deep tech applications.
Juergen Eck, PhD
Biotechnology expert
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.
Daniel Gelbart
HealthTech expert
Daniel Gelbart
Entrepreneur, MedTech expert
Passionate about human mobility, Daniel is a qualified orthopedic technologist. As a driving force behind ORTHO-TEAM Group, he spearheads the transformation of the leading HealthTech company group into the digital era.
Previously, with an international career spanning the USA, China, Germany, and the UK, Daniel joined Ottobock from 2012 to 2018. He served in the Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa Management Team, and later as the Commercial & Academy Director of Ottobock UK, based in London. Daniel's entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found various startups, including Acquire London Ltd. Today, he is actively investing across diverse industry sectors through Gelbi Ventures GmbH. He holds a Business Administration degree.
Beyond his corporate endeavors, Daniel engages with the community as a member of the Ortho Reha Suisse Association, a board member at Refdata Stiftung, and in advisory board positions at ETH Zürich RESC, Swiss Abilities, and Carvin Medicines Canada.
Philipp Schmid
Industry 4.0 and Machine Learning expert
Philipp Schmid
Lead Manufacturing at Swisscom
Philipp Schmid is Lead Manufacturing at Swisscom. Previously, he was the 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. 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.
Sandhya Sriram, PhD
Biotech and Food Science expert
Sandhya Sriram, PhD
CEO of Sprout Agritech
Sandhya Sriram, PhD, serves as the CEO of New Zealand agritech accelerator Sprout Agritech. She is known as a food industry pioneer: Previously, she was the CEO, Chairwoman, 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.
Matthieu Despeisse, PhD
New Energy expert
Matthieu Despeisse, PhD
Group Leader Solar Modules at CSEM
Matthieu Despeisse is Group Leader in CSEM, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where he is leading the research activities on new generations of Solar Modules. His work focuses on high performance, high reliability, circularity and a large range of applications and integration of photovoltaics (PV; from mainstream photovoltaics to building integration, mobility/transport as well as Agrivoltaics). He received his degree in electrical engineering from INSA, Lyon, France, in 2002. He then worked until 2008 at the European Organization for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, focusing on novel Ssilicon radiation sensors and electronics. He obtained his PhD degree in 2006 for his work on new generation silicon sensors. He then joined the IMT PV-lab of EPFL in 2006 to lead the research team working on multi-junctions thin film photovoltaics technology. In 2013, he started the crystalline silicon solar cells and metallization activities in CSEM, leading this activity until 2021. He started to head the PV modules activities in 2018.
Yulia Sandamirskaya, PhD
AI and Robotics expert
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.
Simone Lionetti, PhD
AI expert
Simone Lionetti, PhD
Senior Research Associate at Hochschule Luzern
Simone is a Senior Researcher in the Algorithmic Business Lab at Hochschule Luzern. His main interest is the application of AI in healthcare and medical technologies. Simone completed a PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics with focus on numerical and analytic computational methods at ETH Zürich. His education and professional stations include the University of Milano, Stanford, DESY, and Durham. Since 2019, Simone is working at the boundary between industry and academia, with the goal to translate the most recent advances in Machine Learning into technologies that improve life quality. He supports R&D developers, clinicians, and decision-makers within organisations from start-ups to large corporations in designing AI products, data acquisition, model training and auditing. He regularly lectures and speaks at conferences both for specialists and the general public.
Andreas Schneider, PhD
Medical Devices & Pharma expert
Andreas Schneider, PhD
nnovation 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.
Endri Dibra, PhD
Augmented Reality and AI expert
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
Water Technology expert
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.
Carsten Danzer, PhD
Healthcare and Innovation expert
Carsten Danzer, PhD
CEO of adaptilion and serial entrepreneur
Carsten is passionate about shaping the future of health. With his company, he delivers his expertise in healthcare to start-ups and large corporations. He acts as interim CxO as well as consultant and coach to CxOs positions to drive innovation and a sustainable change of the healthcare systems. During his professional career in research and large corporations, he developed an expertise in innovation management, business development, digital health, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical impact, health economics, machine learning and many more. His superpower is being a curious learner and a true interdisciplinary individual, speaking multiple “languages” to enable communication between stakeholders to build sustainable ecosystems. Carsten is a serial intra- and entrepreneur, also holding board positions in and outside the healthcare space.
Erik Kuntze, MD
Medical Devices expert
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”.
Gregory Hitz, PhD
Robotics expert
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.
Agnes Petit, PhD
3D Printing and IOT expert
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
Yash Shrestha, PhD
AI expert
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).
HonMun Yip
Food- and Biotech expert
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.
James Khedari
Energy expert
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.
Tyson Soutter
Internet of Things and Built Environment expert
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.
Manu V. Nair, PhD
Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Compute Power expert
Manu V. Nair, PhD
CEO and Co-founder of Synthara
Manu is passionate about building a future where Artificial Intelligence is ubiquitous by developing next-generation, fast, and energy-efficient processing systems while ensuring they are easy to use and integrate well for customers. To make this vision real, he founded Swiss company Synthara in 2019 alongside Dr. Alessandro Aimar, based on their doctoral work at the Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zürich and University of Zürich. His experience in the industry spans more than 10 years, and he holds a PhD.
Alexander Stumpfegger
AI expert
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.
Nadia Khan, MD
Neurosurgery and -science expert
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
Machine Learning, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence expert.
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.
Simone Schürle, PhD
Biomedical, Micro- and Nanoengineering expert
Simone Schürle, PhD
Associate Professor at ETH
Associate Professor at ETHZ, Member of Global Future Council at WEF, Co-founder of MagnebotiX.
Simone Schürle is Associate Professor for Medical Microsystems at ETH Zurich. Previously, she was doing research 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.
André Hugentobler
Advanced Materials expert
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
Food science, Advanced Materials, and Robotics expert
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.
Tristan Hocke, PhD
3D Printing and Advanced Materials expert
Tristan Hocke, PhD
Co-Founder and CEO of Liqtra GmbH
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 Liqtra after finishing his PhD at Leibniz Universität Hannover. Liqtra 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
Cryptocurrency and blockchain expert
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, PhD
3D Printing and Advanced Materials expert
Joscha Krieglsteiner, PhD
Co-founder of Liqtra GmbH
Joscha is a 3D Printing and Advanced Materials expert. A mechanical engineer by training, he’s a co-founder of Liqtra GmbH, a 3D printing-as-a-service company that he launched after dedicating eight years to academic research and science. Liqtra GmbH 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 did a doctorate on the topic of optimization algorithms in the development of lightweight composite structures. He lives and works in Hamburg, Germany.
Andres Gujan
Renewable energies, smart buildings, power storage, future mobility and industry 4.0 expert
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).
Johannes Meuer, PhD
Sustainability expert
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.
Joern Hoppmann, PhD
Sustainability expert
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
Cryptocurrency and blockchain expert
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
Big Data and transformation expert
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
Innovation expert
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
VR/AR expert
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.
Partners
NASDAQ Global Indexes
Nasdaq Global Information Services (GIS) is composed of Market Data and Indexes businesses, which leverage reliable, scalable technology and robust distribution channels to provide comprehensive benchmarks and market data solutions across all asset classes worldwide. Nasdaq has been creating innovative, market-leading, transparent indexes for more than 40 years, and have 300 ETPs with more than $160 billion in assets under management (AUM) tracking our indexes. Additionally, they are one of the largest providers of Smart Beta indexes based on AUM. The world renowned brands include the Nasdaq-100 Index, Nasdaq Global Equity, Dorsey, Wright & Associates, Nasdaq AlphaDEX, and Nasdaq Dividend Achievers. For more information, visit the website www.business.nasdaq.com/indexes.
Carne Group
Established in 2008, the Swiss office is focused primarily on the provision of fund management services, independent director services and relationship management for Carne’s Swiss clients, which range from traditional and alternative asset managers to family offices, private banks and insurance companies, and to whom we provide governance, technology and management company/AIFM services.
CID
CID provides next-generation Artificial Intelligence solutions for Financial Services. CID’s Neuro Computing technology combines quantitative and qualitative data analytics, including natural language processing, semantic analysis, and machine learning to create dynamic, real-time knowledge graphs. CID is privately held and headquartered in Germany.
DR. Hengster Loesch & Kollegen
Dr. Hengster Loesch & Kollegen are our partners for Sales and Distribution in Germany and Austria.
Focused on clients needs, they work together with carefully and in close collaboration with selected asset managers with first-class real assets and liquid alternatives. The unique business model is centered around long-term partnerships based on trust. The company's number one goal is to achieve LONG-TERM RETURNS for all players.