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Mike Baur is a Swiss venture investor and entrepreneur. He worked in private banking for almost 20 years before starting his entrepreneurial journey in 2014 by co-founding the Swiss Ventures Group. Mike is one of the top 100 Swiss ‘Digital Shapers’ and he has strongly influenced the development of the startup ecosystem in Switzerland over the past 10 years. He sits on various boards of directors and advisory boards.
Louis Jacques Filion, an emeritus professor at HEC Montréal specializing in entrepreneurship, boasts a diverse academic background, including degrees from institutions like St-Laurent College, the University of Ottawa, HEC Montreal, and the University of Lancaster. With extensive professional experience in human resources, operations management, and marketing, Dr. Filion has not only taught at various universities, including UQTR and HEC Montreal but also received numerous awards for his significant contributions to entrepreneurship. His accolades include a Lifetime Achievement Award from CCSBE-CCPME, the Wilford White Fellowship from ICSB, and the Julien-Marchesnay Award from AIREPME. With over 100 publications and 20 books, he remains an influential figure in entrepreneurship research and education.
Laurent Lecamp brings a wealth of experience to the watch industry, having held diverse entrepreneurial and leadership positions. Presently serving as the Global Managing Director of the Montblanc Watch Division and a member of the International Executive Committee, he previously held roles such as Executive Vice President of Sales and board member at Carl F. Bucherer within the BUCHERER Group. With a proven track record in the luxury goods and jewelry sector, Laurent has successfully introduced, built, and expanded various brands across more than 70 countries. A graduate of NEOMA Business School, IMD, and the Gemological Institute of America, Laurent is also an accomplished author and co-author of numerous academic publications and books. He is a sought-after speaker at international conferences and a lecturer at prestigious business schools.
Christian, CEO at Bcomp Ltd, PhD in material sciences and mountain lover, left corporate and co-founded Bcomp to challenge the traditional lightweight material industry. Today, Bcomp is an award-winning, leading supplier of sustainable lightweight solutions and part of the ongoing revolution towards cleaner mobility. The Swiss high-tech company has created and entered new markets and has established itself as a large-scale automotive supplier. Fluent in several languages, Christian also teaches Entrepreneurship, Technology Innovation and Growth Management at different universities.
Nicolas Durand is the former CEO of Abionic SA, a company that he founded 14 years ago. With a degree in microengineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EPFL, his doctoral research resulted in numerous publications and patents that laid the foundation for Abionic’s technology. With an extensive background in nanotechnologies applied to life sciences, Dr Durand brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will undoubtedly steer Campus Biotech toward continued success and growth. Nicolas is a Board Member of Economiesuisse and the Vaudois Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Additionally, he holds a role as an Intelligence Officer in the Swiss Armed Forces and is an accomplished aerobatic pilot.
Martin Godel is Deputy Head of the Promotion Activities Directorate in SECO including Regional Policy, Tourism Policy, Foreign Economic Promotion Policy and SME Policy.
He was a member (and later Vice-President) of the OECD Committee on Industry, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) from 2010 until 2021. Since 2021 he chairs the OECD Committee on SME‘s and Entrepreneurship (CSMEE) after chairing its predecessor the OECD Working Group on SMEs and Entrepreneurship since 2019.
Kristina Babina is a dynamic serial entrepreneur, passionate advocate for social projects, business consultant, influential speaker, and brand ambassador. She is the founder of the TotUp universe and a key force as the Co-founder of the Geneva Business Community. Additionally, Kristina plays a vital role as Co-founder of the NeurArt Association. Armed with an array of qualifications, including an IMD High-Performance Leadership certificate, an MBA in Entrepreneurship from HEG-FR Switzerland, and other diplomas, certificates, and licenses, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her roles. Kristina is dedicated to making a positive impact through her financial and business consultancy, public speaking engagements, and active involvement in diverse industries.
Gerhard Andrey is a Swiss Entrepreneur and member of the Swiss National Council for the canton of Fribourg and Co-founder of Liip in 2007: Holacracy and empowering leadership in practice. He developed the company until election to the National Council in 2019. Since then, he is a member of the Board of Directors and continues to be committed to sustainability. The way he grew up, his education, and his training are reflected in his roles as a politician and entrepreneur, both pursuing a common goal: the establishment of alternative and progressive models for a sustainable society and economy. The color of his business cards is not coincidental!
Perrine de le Court is the leader of the Ashoka Support Network and the Director of Ashoka Belgium, the largest network for social entrepreneurs. She has been living and working in several countries across South America and Africa. She brings with her 5 years of working in the private sector with Regus, and 15 years in International organizations such as UNICEF and IMBEWU. At the young age of 26, she co-founded an NGO for street children in Lagos and pursued her social and entrepreneurial involvement in Abidjan supporting children on the need to protect the environment. She currently serves on the board of Convivial, Belgium’s pioneering organization for refugees. Now based in Zurich, Perrine plays a role in supporting and developing Swiss partnerships for social entrepreneurs.
Sonja is a passionate change agent, social entrepreneur, Ashoka Fellow and Forbes 50 over 50 EMEA member. She is also the Co-Founder of WeRobotics, a social impact organization investing in local experts and entrepreneurs in 40+ countries in Africa, Latina America and Asia/Pacific, to create equal opportunity around the use of emerging technologies for positive social impact.
Raphaël Domjan co-founded Horus Networks, the world’s first solar-powered Internet hosting company. In 2004, after becoming aware of the urgency of climate change, he conceived the PlanetSolar project. The aim of this project was to demonstrate the potential of solar energy by completing the first solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe in a boat powered entirely by the sun. This world first was achieved aboard the solar-powered catamaran PlanetSolar. As President of the PlanetSolar Foundation, he continues his commitment to the promotion of electric mobility and solar energy in Switzerland and around the world. Today, Raphaël is the initiator and pilot of the SolarStratos adventure, which aims to reach the stratosphere in a solar-powered plane.
As Professor Emeritus of Sustainability Management at the University of St. Gallen and Director of The Institute for Business Sustainability CH-IBS, Thomas Dyllick has significantly contributed to advancing sustainable business practices. He is recognized as a co-founder of the Community for Responsible Research in Business and Management and serves on various advisory boards including Oikos University of St. Gallen, Gaia Ökom Publ., Munich, and the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS), Zollikofen. Notably, he is also the founder and a member of the supervisory board at the Positive Impact Rating for Business Schools and the Director of the Diploma in Advanced Sustainability Program.
Bettina Hirsig, co-founder of Powercoders, a coding academy aiding refugees, brings marketing and business expertise from her background. After studying economics, she gained branding and communication experience as a Marketing Manager at Wander AG. Powercoders, established in 2017, trains refugees in IT skills, addressing both industry talent shortages and refugee integration challenges. Participants undergo a 3-month boot camp followed by internships, aiming for permanent job placements to restore financial independence.
Nigist Goytom is the founder and CEO of Ha Hu AG. She is a mother of three children and an architect by profession. In 2019 Nigist realised that there are barely any apps and online materials suitable for her small children to learn how to read and write her mother tongue, Amharic. Although Amharic, an Ethiopian language with more than 62 million speakers worldwide, is the second most spoken Semitic language, there are very few learning resources available online. This convinced Nigist to develop and launch the first gamified Amharic alphabet teaching app, Ha Hu Amharic, in late 2020. Ha Hu Amharic simplifies and gamifies Ge’ez/ Amharic alphabets for beginners and children alike. It is freely available to download on app stores, for both android and IOS devices. The success of Ha Hu Amharic and its positive reception encouraged her to further develop the project into a business. In April 2021 Ha Hu AG was founded and Nigist and her team are working to make basic literacy and quality education available to all families in and outside of Africa. Currently, Nigist and her team are developing Ha Hu Tigrigna and regularly updating Ha Hu Amharic with more exciting and entertaining educational contents.
Cameron is an accomplished professional with expertise in sustainable business models and circular economy. He is passionate about fostering impactful solutions and collaborative efforts and demonstrating leadership within the Circular Economy Ecosystem.
With over 20 years of industry experience, Cameron is a skilled manager with extensive technical knowledge. He was key in delivering large projects like the ASPIRE program for CSIRO & Data61, growing it from under 100 to over 4000 businesses globally in just four years. His leadership was honed during humanitarian work in the South Pacific post-Cyclone Winston and Zena.
Beat Vonlanthen holds a Ph.D. degree in law from the University of Fribourg and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Between 1986 and 2004 he worked in the Swiss federal administration, ultimately becoming vice-director of the State Secretariat for Education and Research. In 2004 he was elected to the government of the canton of Fribourg. At first in charge of the Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure department, he took responsibility of the Ministry of economic affairs in 2006, a position he held until 2016. In 2010 and 2014 he was president of the Fribourg cantonal government. Between 2010 and 2015 he was President of the Inter-cantonal Conference of Energy Ministers. For four years (2015-2019) Beat Vonlanthen represented the canton of Fribourg in the federal parliament (Council of States [Senat]). Beat Vonlanthen is president of various economic federations of Swiss Medtech and CHOCOSUISSE, since 2017. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Fribourg School of Management.
Yann Steulet, a business economist with a degree from the School of Management Fribourg, embarked on a diverse career journey. Currently serving as Director at Fri Up and Executive Secretary at SeedCapital since 2022, he fosters entrepreneurship in Fribourg by supporting start-ups and offering seed funding. His previous roles include driving innovative initiatives at Nexora SA, Quickline Residential, and leading brand strategies at Swisscom’s Wingo. With a background in marketing, sales, and project management, Yann has made significant contributions to Switzerland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
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