Co-Chairs

KARL EINHAEUPL

Professor of Neurology and CEO, Charite Medical School, Berlin/ Germany

Karl Einhaeupl is one of the most distinguished neurologists in Germany, and he also served as the President of the Scientific Advisory Council to the German Federal Government (Wissenschaftsrat). He has received numerous awards and is a member of the Leopoldina, the National Academy of Sciences in Germany. Since 2008 he has served as the CEO of Charité – Universitaetsmedizin Berlin. Vita

STEPHAN GUTZEIT

Executive Director, Stiftung Charite, Berlin/ Germany

Stephan Gutzeit studied chemistry and philosophy and after a stint at a global consultancy firm became a knowledge entrepreneur in 1998, co-founding two private universities in Berlin. Today he directs Stiftung Charite, serves in the investment committee at Charite Biomedical Fund, and is a consultant for universities and foundations. Vita

LESA MITCHELL

Vice President, Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City/ USA

Lesa Mitchell spent the first twenty years of her career in global executive roles at Aventis and Quintiles. She joined the Kauffman Foundation, the world's largest foundation supporting entrepreneurship, in 2003 and is its VP in charge of advancing innovation.
Vita
 


Confirmed Speakers

BERNHARD J. ARNOLDS

Professor and Director, Center for Technology Transfer, University of Freiburg, Freiburg/ Germany

Bernhard Arnolds is a key opinion leader among German technology transfer managers and heads the TTO at the University of Freiburg, which he co-founded. Vita
 

ANTHONY ATALA

Director, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem/ USA

Tony Atala was trained at Harvard, where he directed a laboratory of tissue engineering, and is a board-certified urologist. Since 2004 he has been researcher, teacher, surgeon, and transformational knowledge entrepreneur at Wake Forest University and its teaching hospital. He is a pioneer of regenerative medicine and stem cell research and serves on the board of the Regenerative Medicine Foundation. Vita

SUSAN AXELROD

Chair of the Board, Citizens United for Curing Epilepsy (CURE), Chicago/ USA

In 1998, Susan Axelrod, who has an MBA from the University of Chicago, co-founded CURE, frustrated with her inability to protect her daughter Lauren from uncontrollable seizures. Under Axelrod’s leadership, CURE has redefined the goals of epilepsy research as “no seizures, no side effects” and established the Epilepsy Research Benchmarks—comprehensive and ambitious goals for translational research aimed at speeding up the search for cures. Vita

ANNEGRET DE BAEY-DIEPOLDER

Partner, Gimv Venture Capital, Munich/ Germany

Before joining Gimv, Annegret de Baey-Diepolder gained 9 years of venture capital experience as a partner at TVM Capital. She holds a PhD in human genetics from the University of Munich and after her postdoctoral work led a research group at Micromet AG that developed therapeutic vaccines. Vita
   

BRIGITTE BAUMANN

Founder & CEO, GO BEYOND Early Stage Investing; President, European Business Angel Networks and Seed Funds (EBAN), Zurich/ Switzerland

Brigitte Baumann is a serial entrepreneur and has 15 years of  experience in bringing new technologies to market in the US and Europe. She has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School and was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey. She serves on many selection and investment committees throughout Europe and chairs the global Angel Investing Interest Group at the Young Presidents' Organization.  Vita
   

MARKUS BAUMANNS


Serial Entrepreneur; former CEO, Bucerius Law School; CEO, Schumacher & Baumanns – The Company Companions, Hamburg/ Germany

Markus Baumanns earned a PhD in history and began his career as a diplomat. He then became CEO of Bucerius Law School in Hamburg and grew it into one of the most successful private universities in Germany. He joined the executive board of ZEIT-Stiftung, one of the largest German foundations, before starting his own consultancy business with an impressive roster of clients in 2010. Vita
 
   

JOHN BEADLE


CEO, PsiOxus Therapeutics Ltd; former Entrepreneur in Residence, Imperial Innovations Group plc, London/ UK

John Beadle has an MBA from the London Business School. He worked for several leading pharma companies and is also a seasoned biotech entrepreneur. He was Entrepreneur in Residence at Imperial Innovations before becoming CEO of one of the companies that he had helped to spin out: PsiOxus. In this capacity, he cooperates with Charite cachexia specialist Stefan Anker. Vita
 

IDA BEERHALTER


Investment Partner Life Science, BellwaldPartner GmbH, Moehlin/ Switzerland

Ida Beerhalter is an investment partner in a Swiss multi-family office. Unusually, she is an experienced medical entrepreneur and has also held a broad range of management positions in the healthcare industry. Vita
   

KIRSTEN BOUND


Lead Policy Advisor on Innovation Systems, National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA), London/ UK

Kirsten Bound is a Policy Advisor at NESTA, an independent body with a mission to make the UK more innovative. Kirsten previously worked on capacity building for Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative and on Investment Climate Reform for the IFC in Rwanda. Kirsten spent five years as a Senior Researcher for Demos, a leading think-tank in the UK. Vita
 
   

CHARLIE CAMERON


Founder and Managing Director, Hub Angels Investment Group LLC; Senior Vice President, Cooley LLP; Member of the Advisory Board, The Capital Network Inc., Boston/ USA

Charlie Cameron founded the "Hub Angels" in Boston and has managed them for more than 10 years. This syndicate of business angels has raised several funds and invested more than 12 million USD so far. Charlie is also VP of a law firm and has been researching and teaching angel investing at Harvard, MIT, and other universities. Vita
 
   

VALERIE CALENDA


Partner, Mérieux Développement, Lyon/France

Valérie Calenda received a PhD in pharmacology and began her career at INSERM. Later she joined Transgene and then led a spin-off company before switching sides and moving into venture capital. Now she is a partner at the healthcare investment company started by the Mérieux entrepreneurial family who founded Sanofi Pasteur as well as other companies and foundations. Vita
 
   

DIRK DANTZ


CEO, ipal GmbH, Berlin/ Germany

Dirk Dantz has been Managing Director of ipal GmbH, the leading technology marketer in Berlin and Brandenburg, since 2010. He is listed at the European Patent Office as European Patent Attorney.Vita
 
   

BARBARA DIEHL


Programme Manager, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Saïd Business School; Member of the Investment Committee, SBS Venture Fund; University of Oxford, Oxford/UK

Barbara Diehl works at one of the most entrepreneurial business schools in Europe. Previously she organised the second Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF 2006), and worked for the public affairs division at Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Vita
 
   

PAUL VAN DUN


Director, Leuven Development Inc, Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven/Belgium

Paul van Dun was trained as a lawyer and tax adviser. He worked for a major accounting firm and later in private equity. Under his leadership K.U. Leuven Research and Development has become one of the most recognised TTOs in Europe. He also manages the Gemma Frisius Fonds, the venture fund of the University of Leuven. Vita
 
   

PETER EVANS


Managing Partner, Riverdale Partners; Senior Advisor, MaRS Discovery District, Toronto/ Canada

Peter Evans manages the marketing firm Riverdale Partners and lectures frequently at technology and marketing events. He supports the MaRS Discovery District, an innovation system in Toronto focused on building Canada's next generation of technology companies. Vita
 
   

JENS FAHRENBERG


Head of the Innovation Department, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe/ Germany

Jens Fahrenberg is an electrical engineer with a PhD from the Karlsruhe Research Institute. As the head of the "innovation task force", he played a key role in the merger of the Karlsruhe Research Centre and the Technical University of Karlsruhe, a transformational event in the German university sector. Vita
 
   

ULF FINK


Ulf Fink, CEO, Gesundheitsstadt Berlin e.V.; Founder, WISO Group; former Senator for Health and Welfare; President, Hauptstadtkongress Medizin und Gesundheit, Berlin/ Germany: “Gesundheitsstadt Berlin – Die Bedeutung von Innovationen“.

Ulf Fink is the doyen of healthcare experts in Berlin and Germany. The annual Hauptstadtkongress (Capital City Congress for Medicine and Health) that he convenes is the leading healthcare conference in Germany with more than 8,000 visitors every year. Ulf Fink has had a long and successful political career in which he managed a political party at the federal level (CDU), was an MP in the Bundestag, and served as a Senator in Berlin, among other prominent positions. The WISO Group that he founded carries out analyses and authors reports on health and social policies and on health system. Vita
 
   

ROMAN FLECK


Principal, Index Ventures, Geneva/ Switzerland

Roman Fleck received his PhD from MIT, where he performed research on catalytic antibodies. He also obtained an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business, where he still mentors aspiring entrepreneurs. Prior to Index, he worked at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals on preclinical drug discovery (inflammation and cardiovascular therapies). Vita
 
   

HANSON S. GIFFORD


Partner and CEO, The Foundry LLC, Menlo Park/ USA

Hanson Gifford has led The Foundry in all its activities since 1998 and developed it into the premier medical device incubator in the US. The companies developed and funded by The Foundry have generated in excess of US$ 1 billion in value for their founders and investors. Earlier, he distinguished himself as a serial medtech entrepreneur in the US and in Bavaria. He is a prolific inventor, with 115 issued and 200 pending US patents to his name. Vita
 
   

MARTIN GOERLITZ


Founder and Member of the Executive Board, GÖRLITZ Group AG, Koblenz/ Germany.

Martin Goerlitz founded GÖRLITZ Group AG as a student, during his first year at Technical University of Darmstadt in 1976. The company entered the market segment in which it is most successful today – smart metering – in the 1990s, with data collection systems for RWE, Thuega, and PESAG. Martin is also the founder and chairman of the Martin Goerlitz Foundation dedicated to energy, the environment, and social commitment. Vita
 
   

CARL GULBRANDSEN


Managing Director, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), Madison/ USA

Carl Gulbrandsen is a physiologist and lawyer. He directs the WARF Foundation - the oldest technology transfer organisation in the US, which is also one of the most successful ones. Vita
 

PETER HEINRICH

CEO, Magforce Nanotechnologies AG; Co-Founder and former CEO, MediGene AG; President of the Board, BIO Deutschland, Berlin/ Germany

Before joining Founder & CSO Andreas Jordan on the management board of Magforce AG, biochemist Peter Heinrich co-founded Medigene AG and led it until 2009. Under his leadership, Medigene achieved regulatory approval and market launches of the drugs Eligard, Veregen, and Oracea, as well as a listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Vita

 
   

MARTIN HINOUL


Business Development Manager, Leuven Science, Park; Charter Member, TiE – The Global Network of Entrepreneurs, Brussels Chapter; Leuven/ Belgium

Martin Hinoul holds a Ph.D. in Physics and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from KU Leuven.  He did postdoctoral work at Stanford and MIT and then spent 14 years as the Belgian Technology and Science attaché in the US before returning to Leuven. The international entrepreneurship network TiE has charged him with building the Brussels chapter as its charter member.  He has published extensively on the “knowledge economy” and lectures at major universities world-wide. Vita
 
   

BRIAN HORSBURGH


Head of Life Sciences, IP Group plc, London/ UK

Brian Horsburgh has been at the IP Group Since 2004. Prior to that, took his PhD in virology at Cambridge, was a postdoc at Harvard Medical School, founded and directed a biotech start-up, and held a leadership position at Medigene Inc. Vita
 
   

MATTHIAS M. ISSING


Principal, Siemens Healthcare Consulting, Siemens AG, Erlangen/ Germany

Matthias M. Issing is the head of the Siemens Healthcare Consulting group for strategy and management consulting projects. He earned his doctoral degree at Charité - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin and Freie Universitaet Berlin and started his career in strategy consulting companies such as Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and CSP Consult & Strategy Partners. Vita
 

TIMM JESSEN

CEO, Bionamics GmbH; former Chief Scientific Officer, Evotec AG, Kiel/ Germany

Timm Jessen took his PhD in biochemistry at the Max Planck Institute in Munich and then joined Hoechst AG, where he headed the biotechnology department.

At Evotec AG he was instrumental in the successful IPO and further growth of the company. Vita
   

ANDREAS JORDAN

Andreas Jordan, Founder and CSO, MagForce Nanotechnologies AG, Berlin/ Germany

Andreas began his career with studies in biology at the Free University of Berlin, followed by further studies in biochemistry at the Technical University of Berlin. His highly praised doctoral dissertation in 1993 addressed the production of nanoparticles and their application for cancer therapy. Andreas Jordan founded MagForce Nanotechnologies AG and serves on its management board as chief scientific officer, with responsibility for all research and development activities. Vita
   

MARION JUNG

Principal, Earlybird Venture Capital, Munich/ Germany

Marion Jung has 13 years of venture capital experience and concentrates on medtech and pharma investments at Earlybird. She has  a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Munich. Vita
   

REGIS KELLY

Director, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3); General Partner, Mission Bay Capital venture fund; former Chair, Bay Area Scientific Innovation Consortium (BASIC), San Francisco/ USA

Regis B. Kelly is a distinguished neuroscientist who was executive vice chancellor at UCSF when that university built its Mission Bay research campus. He now directs QB3, which experts consider one of the foremost biomedical incubators in the United States. QB3 also has a venture fund, Mission Bay Capital, where Regis Kelly serves as a general partner. Vita
   

HEINZ KLANDT


Professor of Entrepreneurship, European Business School,
Wiesbaden/ Germany

Heinz Klandt took his PhD at the University of Cologne with a thesis on “entrepreneurial success factors”. Later he became the first professor for entrepreneurship ever appointed in Germany. He also serves on several
supervisory boards. Vita
 
   

JOCHEN KNOLLE


Consultant and former Chief Scientific Officer, Jerini AG; Member of the Supervisory Board, Charité Research Organisation GmbH, Frankfurt/ Germany

Jochen Knolle is a medicinal chemist who left academia after postdoctoral work at Harvard to join Hoechst AG, where he was named an inventor on more than 100 patents and patent applications. At Jerini AG, he led the successful development and approval of Icatibant (Firazyr). Vita
 

MATTHIAS KOELBEL


Head of Department, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Berlin/ Germany

Matthias Koelbel studied physics, philosophy, and economics in Leipzig and Goettingen and earned a PhD in research policy. He has worked at the Ministry since 2002 and is now in charge of the programmes “Start-up Offensive Biotechnology” and “Innovative Small and Medium Businesses: Biotechnology - BioChance” there.  Vita
 
   

WILHELM KRULL


Secretary General, VolkswagenStiftung, Hannover/ Germany

Wilhelm Krull has been the Secretary General of VolkswagenStiftung, the largest foundation supporting science and scholarship in Germany, since 1996. Earlier, he worked for the German Science Council (Wissenschaftsrat) and at the headquarters of the Max Planck Society. He has received numerous awards and is chairman of the Association of German Foundations (Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen). Vita
 
   

STEPHANIE KRUMHOLZ


Global Regulatory Leader, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel/ Switzerland

Stephanie Krumholz studied pharmacy at the University of Bonn and earned a Dr. rer. medic. at Charité University Medical School Stephanie also worked for Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in the International Drug Regulatory Affairs Department in the New York area for 4 years. Stephanie returned to Switzerland in 2010 and currently holds the position of a Global Regulatory Leader at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Vita
   

BURTON LEE


Lecturer, European Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Stanford School of Engineering; Managing Director, Innovarium Ventures, Palo Alto/ USA

Burton Lee lectures on European Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Stanford School of Engineering, where he has successfully developed partnerships with European national and regional governments and industry. He also serves as Managing Director of Innovarium Ventures, a financial, technical, and strategic advisory services firm based in Silicon Valley with technology startup, angel investor, investment fund, corporate, and national and regional government clients in Europe, Latin America and the USA. Vita
   

TIM LENIHAN


CEO, MD Start SA (Venture Capital + Accelerator); Founder and CEO, Contract Medical International GmbH, Lausanne/ Switzerland

Tim Lenihan is a serial entrepreneur and has extensive experience in engineering and regulatory affairs as they relate to the medical device industry. He is the founding CEO of MD Start, an incubator fund backed by Sofinnova, Versant Ventures, Sorin Group, and Medtronic. Vita
   

HUBERTUS LEONHARDT

Partner, SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH, Tuebingen/ Germany
Vita
   

MARTIN MAHN


Managing Director, Humboldt-Innovation GmbH, Berlin/ Germany

Martin Mahn is Managing Director of Humboldt-Innovation. As a biologist and environmental economist and as a result of his long-term experience in global industry, he has expertise in the fields of both science and business. Vita


UWE MARX


Serial Entrepreneur; Founder and former Chief Scientific Officer, ProBioGen AG; Head of Research Group “Multi Organ Chips”, TU Berlin; Berlin/ Germany

Uwe Marx earned his doctorate degree at Humboldt University (Charité Medical School). He has founded five companies, has more than 25 years of experience in protein drug development and tissue engineering, and has published more than 50 scientific papers. Vita
   

JUERGEN MEIER


Partner, Vossius & Partner, Munich/ Germany

Juergen Meier is a Patent Attorney and a European Trademark Attorney. He took his PhD at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and worked as a postdoc at McGill University on gene therapy in the field of neurology. He joined Vossius & Partner in 1998. Vita

PAOLO MILANI


Scientific Director, Fondazione Filarete; Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces, University of Milano, Milan/ Italy.

Paolo Milani is Scientific Director of Fondazione Filarete, an organisation in Milan that advances medical innovations in Italy. He is a professor of physics at and directs the Interdisciplinary Centre for Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces in Milan. He holds six patents and is co-founder and president of the start-up company Tethis. Vita
   

Gerald Moeller


Investment Advisor, HBM BioVentures AG, Zug/ Switzerland

Gerald Moeller is the former CEO of Boehringer Mannheim Group and has over 30 years of experience in senior management positions in the pharma and diagnostics industry. Today he chairs the supervisory boards at Morphosys AG, BRAHMS AG (Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), and other fast-growing companies. At HBM, one of the leading European venture capital firms, he is an investment adviser and CEO of HBM BioCapitalManagement. Vita
   

JENS MUNDHENKE


Unit for Innovative Start-ups, Seed and Start-up Financing, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), Berlin/ Germany

Jens Mundhenke is an economist and earned his PhD at the University of Kiel with a thesis on the competitive impact of open-source software and open standards on software markets. He has been working in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) since 2009. Before that, he worked at the Kiel Institute for World Economics, one of the leading economic research institutes in Germany.  Vita
   

KARL NAEGLER


General Partner, Ventech Venture Capital, Paris/ France

Karl Naegler earned his PhD in molecular neurobiology at the Max Delbrueck Centre in Berlin, an academic partner of the Charité Medical School. Prior to joining Ventech in 2009 he worked at the CNRS for Neurochemistry in Strasbourg and then for 8 years at Atlas Venture in London and Munich. Vita
   

JOCHEN NOELKE


Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, and Business Angel, Hamburg/ Germany

Jochen Noelke is an alumnus of the University of St. Gallen and a successful serial entrepreneur with a special interest in product and process innovations in the healthcare sector. Vita
   

NICOLA OSYPKA


CEO of OSYPKA AG, Vice President of the Peter Osypka Foundation, Germany

Nicola Osypka is the CEO of OSYPKA AG, leading the business, which was started by her father Dr. Peter Osypka in 1977, in the second generation. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the University of California at Berkeley. She returned to Germany six years ago to join her father’s medical device company, which specializes in products for adult and pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery sold worldwide. Nicola is also vice president of the Peter Osypka Foundation supporting scientific and medical research as well as charitable causes for people in need worldwide.
   

WIEBKE PASSMANN


Investment Manager, TRIANGLE Venture Capital Group Management GmbH; St. Leon-Rot/ Germany. Vita

Wiebke Passmann is Investment Manager at TRIANGLE Venture Capital. Before joining Triangle, Wiebke gained experience in product trading and process management with RAG International Trading, now Evonik, and in international banking and trading processes at National Bank, Essen.
   

GUENTHER PAETZ


Chief Financial Officer (CFO), celares GmbH, Berlin/ Germany

Guenther Paetz, co-founder of celares GmbH, has several years of experience in the fields of finance and controlling. After graduation from Business School (Zurich, Switzerland) and participation in a trainee program at the Deutsche Kredit Bank he worked as assistant to the management board at the Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB, Berlin, Germany), founded a subsidiary and was responsible for finance and marketing in that company. Vita
   

ULRICH PISON


Professor, Charité –Universitaetsmedizin Berlin; CEO, Topass GmbH, Berlin/ Germany
   

JOACHIM RAUTTER


Managing Partner, Peppermint Venture Partners and Charité Biomedical Fund, Berlin/ Germany

Joachim Rautter is Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Peppermint Venture Partners, which recently launched the Charité Biomedical Fund as a new Healthcare fund based in Berlin. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the Technical University of Berlin. Joachim has more than 10 years of experience in Venture Capital and more than 15 years of experience in mentoring, consulting and company building of technology startups. Joachim currently chairs several supervisory and advisory boards. Vita
   

GERRIT RAUWS


Director, King Baudouin Foundation, Brussels/ Belgium

Gerrit Rauws is Director at the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels and manages the Foundation's programme in healthcare. He also coordinates the European projects of the Foundation and is responsible for the Balkans. Mr. Rauws is member of the board of the European Policy Centre, a Brussels-based European think tank. Vita
   

HOLGER REITHINGER


Partner, Forbion Capital Partners, Munich/ Germany

Holger joined Forbion Capital Partners from Global Life Science Ventures (GLSV). Prior to this, Holger was a Director at 3i in its German healthcare practice. He started in Venture Capital in 1997 as an Investment Manager at Technologieholding VC GmbH (acquired by the 3i Group in 2000), which at that time was the leading German Venture Capital firm. Vita
   

DETLEV RIESNER


Detlev Riesner, Biophysicist and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, QIAGEN N.V.; Member of the Jury, German Innovation Award in Medicine, Herbert-Worch Foundation, Bonn/ Germany Vita
   

MANFRED RUEDIGER


Serial Entrepreneur; former CEO, t2cure GmbH and Ingeneon AG; Partner, LSP Life Sciences Partners Venture Capital, Munich/ Germany

Manfred Ruediger is an entrepreneurial biochemist with a PhD from the University of Tuebingen and numerous scientific papers to his name. He has spent more than a decade in the international biotech industry, serving in various executive positions. Since 2010 he has been a partner at LSP. Vita
   

PEER SCHATZ


CEO, QIAGEN GmbH, Hilden/ Germany

Peer Schatz is a serial entrepreneur and has been a leader at Qiagen starting in 1993. Since he joined Qiagen, the company has grown from 30 to 3,600 employees and increased its revenues from US$ 2 million to more than US$ 1 billion. He was the first German entrepreneur to list his company on the NASDAQ. Vita
   

JOHANNES SCHNEIDER-LITTFELD


Corporate Vice President, Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH, Duderstadt/ Germany

Johannes Schneider-Littfeld studied biochemistry and held CEO positions at Bauerfeind, Becton-Dickinson, Disetronic, the Strategy Consultant S&H as well as in medical research before becoming Corporate Vice President at Otto Bock Healthcare in 2002. Vita
   

ALEXANDER SCHUTH


Associate Director, Business Development, Genentech Inc., San Francisco/ USA

Alexander Schuth is a proud graduate of Charité Medical School and later earned an MBA from the Wharton School. He leads Genentech's global partnering activities in the Neuroscience space, and is in charge of sourcing new alliances with German companies and universities.  Prior to Genentech, he worked in the investment banking group at Merrill Lynch in London. Vita
   

MARIOLA SOEHNGEN


Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, PAION AG, Aachen/ Germany and Cambridge/ UK.

Mariola Soehngen is a serial entrepreneur and has also worked for Gruenenthal and other globally operating pharmaceutical companies. At PAION, which she co-founded, she is responsible for drug development Phase I-III, regulatory, drug safety and quality assurance. PAION is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Vita
   

MELISSA STEVENS


Director of Strategic Initiatives, FasterCures, New York/ USA

Melissa Stevens directs strategic initiatives at FasterCures, a non-profit think tank and center of the Milken Institute. She also leads the medical philanthropy efforts of FasterCures, aiming to accelerate the development of new treatments for deadly and debilitating diseases. Vita
   

KLAUS STOECKEMANN


Co-Founder and Managing Partner Charité Biomedical Fund , Peppermint Venture Partners, Berlin/Germany

Klaus Stoeckemann is pharmacologist with an MBA from the Kellogg Business School who co-founded Peppermint Management GmbH, the fund manager for the Charité Biomedical Fund. Previously, he worked at several pharma companies and was a general partner in the international healthcare venture practice at 3i. Vita
   

PETER THIEL


Co-Founder and former CEO, PayPal; Early Investor, Facebook; Founder and Partner, The Founder's Fund; Founder and Benefactor, Thiel Foundation; President, Clarium Capital, San Francisco/ USA

Peter Thiel, who was born in Germany, is one of the most successful investors in Silicon Valley. His role as an early angel investor for the start-up company Facebook was featured in the motion picture "The Social Network". He is also an innovative philanthropist ("Thiel Fellowships") and has been, since his student days at Stanford, one of the most outspoken libertarians in the US. Vita
   

AXEL ULLRICH


Serial Entrepreneur (SUGEN, Axxima Pharmaceuticals, U3 Pharma, Kinaxo) and Director, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry; Director, Singapore Onco Genome Laboratory, Martinsried/ Germany

Axel Ullrich is one of the most distinguished German biochemists, and he is also among the most successful biotech entrepreneurs in the country. He developed, among other drugs, the monoclonal antibody Trastuzumab (trade name Herceptin), now used against breast cancer worldwide. Vita

BRIAN UNDERDOWN


Managing Director of Technology Investing, Lumira Capital; Member of the Board of Directors, Ontario Genomics Institute, Toronto/ Canada

Brian Underdown is an immunologist who followed his academic work with a second career as a distinguished venture capitalist. He has extensive experience in building companies at all stages of development with a focus on therapeutics. Vita
   
 

PIER MARIO VELLO


Secretary General, Fondazione Cariplo, Milan/ Italy

Pier Mario Vello had an illustrious career in the pharmaceutical industry and the retail sector. His last company was ranked among the ten best-managed companies in Europe. In 2006, he was recruited to Fondazione Cariplo and became one of the most innovative foundation managers, launching a venture capital fund for Italian technology start-ups. He published several books on creativity. Vita
   
 

ARNE VESTERDAL


Director, INCUBA Science Park, Aarhus/ Denmark Vita
   
 

FRANK VOGEL


Partner, SJ Berwin LLP, Berlin/ Germany

Frank Vogel is a partner of the international law firm SJ Berwin LLP in the firm's Berlin office. He advises on a wide range of private equity and other M&A transactions as well as on general corporate matters. Frank Vogel has a particularly strong experience in venture capital related transactions, including venture capital financings, management incentive schemes, trade sales and mergers as well as initial public offerings of venture capital backed companies. His industry focus includes life sciences, clean technology as well as internet and digital media. Vita
   
 

PASCALE VONMONT


Member of the Strategy Board, VENTURE KICK; Deputy Director, Gebert Ruef Stiftung, Basel/ Switzerland

Pascale Vonmont has a doctorate in biopolymers from ETH Zurich and lectures at the University of Basel. She has been with Gebert Ruef Stiftung for 12 years and is responsible there, among many other things, for the Swiss-wide pre-seed fund VENTURE KICK. Vita
   
 

SHARON VOSMEK


Entrepreneur and Member of the Advisory Board, Illuminate Ventures; CEO, ASTIA (formerly the Women’s Technology Cluster), San Francisco/ USA

Sharon Vosmek started her career working for a US Senator, moved to AMEX, and then launched her own consulting business. She likes to inspire people and to work with high-growth entrepreneurs. Since 2007, she has been the CEO of Astia. The Next Women magazine in London named her one of the "49 Most Notable Female Internet Heroes". Vita
   
 

FRANK WAGNER


Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, Charité Research Organisation (CRO) GmbH, Berlin/ Germany

Frank Wagner is a serial entrepreneur and board-certified for clinical pharmacology and internal medicine. Under his leadership, the CRO GmbH, founded 4 years ago with seed funding and support from Stiftung Charité, has become one of the most successful Clinical Research Organisations in Germany. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 published abstracts. Vita
   
 

WILFRIED WASCHER


Head of the Berlin Office and Principal of the Department for Technology Transfer and start-up funding, Project Manager Agency Juelich (PtJ), Berlin/ Germany

Wilfried Wascher is head of division for Company and Startups at Project Management Organisation Juelich (PtJ). He spent three years at Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and two years at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Bonn, before joining PtJ. Vita
   
 

ADAM ZIELINSKI


Deputy Director, Foundation for Polish Science, Warsaw/ Poland

Adam Zielinski is a political scientist and launched his career working for the Polish government and for several NGOs in Poland. Since 2004, he has held senior positions at the Foundation for Polish Science. He is also a board member at the Polish Donors Forum. Vita