As she describes herself, Hajdi Cenan is a non-tech person in the tech world, life-long learner, travel & wine lover, a believer in benefits of equality, and hater of writing short bios.
In her previous life, she was the Executive marketing director and Director of tourism publishing in Europapress holding (now Hanza Media) and COO of DRAP, the most-awarded digital marketing/tech/innovation agency in Croatia.
Currently, she is the co-founder and CEO of her newest venture, AI startup airt that enables banks to easily and quickly implement and use the power of artificial intelligence on their data. She is also one of the co-founders of PWN Zagreb, the association that promotes equality and gender-balanced leadership.
Nina is the founder and Managing Director of Expandise, a consultancy focused on helping companies to develop their international strategy and launch new markets. She has launched companies into multiple countries across Europe and Asia, with active experience in over 50 markets. Nina is fascinated to learn the differences unique to individual markets and brings that knowledge to her clients. She is based in Berlin but regularly exploits her travel obsession to explore and discover new things about consumer behavior in other countries. Nina studied at the University of Cambridge in England and completed her Executive MBA at ESMT in Berlin, before embarking on Ph.D. studies in Amsterdam. She is currently researching the balance between scalability and localization during the expansion process.
Tarek El Kady is a leading entrepreneur in his native Alexandria, Egypt. Born and raised in Alexandria, Tarek has worked in the U.S. as a part-time web designer before launching his first company called WebArchitect.
After a successful decade in this business, he launched Markade which focuses on marketing, advertising, and branding. Eventually, he started Cactus which is an event management and on-ground activation agency. Lastly formed KD Group which manages the operations of the three agencies and their clients which are local, regional, and global. Last year, Tarek shook up the technology world by hosting two episodes of Techne Summit in Alexandria (October 2015 & May 2016).
Techne Summit is a two-day international entrepreneurship technology event that acts as a platform including the main global players in the technology industry, namely: industry professionals as speakers, technology businesses, entrepreneurs and startups, investors, users, and media representatives. In December 2016, Tarek announced the launch of Alexandria Angels, the first Alexandria based Angel Network. Consisting of a select group of founding members, all experienced in business and enthusiastic about entrepreneurship in Alexandria, the newly established network seeks to invest in promising, high-growth startups in Alexandria and the Nile delta region from mid next year onwards. The announcement came during the opening of the Rise Up Summit, the leading entrepreneurship event in the Middle East and Africa. In February 2017, Tarek launched the first of its kind nation-wide roadshow to empower entrepreneurs all over Egypt Techne Drifts - Three drifts that are in the format of a roadshow which kick-started by Upper Egypt, as a one-day summit in three different cities Assiut, Sohag, and Aswan. Then Delta in three other cities Mansoura, Zagazig, and Tanta. The Canal Drift will soon follow on 15,16 March 2017 in Suez and Port-Said respectively.
Tarek is passionate about helping young people.
Keith Wallace is a Scotsman with a passion for entrepreneurs and deal-making.
Having founded the Dutch Investors Club (DeInvesteerdersClub) he put his vision of joint investments within the Netherlands and further afield into effect. With deals in Africa and Asia, as well as Europe, this small group of active investors has striven from the beginning to make an impact as well as financial returns. Working with the Hivos Foundation, he was part of the team that founded Hivos Impact Investments, where he sits in the investment team and manages the portfolio companies of the Hivos Food and Lifestyle Fund (Southern Africa) and the Hivos Mideast Creatives Fund (MENA).
Keith is also Global Ringmaster of getting In The Ring, an international entrepreneurial competition that takes place in over 100 countries and allows him to wear top hat and tails, even in the tropics.
Director at Startup Grind Warsaw. Startup enthusiast, marketing, and communication expert. Serving companies from startups, SMEs to Fortune 500s in growth, international expansion, and other strategic decisions.
Practicing in the areas of start-up structuring, governance, pre-growth and growth venture finance; international trade agreements antidumping, subsidies, safeguards and countervailing measures; international business transactions; joint ventures; and competition laws. Angel investor: Invested in Nebras Technology, Abu Erdan Technology, Eventtus, Insanyah, and Nawah Scientific, among others. Member of the Cairo and Alexandria Angels Networks. Mentor at V-Lab - AUC; Imagine Cup - GUC; the Reactor Program - Innoventures; Gesr - Misr Elkheir; TIEC; and Flat-6- Labs. (Current board member of HEGTA.) Previously, chairman of the board of the Nahdet Elmahrousa NGO (2009 - 2016). And, member of the adjunct faculty, teaching business law. The school of management, the American University in Cairo (2014 - 2016).
"Mohamed Shehab Eldin www.mohamedshehabeldin.com. Mr. Shehab brings in 17 years of experience as a social entrepreneur, Consultant, Executive Coach, Facilitator, and International Speaker focusing on Leadership, Strategic Planning, Conflict Resolution, Negotiation.
He is the founder of RESOLVE consulting and AL-SHEHAB & Partners. A confounder of: o AL-SONBOLAH Textile o Newstar Textile o AGRICYCLE for agricultural waste energy.
A co-founder and a former board member of Nahdet El-Mahrousa, leading social enterprise incubator. The Founding Curator of the Global Shapers Community- Cairo Hub, established by the World Economic Forum.
Currently Lectures at the American University in Cairo, Business School, School of Executive Education. Previously taught at: o The Institute for Peace Studies o Canadian International College o Modern Sciences and Arts University. Lectured at: o George Mason University o American University in Washington o Vienna University o The Institute for Peace Studies.
Holds: o Masters degree in International Conflict Resolution from the University of Notre Dame in the USA o Bachelor degree in Business Administration and o A certificate in economic and political studies from Georgetown University o A Diploma in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Erasmus University in the Netherlands."
Teodora Panțu specializes in business development and strategic communication.
Formerly BDM for the global leading PR software company, Cision, Teodora has been handling international PR and partnerships for Techne Summit Dubrovnik for the past 2 years.
Wlodek is an ex-investment banker, serial entrepreneur, and a hands-on investor with focus and deep tech, algorithmic & ML startups. When working with entrepreneurs he focuses on making sure that they address truly the deep pain warranting a disruptive change (and are not just a “nice to have”) and helps them answer seemingly simple but tough questions: who will buy it and why consistently over time?
After his banking career in the UK, US and Poland, he turned into entrepreneurship (co-founded several companies, led them to successful exits), worked with the founders on getting their companies best strategic partnerships (focusing on commercial opportunities), matching them with real smart money investors and helping them to exit (with industry players). He also co-founded VC funds (like Nomad Fund, where he was a Partner) and established a deep network of VCs and investors over two decades. Born in (communist) Poland, he spends most of his life in London; proud alumnus of the LSE.
Serial entrepreneur with software development background. More than 20 years of experience in software development (web, mobile, client/server, hardware).
Daniel Hastik is the former CEO of Futurelytics, a pioneer in predictive analytics in e-commerce and the gaming industry. Before founding Futurelytics, he established multiple online businesses in Uganda, Kenya, Australia, and New Zealand. He was also involved in data projects in the Nordics and can understand the true value of data and how that can impact any business. Currently, he is managing Nextech Ventures, a VC fund with a focus on seed-stage tech startups in the United States and Europe. He mentors startups and founders in data-related topics, growth strategies, product scaling, and investor relations, and is active in the tech community.
Private Equity professional. Kauffman Fellow. Eisenhower Fellow.
Francesco leads Nomadic Minds, the world’s largest network of tech CEOs and top executives that now helps emerging startup ecosystems to thrive.
The people in the networks have collectively raised +$4BLN and generated +$20BLN in companies’ value, and they worked with The White House, the king of Morocco, King of Jordan, Albania, Colombia, etc..
Nomadic also connects the best seed-stage startups from emerging ecosystems with investors from the Valley to raise their Serie A.
Prior to that, he was a two-times where he headed sales and business development.
Since he returned to Croatia in 2014, Ante Lucic has been leading A-Link, a strategic HR and career management consultancy, with a special focus on the future of work and education. Ante invented "Talent Capital" & ex-ANTE methodology - a new HR paradigm aiming to diagnose, evaluate, and develop human capital as the essential asset of every organization. Ante has also been an active startup mentor and advocates who founded Cronnect.me - a platform that c(r)connects Croatian startups with potential investors from the Croatian Diaspora. Two years ago he started a program to teach entrepreneurship in elementary schools, trying to raise a new generation of entrepreneurial innovators in Croatia. As an entrepreneur, Ante remains committed to empower companies and individuals to develop, maintain, and grow the most important of all resources - the human resource, as well as to harness the most powerful of all types of capital - the talent capital, in order to ensure competitiveness and innovation.
EXPERIENCE:
GLOBAL SVP NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION at MASTERCARD.
20 yrs in Innovation/product development, Marketing, Digital, Tech Startups & Across North America, Europe, Russia, Middle East & Africa
INDUSTRIES:
Fintech, Banking, FMCG, Media & Entertainment
EMPLOYERS:
Unilever, Citi, Twofour54, MasterCard
EDUCATION:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Central Michigan / Arab Academy, Alex University
Dimitris Litsikakis holds a BSc in Information Technology from Piraeus University and a MSc in Project Management from Lancaster University. He worked at IBM UK as a Project Manager delivering large scale IT projects.
He then joined Edenred Greece as Digital Transformation Manager where he led the entire digitalization of the company’s solution offering, issuing hundreds of thousands of MasterCard cards to beneficiaries. In 2018 he was appointed Country Manager for Revolut in Greece, Cyprus & Malta, where he grew the client base by 400%.
Having secured $336M in funding, Revolut has an impressive $1,7B valuation and 4 million users across Europe. In April 2019 he joined DeVere as Global Head of FinTech, leading the group’s digital efforts. Since 2014, he also acts as Athens Chapter Director for Startup Grind, the largest entrepreneurship community in the world."
Dr. Cory Kidd is an experienced entrepreneur who has been working in healthcare technology for more than two decades. Dr. Kidd is the founder and CEO of Catalia Health, a chronic disease care management company that provides an effective AI-powered solution to keep patients on therapy and improve outcomes. The focus of his work has been applying innovative technologies towards solving large-scale healthcare challenges. His previous company, Intuitive Automata, created interactive coaches for diabetes and weight management.
Prior to this, Dr. Kidd received his M.S. and Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab in human-robot interaction. While there, he conducted studies that showed the psychological and clinical advantages of using a physical robot compared to screen-based interactions. Dr. Kidd also conducted an extensive study showing the efficacy of his weight loss coach in helping people to diet, as well as completed work in nursing homes using robotic companions for elderly individuals. He received his B.S. in Computer Science and was subsequently a research faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Kidd founded Catalia Health to use scalable, innovative technology to better support patients living with chronic illness. He has raised around $10 million in seed funding from VC and PE funds including Khosla Ventures, Ion Pacific, and Fusion Fund.
As a frequent speaker, Dr. Kidd provides healthcare and technology commentary at events and in the media. In 2018 he was awarded a grant and honored as a finalist in Astellas Oncology’s C3 Award that acknowledges and supports non-medicine innovations aimed at improving the cancer care experience for patients.
Amr is an innovation mixologist, passionate about ideas, people, and businesses with the potential to positively impact the world. His most recent post was with Unilever as Global Innovation Director based in the UK and he has had an accomplished career with over 20 years of experience in the FMCG industry with multinational companies. He is a true global citizen with experience in developing and growing famous international brand franchises like Dove, Axe, Clear, Lipton, Clorox and Dettol across diverse markets like Egypt, GCC, Levant, India, Turkey, UK, USA, France, and Russia, many of which he has had an immersive working and living experience.
A consultant, design thinker, business coach, public speaker, trainer and mentor who over the past few years has been involved with a diverse range of corporate, governmental, entrepreneurial and developmental ecosystems which include; Nestle, Minlo, Ministry of Solidarity, Egypt Ventures Ministry of Investment, Creative Industry Summit, MIT Arab Forum for Refugees, Unilever Marketing Academy, Drosos, The American University in Cairo Centre For Entrepreneurship.
His areas of expertise cover; Innovation, Strategy, Branding, Advertising, Entrepreneurship, Consumer Insight & Research, Story Telling, Pricing Strategies, and Personal Branding.
Amr is the Campaigner ENTP personality: entrepreneurial, creative, intuitive, problem solver, enthusiast, change catalyst, abstract thinker, dot connector, challenger, inspirer, and motivator who is passionate about empowering people and businesses.
Nitin Dahad has been actively involved in technology and related industries over the last 35 years. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of a deep tech magazine, embedded.com, and a correspondent for international electronics industry publications, EE Times and EE Times Europe. He is also a board member for a regional economic development agency, the Hertfordshire LEP, and on the board of global growth startup incubator platform, Technoplat. As an entrepreneur, his track record includes taking microprocessor startup ARC International to Silicon Valley, USA, and guiding it through a billion-dollar flotation, and chairing a photonics company through its sale to a Chinese telecoms company. He also co-founded one of the first practical magazines for tech entrepreneurs in 2002, The Chilli; and also co-founded online global innovation magazine, The Next Silicon Valley. He was also a key technology ambassador for the British government and has served on the boards of UK universities.
Matthew is the founder of A1 AI, he previously worked in PwC’s Global Financial Services practice and sits on several advisory boards in Financial Services & Fintech.
He has advised C-Suite at global FIs, asset management professionals, VCs, and their legal counsel on Fintech innovation in multiple jurisdictions in EMEA, APAC & MENA/ GCC.
Matthew has recently spoken at: Money 2020 Europe & Asia with the FCA, ECB, DNB, MAS, BoJ, Next Money EMEA, APAC & MENA, ArabNet Dubai, Finnovasia, Bank of China, Tencent, The Emir of Kuwait Global Informatics Forum, Diwan of Royal Court of Oman, Bank Negara, The Global Leaders Forum, Institutional Investor, Global Fixed Income Institute Geneva, AIM Abu Dhabi, Arendt - Luxembourg, Gianni Origoni Rome, Techstars, Rise, Samsung, TEDXRoma & The Turing Trust.
Matthew is visiting faculty at Cass Business School and the Asian Banking School. He is a Tech London Advocate and a mentor at a number of international tech incubators. He advises HNW/ UHNW individuals and family offices on charitable giving and is a founding
Member of Techfugees, a global charity that promotes financial inclusion.
Marketing strategy consultant.
Ekaterina had been studying in the USA, Russia, and Great Britain. Has obtained working experience developing strategies for SMEs in Argentina, The UAE, and The UK.
After returning to Russia, Ekaterina Munina adopted corporate marketing strategy tools to personal strategy and founded Personal strategy school.
Nowadays she has hundreds of successful graduates from online and offline programs.
Dr. Nicolas Rouhana is currently the General Manager of IM Capital, a $20M program funded under USAID MENA Investment Initiative, providing Matching Capital, Equity Guarantee, and Technical Assistance to early-stage businesses and investors in Lebanon. Between 2002 & 2015, Dr. Rouhana was the Executive Director of Berytech Technological Pole, a leading Technology Business Innovation & Incubation Center in Lebanon. He is currently Vice-President of Internet Society-Lebanon Chapter, board member of Berytech, and the current Chairman of Speed@BDD the first tech accelerator in Lebanon.
Nicolas has a Telecommunications Engineering degree from Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, a Ph.D. in Networking Systems from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, and an EDP graduate from INSEAD, France.
A visionary physician leader with a demonstrated history of instrumental roles in pioneering health care endeavors globally, Dr. Kohli is passionate about transforming health and care through digital innovation and is a champion for better access to quality care for every citizen, anywhere, anytime. He is known for expertise in complex healthcare “firsts”; digital health; informatics; clinical transformation; personal well-being and preventive health. Dr. Kohli has extensive work experience in a variety of international health care settings focusing on advancing health and care through the use of health information technology. He is a frequently invited speaker globally and has lectured extensively throughout Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, the US, Europe, and Australia. He serves as Managing Director of Beyond Horizon Health, a global digital health advisory and consulting firm. He is also a Co-founder and Partner, Infinite Care Holdings.
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