- Hajdi Cenan
- Co-founder & CEO
- Co-founder & CEO
- airt
- airt
- Croatia
-
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.
- Nitin Dahad
- Journalist and entrepreneur
- Journalist and entre..
- embedded.com
- embedded.com
- United Kingdom
-
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.
- Tarek El Kady
- CEO
- CEO
- Mediterranean Business Angels
- Mediterranean Busine..
- Egypt
-
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.
- Nina Walters
- Managing Director
- Managing Director
- Expandise
- Expandise
- Germany
-
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.
- Francesco Cracolici
- General manager
- General manager
- Nomadic Minds
- Nomadic Minds
- Italy
-
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.
- Ahmad Piraiee
- Director
- Director
- Startup Grind Warsaw
- Startup Grind Warsaw
- Poland
-
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.
- Marina Maljuric
- Special Adviser
- Special Adviser
- MEKST conference
- MEKST conference
- Serbia
-
Marina Maljurić, Program Director, MEKST conference.
Marina’s career as an event manager at conferences in the field of tourism, hotel industry, and digital marketing has started during her graduate studies of Management and business in tourism. After graduation, her work continued in the same direction and led her to the position of program director of conferences that gather from 200 to 1100 participants. The biggest one is the MEKST conference taking place every year in Novi Sad with more than 1000 participants from 15 European countries. Working as a manager for the promotion and development of tourism products at the Tourism organization of the City of Novi Sad helped her gain more experience in marketing and promotion. Founder of NGO Kulturizam, whose purpose is to improve the local communities across the territory of Vojvodina, by organizing different types of events to promote tourist values of Vojvodina and Serbia. Passionate about work bringing you a sense that what you are doing matters.
- Eslam Darwish
- CEO & Founder
- CEO & Founder
- Just.Innovate
- Just.Innovate
- Egypt
-
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 & AfricaINDUSTRIES:
Fintech, Banking, FMCG, Media & Entertainment
EMPLOYERS:
Unilever, Citi, Twofour54, MasterCard
EDUCATION:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Central Michigan / Arab Academy, Alex University
- Cory Kidd
- CEO & Founder
- CEO & Founder
- Catalia Health
- Catalia Health
- United States
-
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.
- Matthew Gardiner
- Founder
- Founder
- A1 AI
- A1 AI
- United Kingdom
-
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.
- Nicolas Rouhana
- General Manager
- General Manager
- IM Capital
- IM Capital
- Lebanon
-
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.
- SHMUEL BEN-TOVIM
- Chairman
- Chairman
- City TLV
- City TLV
-
Shmuel Ben-Tovim is the Managing Director of Ben-Tovim Consultants Ltd., an Israeli boutique investment banking firm, founded in 1991. He also serves as the President The Fintech Community of Israel - City TLV and a Founding Board Member of the Israel Smart Cities Institute (ISCI).
Shmuel’s career has encompassed both the private and public sectors. Among his previous positions: Assistant Director General of the Bank Leumi Group, President of International Communications Ltd., Israel’s Consul & Trade Commissioner to the USA based in New York, Mayor of Kfar Shmaryahu, Minister for Economic Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in London, Chief Economic Adviser to the Minister of Industry, Trade & Tourism.
He has served as non-executive director in leading Israeli corporations, including Bezeq Ltd., Israel Chemicals Ltd. and The Jerusalem Economic Corporation Ltd. He was a board member of the Tel-Aviv Chamber of Commerce and the Israel Export Institute.
Among his other interests Shmuel is the Chairman of the Israel-Malta Chamber of Commerce, and the Chairman of the International Committee of the Israel Directors’ Union.
Shmuel holds an MBA from the Hebrew University. He loves music and writes regularly opera reviews for the international website playstosee.com.
- Shwen Gwee
- VP Head of Digital
- VP Head of Digital
- BMS
- BMS
- United States
- "Shwen is a recognized pioneer in digital health and social pharma, as well as a well-respected industry thought-leader who was named a Top 40 “Healthcare Transformer” by MM&M in 2015, a PR Week ""Health Influencer 50"" in 2017 & 2018 and a 2020 Constellation Research Business Transformer 150 (BT150). He sits on various advisory boards, including: Google (Healthcare), SXSW (Health), MM&M Healthcare Transformers, conversationHEALTH, GRYT Health and the Digital Health Coalition. Shwen brings over 15 years of experience leading digital strategy and driving innovation in commercial, clinical and communications organizations, both on the client-side and at leading creative agencies. He is often featured in industry publications and speaks regularly at industry events. Shwen is also very involved in the health tech startup ecosystem and organizes startup events and pitch competitions annually; and he also plays an active role running healthcare hackathons around the world as part of the MIT Hacking Medicine team."