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    ECO16 Berlin Speakers

     

    Ecosummit accelerates smart green startups, investors and corporates in Europe. Ecosummit Berlin 2016 happened on 26-27 April 2016 at the Radialsystem and featured 83 speakers including 60 startups. Scroll down to learn more about our speaker lineup. Click “expand” to read the speaker profile, click “collapse” to close it.

     

    ECO16 Berlin Participants Cheering

     

    • Dr. Inken Braunschmidt (Corporate)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/inkenbraunschmidt.jpg
    • Chief Innovation Officer
    • RWE
    • http://www.rwe.com
    • Inken Braunschmidt is the Chief Innovation Officer of RWE and is heading the RWE Innovation Hub, the platform and team to develop RWE’s innovative business models of the future. The focus is on pioneering lighthouse projects in areas in which we are striving to go to market faster. We leverage successful methods and principles for innovation, establishing cross-business partnerships and an external innovation network to accelerate change. As our customers’ needs and demands shift, we all have the opportunity to transform our company and shape the energy sector for future generations.
    • Claus Wattendrup (Corporate)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/clauswattendrup.jpg
    • Managing Director
    • Vattenfall Europe Innovation
    • http://corporate.vattenfall.com/
    • Claus Wattendrup is heading the European-wide Business Development activities of Vattenfall for Renewable Energy and is Managing Director of Vattenfall Europe Innovation GmbH. After studying Energy and Process Engineering Claus has founded two companies and worked as a Management and M&A Consultant.
    • Pedro Miranda (Corporate)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/pedromiranda.jpg
    • Corporate VP, Head of Global CoC Cities
    • Siemens
    • http://www.siemens.com
    • Pedro Pires de Miranda is Corporate Vice President of Siemens AG in Munich and global Head of Siemens One, since 2008. Also Member of the Sales Board, Siemens AG. Since 2012, Executive Head of the Global Center of Competence Cities in London, overseeing business development in 70 cities worldwide, focusing on intelligent infrastructure in the domains of Buildings, Energy and Transportation. Started his career at General Motors Corporation and joined Siemens in 1983 as manufacturing engineer and further as Plant General Manager and headed Management positions in Manufacturing Development and Systems Engineering. Between 1994 and 2008 responsible at Siemens for Project Management and International Sales for large Infrastructure Projects and headed several General Management and Executive positions. Mr. Miranda holds a Diploma degree in Electrical and Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, USA, and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Germany and the US. He enrolled at Executive Education Programs at Harvard Business School (US), Engineering Management at Krannert School of Management (US), General Management at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal) and Industrial Engineering at REFA Institute Darmstadt (Germany). In 2014, he was awarded the honorary title of Grand Officer of the Order of Industrial Merit by the President of the Republic of Portugal.
    • Tanja Pikula (Corporate)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/tanjapikula.jpg
    • Entrepreneur Impact Program Manager EMEA
    • Autodesk
    • www.autodesk.co.uk/entrepreneurimpact
    • Tanja is leading Autodesk’s Entrepreneur Impact Program for EMEA since 2010. Autodesk is committed to helping early stage startups and entrepreneurs in the social, cleantech, and environmental sectors get to market faster. The program supports the efforts and innovations of impact entrepreneurs by providing free 3D CAD software to design, visualize, and simulate ground-breaking ideas. Since its beginning the Entrepreneur Impact Program has supported globally thousands of innovators who are creating solutions to address the world’s epic challenges. Tanja holds a Master’s Degree in Social, Cultural and Philosophical Studies, Literature and Political Sciences from the Goethe University Frankfurt.
    • Konstantin Hanssen (Corporate)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/konstantinhanssen.jpg
    • Key Account Manager Energy & Optics
    • Investitionsbank Berlin
    • http://www.ibb.de
    • Konstantin Hanssen studied Economics and Marketing at Technische Universität of Berlin. He entered the IBB in 1993 in the new department for economy support and worked in different sections of the IBB. Since 2010 he is Key Account Manager responsible for Berlin-based companies in the fields of energy technology and optics. In addition to consulting on the financial structures of R&D projects among public funding programs he checks the granting of loans at the own risk of the IBB. Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) is the business development bank of Berlin. With a wide product spectrum it is active in the areas of business as well as housing and real estate promotion. IBB supports small and medium-sized enterprises in Berlin with subsidies, loan products and equity stakes developing targeted solutions for its clients. In doing so it works in close cooperation with all local commercial banks.
    • Boris Lesjean (Corporate)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/borislesjean.jpg
    • Innovation Manager
    • Veolia Germany
    • http://veolia.de/u-start
    • Boris Lesjean is Innovation Manager of Veolia Germany, in charge of the incubator program U-START for preseed startups. He graduated in 1997 as process engineer in France, and has since been working in Research and Innovation within the Veolia group, the world leader for environmental services.
    • Sam Warburton (Corporate)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/samwarburton.jpg
    • Innovation Manager
    • RWE
    • http://www.rwe.com
    • Sam has spent the last three years focusing on the development of new customer propositions and solutions in decentralised energy. Recently, Sam has been concentrating on exploring the blockchain as platform for developing the energy internet. Sam has worked in the energy industry for 20 years across a number of technical and commercial roles. Sam was one of the founding members of RWE’s Principal Investment (PI) team within RWE Supply and Trading. Prior to PI, Sam was Head of Carbon Credit Purchasing for RWE Power’s Climate Protection Team. Climate Protection developed, financed and operated carbon reduction projects worldwide.
    • Petr Mikovec (Corporate VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/petrmikovec.jpg
    • Managing Director
    • Inven Capital
    • http://www.invencapital.cz/en/home.html
    • Petr Míkovec is the Managing Director of INVEN CAPITAL, a new venture capital fund established by the major European utility CEZ. INVEN CAPITAL and Petr’s motto is: You innovate, we invest, together we grow. Petr was at the very beginning of the fund existence in 2013/14 and built the investment vehicle from the position of CEZ Corporate Development Director. Overall Petr gained over 10 years experience in energy industry in the area of investment opportunities evaluation (EUR 100+ mil transaction volume) and utitlity strategy formulation. Before that, Petr was working for Patria Finance, Czech Republic´s leading investment house. Petr holds an MA in Finance from the Economic University of Prague and a diploma in Business Administration from UC Berkeley XT including International Internship Program as equity fundamental analyst at Technovision Management (hedge fund based in Los Altos, Silicon Valley) and an executive leadership diploma from the University of Pittsburgh´s Joseph M Katz Graduate School of Business.
    • Itziar Estevez (Corporate VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/itziarestevez.jpg
    • Principal
    • Siemens Venture Capital
    • http://www.siemensventurecapital.com
    • Itziar joined Siemens Venture Capital in March 2010. She focuses on investments in advanced manufacturing and industrial technologies. Specific areas of interest include cyber security, industrial automation, PLM software, industrial analytics, Internet of Things, and industrial software. Before joining SVC, Itziar worked at The Boston Consulting Group in the London and Munich offices with a focus on private equity and energy projects. Prior to that, Itziar gained operational experience with BMW. She spent 4 years in the Munich production plant designing, implementing and optimizing different production lines. Itziar holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the Technical University Munich and University of Navarra, and an MBA from London Business School.
    • Ines Bergmann (Corporate VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/inesbergmann.jpg
    • Principal Strategic Co-Investments
    • E.ON
    • http://www.eon.com/en/about-us/innovation/strategic-co-investments.html
    • Ines has joined the Strategic Co-Investment team in spring 2013. Her investment focus is on residential energy products and consumer facing solutions. Furthermore, her responsibilities include identifying and analyzing social and economic trends which could shake the energy sector long-term. Ines has started her E.ON career in 2008 by joining E.ON Inhouse Consulting. She has studied at the University of Passau and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She holds a diploma degree in cultural studies and business administration as well as a bachelor degree in economic science. When not at work Ines enjoys spending time with her family and friends and totally relaxes when doing hot yoga.
    • Dr. Matthias Dill (Corporate VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/matthiasdill.jpg
    • CEO
    • Statkraft Ventures
    • http://www.statkraftventures.com
    • Matthias Dill is the Managing Director of Statkraft’s new corporate venture capital fund. His mission is to support entrepreneurs in taking advantage of the energy sector’s massive change. Prior to building Statkraft’s venture capital fund he was a senior investment manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds, Europe’s largest and most active seed fund. He is trained as a Mechanical Engineer and in Business Administration at Technical University Braunschweig and University of Rhode Island.
    • Leonie Baneke (Corporate VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/leoniebaneke.jpg
    • Manager Corporate Venturing
    • Eneco Innovation & Ventures
    • http://www.eneco.com/about-us/innovation/
    • Leonie Baneke is Manager Corporate Venturing at Eneco Innovation & Ventures. This team of around 50 FTE is responsible for the development and growth of Eneco’s (a leading Dutch utility) innovative business models and services, both internal and external. Leonie is responsible for identifying, structuring and managing investments in innovative companies, whereby the starting principle is to structure meaningful partnerships and commercial deals in parallel with such investments. Main focus is on domains such as smart homes, smart buildings, solar & storage, mobility, smart outdoor and smart grid & flexibility. Before joining Eneco, Leonie worked in mergers & acquisitions, advising companies and investors in a variety of sectors on acquisitions, divestments, financial restructuring and strategic topics.
    • Fabio Lancellotti (VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/fabiolancelotti.jpg
    • Principal
    • Aster Capital
    • http://aster.com
    • Fabio joined Aster in 2010 after starting his venture capital experience at EarlyBird in Munich, where he worked in an assignment during his business school period. Prior to that he has developed experience in the private equity practice at Bain and Company in Milan, where he focused on energy and telecom sectors during multinational assignments. Fabio holds a degree in Engineering from Politecnico of Milan and an MBA from IESE Business School with an exchange period at London Business School. He is responsible for managing our investments in Teem Photonics, Atlantium, Customer Matrix and Iceotope.
    • Andreas von Richter (VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/andreasvonrichter.jpg
    • Partner
    • Ecomobility Ventures
    • http://ecomobility-ventures.com
    • Andreas heads Ecomobility Ventures (EMV) since 2014 and manages a portfolio of six companies in Europe, US and Canada. EMV is a €40M multi-corporate fund with SNCF, Orange, Total, Michelin and Air Liquide as fund investors (LPs). The core focus is on investing in startups disrupting the transportation and mobility sector. The current portfolio encompasses: Campanda, Ouicar, EZ Wheel, Flinc, MoveAbout and LocoMobi. Last year 80% of Ouicar – a peer-to-peer car sharing platform – was sold to SNCF. Before joining EMV, Andreas headed GE’s European and Israeli Venture Capital activities for six years. He spearheaded GE’s early stage investment into Solaredge (NASDAQ:SEDG), now a $1B public company. Another investment of his portfolio went public on the Sydney stock exchange end of 2015 focusing on the cleaning of municipal water: Emefcy. Previously he was part of the leadership team of GE’s European R&D Centre focusing on governmental funding and jointly developing research projects with GE customers in the energy, healthcare and inspection sector. Andreas started his career in 1999 at Airbus and switched in 2000 to OHB-System AG as a Project Manager, leading the development of instruments for manned and unmanned space missions for four years. He holds a Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Delft and a MBA from INSEAD.
    • Stephan Schulze (VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/stephanschulze.jpg
    • Senior Investment Manager
    • IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft
    • http://www.ibb-bet.de/
    • The IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft provides venture capital to innovative Berlin enterprises and has established itself as a market leader in the field of early stage financing in the location Berlin. Currently two of the funds managed by the IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft are in the investment phase, the VC Fonds Technologie Berlin with a fund size of € 52 million and the VC Fonds Kreativwirtschaft Berlin with a fund size of € 30 million. Stephan is Head of the Industrial Technologies Team and Prokurist of IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft. He joined the company in 1997. Stephan is responsible for identifying and especially implementing new investment opportunities in Berlin as well as developing portfolio companies and realising successful exits. Prior to joining IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft he was assistant of the general management of Arton Automobile, a supplier of electric powered vehicles, and developed with Herlitz Falkenhöh the Business Park Am Borsigturm. Stephan holds a degree of Mechanical Engineering and Management and is a graduate of Technical University Berlin.
    • Alexander van der Have (Impact VC)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/alexandervanderhave.jpg
    • Investment Manager
    • DOEN Foundation
    • http://www.doen.nl/how-we-do-it/equity.htm
    • As Investment Manager of DOEN Ventures (DOEN Participaties BV), Alexander has profound insight in the world of impact investing. His background is in private equity investments. Alex’s career started in the legal sector, when working in the M&A department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Later he moved to financial sector early 2010 where he worked on sustainable investment strategies in Robeco’s Responsible Private Equity support team. Since 2011 Alexander is responsible for part of DOEN’s equity investments. As such, he combines experience from both his background at corporate settings and more impact driven environments. He therefore understands the multiple angles, opportunities and challenges of sustainability as a business driver. Alexander holds a Master of Business Administration from the IE Business School in Madrid, a Master in Corporate & Commercial Law from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and is a fully qualified lawyer in the Netherlands.
    • Diego Pavía (VC & Accelerator)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/diegopavia.jpg
    • CEO
    • KIC InnoEnergy
    • http://www.kic-innoenergy.com
    • Diego Pavía graduated as Electrical Engineer, specialising in Electronics and Automation from the Polytechnical University of Madrid. His first professional experience, in 1988, was as Co-Founder and CEO of a startup, Knowledge Engineering, dealing with industrial controls systems using artificial intelligence and neural networks. Three years later he joined Sema Group, and started a long career with private companies. In SchlumbergerSema, Diego headed multicultural working groups all over the world in the field of energy, with revenues of $650M. Between 2002 and 2010, Diego was the CEO of Atos Origin, a leading international IT service provider, where he was responsible for Spain and South America, about 9.000 employees, and an annual turnover of €450M. Since 2010, Diego has been CEO of KIC InnoEnergy, the leading engine of innovation and entrepreneurship in sustainable energy, investing annually €100M in game changers (people, collobarative innovative products and services and startups). Diego, as a serial entrepreneur, has created 7 companies in his lifetime.
    • Dr. Malte Schneider (Accelerator)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/malteschneider.jpg
    • Director
    • Climate-KIC Germany
    • http://www.climate-kic.org
    • Malte Schneider is the Director of Climate-KIC Germany. Climate-KIC is one of the three Knowledge and Innovation Communities designated in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). With offices in 10 European countries Climate-KIC supports early stage startups, educates future innovators, and invests in innovation projects. More than 215 partners from business, science, public sector and civil society work within Climate-KIC to develop innovations to address the challenges of climate change. Climate-KIC’s ultimate goal is to turn climate ideas into marketable products and services. Before joining Climate-KIC in 2010, Malte completed his engineering studies in sustainable energy systems at ETH Zurich and during his PhD and PostDoc built up a research group analyzing the effects of climate and energy policy instruments on corporate innovation strategies. At the same time, he consulted international organizations such as the UNFCCC and companies on the future of carbon markets and technology transfer.
    • Andreas Stubelius (Accelerator)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/andreasstubelius.jpg
    • Portfolio Manager
    • Swedish Energy Agency
    • http://www.energimyndigheten.se/en/
    • Andreas Stubelius is a Portfolio Manager at the Swedish Energy Agency. He is responsible for developing the Agency’s portfolio companies. The portfolio consists of more than 60 cleantech companies and Andreas has been involved in starting 15 of them. He has a long experience in seed funding and has been working within the energy sector for more than 10 years. Andreas holds an engineering degree in power electronics and also one in corporate finance. He has worked in various positions the last years and the last one in managing a project for the Swedish Government.
    • Dr. Freerk Bisschop (Accelerator)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/freerkbisschop.jpg
    • Program Director Smart Energy
    • Rockstart
    • http://www.rockstart.com/accelerator/smart-energy/
    • Freerk Bisschop has been engaged in building innovations and enabling growth in sustainable energy since the 1980s. In material science, utility strategy and business development, corporate and government consultancy, green electricity entrepreneurship, rapid international scaling, business restructuring, private equity and project financing, informal investment, crowdfunding and community initiatives. Freerk is now Program Director Smart Energy Accelerator at Rockstart.
    • Coenraad de Vries (Crowdfunding)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/coenraaddevries.jpg
    • Co-Founder
    • Oneplanetcrowd
    • https://www.oneplanetcrowd.com/en
    • Coenraad de Vries is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of StartGreen Capital and Oneplanetcrowd. Oneplanetcrowd is acknowledged as one of the early European inventors of alternative sustainable finance models and the platform has a clear pan-European growth path. Oneplanetcrowd is already the largest sustainable crowdfunding platform in the Netherlands and recently also started in Germany. The mission of StartGreen is to finance sustainable early stage innovation by Venture Capital, crowdfunding or project finance. With these finance instruments it is the ambition of StartGreen Capital to offer early stage entrepreneurs flexible, custom-made finance solutions to enable them to realize their business ideas. The company is based in Amsterdam and has €140M under management. Previously Coenraad worked in the banking industry in several management positions. He has a broad experience in building businesses; as venture capitalist, entrepreneur and as accelerator for entrepreneurs. Coenraad also holds several non-executive board positions in tech startups, is a regular member of the incubation review boards of the technology universities in the Netherlands and is Board member of the European Crowdfunding Network (ECN). His personal ambition is to create double dividends by financing social or environmental businesses which also creates solid financial returns.
    • Michael Wilshire (Service Provider)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/michaelwilshire.jpg
    • Director of Analysis
    • Bloomberg New Energy Finance
    • http://www.bnef.com/
    • Michael is director of analysis at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, leading the teams that produce research on clean energy including Bioenergy, Wind, Solar, Energy Smart Technologies, Carbon Capture & Storage and geothermal. Before joining Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Michael was a partner at McKinsey, where he consulted across a range of industries including energy, technology and telecoms. He worked with equipment providers and operators across Europe as well as in Asia and the US. Previously, Michael worked in the UK Department of Energy in the 1980s across a variety of energy policy areas, including one of the very earliest privatisations (Amersham International), as well as deregulation of the gas industry, renewable energy, nuclear policy and the financing and privatisation of the electricity industry. During that period he was also private secretary to both the Minister of State for Energy and the Permanent Secretary.
    • Christoph Sollich (Service Provider)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/christophsollich.jpg
    • Founder
    • The Pitch Doctor
    • http://pitchdoctor.com
    • Christoph is known as The Pitch Doctor in Berlin and beyond. After working in advertising, he got into startups in 2007. For the last 4 years, he’s helped 100s of startups improve the way they pitch to investors, partners etc. He’s a mentor/coach for dozens of accelerators, incubators and startup competitions around Europe and MENA.
    • Jan Michael Hess (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/janmichaelhess.jpg
    • CEO
    • Ecosummit
    • http://market.ecosummit.net/c/Ecosummit
    • Jan is Founder and CEO of Ecosummit and the Berlin-based consulting firm Mobile Economy. Ecosummit is Europe’s leading smart green innovation and impact conference for startups, investors and corporates in Berlin, Amsterdam and London. We focus on smart green energy, mobility and buildings – the 3 pillars of the Energiewende. We love smart, green and lean startups that make and sell intelligent and resource efficient products in a capital efficient way. We promote early and late stage startups during their entire lifecycle from seed investment until exit. Ecosummit Market is the open platform for smart green startups to support fundraising, recruiting and business development. Since 2010, Jan organised 10 smart green innovation conferences in Berlin (6), London (3) and Düsseldorf (1). He advises smart green startups, investors and corporates on open innovation, strategy, co-investing and marketing. Moreover, Jan acts as Editor in Chief of the Ecosummit Blog and Ecosummit TV. Prior to founding Mobile Economy in 2000, Jan worked for Pixelpark, Icon Medialab and Ciao as Strategic Planner, Project Manager and Head of Marketing and Sales. Jan holds a business degree from the University of Mannheim, lives in Berlin with his wife Simone and their son Mateo and is a big fan of Japan and Jazz.
    • Christoph Ostermann (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/christophostermann.jpg
    • CEO
    • Sonnen
    • https://www.sonnenbatterie.de/en/
    • Christoph Ostermann is Co-Founder and CEO of Sonnen GmbH, being with its Solar Battery product range one of the pioneers in the residential battery storage market. Solar Battery is a highly innovative, intelligent battery system offering much more than just an energy storage solution. The system comprises several added value features such as smart home, smart meter, PV-monitoring and UPS. Since its market launch in early 2011 several hundreds of Solar Batteries have been sold only in Germany. Christoph began his career with KMC Management Consultants, a leading management consulting firm focused on sales and marketing expertise, where he was Managing Partner and Co-Founder of a branch office. Since 2005 he is in the renewable energy business, where he has been involved in several companies as CEO, entrepreneur and/or consultant. Christoph graduated in 1997 with a degree in Business Administration from the University of Bayreuth.
    • Nils Aldag (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/nilsaldag.jpg
    • CFO
    • Sunfire
    • http://www.sunfire.de/en/
    • Nils Aldag is a Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of Sunfire – a developer of next generation fuel cells and electrolysers based on high temperature technology. At Sunfire he successfully acquired equity investments from Bilfinger Venture Capital, Electranova Capital, KfW Bankengruppe, Total Energy Ventures and Inven Capital. He is also a Co-founder of the Desertec Foundation. Nils graduated in 2009 with a degree in Business Administration from the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel.
    • Knut Hechtfischer (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/knuthechtfischer.jpg
    • Co-Founder
    • Ubitricity
    • http://www.ubitricity.com/en
    • Knut Hechtfischer is Co-Founder of ubitricity. Knut completed a bank traineeship and holds university degrees in both law and business administration (MBA equivalent). He then joined leading international law firms in London, Frankfurt and Berlin, advising national and international clients in Regulatory, Acquisition Finance and Renewable Energy related projects. Working as an attorney during the day, Knut’s fascination with the potential of the renewable energy sector soon had him reading up on generation and storage opportunities by night. He envisaged ubitricity’s idea as well as the technical and commercial concepts in 2007 and founded the company with his friend and colleague Frank Pawlitschek in 2008. At ubitricity, Knut directs and instructs the implementation of the ubitricity concept and develops future co-operations and market models connected to his company’s concept. Knut also has a strong technical background and envisioned important parts of ubitricity’s mobile metering system.
    • Taavi Madiberk (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/taavimadiberk.jpg
    • CEO
    • Skeleton Technologies
    • http://skeletontech.com
    • Taavi Madiberk is Co-Founder and CEO at Skeleton Technologies. His business development, sales and marketing and company management skills have been instrumental in setting up and driving growth. He has been the driving force for excellent customer traction, (the company counts as customers European Space Agency and several Tier 1 automotives), business strategy (leveraging the advantage in materials technology to energy storage cells and modules), product development and fundraising from venture capital, private equity and public sources in German, Estonian and EU level. Taavi brings knowledge from the IT, locomotive and NGO sectors from his prior experience to Skeleton Technologies. Among other Board positions he served as the youngest ever Chairman of the Supervisory Board in Estonian Railways (AS Eesti Raudtee), the national railway, from 2012-2014. He currently also serves as a Member of the Supervisory Board of RKAS, an Estonian state-owned real estate company with over €400M of assets. Taavi studied law at the University of Tartu.
    • Dr. George Hanna (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/georgehanna.jpg
    • Co-CEO
    • Qinous
    • http://www.qinous.com/en/home/
    • George is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Qinous. Qinous develops and manufactures standardized, plug & play energy storage solutions for island grids and grid connected applications in the commercial, industrial, and public sector. The Qinous solution enables, for example, significant diesel fuel reduction and cost savings on island grids that are currently only operated by diesel generators by perfectly integrating wind and solar energy into these grids. The standardized approach and its simple-to-install-and-use overall design and system control ease the installation and operation of this otherwise complex technology, reduces the overall costs of storage systems, and, thus, helps to facilitate the dissemination of stationary storage systems worldwide. Previously, George has worked at Bosch Solar Energy and Q-Cells in different management positions in sales and business development. His PhD is in Electrical Engineering which has followed his Physics diploma.
    • Yüksel Sirmasac (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/yuekselsirmasac.jpg
    • CEO
    • Rockethome
    • http://rockethome.de/welcome/
    • Yüksel Sirmasac holds a degree in business administration and is CEO and Founder of Rockethome. Early 2010, he founded the company together with investors from the cleantech scene. Before founding Rockethome, Yüksel Sirmasac worked several years in senior management positions at various well-known companies including media group RTL, Reed-Elsevier Germany (LexisNexis), Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt (Holtzbrinck). There, he successfully established numerous products in the market. In addition, he has already developed several technology companies to sustainably successful organizations. To pass on his knowledge to students he has taken a lectureship in the field of e-business and industrial computer science at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach.
    • Dr. Carsten Bether (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/carstenbether.jpg
    • CEO
    • Kiwigrid
    • http://www.kiwigrid.com/en/
    • Dr.-Ing. Carsten Bether, CEO and Founder of Kiwigrid GmbH, is a very dedicated smart grid expert having 15 years of experience within the IT and energy sector. After studying Business Administration and Engineering at the Technology University of Dresden, he worked as a software consultant, CTO and Founder of several companies within the IT industry. While being engaged as an Innovation Manager at Deutsche Telekom, he obtained his PhD at the Technical University of Berlin and Stanford Unversity. Since founding Kiwigrid in 2011, Dr. Bether focuses on software for energy IoT solutions and value-added services in the rapidly changing energy industry.
    • Dr. Carsten Corino (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/carstencorino.jpg
    • CEO
    • Sunoyster Systems
    • http://www.sunoyster.com
    • Dr. Carsten Corino is Founder of SunOyster Systems (SOS), manufacturing the CPVT technology SunOyster. He wrote his legal PhD on the topic of Ecobalances/Life Cycle Assessment, is certified planner of renewable energy projects and certified expert for solar systems. Working initially in a leading German law firm for the polluters, he felt like a mercenary and joined the wind turbine manufacturer REpower Systems (now Senvion). As BDM he contributed to the growth of REpower from a locally active company with 100 employees and 50 million market cap to a global player with more than 1.000 employees and 2 billion market cap. After some time as GM of offshore wind project developer Airtricity he founded his own consultancy company Corino Energy Projects, the mother company of his main activity SOS.
    • Sebastian Kotzwander (Startup & Angel)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/sebastiankotzwander.jpg
    • CEO
    • Grünspar
    • http://www.gruenspar.com
    • Sebastian Kotzwander, Founder and Managing Director of Grünspar, started his career as entrepreneur early on. His first company, Qwan OHG, was an IT services company which he started at schooldays. After his studies of Information Systems at the University of Münster in 2010, Sebastian founded Grünspar to make a contribution to the German Energiewende, according to the motto that energy saved does not need to be produced. In summer 2015 he sold 90% of Grünspar to EWE – one of the leading German utilities. In 2011, he founded Let’s GmbH to provide support for other founders as a business angel and after his exit invests more and more into smart green startups.
    • Stephen Prince (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/stephenprince.jpg
    • CEO
    • Younicos
    • http://www.younicos.com
    • Younicos CEO Stephen is a transaction-oriented executive with more than 25 years of experience growing and leading companies in global markets. He has held several CEO positions and led numerous global commercial services and consulting teams, e.g. in VP and C-level positions at Oracle, SAIC and Edison Enterprises. Stephen is a published author and speaker with numerous industry awards. Stephen holds an MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a BA in Business Administration and Accounting from California State University Fullerton.
    • Florian Meyer-Delpho (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/florianmeyerdelpho.jpg
    • CEO
    • Greenergetic
    • http://www.greenergetic.de
    • Florian Meyer-Delpho is CEO and Co-Founder of Greenergetic. Greenergetic has developed a revolutionary online sales and service portal for small Photovoltaic systems on rooftops. Greenergetic provides the first comprehensive solution for PV installations for end customers including DIY information, engineering and project planning, purchasing, installation and financing. Greenergetic aims to provide millions of households nationwide with clean and affordable energy. Prior to Greenergetic, Florian co-founded pvXchange, the world’s largest B2B trading platform for PV. He lead the international business development and sales department until 2011. Florian received a BA with honours in European Business Administration from Cologne Business School and the University of Hertfordshire (UK) and an MBA in Sustainability Management from Leuphana University of Lüneburg. Moreover, he is an accredited expert in alternative energies and has excellent connections into the German utility industry.
    • Erik Smith (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/eriksmith.jpg
    • CEO
    • Solvoltaics
    • http://www.solvoltaics.com
    • Erik has a 20+ year background in equipment, materials and manufacturing in the solar and semiconductor industry. He has a strong technical understanding and a talent for enabling international business. For most of his professional career he has been living and working internationally, focusing on bringing enabling technologies to market. Erik started his business career at Ultratech (UTEK) running its Asian operation out of Tokyo. After moving to Silicon Valley, he held numerous positions at Ultratech becoming its SVP of Sales and Marketing. Since then he has held senior executive positions at both public and private companies with a focus on operations, sales and marketing. Erik’s recent positions have included head of Flextronics’ $400M Solar and Semi Division (Flex), CEO and founder of Alta-Energy, Inc. which provides analytical and deployment services to commercial companies deploying solar, and COO of Alchimer, SA a company focused on using a wet process for atomic layer material growth. Erik has a BA in International Relations with minor studies in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
    • Thomas Gottschalk (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/thomasgottschalk.jpg
    • CEO
    • Mobisol
    • http://www.plugintheworld.com
    • Thomas Gottschalk is Founder and Managing Director of Mobisol, a company that combines solar energy with innovative mobile technology and microcredit to provide high-quality solar home systems to low-income individuals in developing countries. He is a visionary entrepreneur with a solid background in renewable energy technologies, implemented solar thermal systems in Egypt and spent 18 months driving around the world in a solar-powered car called Solartaxi. Gottschalk holds a Master’s degree in renewable energy engineering from the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and founded the Thinktank ‘Energiewende’. Within just five years Thomas grew a team from scratch to over 700 people – raising Mobisol from startup to strong brand in EA.
    • Klaus Maier (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/klausmaier.jpg
    • Corporate Development Manager
    • Mobisol
    • http://www.plugintheworld.com
    • Klaus Maier is Corporate Development Manager at Mobisol in Berlin, responsible for the company’s global market entry strategy and partnership management, including Mobisol´s expansion within Africa and Asia. He successfully established Mobisol in Rwanda in 2014, where to date more than 10.000 Rwandese homes have been electrified. Prior to his current role, Klaus worked in several private enterprises operating in emerging markets, mainly in Ethiopia and the Philippines. Klaus Maier holds a Master Degree in Environment Recourses and Energy Management from the Berlin School of Economics and Law, and has been working in the field of energy efficiency and development in emerging markets for more than 5 years.
    • Thomas Raffeiner (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/thomasraffeiner.jpg
    • CEO
    • The Mobility House
    • http://mobilityhouse.com/en/
    • After studying electrical engineering and obtaining a MBA, Thomas Raffeiner spent several years working for Siemens in Erlangen, Singapore and Munich. The Industrial Plant division, Regional Headquarters Asia/Pacific, and Corporate Strategies and Development were only some of the areas he passed through in his time with the global conglomerate. Surrounded by strategists and consultants, Raffeiner moved to Accenture as a Certified Thinker in 1999, where he became the company’s youngest partner worldwide in the course of its IPO. Raffeiner headed up a large number of international restructuring and growth projects as well as various global initiatives in his role as Managing Partner for Strategy, M&A, and Energy and Natural Resources, before leaving in 2004 to set up his own business: The Advisory House – a strategic consultancy specialising in energy. In 2009, inspired by what was technically possible and convinced that we have to approach the end of the age of fossil fuels, he founded The Mobility House, one of Europe’s first service companies for electric mobility. Today, Thomas Raffeiner works with many long-term associates in a team of 40 people dedicated to providing innovative energy services and storage solutions. The goal: to speed up the Energiewende and help electric mobility achieve a breakthrough. Conquering summits is what matters to this pioneer in electric mobility: via hiking, biking and paralifting in his leisure time – but above all, in the world of business with his team.
    • Leopold von Bismarck (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/leopoldvonbismarck.jpg
    • Co-Founder
    • Tado
    • http://www.tado.com
    • Leopold von Bismarck is Co-Founder and CMO of tado, the European market leader in intelligent home climate control solutions. He has more than eight years of experience working in the internet industry. Previously he worked at the early stage venture capital firm and incubator Rocket Internet, creating online startups from scratch. Before joining tado he acted as Co-CMO at Groupon International leading a team across 40 countries. Leo holds a Dipl-Ing in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Technical University of Berlin and Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). At tado Leo is responsible for Marketing and Direct Sales.
    • Liselott Johansson (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/liselottjohansson.jpg
    • CEO
    • Greater than
    • http://www.greaterthan.eu
    • Liselott Johansson has been the CEO of Greater Than since 2008. Liselott has a background from the automotive and health care industries. She was Senior Project Manager at Stoneridge Electronics, responsible for developing information and electronic systems for vehicle manufacturers like Volvo, Scania, DaimlerChrysler and MAN. In the health care industry she was a Product Manager responsible for development, production and marketing of new products as well as expansion into new markets.
    • Dr. Christian Feißt (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/christianfeisst.jpg
    • CEO
    • GreenCom Networks
    • http://www.greencom-networks.com
    • Christian was the Founder and Managing Director for Smart Grid at Cisco Systems. Before joining Cisco, Dr. Christian Feißt spent 10 years working in the utility industry for the management consultancies A.T. Kearney and Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Hohenheim.
    • Dr. Christian Chudoba (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/christianchudoba.jpg
    • CEO
    • Lumenaza
    • http://www.lumenaza.de
    • Christian Chudoba is Co-Founder and CEO of Lumenaza. He has held leading roles in business management, strategy, business development and marketing for 15 years. For a corporate company he developed a new business concept for mobile applications and led the implementation from a small internal startup to a sizable new business area. Christian holds a PhD in Physics and worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prior to moving to the software business.
    • Dr. Jan-Olaf Willums (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/janolafwillums.jpg
    • Founder
    • Move About
    • http://www.move-about.de
    • Dr. Jan-Olaf Willums is a Norwegian serial entrepreneur. He has been Co-Founder or seed investor in numerous pioneering companies, including Computas (Artificial Intelligence), Avenir (Software), REC (Solar), Think (Electric vehicles), Move About (EV carsharing) and ZEM (batteries for shipping). Dr. Willums held senior management positions in Volvo and Storebrand and was a founding Co-Director of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and member of the World Economic Forum Global Redesign Initiative. Today he sits on the Social and Environmental Advisory board of the European Development Bank (EBRD), and on the Global Opportunity Panel of DNV-GL. He holds a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Institute of Technology and a DSc in Engineering and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Fulbright Fellow.
    • Dr. Jan-Willem Rombouts (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/janwillemrombouts.jpg
    • Co-CEO
    • REstore
    • http://www.restore.eu
    • Jan-Willem Rombouts co-founded REstore and serves as its Co-CEO after a career at Goldman Sachs where he last served as Executive Director of Credit Trading Strategy. He brings expertise in quantitative modeling and software development. At REstore Jan-Willem leads the product innovation, technology development and trading activities. He holds a PhD in Physics from NYU and a graduate certificate in Data Mining and Applications from Stanford University.
    • Dr. Jan Marckhoff (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/janmarckhoff.jpg
    • CEO
    • BEN Energy
    • http://www.ben-energy.com
    • Jan is Co-Founder and CEO of BEN Energy. He has a background in finance having studied in Germany, India and the US and having gained over five years of work experience in the banking industry. Jan first came into contact with the energy market during his PhD where he did research on risk management in electricity markets in Europe. Afterwards, he worked in risk management and strategy consulting for the financial and energy industry before joining the ETH Zurich team and founding BEN at the beginning of 2011.
    • Philipp Kunze (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/philippkunze.jpg
    • CEO
    • OneShore Energy
    • http://www.oneshore.com
    • Philipp is Co-Founder and CEO of OneShore Energy in Berlin. Philipp serves as member of the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Solar Europe Industry Initiative (SEII), as a task force leader of the Berlin-Brandenburg Energy Network (BEN) and founded the Clean Technology Industry Group for the German American Business Association (GABA) in Northern California. Prior to OneShore, Philipp was the Managing Director and Director, European Sales for Solaria Germany GmbH in Berlin. In this position he developed relationships and closed deals with some of the leading European utilities and EPC contractors. Before that he was Director for US-West Coast operations at Invest in Germany (previously IIC) based in Palo Alto, CA and has been assisting companies like First Solar in establishing their manufacturing and R&D sites in eastern Germany. Philipp previously worked for Monitor Company as a strategic management consultant with a focus on technology and pharmaceutical industries. He also gained initial experience in banking in the M&A division of UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland), and at HypoVereinsbank, a retail and investment bank in Munich. He studied at the London School of Economics and at Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas (ESADE) in Barcelona and holds a M.Sc. degree from the London School of Economics and a CEMS-Master degree in Management. Philipp speaks German, English, Spanish, French, Italian and Greek.
    • Baptiste Jouffroy (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/baptistejouffroy.jpg
    • VP Sales EMEA
    • The CoSMo Company
    • http://www.thecosmocompany.com/
    • Baptiste joined The CoSMo Company in January 2016 and drives EMEA sales activities. Baptiste brings over 15 years of experience in enterprise software, delivering exceptional value to his customers with a focus on asset intensive industries. Prior to joining The CoSMo Company, Baptiste held various international sales, new business development and management positions at Schlumberger, Wonderware, IBM and GE Digital. Baptiste was also a partner in a startup company named eyedo.com. Baptiste holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from the Ecole des Mines and lives in the Paris region in France.
    • Sven Pluut (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/svenpluut.jpg
    • CEO
    • We Share Solar
    • http://market.ecosummit.net/c/WeShareSolar
    • Sven Pluut is CEO and Co-Founder of We Share Solar. Sven has over 6 years of experience in the renewable energy sector and was recently nominated by the national newspaper Trouw as one of the 100 (no. 56) most influential sustainable inhabitants of the Netherlands. He has experience with innovation consulting (Altran) and as an international renewable energy investment analyst where he provided boardroom level advice at the Triodos bank as a portfolio manager.
    • John Lilic (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/johnlilic.jpg
    • Director of Operations
    • ConsenSys
    • http://consensys.net
    • John is ConsenSys member from an energy and technology markets background and experience in project origination, operations, implementation and delivery working with enterprise scale stakeholders such ConEdison, GE, TESLA, Schneider Electric, SIEMENS, RWE and others. Early Bitcoin and Ethereum adopter focused on operationalizing Ethereum blockchain enabled enterprise engagements and partnerships across industries and geographies at ConsenSys. Co-founder of the Brooklyn Microgrid project, a unique approach to community scale distributed energy resource planning and management in the Park Slope and Gowanus communities of Brooklyn, New York. Co-Founder and project lead at TransActive Grid, a peer-to-peer energy trading platform built on top of Ethereum and project lead at ConsenSys Energy focused on exploring the role of Ethereum and smart contracts in the context of grid operations and management.
    • Julia Lynch-Williams (RWE Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/julialynchwilliams.jpg
    • CEO
    • Shine
    • http://www.shinepowered.com
    • Julia is CEO of Shine. We believe that people will power themselves and other people in the future. It all starts with you – you start by producing your own electricity, becoming more independent by using more of what you produce yourself and then finding more meaning in your excess by selling it to your neighbours. We are creating the shine community of local buyers and sellers. Our shine platform makes this happen. Julia has a broad background and experience in engineering, retail & renewables for Exxon and most recently RWE. She works voluntarily as STEM ambassador in the UK.
    • Dr. Jens Struckmeier (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/jensstruckmeier.jpg
    • CTO
    • Cloud&Heat Technologies
    • http://www.cloudandheat.com
    • Dr. Jens Struckmeier is Founder and CTO of Cloud&Heat Technologies, an innovative company focusing on energy and cost efficient data centers and server technology founded in 2011. As a PhD in Physics he has gained international industry experience in the fields of device development and project management. As former executive shareholder and co-founder of the company nAmbition GmbH, he has gained comprehensive know-how as entrepreneur. Jens Struckmeier has worked on various green building projects and low energy concepts. As an inventor he has contributed to various patents and was responsible for international patent strategies and patent rights. The sound knowledge of the planning and establishment of passive houses complete his profile.
    • Daniela Schiffer (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/danielaschiffer.jpg
    • COO
    • Changers
    • http://changers.com/en/
    • Daniela is Co-founder and COO of Changers.com. We engage employees to switch from car to bike, walk more often and record health related activities. Changers licenses a fully customizable mobile app, that helps companies to motivate their employees to be healthier and sharpen their awareness on sustainable topics. Employees improve their fitness, engagement and productivity. Companies save exploding health care and CSR related costs. Daniela has a background in digital media arts and has worked in communications agencies where she was closely involved with high-tech companies, specifically in the field of green energy and photovoltaics. She works as a mentor at Startupbootcamp, Berlin Geekettes, Berlin Startup Academy and ITU.
    • Maximilian Lössl (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/maximilianloessl.jpg
    • CEO
    • Agrilution
    • http://www.agrilution.com
    • Maximilian is a 27-year old entrepreneur and highly sought-after speaker on the potential of Vertical Farming to improve our malfunctioning global food system. While traveling the world and living in China, the EU and New Zealand, Max realized that Vertical Farming has to be part of the solution to solve our global challenges. He went on to found Agrilution and the Association for Vertical Farming e.V. (AVF). Agrilution is a German-based company active in Vertical Farming. Agrilution offers VF technologies, VF consultancy as well as products. The Association for Vertical Farming is an international non-profit network for companies, universities, cities, governmental institutions and professionals aiming to create more transparency, synergies and cooperation in the field of Vertical Farming to work towards sustainable food production for the future collaboratively.
    • Valerian Seither (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/valerianseither.jpg
    • CEO
    • eMio
    • http://www.emio-sharing.de
    • Valerian is Co-Founder and CEO of eMio Sharing. eMio is Germany’s first free-floating electric scooter sharing provider. Valerian studied at TU Darmstadt, PUC Rio de Janeiro and TU Berlin in the field of industrial engineering. Before making his choice to become an entrepreneur, he gained experiences in consulting (strategic, controlling and mobility services), auditing and strategic sales (German OEM).
    • Michel Stumpe (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/michelstumpe.jpg
    • CEO
    • Carjump
    • http://carjump.me/en/US/
    • After graduating from Rotterdam School of Management Michel started his career working as CEO trainee for Kinnevik in Amsterdam. With positions in Stockholm and Vienna he joined the London-based startup MobileIQ as Sales Director and was responsible for the successful internationalization. He then moved to Berlin to lead the sales team of PressMatrix. Since March 2015, he is CEO and Co-Founder of the Berlin-based mobility startup Carjump.
    • Robin Geisler (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/robingeisler.jpg
    • Co-CEO
    • eeMobility
    • http://www.ee-mobility.com
    • Robin Geisler is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of eeMobility. eeMobility offers a full-service flat-rate solution for EV charging at home and en route to build up an EV pool for demand-side flexibility. Company fleets use our unique solution to address all EV charging requirements in one single contract. After studying international business in Nuremberg and Rio de Janeiro and working at Umweltbank Robin has led bmp greengas to become Germany´s major renewable gas trading company with some EUR 50M revenues at his exit in 2013. With over seven years of experience in the energy sector he is convinced that transforming the energy system to 100% renewables is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create new businesses and sustainable growth.
    • Michael Hübl (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/michaelhuebl.jpg
    • Co-Founder
    • Flinc
    • http://flinc.org
    • Michael Hübl is one of the most ambitious startup personalities in Germany. He founded his first company at the age of 17. He was one of the top 100 internet personalities in Germany in 2012. His current startup flinc is the world’s first dynamic ridesharing service. Users can share rides everywhere and in real-time, as if they were looking at the schedule at the bus stop. His vision is a new mobility system that is utilized by the community to share their rides by using existing resources. flinc was nominated as best startup for the T3N Web Awards and Techcrunch The Europas.
    • Benedict Padberg (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/benedictpadberg.jpg
    • CEO
    • Aquakin
    • http://aquakin.com
    • Benedict Padberg is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the hydropower plant developer Aquakin and Partner of the branding agency Padberg & Partners. He is recognized as a critical thinker who is able to develop creative and effective strategies. He has established a long track record of building high performance sales, marketing programs and communication organizations.
    • Andre Lindvest (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/andrelindvest.jpg
    • CEO
    • Ubik Solutions
    • http://www.ubiksolutions.eu
    • Andre is both CEO and representative of main investor in Ubik Solutions. Andre holds MSc in Power Engineering from Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) and also has started his MBA studies in TUT. Having 13 years experience in energy industry (mainly renewable energy) and 5 years in financials and startups Andre has a strong knowledge, experience and a will to contribute to the development of innovation and sustainable future. As a representative of main investor (Marble Invest OÜ) in Ubik, Andre is responsible for the company’s general management, company development, strategy formation, financial management and capital raising. Andre has been working closely with the founders since the beginning of the company. Andre also runs the Estonian private investment company Marble Invest, which is focused on RES related technologies, products and services. Before Marble Invest, Andre held a Project Manager position at Nelja Energia AS which is a leading renewable energy developer and producer in the Baltics and at Eesti Energia AS which is an Estonian national energy company, developing several pioneer wind farms in Estonia and worked in dispatch center of Estonian transmission system as an Operation Planner of electric supply system. In addition, Andre has established several private companies and is a mentor for several startups.
    • Dr. Rolf Luchsinger (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/rolfluchsinger.jpg
    • CEO
    • TwingTec
    • http://twingtec.ch
    • Rolf Luchsinger has a long track record both in industry and academia. Trained as a Physicist at ETH Zurich followed up by a PhD in Computational Physics, he continued his academic career in Canada before he joined the research lab of ABB working on new materials and technologies for power electronics. He then moved to the startup Prospective Concepts, where he was responsible to build up the R&D for the new light-weight structure Tensairity. Rolf has been the Founding Director of the Center for Synergetic Structures at Empa, the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Material Science and Technology. As Co-Founder and CEO of TwingTec he brings in his broad experience both in technology development and management.
    • Matti Malkamäki (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/mattimalkamaki.jpg
    • CEO
    • Aurelia Turbines
    • http://market.ecosummit.net/c/Aureliaturbines
    • Matti is a career energy expert. With degree in Industrial Economics and Business, Matti spent 6 years at Fortum subsidiaries in the UK and Europe before moving early 2000 into the biogas and distributed energy business as founder and CEO of Greenvironment. Matti has extensive knowledge of microturbines and small-scale power plants both from a business and technical perspective. Matti is fluent in English, Finnish and speaks also German.
    • Petter Karal (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/petterkaral.jpg
    • CEO
    • Seatower
    • http://seatower.com
    • Petter Karal is Co-Founder and CEO of Seatower AS, a European company specializing in foundations for offshore wind. He holds an MSc in Economics from NHH in Bergen, an EU Masters in Business (CEMS), and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Before Seatower, Karal co-founded and built several technology-based businesses, including offshore oil & gas company Anchor Contracting. Karal has previously served as EVP of Findexa, Business Unit Manager at Eniro, and as top management consultant at McKinsey & Company.
    • François Huber (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/francoishuber.jpg
    • CEO
    • Kemwatt
    • http://www.kemwatt.com
    • François Huber is Co-Founder and CEO of Kemwatt. He holds an ME in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. He worked in the energy sector and other industrial fields for over two decades, in both small companies and large groups such as EDF, Philips and FLS, most of the time managing international projects (Europe, US) or at other operational positions (Sales Engineer, Project Engineer, CTO). He was an independent international consultant for several years and was involved in floating offshore wind, electrical car sharing, marine renewable energy, and taught energy in higher education (international tracks).
    • Leen Zevenbergen (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/leenzevenbergen.jpg
    • CEO
    • Solarus
    • http://solarus.com
    • Leen is currently CEO of the Swedish/Dutch company Solarus Sunpower. After his high school in The Netherlands and in Texas, Leen Zevenbergen was trained as an Economist and Accountant. He holds a Masters degree in Business Accounting from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. After his graduation he quickly discovered that being employed was not the way forward for him. At age 24 he started his first company, called Bolesian. He sold this company, which still exists, to Cap Gemini after seven years. Being the master of his own destiny he started another 20 companies after this first one, among them companies in areas like Virtual Reality and Computer Graphics, but also trading companies and golf companies. His passion lies in starting something that doesn’t exist, preferably in a sustainable fashion. He is a serial entrepreneur and not a manager. In between creating and starting companies, Leen Zevenbergen managed several large multinationals, like Pink Roccade, Origin and Qurius/Prodware. Having the experience of running these large multinational companies, combined with his large entrepreneurial experience, was the input for the several management books that he wrote. His first book “En nu laat ik mijn baard staan”, translated in English “Rip off your necktie and dance”, became Management Book of the Year 2007 and sold over 100.000 copies. The book was translated in English and French and currently into Chinese. Following his first book, Leen Zevenbergen wrote two other books about both entrepreneurship (“T’is Groen en groener wordt het niet”) and sustainability “Sustainability @ the Speed of Passion!” Leen Zevenbergen ran all of his companies always with a very long term oriented and sustainable view over the past 30 years. Having been Chairman of Social Venture Network Europe and being Co-Founder of B Corp Europe makes him to one of the European leaders in the field of sustainable entrepreneurship.
    • Julia Römer (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/juliaroemer.jpg
    • CTO
    • Coolar
    • http://coolar.co
    • Julia Römer is the Founder of Coolar where she invented and now leads the technology development of Coolar’s electricity independent refrigeration system. The Coolar system is powered by hot water instead of electricity. This enables sustainable cooling wherever heat from low-carbon and low-cost sources – like solar or waste heat – is available. Using abundant solar heat, the Coolar system can store lifesaving medicine and vaccines in regions without reliable power grids. Combined with pre-installed solar hot water systems or district heating, Coolar can also deliver an eco-friendly and economical refrigerator for businesses or households in industrialised countries. Julia’s background is in Industrial Engineering and before founding Coolar, she worked with sustainable industrial refrigeration systems and has successfully developed a patent in this field. She furthermore has a history of environmental advocacy and is a Member of the Board at Germany’s largest environmental NGO BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany).
    • Christopher Neumann (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/christopherneumann.jpg
    • CEO
    • Prosumergy
    • http://prosumergy.de
    • As a Co-Founder of prosumergy, Christopher makes solar power available for tenants in apartment buildings. The origin of this idea dates back to Christopher’s Master thesis which he completed in 2014. Given his background in Sustainability Economics and Management, his work for the Institute Decentralised Energy Technologies and his interest in citizens’ energy cooperatives, he is convinced that local projects secure the German energy transition’s success. That’s why prosumergy, founded in August 2015, implements Mieterstrom projects to the benefit of tenants and landlords to unlock the urban potential for PV.
    • Florian Stock (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/florianstock.jpg
    • CTO
    • MotionTag
    • http://www.motion-tag.com
    • Florian is Co-Founder and CTO of MotionTag. MotionTag creates services from motion data. Florian is a mathematician with expertise in algorithm design, optimization and machine learning. He studied Mathematics and Computer Science at the TU Berlin and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Melbourne. Before founding MotionTag he worked as a Software Developer at the Innovation Center for Mobility and Societal Change.
    • Gary Lewis (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/garylewis.jpg
    • CEO
    • Pendula
    • http://www.pendula.de
    • Gary Lewis is Co-Founder and CEO of Pendula Resource Management. Pendula digitalizes the B2B waste industry and changes the game of recycling. Our total online waste management platform promotes recycling, up-cycling and re-use of industrial waste. Waste producers and recyclers use our one-stop-shop solution to manage multiple recycling contracts, actively trade resources, automatically organize the most efficient pick-up routes and review live sustainability metrics. As a Climate-KIC supported startup we move fast: in only eight months, we have developed our smart waste management system. With it our pilot customer, active in the warehouse logistics sector, has dramatically reduced operating costs and improved sustainability. Our aim is to continue to reduce the impact of waste on our health and on our environment by promoting a circular economy.
    • Dr. Hendrik Schaede (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/hendrikschaede.jpg
    • CEO
    • Orkess
    • http://www.orkess.de
    • Hendrik Schaede is Co-Founder and CEO of Orkess. He is a Mechanical Engineer with a mechatronic perspective. Hendrik utilizes the methods and technologies he is trained in to gain new views on energy storage systems. With this background he learned that every electricity grid has very different requirements on energy storage systems, especially for dynamic grid balancing. While working on his PhD thesis at Darmstadt Technical University he developed the adaptive outer-rotor flywheel which is now brought to market by Orkess. The flywheel covers the dynamic fluctuations of renewable energies as well as the stochastic consumption and provides dynamic grid balancing. Its modular design allows to adapt power and capacity independently to the grids’ requirements, leading to an energy storage system with maximum efficiency at minimum costs.
    • Karl Dienst (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/karldienst.jpg
    • CEO
    • Wegatech
    • http://www.wegatech.de
    • Karl Dienst is CEO of Wegatech, a company striving to bring decentralized sustainable energy into private households. Being convinced of the growing importance of heat pumps in the green market and being an entrepreneur at heart, Karl founded Wegatech at the age of 25 building up the first sales structure offering this technology to private house owners. With offices in Munich, Cologne and Zurich, Karl and his team are now developing an online solution platform for renewable energy systems comprising heat pump, solar, battery storage and ventilation technologies. Combining these products enables everybody to find their optimal energy system. Karl studied in Paris, London, Berlin and Heidelberg and graduated from ESCP-EAP University with a MSc in Business Administration. Prior to founding Wegatech Karl gained experience in the renewables industry as an investment banker and energy consultant. With his South African roots and his passion for wildlife and nature Karl is driven to be part of the green revolution.
    • Friedrich Rojahn (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/friedrichrojahn.jpg
    • CEO
    • Solandeo
    • http://www.solandeo.com
    • Friedrich is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Solandeo. Solandeo solves the two main challenges of smart meter roll-outs: minimising the operational cost of digital metering; and making smart metering attractive to customers, with tailored digital services for key market segments. At Solandeo, Friedrich mainly looks after money: raising it (investor relations), managing it (finance), growing it (sales) and spending it again (purchasing). Under the shower and during late-night grocery shopping, Friedrich sorts out strategy and product development. Friedrich’s background is as a serial entrepreneur focussing on the digisation of the energy industry. Considering that Friedrich never studied Engineering, he has spent a surprising amount of time on new technologies, including smart metering, virtual power plants, demand response and other fun concepts such as emobility and hydrogen electrolysis. Having mistimed his first three energy startups, Friedrich is thoroughly pleased that the fourth venture is growing strongly, a somewhat novel and delightful experience. Previously, Friedrich worked as a management consultant and led the Strategy function of E.ON’s UK market unit, a FTSE-100 equivalent with 16.000 employees and €11B turnover at the time. He holds an INSEAD MBA (’04J) and a BA in Politics from the University of Durham.
    • Timo Rogge (Vattenfall Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/timorogge.jpg
    • Business Developer
    • SunBESSy
    • http://corporate.vattenfall.com/
    • As a member of Vattenfall Europe Innovation GmbH, Timo collaborates at the pilot project SunBESSy which is a decentralized battery home storage system, aimed to optimize PV self-consumption and to stabilize the energy grid by supplying primary frequency control. Currently, he is creating the operation system to combine and optimize these use cases within the control unit of the battery system. Furthermore, he jointly acts in finding solutions to separate the different energy flows to fulfill the required regulatory framework. During studying Industrial Engineering (M. Eng.) Timo has cooperated with RECASE Regenerative Energien GmbH to develop and implement one of the first ecarsharing concepts in rural communities and worked as an Assistant of a Product Line Manager at Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH.
    • Simon Barnbeck (Vattenfall Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/simonbarnbeck.jpg
    • Business Developer
    • GreenHAUS
    • http://corporate.vattenfall.com/
    • Simon heads one of Vattenfall’s business development efforts to develop a B2C offering for decentral green energy. Prior to that he worked as a senior strategy advisor and on M&A topics for Vattenfall as well as in Management Consulting.
    • Dr. Abbas Khan (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/abbaskhan.jpg
    • CEO
    • Zaak Technologies
    • http://www.zaaktechnologies.de
    • Abbas is the Founder and CEO of ZaaK Technologies. He has over 12 years of experience in product engineering, technology commercialisation, manufacturing and business development. Prior to founding ZaaK Technologies he has worked for number of startups and multinational companies in Australia, India and Germany. Abbas has the unique ability to recognise and capitalise on opportunities, innovate, take calculated risks, and marshal resources to achieve goals. Abbas is a first generation entrepreneur and is highly passionate about our environment and advocating sustainable usage of natural resources which has led to the birth of Smart Sand. The product has won two prestigious innovation awards in 2015 (Innovationspreis Berlin Brandenburg 2015 & DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program). An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Abbas has received his PhD from University of Heidelberg, Germany.
    • Matthias Müller (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/matthiasmueller.jpg
    • CEO
    • Infinite Fuels
    • http://www.infinitefuels.de
    • Matthias Mueller started his career working in international business development for BAA, British Airport Authority. From 1994 to 2005 he owned a business advising investors on real estate acquisitions world wide focusing on environmentally responsible developed real estate. The passionate private pilot changed his career path in 2005 and joined a business jet manufacturer in Montreal, Canada, which he headed until 2011. Being focused on sustainability the company divison developed a business jet, that was 90% recycable with the lowest fuel consumption in its class. From 2011 – 2014 Matthias worked as strategic adviser for various renewable energy companies. In 2014, Matthias co-founded Infinite Fuels. Matthias has senior experience in strategic planning, business development, risk and crisis management, project management, controlling and cash management; he introduced change, restructured and relocated business operations, developed and executed business growth and improvement strategies. Matthias holds a Master of Business Administration from Ashridge Business School.
    • Nicolas Denef (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/nicolasdenef.jpg
    • CMO
    • Opinum
    • http://www.opinum.com
    • Nicolas Denef is Chief Marketing Officer of Opinum where he manages strategic business development and marketing communications. Prior to joing Opinum, Nicolas worked in the medical technologies industry where he grew a product line from zero to 60 MEUR in less than five years, and booked over 300 MEUR of future revenues through equipment and service contracts.
    • Rok Loncaric (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/rokloncaric.jpg
    • CEO
    • Cooling Inno
    • http://coolinginno.com
    • Rok Loncaric, Founder and CEO of Cooling Inno, is a former lawyer with a bar exam that turned to cleantech after his 10 years of legal practice in real estate business. He saw great potential in phase change materials (PCM) and their big storage capacity and, therefore, started building products that could lower the cooling costs around the world. He believes that people are spending too much money on electricity because of their comfort. The lack of knowledge and smart solutions in cooling are the fields he wants to tackle with. He worked at the biggest Slovenian bank NLB and in the biggest Slovenian retail chain TUS as a legal adviser and, as a result, has gained valuable business experience. Rok likes to innovate products, business models and user experience.
    • Kai Klapdor (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/kaiklapdor.jpg
    • CFO
    • ENIT Systems
    • http://www.enit-systems.com
    • Kai Klapdor is Co-Founder and CFO of ENIT Systems. ENIT is the pioneer of state-of-the-art IT for energy systems in industrial plants. After five years of development at the Fraunhofer ISE, the spin-off introduced the ENIT Agent, a pulse meter for industrial plants. This device visualizes energy data on every level of a plant in the highest resolution. Apart from leveraging cost savings potentials, customers gain a new understanding of their processes, increase their security level and learn about predictive maintenance potentials. In the three years leading up to ENITs foundation, Kai has been working in Consulting at the energy law firm Becker Büttner Held (BBH). For BBH’s clients, Kai held the position of a Project leader, guiding grid operators and industrial parks through several challenges of the Energiewende. Prior to BBH, Kai worked for E.ON Hanse and Fraunhofer ISE. Here he conducted research on power-to-gas based hydrogen production and its cost reduction potentials. In 2014 Kai joined ENIT and his former colleagues. At ENIT, Kai’s focus as CFO lies on Finance, HR and Business Development. Kai holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Economics from the Hamburg University of Technology, the University of Paderborn and the KTH Stockholm.
    • Jaska Harm (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/jaskaharm.jpg
    • CFO
    • LXP Group
    • http://lxp-group.com
    • Jaska H. Harm is the CFO of LXP Group, a biotech energy startup based in the region Berlin-Brandenburg. With its pre-treatment-process LXP Group offers an unique state-of-the-art solution to separate efficiently lignin and cellulose from plant residues. At LXP Group Jaska is in charge of business development, financials and fundraising. Prior to this he has been an advisor in the international real estate and energy industry for almost 20 years. Among other he has founded and managed a district heat supplier and has been advising German and US based open and closed end funds as well as international family offices in all kind of phases in the life cycle of an investment. He holds a Masters Degree in Business from the University of Saarland in Southern Germany and speaks fluently German, Finnish, English and some Swedish.
    • Dr. Lars Behrend (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/larsbehrend.jpg
    • CEO
    • Siqens
    • http://www.siqens.de/en/home.html
    • Lars Behrend studied biology in Hamburg and received his diploma in environmental biology. After his PhD thesis in 2001 he worked several years as project manager at the University of Ulm. In 2005 Lars founded the biotech company Sirion Biotech in Munich, were he was managing director until 2010. During his time at Sirion he was successful in financing the company with venture capital and establishing Sirion as supplier for the pharma industry. After leaving Sirion Lars founded his own consulting firm. There he supported several startup companies in the biotech and cleantech field in strategic aspects, in fundraising and in business development. Starting as CEO in September 2012, Lars is currently responsible for business development, marketing and finance at Siqens. Mid 2013 Siqens was successful in closing a Series A financing round together with VNT management.
    • Dr. Marco Borghesi (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/marcoborghesi.jpg
    • Co-Founder
    • OEEX
    • http://www.oeex.org/en
    • Marco is Co-Founder and COO of OEEX GmbH. OEEX mission is to make local, clean and cheaper energy available to all of us. The goal is to establish a virtual Consumer-to-Consumer Energy Marketplace as a Software as a Service Solution (SAAS) for energy suppliers and distribution grid operators. OEEX addresses this challenge with the smart integration of demand response technologies and flexible tariffs. In 2014 Marco founded aldabra as investment vehicle for innovation projects in the renewable energy business. He does business development for renewable energy companies since 2005. Previously he was the founder of an online community in Italy which evolved in one of the local leading IT agencies. Marco holds a PhD in Energy Engineering from the University of Perugia as well as an MBA from Kellogg-WHU.
    • Martin Jaehnert (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/martinjaehnert.jpg
    • CEO
    • Binee
    • http://www.binee.com
    • Martin is Co-Founder and CEO of binee, the smart collection system for electrical and electronic devices. Starting from Global Entrepreneurship Summer School’s challenge Create a billion dollar business model eliminating the waste problem, he went on to actually take on the challenge in reality, with a first success of receiving a 50.000 Euro grant to develop the idea further in February 2015 and the biggest prize money so far of 50.000 Euro in November 2015. binee’s main idea is to start with the challenge of resource collection and to reward users for their recycling action. The first niche, worth 40 billion Euros annually on a European scale, is the market of old electronics, a pivot of late 2015. By April 2016, three prototype versions have been built, the last one with a first pilot partner, and currently market testing is ongoing. binee is a proud member of SpinLab, the HHL Accelerator, and still 100% owned by the founders. Prior to founding binee in 2015, Martin co-founded Schuelerpaten Berlin, a 1-to-1 mentoring NGO for disadvantaged school students, which has by now spread to four other German cities. He also co-founded Dreiklang Kleidung in 2014, a slow fashion label which started as one of the four curated startnext crowdfundings in 2014. Martin holds a degree in Anglistics and Romanistics from Potsdam University and a degree in Industrial Engineering from Leipzig University of Applied Sciences and is an alumni of the Hasso-Plattner Institute’s School of Design Thinking.
    • Simon Bushell (Startup)
    • https://ecosummit.net/uploads/simonbushell.jpg
    • CEO
    • Sympower
    • http://www.sympower.net
    • Simon is Co-Founder and CEO of Sympower. Sympower aims to accelerate the transition to an all renewable future by using ordinary household appliances to provide services to the electricity grid. Simon studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge and has a Masters in Sustainable Energy from Imperial College London. Before founding Sympower he worked at an energy services company in the UK. Away from Sympower, Simon continues his academic work at Imperial College, researching climate change communication, and is a fanatical cyclist.


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