Douglas MacKevett is Head of the Major Online Business and Marketing for the Master of Science in Business Administration and a lecturer in Business Communication at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. After completing his degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara USA and in the UK, he has lived and worked in Russia, Mexico, and now Switzerland for the past 25 years. He is the license holder of and coordinator for TEDxHochschuleLuzern, now in its fourth year. In addition to his academic duties, his research interests include Online Learning and he is currently heading the Digital Skills project at the School of Business.
Arnd Zschiesche is Co-Founder and managing director of the Büro für Markenentwicklung in Hamburg which has analysed 77 brands since 2006 and given strategic advice to 126 brands, from small start-ups to well established international brands. He studied Brand-Sociology, Psychology, Politics and Communication at the Universities of Hamburg and Waikato (New Zealand). His research focus is on positive prejudices about countries and their economic impact on global companies. The author of 15 books on brand leadership and critical perspectives on our society is continuously present in the German-speaking media (among others `ARD Brand Check’) and often called Germanys number one brand expert. In all of his appearances as keynote speaker he has been fighting for an objective and appropriate handling of the subject brand and is well-known for his statements against the rampant advertising madness. Since 2011, Zschiesche is lecturer for Brand Sociology and Brand Management at the University of Lucerne and regurlarly helds lectures at the University of Hamburg. For his own Eco-Design start-up-brand wooden-radio, based in Java (Indonesia) he received several awards.
Elisabeth is an expert in scaling tech organizations through hyper growth and international expansion, as she worked for 12,5 years at Booking.com in various commercial roles. As an active start-up advisor and investor, Elisabeth has a portfolio of early stage startups across industries with a focus on mentoring founders and revenue growth. With a background in hospitality and hotel management, Elisabeth loves traveling and is a big supporter of impact tourism. In 2018 she joined the Woman Leaders edition of Global Himalayan Expedition - 2017 start-up winners of WTFL. Elisabeth holds a Bachelor degree in International Hotel Management and a Global Executive MBA with distinction.
Reto Ringger is an entrepreneur who is active at the junction between the financial markets and sustainability. In 2011 he founded Globalance Bank Ltd., which today he leads as its CEO. Globalance Bank is an owner-run Swiss Private bank and is specialized in sustainable investments. Before starting Globalance Bank, Reto founded SAM Group 1995. In collaboration with Dow Jones, SAM launched the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Reto Ringger has received various awards for his entrepreneurial activities. Reto Ringger holds a degree in economics (lic. oec. publ.) from the University of Zurich. From 2012 - 2018 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Club of Rome and was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of WWF Switzerland from 2012 - 2016.
Juliana Gallo is a well-travelled, passionate Business Developer with 15+ years experience in the Hospitality and Online Travel industries. She has worked in major Hotel Chains, such as Marriott International and Eurostars across multiple departments and countries like Brazil, Spain and Australia. In the last 10 years, Juliana was part of the Booking.com team leading business development for new markets as well as expanding existing ones over many countries in Latin America and the United States. She has a University degree in Business Administration with emphasis in Hospitality.
A natural-born entrepreneur coming from the hospitality industry, Michael started his first company at the age of 18. As a fast learner with a creative mind, at the age of 24 he was able to manage corporate B2B sales for 4 years for a large, international enterprise and was responsible for an annual turnover of 45 million Euro. On the grounds of that experience and his passion for travel, he then founded the online travel agency Travelservice and a successful hotel booking startup Bidroom later on. His business intuition made him decide that Bidroom should improve the global hospitality market with a commission free model, making the platform the world's first of this kind. With his knowledge of corporate business negotiations and inspiring leadership, he secured over 21 million Euro for the continued expansion of the awarded startup, for which he now oversees daily operations and IT development.
Tuan is Program Manager within Booking.com's Corporate Social Responsibility department, working hard to turn tourism into a force for good. With his background in sustainability and large grant programmes, Tuan had been supporting ideas championing the environment and community, looking to make sure social impact is the core of organizational goals and part of business strategy. Keeping a close eye on how supporting Innovative ideas can contribute to social good, he is hoping to give startups and NGOs in the tourism and travel space the knowledge and skills required to make sustainable impact. Tuan has a masters in International communications focused on Corporate Social Responsibility and has recently moved back to Amsterdam to drive the sustainable tourism agenda at Booking.com, after working for the World Bank in DC.
Markus Popp is a passionate digital entrepreneur – he was involved in 10+ successful start-ups, offering 20 years of expertise in digital strategy, technology and development of business models, both for start-ups and corporates as a managing partner in his company builder. He holds a master’s degree of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Nathalie Chemtob is the founding partner of Alpana Ventures, a Geneva-based early Stage VC, founded by a team of experienced investment professionals and entrepreneurs.
Alpana’s ambition is to expand the potential of Swiss technological expertise in Digital Transformation. Its unique investment model is to bridge Swiss and European startups to Silicon Valley and Asia and to apply US management style and expertise (sales & marketing) while providing market access. We support our portfolio companies to set the right business development strategy, hire the best talents, implement a go to market strategy in the US or Asia and focus on Exits. Our focus is Digitization, in diverse sectors such as Medtech, Fintech, Enterprise Solutions, AI, IoT, Security …
Michel is a licensed attorney with 8 years of experience and degrees from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and the UC Berkeley School of Law (USA). With his law firm EMBARK.LAW, he helps startups and expanding businesses get their legal ducks in a row to pave the way for growth and momentum. Why start-ups? As a former elite athlete (volleyball player) and avid surfer, Michel feels at home in the startup community with its adventurous, challenge-driven spirit. It’s his passion to support his clients while they create something new and impactful.
The focus of Michel’s practice is in Swiss and U.S. law.