SET Tech Festival 2023

Anna Christmann is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action’s representative for the digital economy and start-ups, as well as the coordinator for German aerospace. A member of the Green Party (Alliance 90/The Greens) since 2003 and representing Stuttgart II since 2021, she is also a member of the Bundestag’s Committee for Education, Research and Technology, and a deputy member of the Committee for Digital Affairs. With a background in economics, political engagement, and science policy, Christmann is at the forefront of Germany’s digital transformation.

Chibeze Ezekiel coordinates the Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), a youth-oriented NGO that promotes youth inclusion in the governance of the Natural Resources & Environmental (NRE) sector. He’s a member of the board of 350.org and the International Experts of the Environment of Peace 2022 (EP2022) project.

He chairs the Youth in Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (Youth-NREG) Platform and the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize Recipient for Africa. As a strong climate activist, he holds the conviction that young people must be at the heart of climate solutions in that young people have a pivotal role to play in winning the fight against climate change. He coordinates the Intergenerational Climate Justice campaign of his organisation targeting children, young people and the older generation.

Kendra Rauschenberger is General Partner at Siemens Energy Ventures, the venture arm of Siemens Energy, focused on building, piloting with and investing in startups that can provide sustainable, affordable and reliable energy to the world.

Kendra has worked for Siemens companies for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in the areas of sales, business development and strategic projects across innovation and renewable energy. Her previous role was in Additive Manufacturing, one of Siemens’ key innovative technologies, where she was Head of Business Development, Sales and Marketing and responsible for developing new business for this exciting technology with global customers across multiple industries. Prior to this she worked in the UK and Denmark for the company now known as Siemens Gamesa in various management roles including Head of Sales, Bids and Strategic projects.

Kendra also holds an MBA in New Venture Creation from the University of Louisville and is located in Erlangen, Germany.

Danijel Visevic is a recognised climate tech thought leader and expert in public policy, communications and brand building. Before initiating the World Fund, he worked for Project A – one of Europe’s most successful venture capitalists. Before that he was co-responsible for the Angela Merkel’s media image, and a journalist and founder focussing on climate tech, startups and venture capital.

Andrew Mack is the CEO of Octopus Energy Germany. A British native, he founded an energy startup in 2016 that became part of global EnertTech player Octopus Energy in 2019. Prior to that, he spent several years as chief strategist at British utility OVO Energy and was a director at Boston Consulting Group. He studied engineering, economics and management at Oxford University and holds an MBA from INSEAD. As an energy expert, he advocates for decarbonisation and consumer protection in the field of energy politics.

Dr Advenit Makaya is an Advanced Manufacturing Engineer at the European Space Agency (ESA). He supports the development of advanced materials and processes for space applications and provides support to ESA missions. He is coordinating technology development activities for on-orbit and on-planet manufacturing. He is also supporting the SOLARIS preparatory programme proposal preparation.

Tech industry veteran Ellen Kugelberg joined Einride in September 2020 as Chief Operations Officer to scale the operations team and strengthen customer and data driven operations and development. In early 2022, Kugelberg moved into the Chief Product Officer role where she oversees the entire product, technology and manufacturing function at Einride, leading teams across all electric, autonomous and digital product offerings and driving continued technical innovation.

Dr Chris Gentle is Senior Advisor, Partnerships and New Ventures at World Energy Council.  He is responsible for the Council’s global partnerships, impact projects and its ambitious Centenary Campaign.  Chris is also an advisor to The Conference Board and teaches at London Business School.

Chris has over 25 years international experience in strategy consulting working at board level in over 35 countries around the world.  He spent 17 years in Big 4 firms KPMG and Deloitte where he was Partner working for F500 clients on strategy and organisational design. He has also held roles at WPP and the European Commission.  He has advised both the World Trade Organisation and United Nations.  He works at the highest levels of influencing including the UK Prime Minister, President European Commission and WEF in Davos.  He is also the author of two books and numerous press and management articles including the Financial Times and the Californian Management Review.

In addition to her studies in Industrial Design and Data Science at Eindhoven University of Technology, Louise de Laat is the team manager of TU/ecomotive this year. She is passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship and is involved with the innovation and the statistical point of view of the newest car within the TU/ecomotive team.