Fit 4 Start #12 Online Pitching Sessions

HEALTHTECH

Alain Rodermann Founding Partner @ Expon Capital
Active in venture capital firms since 1997, Alain founded Expon Capital in 2015. He formerly run the seed investment vehicle Arenatis Capital and was previously a partner at Sofinnova Partners, a leading European Venture Capital firm, for 10 years. Prior to this, Alain was an Investment director of Innovacom, the VC Arm of Orange. He invested at early and growth stages and served as board member in 50+ high tech and biotech companies across Europe and the USA, including blockbusters Spire, Lastminute.com, Glovo, Pliops, Netvalue, EmailVision, Atomz and Maximiles, as well as Orphalan, Dott, Refurbed, Catalyte, Wyplay, Geneanet, Welovewords, Itravel, Passbolt, Ocus, Coinhouse, Salonkee
This followed 8 years with Bouygues and Alcatel in management positions in infrastructure construction projects, defence systems and software development.
He holds a MS in Electrical Engineering from Supelec, an MBA from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and a Bachelor in History of Art and Archeology. He is also a certified director of both Insead and ILA.
Catherine Larue CoDx
Expert in biomarkers and European Research Infrastructures - Advisor for public private partnerships - Involved in European Fundings (H2020, Horizon Europe) - Creator of bridges between public research and industry -Scientific advisor of EATRIS
Christian Oberlé President-director @ CNS
After 11 years of professional experience in the field of audit and consulting and 18 years as a hospital director, Christian Oberlé holds the function of President of the National Health Insurance (CNS) and the eHealth Agency of Luxembourg. He is particularly involved in the digital transformation, which he considers the most pressing challenge of the health and care sector.
Jane Murray Pharmaceutical & Regulatory Affairs at Luxembourg Health Directorate @ Direction de la Santé
Jane Murray is responsible for Pharmaceutical and Regulatory Affairs at the Division of pharmacy and medicines at the Luxembourg Health Directorate. With a background in pharmacy and law, Jane has extensive experience in biomedical research strategy and innovation in the pharmacy sector, and is currently also involved in the development of the future Medicines Regulatory Agency for Luxembourg.
Jochen Klucken Chair of Digital Medicine @ Uni.lu
Magdalena Pietras Business Development @ Voxel Group
Magdalena Pietras is working for Voxel Capital Group, listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange, offering premium diagnostic imaging as its core activity.

She is focusing primarily on aspects relating to international business development for all the companies in the group. She also advises the on-boared startups to the group.

She has an international corporate law background and recently graduated from the MBA of Luxembourg School of Business.
Marc Jacobs HEALTHTECH @ MPG
Marc holds a Masters in Engineering from the University of Leuven and a Sloan MSc in Leadership and Strategy from London Business School. He is a serial entrepreneur and has also held several international executive positions in global companies. He is co-founder and CEO of Molecular Plasma Group and co-author of the book ‘Negotiate like a local’, a practical guide to managing the cultural aspects of international B2B negotiation. Marc is also founding mentor of the University of Luxembourg’s Venture Mentoring Service (ULVMS).
Michael Beckers Managing Director @ SciPharm
Education in Engineering Physics, started working in automotive, then moved to ICT.

Got involved in 1997 in clinical research and medical devices through voluntary work in the field of Cystic Fibrosis. Joined SciPharm part-time in 09/2014 and full-time in 08/2016.
Philippe Sollie HEALTHTECH @ Flen Health
Helping people with inflammatory diseases live the live they love is what drives Philippe Sollie. Flen Health owner and CEO, to continue to build Flen Health: 100+ Flenners now research and commercialise patented wound care products across the globe: 7 affiliates (Benelux, UK, Germany, Ireland, Dubai) and distribution agreements in 50+ countries.

HPC

Alban Rousset HPC Senior Solution Engineer @ LuxProvide
Alban Rousset is a Senior Solution Engineer of LuxProvide with more than a decade of expertise in distributed computing. He obtained his PhD. in Computer sciences from Femto-st/CNRS working on artificial intelligence issues for High-Performance Computing. He was previously a researcher at Luxembourg University, as a post-doctoral associate in the Engineering department working on parallel simulations.

Today, Alban has in-depth experience, bridging the gap between domain knowledge and hardware platforms in plenty of fields such as computational fluid dynamics, artificial intelligence, Discrete Element Method, and code optimization for High-Performance Computing platforms. Alban is now defining the training offer at LuxProvide to allow an easy transition to High-Performance Computing world through the EuroCC/National Competence Center & ULCC.
Anne Goujon Head of Data Science Lab @ BGL BNP Paribas
After 5 years in Academic research on modeling extrem risk in Finance and Insurance, Anne joined BGL to develop and take the lead of Investment Risk department within Private Banking. In 2017 she took BGL BNPPARIBAS Data Science Laboratory lead with the objective of developing Artificial Intelligence solutions for the Bank and promoting and facilitating integration of AI technology.
Eric Weber Senior Program Manager @LBAN/Ministry of Digitalisation
Experienced Senior Program Manager with a demonstrated history of delivering global projects and product features in the payment industry. Strong program and project management professional with a Master of Science in Banking and Finance focused in Banking and a Master as Computer Engineer from the EPFL. Interested in Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), Central Bank Digital Currency and angel investing.
Frederic Pinel HPC @
Frédéric Pinel practiced HPC and data analytics across academia and industry.

Recently, he was a research scientist in the HPC group of the University of Luxembourg, and a member of the Nvidia AI Technology Center Luxembourg. Prior to that, he was a data scientist at Goodyear Innovation Center Luxembourg. For IBM, he worked (technical team leader, developer) on a high-performance middleware for financial applications, such as stock exchanges.

He holds 2 master degrees, a PhD and is an Nvidia DLI ambassador (CUDA certified).
Jason Maroothynaden Business Broker @ European Space Agency
Jean-Christophe Witz Chief Information Officer @ Husky
Global CIO at Husky injection molding (Canadian base company leader in injection molding over $1.3B revenue)

Leading global team which support the digital transformation E2E of HUSKY ( Go to market, Industry 4.0 manufacturing and factory of the future, IOT service solution for customer services etc..). As well Transforming IT team people/process and technology towards product & agile delivery, with enhanced cybersecurity , supported modern data architecture and infrastructure to enable IOT, Advanced analytics and ML/AI.

Previously Leading a Strategic Deployment for Husky as lead for Husky the factory of the future vision (based on industry4.0 and data) fully digitally enabled to which we are today scaling towards.

Started at Husky in global R&D team. Held different roles leading innovation and leader of global teams. Has Developed various technologies in the application or equipment space which serve customer needs. Named in over 20 inventions and patent applications.

Large experience in Tier1/2 automotive industry transforming towards fully automated productions line and system in light of zero defect and fully automated productions supported by data and analytics for close loop performance.
Thierry Fromes HPC @ Videntifier
30 years of professional experience in an international environment, with a broad experience in top management, corporate citizenship, accounting and finance, general administration, organization and human resources, commercial promotion & PR, negotiation of large contracts, corporate strategies, business planning and (re)engineering, budgeting, start-up of new projects, etc. Board presence in major international companies. Strategic know-how of international corporate structures and governmental processes, including methodologies, process mapping, BPR, workload organization, workflow management, planning, budgeting and controlling, strategic developments, e-business, human resource management and media-political affairs; social and managerial skills with governmental agencies and ministries as well as industry partners. Industrial experience in commercial management, involved in the launch of commercial eCommerce activities, management of stock listed corporate subsidiaries and affiliates, operation of TV stations in Europe. Corporate executive experience in one of the largest diversified European media groups, with activities in television, radio, publishing, audiovisual production and distribution. Executive position in one of the largest European logistics and air cargo corporation, with a worldwide customer base with the in-house developed solutions. Executive position and business license holder of Microsoft Luxembourg, establishing as of 2003 a Luxembourgish Microsoft subsidiary with both corporate and local activities in the country and for EMEA HQ. Since 2007, Lead for the Small Countries Subsidiaries with MSI. Since 2010, Managing Director of Microsoft Luxembourg Investments and Microsoft MOPR Holdings Luxembourg. Since 2011, Chairman and Director at the BoD for the Skype companies and subsidiaries. Since 2015, Chairman Advisor Board at leading companies, supporting business development and start-ups in Europe and more in particular from Luxembourg.
Valentin Plugaru HPC @ LuxProvide
Valentin Plugaru is the Chief Technology Officer of LuxProvide. With over a decade of passion for all things HPC, he has worked as part of national and European HPC initiatives, helping shape the roadmap for the European HPC ecosystem and create Luxembourg’s first national HPC center and supercomputing platform.

Today he is time-sharing between boosting LuxProvide's HPC, Data and AI capabilities, growing highly expert groups, and supporting the development of competencies networks, in particular through the EuroCC/National Competence Centers and CASTIEL projects.

SPACE

Gonzalo Martin de Mercado SPACE @ European Space Agency
Gonzalo Martin de Mercado currently work at the European Space Agency, Business Applications Team, as business developer and impact analyst. Gonzalo has more than 15 years of experience working with start-ups and mature companies developing using space technologies and data into their businesses. As part of his job, he actively engages with investment communities to bring space as an investment opportunity. Gonzalo is a former alumnae of the University of Valladolid (MSc on Telecommunications engineering), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (post-grade on satellite technology) and Henley Business School (Strategy and Leadership). Gonzalo is a big believer in education as a way to transform society and industries, and he frequently acts as a lecturer for diverse audiences in venues like high schools, universities, summits and innovation hubs.
Jason Maroothynaden SPACE @ HE Space Operations
With 20 years in aerospace and venture, Jason started his career as a bio-instrumentation engineer at ESA. He left space and became an internationally experienced venture builder and capital raiser. He came back to Europe and space as business broker at ESA specialising in access to finance, particularly working in partnership with Venture Capital. He is a start-up mentor and company board member, and has been part of the Fit for Start judging group since the first co-hort. He is currently UK Director for HE Space Operations where he is developing its UK business.
Maria Portoles Principal @ Promus Ventures
Maria is a Principal at Promus Ventures, US early stage Venture Capital firm investing in Deep Tech and Space Tech companies around the world. Prior to that she was a Principal at Banco Sabadell CVC, InnoCells, where she invested in Fintech and Insurtech
Miles Ashcroft CIO @ KLEOS SPACE
Miles is Chief Innovation Officer at Kleos Space S.A. and has nearly 30 years’ experience

in engineering - with over 15 years’ of that delivering high value and technically

complex Space projects.

Miles has held management and technical leadership positions at R&D start-up

companies and automotive, motorsport (F1), aerospace and space companies.

Miles is qualified with a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering (Honours)

from Salford University and is a CEng (Chartered Engineer), MRAeS (Member

of the Royal Aeronautical Society), FRAS (Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society)

and is an inventor or co-inventor on eight granted patents.
Olivier Zephir Business Advisor @ Technoport
Olivier Zephir is a Senior Business Advisor at Technoport SA, the technology business incubator in Luxembourg. With a background in Industrial Systems Engineering, Olivier supports early stage ventures in validating technological product concepts and the commercial relations with end-users and corporate partners. Olivier has contributed to several EU and industrial R&D projects within the enterprise service industry and at the Technoport SA he manages a specific startup support program in the field of space resources
Owen Reynolds Associate @ Expon Capital
Former economist, startup-coach, and founder, I'm looking to invest in people and teams that inspire me. Here at Expon, we back super-charged software and tech companies within the UN Sustainable Development Goals to make a global impact.

ICT

Christophe Bianco Co-Founder & Managing Partner@ Excellium
Christophe is the co-founder and the Managing Director of Excellium Services. Founded in 2012 out of Luxembourg, Excellium is currently active in 7 countries over 2 continents with approximately 140 employees delivering services to nearly 180 customers.

Because companies face new threats with increasing budgetary constraints and limited resources Excellium is trying to bring new pragmatic approaches to tackle the current cyber threat landscape.

Before Excellium, Christophe was the EMEA vice-president and General Manager for Qualys, the leader in computer vulnerability management solutions. In this job, his mission was to support the company establishment in Europe in the perspective of the company IPO that happened in 2012.

Formerly, he had also managed the activities development of Verizon Business on the European Region for the security division during 10 years. Besides, he had had a 1st experience as a network administrator in the Paribas Luxembourg Bank for 3 years.

In terms of the background, Christophe got an engineering degree in network engineering and information systems. Furthermore, he had an Executive MBA from HEC Paris in 2008. Most recently, he has studied Criminology at the University of Paris Assas II and Economic intelligence at the Ecole de Guerre Economique in Paris.

He regularly speaks at conferences about Information Security issues, analysis of the economics of cybercrime or evolving threats. Since 2018, he’s also been Associate Professor at Telecom Nancy, an engineering school in France on cybersecurity topics.
Jacques Pütz CEO @ Luxhub
Jacques has, for more than two decades, been at the forefront of tech innovation in Luxembourg. Firstly, as the founder of the country’s first Social Media platform, then as an award-winning ICT professional within the banking sector and, more recently, as the CEO of leading FinTech, LUXHUB.
Kevin Muller Founder & CEO @ Passbolt
Serial Tech Entrepreneur - Luxembourg & India Currently CEO at Passbolt: the open source password manager for the enterprise Previously Founder & CEO at ClickOnFrench: half a million students learnt French online with us.
Lily Wang Investor @ Expon Capital
· VC investor at Expon Capital

· Investment banking at HSBC in London

· startup investment, leveraged buyout, IPO
Michel Rzonzef LBAN
Pascal Bouvier Managing Partner & Co-Founder @ MiddleGame Ventures
Pascal Bouvier is a fintech venture capital investor. He has invested in early stage startups for over 10 years. He has co-founded MiddleGame Ventures, his current venture platform. Prior to being a venture investor, Pascal was an entrepreneur - enterprise software, software services, financial services. Prior to being an entrepreneur, Pascal started his business career in banking in Europe and in the United States. Pascal is active within the Luxembourg startup and fintech ecosystem, and has launched this year the VC Scholar Program targeted to masters and PhD students, as well as Office Hours, a short format videocast (both in partnership with the LHoFT). Pascal is a CFA and holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden Business School.

LUXINNOVATION

Alexander Link Senior Advisor - Corporate R&D and Innovation Support @ Luxinnovation
Anne Meunier Project Officer HealthTech @ Luxinnovation
Catherine Theves
Eric Lauer
Giuseppe Tarantino
Jean-Philippe Arié Cluster Manager - HealthTech @ Luxinnovation
Laurence Hulin Start up Support Advisor @ Luxinnovation
Martin Guérin Senior Startup Advisor @ Luxinnovation
Maximilian Przybyl
Nathalie Rahme Event Manager @ Luxinnovation
Skilled in Communication, Event Management, Interpersonal Skills, and Management. Strong experience in Luxury and Digital aspect and operations professional
Romane Marquet Digital Marketing and Communication Officer @ Luxinnovation
Stefan Berend Head of Start-up Acceleration @ Luxinnovation
Stephanie Silvestri Advisor Start-up Support @ Luxinnovation
Sven Baltes Advisor – Startup Acceleration @ Luxinnovation