Elisabeth Zehetner is State Secretary for Energy, Startups, and Tourism at the Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism.

Previously she was head of the Young Economy, Start-up Service, and Women in Business office at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ, now Target Group Management Departmen). In 2022, she founded the think tank oecolution Austria, which aims to combine business and climate protection.

Molecular biologist Martin Hetzer serves as President of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) since 2023.

The Vienna native returned to Austria for this position after spending around two decades in the US, most recent as Vice President of the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in California.

Markus Wanko is Managing Partner at xista science ventures and Managing Director of xista’s tech transfer and science park arms.

With degrees from MIT, HEC Paris, TU and WU Vienna, he brings over 20 years of experience in venture capital, strategy, and principal investing, having held roles at BCG, the European Investment Fund, and QIA. He serves on the boards of AUTM, and startups Cutanos and Ribbon Biolabs.

Keith Sequeira leads the European Commission unit responsible for the EIC, including its strategy, funding instruments, and the EIC Fund.

A physicist by training with a PhD in innovation studies, he has advised two European Commissioners and shaped key initiatives like Horizon Europe and the ERC. Before joining the Commission, he worked in the UK government and in private sector innovation investment.

Dr. Kathrin Spendier leads the $5M XPRIZE Quantum Applications competition, a global challenge sponsored by Google Quantum AI and GESDA, to accelerate quantum solutions.

Prior to XPRIZE, she served as a Technology Evangelist at Quantinuum, and as an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado Springs.

Dr. Samira Nik is Programme Manager for Quantum Technologies and Electronics at the European Innovation Council. Here, she manages the portfolio and shapes Europe’s quantum tech ecosystem.

Previously, Samira worked across nanoelectronics, superconducting devices, and cleanroom operations before  becoming Project Manager – Innovation in the European Standardization Organizations.

Trine Bartholdy is the CBO of the BioInnovation Institute (BII) in Copenhagen, with more than 20 years of experience in life sciences, biotechnology, and innovation.

She leads the Venture Creation Team driving the build up of start ups within Planetary and Human health as well as Quantum.

Jodi Barrientos brings two decades of experience leading high-performing commercial organizations in the genomics market. Now CEO of Ribbon, she previously  held executive roles at Agilent Technologies, filled leadership roles in Product Management at Qiagen and did Field Application Consulting for Roche Diagnostics’ custom OEM business. Jodi started as a bench scientist, holds a degree from Purdue University and conducted her master’s research in cancer biology.

Patricia Neumann is CEO and Head of Smart Infrastructure at Siemens Austria. Patricia brings decades of experience at the intersection of digitalization, infrastructure, and strategic business transformation.

Before joining Siemens, she held senior leadership roles at IBM across Europe, including Country General Manager of IBM Austria and Vice President for Data, AI & Automation Sales at IBM EMEA. She studied Business Administration.

Dr. Michaela Fritz is Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the Medical University of Vienna, where she shapes strategy across translational and  clinical research, innovation, and international partnerships.

A scientist by training, she has held leading roles at AIT, LISA, AWS, and Infineon, and serves on boards including the European Forum Alpbach and the European University Alliance Expert Group on Innovation.

Thorsten Schumm is Professor of Quantum Metrology at TU Vienna, where he develops precision instruments based on quantum effects.
His group leads the construction of a next-generation nuclear clock with applications in navigation and data synchronization.  He also advances Austria’s nationwide quantum fiber infrastructure.

Schumm completed his PhD under Alain Aspect, Nobel Prize in Physics 2022.

Nora Müller is a Senior Manager at Boston Consulting Group, with over a decade of experience in the German healthcare sector.

A regulatory and reimbursement specialist, she has held leading roles at Boston Consulting Group and Flying Health, advising clients on innovation strategy, health insurance, and digital health solutions.

Dr Stefan Sack is a quantum algorithms researcher and co-founder of a stealth startup funded by xista science ventures.

He earned his PhD from ISTA, worked on quantum machine learning at Quantinuum and interned at QuEra in Boston. In 2022, he was the only European awarded an IBM PhD Fellowship, leading to a collaboration with IBM Research Zurich.

Maria Ibáñez completed her PhD in physics at the University of Barcelona.

Since 2018, Maria has led the Inorganic Materials from Nano to Macro group at ISTA. In 2020, she was awarded a Werner Siemens Foundation Project for developing high-performance thermoelectric materials. In 2022, she was appointed Verbund Professor for Energy Sciences.

Stefan Kittler is a postdoctoral researcher in the Integrated Bioprocess Development Group (IBD Group) at TU Wien.

After completing his doctoral studies in 2022, he has focused on developing and optimizing microbial bioprocesses using various hosts. His current research project centers on enabling continuous microbial processes to improve productivity and resource-efficiency in biomanufacturing.

Alexander Pekarsky is a bioprocess development professional and xista innovation fellow.

He earned his PhD from TU Wien and worked in the biopharma industry focusing on developing and scaling bioprocesses. He has recently been granted the xista Fellowship to develop a commercial solution for continuous microbial bioprocessing based on an IP-pending technology developed at ISTA.