GREENTECH FESTIVAL SPEAKERS

Olaf Deutschbein, has many years of experience in development cooperation and government and worked for the German Ministry of the Interior and the Development Ministry. He has been responsible for initiatives such as the introduction of the Green Button, the worldwide first government-run certification label for sustainable textiles; the 15 Green Agricultural Innovation Centers, and the Cash for Work Initiative which has provided 60,000 jobs per year for Syrian refugees in the Middle East.

Christoph Weigler has been the General Manager of Uber Germany since 2015. Christoph worked for a strategic consulting firm on international projects in the automotive industry for OEMs and Tier 1s. He studied business administration at European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, Tsinghua University Beijing, China and Arizona State University, United States.

Dipl.-Ing. Björn Brecht serves as the Head of Business Development at Kieback&Peter. Since 1927, the company has been a leading provider of building automation. With a strong technical background and the ability to turn innovative ideas into successful products, Björn leads the strategic development of the company. Additionally, he is an active Board Member of the European Building Automation and Controls Association (eu.bac) and holds certification as an ESG Manager. His expertise and innovation have led to several patents.

Maryann, a sustainability advocate, serves as the Sustainability Coordinator for Sucafina Rwanda, focusing on redefining agricultural systems in East Africa. She empowers smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable practices, partnering with WFP and Proteen in the Rebug2Debug project to produce organic fertilizer from Black Soldier Fly Larvae. This initiative reintroduces lost nutrients into the food chain, enhancing farm productivity and food security in Rwanda. With a background in Animal Sciences and experience with research organizations like ICIPE, Maryann is dedicated to finding alternative protein sources and raising awareness about climate change. She strives to foster practices that enhance the adaptation and mitigation capacity of African food systems, embodying a catalyst for positive change.

With expertise spanning data science, remote sensing, and sustainability Frankwin van Winsen employs data-driven solutions to drive greener practices. Leading AI solution development at WEO, he harnesses satellite imagery to provide clients with critical insights for effective environmental management. His work centers on creating innovative tools for monitoring green spaces, mitigating climate impacts, and fostering more resilient communities. Frankwin is a dedicated advocate for using technology to tackle environmental challenges, continually striving to build a more sustainable future.

Alessandro is an award-winning environmental activist and entrepreneur who pushes the boundaries of innovation and behavioral science for the wellbeing of the planet. He is the CEO of AWorld, the Italian climate tech startup chosen by the United Nations as their digital partner in individual action for the ACTNOW campaign. AWorld is the climate platform dedicated to helping citizens and stakeholders take action and live their values while learning more about sustainability and our relationship with the world around us.
The campaign has been promoted by UN ambassadors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Antonio Gutierrez and Elisa. Alex is a Tedx speaker and the first person to raise the SDG flag to its highest altitude when he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2022.

Wolfgang Grabher is the founder, owner and CEO of SUN AG, the Swiss producer of SUN Minimeal, using Blockchain technology to provide the world´s first deflationary pricing model. He climbed Mount Vinson in Antarctica and is the owner of the SUN Minimeal Extreme E Racing Team. His mission is to reduce resources for food supply by 90%

Henni Weiser took over the lead for talent and diversity management for Lufhansa Group in 2021. With her team, she creates processes and programs to attract, retain and develop the best people for solving Lufthansa Group’s business challenges. Before taking over this position, Henni held various HR roles at Lufthansa Technik, ranging from employee feedback management and leadership development to digitalization projects. Before moving into the exciting world of aviation, Henni worked in intercultural education in a large global non profit for over 15 years. As a seasoned interculturalist and systemic thinker, Henni is passionate about creating inspiring environments where people love to do their best work and collaborate across functions to create a difference.

Vuk Trifkovic serves as Managing Director and Partner at BCG X, Boston Consulting Group’s tech build and design unit since 2016. He specializes in building, launching, and managing digital businesses across various sectors. As part of BCG X’s green tech leadership team, he collaborates with corporate entities globally to invest in, co-build, and scale sustainable ventures, fostering climate innovation. Since 2021, Vuk has spearheaded climate and sustainability initiatives, gaining expertise in green technologies, from direct-air capture to regenerative agriculture. Prior to BCG, he held leadership positions in VC-funded startups and contributed to research on climate change’s historical impact using geospatial computing tools.

Alina, a former Chemical Engineer turned Impact Investor, is driven by her passion for creating positive impact.At Ananda Impact Ventures, she invests into companies working to fuel impact on a global scale. As the Co-founder of Kleiderly, she revolutionised textile recycling into plastic alternatives. Championing Women of Colour in entrepreneurship through Founderland, Alina’s accolades include Forbes 30 under 30 and features in publications such as Wired, Vogue and TEDx. More recently, she became a Obama Foundation Leader. Her mission is to build a brighter, sustainable and more equitable future.

Robert is the Coordinator for industrial cooperation at DLR in Munich, DLR´s largest site focused on space applications. His transfers scientific developments into business. Typical domains are Robotics, Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation, Communication, Sensors and Big Data, AI. Verticals served are ITC, Automotive, Transport, Aircraft, UAV/UAS, Geospatial/GIS, Utilities, Energy, General Industry, Medical, Public Sector and Environmental. Additionally DLR forsters own deep tech start-ups and is partner of ESA Business Incubation. Robert holds a master diploma in Economic Geography from both Munich Universities, and has a background in Business Strategy, Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship.
Prior to joining DLR in 2009, Robert gained experience during 10 years in Siemens’ GIS/Geospatial Division. Robert is co-inventor of patents in Automated Driving and HD Mapping.

Julia has been at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics at DLR, where she leads a research group focussing on using satellite measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide to estimate emissions from the surface and uptake by the biosphere. She is involved in the development of innovative missions employing next-generation technology targeting these emissions at different spatial scales. She has a background in Physics, and earned her PhD in Physics and Atmospheric Science from the University of Dalhousie, in Halifax, Canada. Prior to moving to DLR in 2020, she worked at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry for over ten years, becoming an expert in the use of satellite measurements in atmospheric inverse modelling.

Romi Sumaria is an entrepreneur, dedicated mentor, and investor, uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology, social change, and environmental sustainability. He is committed to advancing frontier technologies, ensuring equitable access, and leveraging these innovations for the good. Currently he’s the Head of Business Development & Partnerships at Terra Quantum, one of the leading quantum technology companies globally. Working across all major sectors he is responsible for the scaling and commercialisaiton of solutions in quantum algorithms, compute and security whilst also supporting the growth of robust ecosystem.  His diverse career path has seen him making significant impacts across multiple sectors, including founding The Oblique Life a community of impact focussed business leaders and working in investment banking at HSBC.

Franziska Albrecht studied social and economic communication and later landscape architecture. In this context, she became intensively involved with the various facets of sustainable practices at an early stage. She gained a lot of experience in planning and construction processes at various landscape architecture offices and contributes this knowledge at Madaster Germany since 2022. She is responsible for communication and public relations, but also a contact for the public sector and planners.

Hanna has a degree in economics. She has been working in the construction and property industry for four years. At Drees & Sommer, she is head of Innovation Management in the Drees & Sommer Innovation Centre. She and her team are responsible for future visions, technologies, start-up management and intrapreneurship.

Solveig Gode is the deputy department head for Podcasts, Video & Live at Handelsblatt. She hosts various event formats and hosts the Handelsblatt podcasts “Today” and “Crime,” among others. In 2023, she was selected by the trade magazine “Wirtschaftsjournalist:in” as one of the Business Journalists of the Year in the category of Economic Policy/Society. Previously, she moderated the successful True-Crime podcast “Macht & Millionen” by Business Insider, led it, and brought it to the stage in a sold-out live tour. Her eponymous book accompanying the podcast about the most spectacular scandals in the German economy made it onto the Manager Magazin’s bestseller list in 2022. She also works as a moderator and speaker, including past events such as re:publica, Spotify All Ears, or TedX. Solveig completed her traineeship at the Burda School of Journalism and at Focus Magazine, where she also completed a placement at the New York correspondent’s office. Solveig studied Journalism and Political Science in Berlin.

Simon Bail, an “ecopreneur,” founded and leads OneClimate, a climate-action startup, an app that enables their users to take climate actions from holistically. Before establishing OneClimate, Simon worked in a management consultancy at the company builder wattx, within the Viessmann ecosystem, turning ideas into businesses, including OneClimate. He calls himself as a metamodernist and strives to empower as people to take climate action into their own hands.

Sebastian built Urban Innovation, a program of the Climate Tech Hub, and has led it since 2021. His career in business development has included working as a consultant on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, for the German Energy Solutions Initiative and the Ministry’s market entry program at eclareon GmbH, as well as working at the German-Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Jakarta. With many years of experience in international cooperation around the globe, Sebastian builds strong networks between ecosystems to foster exchange and innovation.

Mischa is an expert in corporate collaboration, marketing, communications and fundraising. He is dedicated to the many ways in which organisations can best support their business models to work with WWF to create a path to effective sustainability. With his long experience in various positions in the non-profit sector, management and project management, Mischa has a broad understanding of the interplay between business interests and sustainability issues.

As an expert in science-based sustainability and climate strategies, Lea accompanies companies along their transformation towards 1.5°C compatible business models and activities. With many years of experience in strategy and policy development, campaigning and stakeholder engagement with CDP and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Lea not only has deep technical expertise, but also a broad understanding of current market developments and business challenges.