EBAN

Mr. Abad works as a Finance Director and Chief Executive of a number of privately owned SME companies in the metallurgical sector. He is a Business Angel in several Start ups. Mr. Abad has a background in Economic and business science and a Master Degree in Business Administration from ESADE.
He is currently very active in entrepreneurial education and mentoring programs designed to ensure that more entrepreneurs develop sustainable, innovative businesses. He is lecturer in the entrepreneur classes in ESADE, “Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña” and “Universidad Pompeu Fabra”.
Mr. Abad leads two non-profit organizations: Business Angels Network Catalunya (BANC) and ESBAN, the Spanish Business Network Federation which coordinates and promotes the different Business Angels networks in Spain.

Juan Armagnague was born in Mendoza, Argentina. He studied law at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, graduating in early 2005. Juan gained his first job experience as a junior corporate lawyer for Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona (IMPSA). In the fall of 2006, Juan went to the Netherlands to achieve an LL.M in European and International Investment Law from Universiteit van Amsterdam. He focused his LL.M thesis on the annulment procedure of the ICSID Convention (also known as the Washington Convention). In early 2008 he joined the International Arbitration Group, Freshfields Bruckahaus Deringer LLP in Paris, where he worked in ICSID and ICC cases against several Latin American countries. Since September 2008, Juan has been working at Business in Development Network as a Matchmaker focusing his work on Latin America, matching outstanding business plans with American and European investors. He has worked and studied in many different countries, such as the United States, England, Costa Rica, France, and the Netherlands, and has also published some of his works in international reviews.

Alan Barrell has spent almost thirty years in senior executive positions in technology based industries. He worked around the world with Baxter Healthcare, the world's largest Health technology company and was Chief Executive of Baxter UK for six years. Subsequently he joined Domino Printing Sciences, as Managing Director, a very small Cambridge Phenomenon company in industrial electronics. Alan stayed six years, during which time Domino grew internationally and was listed on the London Stock Exchange. Alan's last full time Chief Executive position was six years with Willett International, a manufacturing and marketing company in industrial electronics which now has businesses in 100 countries, 26 overseas subsidiaries and sales of more than £100 million.
Alan was instrumental in launching in raising the new regional early stage technology VC und of £35 M - The Cambridge Gateway Fund. As Managing Partner of the fund, Alan was elected as "Investor of the Year" in the Cambridge Evening News Business Excellence Awards 2002. He involved with a number of charities. Alan is also a founder shareholder in Library House Ltd, a successful Cambridge based Investor organisation, which connects member investor firms, such as Venture Capital Funds, with emerging technology companies seeking finance. He is also a Board member of Glen House Capital Strategies Ltd., an incubator of start up and early stage companies, and serves on the Boards of two Glen House portfolio companies.

Brigitte is the Founder and CEO of Go Beyond Ltd., the European Angel Financing Services firm, http://www.go-beyond.biz/. Brigitte is a Business Angel and serves on a number of selection and investment committees in Europe. She is Vice President of the Board of EBAN, and is on the Certification Board of CTI Start-Up, the Swiss agency promoting technology and innovation. Brigitte chairs Young Presidents Organization’s http://www.ypo.org/ global Angel Investing group.
Brigitte Baumann has 20 years of experience in bringing new technologies to market in the US and Europe. She was the CEO and Director of iWORLD Group, a VC backed, global developer of mobile content. Previously, she was Senior Vice President and General Manager Internet of  iWG from American Express Corporate Services. There she launched a variety of new internet businesses including online travel (including Expedia.com), e-Procurement, online servicing of cards and online payment. Prior to that, Brigitte spent three years as President for US and Canada of GEMPLUS, the world’s leader in smart card technology and applications to orchestrate the introduction of smart cards to the US. She also spent five years with McKinsey & Company Inc. as Senior Engagement Manager, based in New York, Paris and Tokyo.  Brigitte holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University, Boston and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  She has been the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.

Dr. Cornelius Boersch has been an entrepreneur since 1991. Already during his studies of business administration at the European Business School, he founded ACG AG, a worldwide leading chipbroker. Later on, he led the company as CEO and was responsible for its listing on the German stock exchange (NEMAX50). In 2000, he was awarded with the German Entrepreneurs Award. Since the late 90s, Dr. Boersch was privately active as a Business Angel. He got involved with young startup-companies, primarily in the Internet sector. In 2004, he professionalized his Business Angel activities and founded the Mountain Partners AG. Since then, the company has developed to become an Asset Management Group with several specialized investment vehicles and more than 120 portfolio companies (www.mountain-partners.ch). Dr. Boersch is considered as one of the most acknowledged and active Business Angels in Europe.

Dr. Michael Brandkamp is the Executive Director of High-Tech Gründerfonds and has focused on the investment business for young technological companies since 1997. In 2004 and 2005, he was the Department Manager for Innovation Financing and Shareholdings within the KfW banking group, and was previously the Associate Executive Director of tbg Technologie-Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mbH of the Deutsche Ausgleichsbank. In 1999 he became the Director of the tbg Berlin office. He studied Economics at the Universities of Münster, Nairobi and Bonn and earned his PhD at the Technische Universität Freiberg (Saxony) at the Chair for Business Management Innovation Research.

Luis Martín Cabiedes is since 2004 chartered financial analyst at the CFA institute, Spain. In 1989 he joined the news agency EUROPA PRESS, where he was co-CEO for twelve years. While at EUROPE PRESS he created Europa Press Televisión and Europa Press Comunicación, and restructured the photo division. Starting from 1995, he led the agency Internet initiatives, allowing EUROPA PRESS to establish an early and solid leadership position as a content wholesaler. In this framework, he started making investments in early stage internet companies. Private investing is now his main occupation, having made so far more than twenty investments in the internet and technology area, including  OLE, MYALERT, ACCESO, BAQUIA, and more recently ALTERIAN, PRIVALIA, SOVENTIA, INTRAWORLDS, NVIVO; TROVIT, BUBOK and COGUAN.
Luis Martin Cabiedes is part time lecturer at IESE business school, where he teaches Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Finance. He graduated in Philosophy 1982, completed his MBA at IESE in 1985. His main hobbies are competitive sailing, technical reading, and opera. He was born in Madrid in 1960, and is married with no children.  

Anthony Clarke is Managing Director of GLE Growth Capital specialising in providing early-stage equity finance for high growth businesses. GLE Growth Capital includes the London Business Angels Network and its sister angel co-investment fund London Seed Capital. Anthony is also Managing Director of the UK’s first Enterprise Capital Fund, the £30 million Seraphim Capital Fund, and of GLE Limited. He is also President of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) and Chairman of the British Business Angel Association (BBAA). Anthony also holds a position on the Board of Catalyst (Council for Advancement of Science and Industry for London).
Anthony qualified as a Chartered Secretary in 1977 and as a Chartered Accountant in 1980 whilst with Deloitte Haskins & Sells (now PWC).Thereafter, he worked on a full time basis as a Finance Director and Chief Executive of a number of small and medium sized enterprises and since 1995 he has been a business angel investor / non-executive director of many early stage businesses prior to joining the GLE Group in 2002. 

Carlos Cuervo-Arango has conducted research activities for the Bank of Spain and Gesmosa, SA, a private money market firm, from 1984 to 1988. Carlos dealt with Securities and Banking issues as Planning Director and, later, General Manager in charge of treasury capital markets and securities, at Banesto, a major private Spanish Bank (1988-95), and worked as MD at  Benito&Monjardin , later Espirito Santo Investment, an investment bank, from  1996 to 2002.
Since 2002, Carlos is Managing Director of the investment bank Banco Finantia Sofinloc in Spain. Since then he has analyzed several projects and made investments in three (all still in his portfolio): Biotecnologías Aplicadas, S.A., BTSA (ingredients for the food and cosmetics industries); Principia Technology Group (Nanotechnology) and Vivotecnia, S.L. (Preclinical in vivo contract research).  He is member of the Board of Directors of Zeltia, S.A. ; Pharmamar,S.A. ;  Genómica, S.A. and Sylentis, S.A. Carlos has an MA in Economics from Univesidad Complutense (Spain, 1975) and a PhD in Economics from the University of Minnesota (USA, 1981).

Àlex holds an MsC in Telecommunications engineering from the Polytechnical Universtity of Cataluña and an MBA from ESADE business school.

For the last 20 years, Jean-Michel has been associated with the European high technology industry, initially as a strategy consultant and then, for the last 15 years, as an investment banker, first with Broadview International and then, until 1999 as European Head of Technology Investment Banking at UBS Warburg.

Pedro Aleixo Dias is senior partner of BDO bdc & Associados, SROC in Portugal, and a registered Auditor at OROC. Pedro entered the audit profession in 1976, and he is now responsible for audit of several Portuguese and foreign companies of various sectors, namely financing, banking, insurance, construction, trading, commodities, advertising, etc. He is also responsible for several training programs, regarding auditing and financial reporting, banking, and insurance. Pedro is currently member of several professional bodies and technical committees, including the General Council of the National Accounting Regulator (CNC) and member at the Standards Working Group (SWG) of the International Accounting Firms. He has served the Auditing Steering Committee and other BDO bodies (AASC, IASB WG, SEC WG, AATF), the Technical Board of the Portuguese Chamber of Auditors (OROC) and represented the Portuguese Chamber of Auditors in the Insurance Working Party of FEE (IWP). Pedro has been Banking Supervision Director of the IEM the Central Bank in Macau under Portuguese administration (1986-1988). Pedro has an MBA, and two degrees, in Management and in Accounting.

Sophie Dingreville is Partner of Iris Capital, a pan-European venture capital fund specializing in Media & Entertainment, Communications and IT. She has managed several investments in start-ups involving Business Angels. She sits on the Boards of Bluestreak, Rue des Ecoles and CapInTech (Association for creation of technological start-ups). She was previously on the Boards of Let It Wave, Citilog and N-Soft.
Prior Mrs. Dingreville was a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. Earlier she worked as Project Manager for TPS (satellite television).
She is a lecturer in the entrepreneur classes in the Ecole Polytechnique (Paris), in HEC business school (Paris), in Telecom/Essec (Paris) and in IESE business school (Barcelona).
Mrs. Dingreville graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (Paris), holds a pre-PhD degree in digital image processing from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and completed an MBA training course managed by McKinsey.

Nicolas Fritz is General Manager of FranceAngels, the French national association for Business Angels. France Angels promotes and represents the interests of business angels and business angel networks in France, currently federating 65 networks of business angels in the country.
Previously, Nicolas Fritz acted as project manager at the Entrepreneurship Center at E.M.Lyon (Lyon’s Business School). In 2002, he made a world tour and wrote a book about “Entrepreneurship in the world”. Nicolas has a master degree in entrepreneurship from EM-Lyon.

Dermot Hill is one of the founding directors who formed Intramezzo in 2002.  A serial entrepreneur, he was formative in building a £60m turnover hardware sales company whilst delivering a challenging board level role.  From a turnaround in the dotcom sector, which he bought in mid 1997, he built a profitable company which received its first offer for purchase, of £2.4m within 2 years, and a subsequent sale value of $10m to a company in the US.  Dermot previously worked in the hardware sector on PC, mini and mainframe sales as well as turnkey software solutions; and has drawn international recognition for sales achievement as one of the top sales performers in a global IT company. Dermot has extensive experience in launching, building and transitioning commercial organisations as an interim. At Intramezzo he heads the practice that focuses on top level executive talent, placing senior management into mainland Europe for companies such as Philips, LogicaCMG and Rexam. Throughout his career Dermot has been involved in early stage businesses and winning investment, giving him close links to the Angel and VC communities.  One of his tenets is that ‘money follows people’.
Intramezzo’s network in the funding sectors is extensive.  The company, which is a sponsor of EBAN, has recently launched registers for :  Non Executive Directors, Angel Talent, Tagged Executives (top executive talent and investments to £1m), and MBI, to operate alongside it’s 3,000 strong international Interim register. Visit www.intramezzo.co.uk.

With an extensive background amongst UN organizations, Isabelle has set up and led various missions in different parts of the world, gaining an accurate vision of health issues in third-world countries. She strongly believes that fair and ethical business conduct can lead to mutual profits. Her entrepreneurial way of thinking brings innovation, creativity and passion to the Bulane adventure. Isabelle has a degree in Economics and holds a Masters degree in project management.

During his 30-year commercial banking career, John’s positions at banks in five states ranged from Chief Lending Officer to Chief Credit Officer to CEO.  Upon retiring from banking in 2000 he commenced his business angel activities and formed USPrivateCompanies, LLC which has now provided equity to over thirty of Ohio’s most promising entrepreneurs.
John has been a member of the Ohio Venture Capital Authority since its inception in 2003, currently serving as its Vice Chairman.  By making $150 M of professionally managed early stage capital available to the state’s most promising entrepreneurs, the Authority’s Ohio Capital Fund seeks to generate high paying high-tech jobs across the state. 
In 2004 John launched the Ohio TechAngel Fund, which is a founding member of the Angel Capital Association (ACA).  Ohio TechAngels has grown to be one of North America’s largest angel groups, with three funds and over 200 investors. John is an active member of three other angel groups: ARCHAngels (Akron), The North Coast Angel Fund (Cleveland), and The East Central Ohio TechAngels Fund (Athens), and serves on the Executive Committee of the last two. 
John has taught finance at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, and is a frequent lecturer and business plan judge at Ohio’s colleges and universities.  Also, John devotes time to the boards of several start-up ventures.  Nationally, John is the current Chairman of the ACA, and past Chairman of the Angel Capital Education Foundation (ACEF).
He graduated with a BA in economics from the University of Virginia, and holds an MBA from Georgia Southern University. 

Bethann Kassman is a business angel, president of Biznovate (a consulting company) and, until recently, a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland.  Following a successful executive career in the United States primarily in the field of health care, she has been employed as a consultant focusing on global expansion issues, strategy, competitive marketing and acquisition strategies for companies located in Europe, Asia and the U.S.  Over the past 15 years, she has owned and invested in a number of companies, both in the United States and in Switzerland.  She is currently the team leader for the angel group Go-Beyond Geneva as well as an active participant in the Gulf Coast Venture Forum, a large angel group in Naples, Florida.  Bethann holds a B.S. in Psychology from Iowa State University, a Masters degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a DBA from Business School Lausanne, Switzerland.

Colin Mason is of Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He is one of the leading international authorities on business angel investing. He has conducted several key studies of business angel investment activity in the UK over the past 20 years which have had a significant influence on both policy and practice. His involvement in policy and practice has included the following: co-author of the interim and final evaluation reports of the ‘Informal Investment Demonstration Projects’ on behalf of the DTI; contributions to the consultancy studies which led to the creation of LINC Scotland and Xenos; compiling an annual guide to sources of business angel capital and investment activity report on behalf of the British Venture Capital Association and NBAN; conducting research on angel investment activity on behalf of DTI and LINC; co-author of a study of business angels in Finland on behalf of SITRA; consultant to the OECD and the European Union; adviser to DTI on the selection of ‘investment ready’ pilot projects; participant in the Fit4Finance Programme that was run by Hertfordshire Business Link; and consultancy work for the Small Business Investment Task Force on sources of data to measure business angel investment activity.  

Daniel Mothersill is a serial entrepreneur and a serial Angel investor, keynote speaker, and lecturer with hands-on experience in industries ranging from telecommunications, to green technologies, to resources, to IT. In the last decade, he has founded and financed seven companies and spun off three of these as profitable enterprises. He is founder of the Ciris Group of Companies and president and founding member of the National Angel Capital Organization (the national voice of Canadian Angel investors).
Daniel was recently appointed as distinguished visiting professor, Ryerson University. He created and heads the Angel Network Program for Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation. Daniel also worked with the Federal Government to roll out these standards and best practices across Canada. In addition, he is forming the first Canadian Angel trade mission in collaboration with UK Trade and Investment and is working closely with the Canada Hong Kong Trade Association to encourage Asian investment in Canadian enterprises.
Daniel was chair and strategic advisor to a series of Venture Forums  and Commissions and guest lecturer to University of Western Ontario  and Toronto.
Daniel also founded the go-to-market boot-camp paradigm for the Toronto Venture Group. Daniel studied at York University (political science); The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (finance and accounting); Humber College (journalism); and the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto).

Claire has been involved on issues relating to early stage venture capital and to the financing of innovation and entrepreneurship for the last 6 years. Claire is now General Manager of EBAN. She is a speaker at numerous conferences around the world on the topic of business angel finance. She is the author of several publications related to business angel financing and the role of business angel networks in European economies.  She has taken part as an expert in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Committee on Innovation Financing for Development in 2007. Since March 2009, Claire has joined the Board of Be Angels, the business angel network for the Walloon Region in Belgium. Since 2008, she participates as expert on the European Commission’s Advisory Board to improve SME participation in Framework Programme 7 projects.
From 2003 to 2006, Claire acted as project manager of EURADA, European Association of Regional Development Agencies, and Deputy Director of EBAN. Her work involved activities related to the implementation of projects in the framework of Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS and RIS-NAC), Interreg, Leonardo, Paxis, and FP6. Her educational background includes a Post-Graduate degree in International Politics (Free University of Brussels - Great Distinction), an MA in Political Communication EFAP – Belgium – Great Distinction) and a BA in Political Science (McGill University – Canada - Distinction).

Claire has spent twelve years in Sales, Marketing and Business Development in IT and Telecoms and has a substantial network encompassing public sector, private sector, media and academia. For the past four years at Microsoft, Claire has worked with software developers and partners. Her work with the Emerging Business Team at Microsoft Corporation focuses on developing an international strategy to support start-ups and early stage companies, working with the investor community and entrepreneurship groups. To date Claire has initiated alliances globally with EBAN, HSBC, NCGE, TiE and UKIBC and she was shortlisted for the Women of the Future Awards 2008. A keen advocate of international trade, Claire continues to work with UK Government and other trade agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and NZ Trade and Investment, to increase the flow of trade, ideas and capital between Europe and Asia and other regions. Before Microsoft, as a self-employed Sales & Marketing consultant, Claire helped start-up companies and small businesses grow. In addiction, Claire invests her time into community projects and has a keen interest in Women’s Enterprise. Claire is a representative on the UK Women’s Enterprise Taskforce and recently was appointed a Global Angels Ambassador enabling her to work on projects connecting capital to young women in India, South Africa and South East Asia. Claire began her career as a graduate with IBM Ireland.

Maurice Olivier is a Co-founder and General Partner of BAMS ANGELS FUND I & II, a Belgian-based early stage/early growth angel fund, and BLUEOCEAN VENTURES, a Geneva-based high-technology seed fund. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of HEC Management School - University of Liege, where he also teaches strategy and entrepreneurship.
Before 2001, M. Olivier was SVP Europe and India with Cambridge Technology Partners, Inc. a global e-business systems integrator. Prior to that, M. Olivier spent 17 years with the strategy and technology consultancy of Arthur D. Little, most recently as SVP Europe and Asia.
Maurice Olivier holds an MS in Management from MIT's Sloan School of Management, and an MS in Engineering from the University of Liege (Belgium).

Joan Perelló, doctor in Chemistry, is one of the two promoters of Laboratoris Sanifit, a biotech company founded in 2004. Several scientific advances during their PhDs lead the two promoters to create a spin-off company from the University of Balearic Islands, aimed at becoming a leading biotech company in drug development, focused on calcium metabolism related diseases, such as renal lithiasis or cardiovascular calcifications.
At the moment, Joan is President and R&D Director of the company and Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Balearic Islands. Since last July, he has also been the President of the Balearic Association of Biotechnological Companies (BIOIB). Since 2004, Laboratoris Sanifit has achieved 1.4 M€ (public and private financing), being the project presented in the main national investment forums (Neotec, CIDEM, IESE). Sanifit has been recognized with several prizes and has an interesting pipeline with 4 products in the preclinical stage.
Joan is author of more than 30 scientific papers and co-inventor of 5 patents.

Years ago Frank founded Plaid Brothers Software which developed portfolio management systems for Wall Street.  After bootstrapping the company for 15 years he sold it in 1998 to Sungard Data Systems.  Since that time Frank has dedicated himself to volunteer projects in the Arts both locally and in New York City.  He’s published his dance photography in Dreams of Grace, Images and Remembrances of LaGuardia High School in NYC.  Frank serves on the boards of TriTech Consulting, part of the US Small Business Administration, The Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine and is Chairman Emeritus of the Tech Coast Angels in Los Angeles.  Frank is a prolific podcaster; check out the Frank Peters Show: Startup Stories in Angel Investing and Venture Capital.  Due in part to these efforts, Frank was named the High-Impact Person of the Year at the 2008 Orange County, California High-Tech Innovation Awards. 

Eva Piera is Vice Minister of Economy, Commerce and Consumption in the Autonomous Region of Madrid (Spain). She has previously held several responsibilities at the Regional Government since 2006 as General Director for Economic Affairs, President of Avalmadrid and General Director for Employment. Before joining the public administration, Piera developed her professional activity in the corporate and investment banking sector, where she counts with more than 14 years of experience in different positions mostly tied to the Société Générale Group at debt and finance areas.
Eva Piera holds a Master’s Degree in Economics by the Madrid Complutense University in Spain and by the Paris-X University in France. She has also followed an Executive Management Programme at the IESE Business School.

Modwenna Rees-Mogg is the author of Dragons or Angels a book is a practical guide on how to become and angel investor and to raise money from business angels.  She has worked in the angel industry for a number of years and has invested in angel deals.  She founded AngelNews as a hobby in 2003 to address the issue of lack of information about the companies following a funding The AngelNews community is now in 66 countries. So now she is an investor, an entrepreneur and a writer.
She also owns VCR Directory of Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms in the UK and Europe www.vcrdirectory.net is a non executive director of the Albion Ventures Protected VCT www.albion-ventures.co.uk/

Stuart is one of the most respected figures in British business journalism. A former PPA “Editor of the Year” for the launch of Real Business, Stuart oversees Caspian’s editorial and publishing activities. Stuart has been a business journalist for 20 years. Before co-founding Caspian, he was editor of Director magazine.
A graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, Stuart was editor of Director magazine between 1989 to 1996. In 1996 Stuart co-founded Caspian, which is now a £10m company employing 65 people (http://www.caspianpublishing.co.uk). In 1998, he was awarded Editor of the Year by the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) for the launch of Real Business magazine. Subsequently, he has overseen the launch of Caspian’s other award-winning publications including Real Deals, Europe’s market-leading private equity title, and the CBI’s monthly magazine Business Voice.
As the editorial director of Caspian, he has advised many blue-chip corporations and business institutions on their editorial and communication needs.
From Bill Gates and Michael Dell to Cabinet ministers and NATO, Stuart has met and interviewed CEOs, entrepreneurs and politicians from many different countries in the world. Last year, Stuart acted as the principal facilitator for the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform in their nationwide consultation of business owners as part of the development of the Government’s Enterprise Strategy.

He is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Negotiation at IESE. He is also Member of the International Advisory Board of IESE, President of Spanish Association of Business Angel Network (AEBAN), Member of the Board of EBAN and Founder and Director of the IESE Business Angel Network. He is an active Investor himself and he is on the Board of several Companies and Organizations.
Dr. Roure has been Visiting Professor at Stanford Business School, INSEAD, Harvard Business School, CEIBS (China) among others Schools. His current areas of interest include Private Equity, Growth and Change Management, Development of the Entrepreneurial Family Firm and his governance.
Dr. Roure is co-author of "The Venture Capital Cycle in Europe" and of "Good Governance in the Family Business" and has published several studies and books. Other activities include the organization jointly with Ernst & Young of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Spain, The Deal of Year in Europe with EVCA and Real Deals and in Spain with ASCRI and Deloitte. He is cofounder and Member of the Board Europe's 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth. In 2000 he was selected by Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in the European Entrepreneurial Scene.  Doctor Juan Roure, has a Ph.D. in Engineering Management from Stanford University.

Stefan Rust is Director of EXICON, and Founder and Director of Catalist Group, Charged Media (www.charged.mobi) and Bomeiti (www.bomeiti.com).
Stefan has worked in the digital space for many years with particular expertise in Mobile and Social Media.  His company EXICON (established in 2001: www.EXICON.mobi) is the premier strategy and execution consultancy leveraging Stefan’s experiences for clients such as Standard Chartered Bank and Motorola to small start-ups destined to be players of tomorrow.
Stefan also directs Catalist Group (www.catalistgroup.com), which resources start-up businesses in digital, mobile and internet.  Catalist Group currently has 8 start-ups and early stage businesses in its portfolio, including Bomeiti, the on-line ad-network recently launched in China and the media property about the lifestyle of the mobile, Charged magazine.
Prior to this, Stefan played a number of key roles at Sun Microsystems Inc., before which he worked for Siemens and Lucent.
Stefan is Chairman Emeritus of the Mobile Entertainment Forum and has been elected twice as one of the top 50 Global Mobile Entertainment Executives by “Mobile Entertainment”. Stefan lives in Hong Kong with his wife and 4 children.

Jennifer L. Schenker has been a journalist for 30 years, working for daily newspapers in the U.S. owned by the Gannett, Knight-Ridder and Tribune newspaper chains. Based in Paris, she has been covering the technology sector in Europe since 1985. At The Wall Street Journal Europe, she covered breaking technology news and worked as the assistant managing editor of Convergence, the Journal's quarterly technology magazine. In 1999, she took on the job of senior writer/technology for Time magazine in Europe and was editor of Time Digital Europe, a quarterly technology report. She is also a former technology writer for the International Herald Tribune, and from October, 2004, to April, 2007, was the international editor of Red Herring magazine, managing a team of journalists in Europe, Israel, China and India. She left her most recent job as European technology correspondent for BusinessWeek on Dec. 23, 2008 to create Informilo, an on-line news site that concentrates on technology developments outside the U.S.

Florian Schweitzer is co-founder of BrainsToVentures AG (b-to-v) and has built up its network of private investors continuously since 2000. He studied Business Adminstration at the University of St. Gallen and in the same years established an entrepreneurial organization. This activity led to the creation of BrainsToVentures AG together with Jan Bomholt.

 During his computer science studies in 1995, Aleš designed and implemented one of the first on-line trading brokerages in Europe and successfully ran its operation for two years. He then published a book on advanced SQL programming at O'Reilly Media and rose through the ranks at several IT-related managerial posts in Slovenia, finally serving as the CEO of a top IT integrator with 160 employees networked across three countries. From 2003 to 2007, he established and ran his own business development consultancy, helping top Slovenian companies improve their sales performance. He holds an MBA from California State University, Hayward, and is a passionate connoisseur of fine wine, good food and classical jazz.

Philip Tellwright brings to SWAIN a comprehensive understanding of investment into the small and medium sized firms market. For the past twenty years he has worked in four varied senior financial roles throughout the South West Region and has a proven track as a professional investor, Corporate Finance advisor and, in industry, as a Finance Director. As an Investment Controller with 3i where he completed over twenty investments, he spent seven years investing in small and medium sized businesses. He was also responsible for the management of a large portfolio of varied Investments across the South West region.
In 1987 he moved to Hazlewoods, a substantial Gloucestershire based accountancy practice to co-ordinate their Corporate Finance activities. As the Director responsible for the Corporate Development arm he advised on numerous finance raising assignments, and was also successful in merger and acquisition activities as well as providing business planning advice.
In 1991 he moved to Devon based Inch's Cider Limited as Finance Director having previously advised the buy-in team on the acquisition of the company, and became an integral part of the team that successfully managed one of the fastest growing businesses in the Region through its most turbulent phase of expansion. Following Inch's (which was sold to H P Bulmer) Philip returned to Bristol to take up a second Finance Director role in a manufacturing environment at Brissco Equipment Limited.

Permjot is a prolific investor having invested in twenty businesses in the last four years. He is based in London, England and currently sits on the board of the Enteprise Investment Scheme Association and is their representative on the board of the British Business Angels Association.
He has made over 20 angel investments in the last five years and the businesses make an eclectic collection. Permjot started angel investing after having served as Sales and Marketing Director for Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Services in London. Having organized the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year competition for 2004, Permjot was able to learn first hand what it took to be a successful start up, including the problems that they encounter along the way.
In 2007, Permjot worked with New East Manchester (a regeneration project) on a very successful initiative to help local businesses develop compelling business propositions to raise the level of investment in their business and to further boost employment in the area.
Permjot co-founded a fund management business called Flight & Partners Ltd which now has around $30m under management. The fund, which started in early 2008, currently invests in distressed situations. Two further funds are planned for 2009 to invest in start up situations and land-bank opportunities.
Earlier this year, Permjot also started www.businessangelblog.com where he tries to pass on many of the lessons he has learned from his angel investing. As a result of this blog, he has been asked to speak at many conferences and business events.

Since 2002 Miguel Vega is Head of the Strategic Studies and Innovation Unit at the National Foundation Genoma España. He previously held different positions as Head of the Biotechnology Innovation Circle - Regional Government of Madrid; Entrepreneurship and Tech Transfer Director at Madrid Science Park; and Research Grant-holder and Scientific Agent at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission. B.Sc. & M.Eng. in Agriculture/Food Engineering and PDD (General Manager Programme) at IESE Business School. Among other merits include, Mr. Vega has been manager of the IP Securitization and Technology Portfolio Programme for Spanish Public Institutions, and couch to more than 25 biotechnology start ups and spin offs from public research institutions
Miguel Vega is author of more than 50 surveys, reports and publications in the field of Biotechnology: Technology watch, foresight, strategic and economic impact studies. He has been responsible for Biotechnology Foresight activities at the National Observatory for Industrial Technology Foresight (OPTI), and coordinator of different expert panels for the design and implementation of National and Regional Strategic Programmes in Biotechnology. Miguel Vega is associated Professor at Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.

Sharon Vosmek became CEO of Astia in June 2007 after having served at its COO since 2004, and an advisor to Astia’s portfolio companies the two years prior.  Sharon’s diverse experience lends itself to the many constituents of Astia, the international non-profit organisation committed to fostering the full participation of women in entrepreneurship and as accelerators of high-growth businesses.  For the past five years, as a member of the executive team, Sharon led the effort that resulted in the organisation transforming from its Silicon Valley focus to an organisation with relevance to the global entrepreneur. 
Prior to Astia, Sharon’s career included SJ Vosmek & Associates, a management firm she founded and built that included clients: PG&E, PacBell and the University of Wisconsin Madison.  Prior to consulting, Sharon worked in management at American Express, and in the office of United States Senator, Dennis DeConcini.  Sharon currently serves on the board of directors for the YMCA of San Francisco, a 150 year old organisation that serves the San Francisco Bay Area with 13 locations across all of its communities.  Sharon serves on the Advisory Board of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives (FWE&E) and as co-chair of the Entrepreneurial Alliance for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT).  She has also served on the boards of the Level Playing Field Institute; Food First:  The Institute for Food & Development Policy; and Global Exchange.  Sharon has an MA in Public Policy & Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a BS in Political Science from Arizona State University.

Dr. Wiltbank is Associate Professor of Strategic Management for the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University.  His research focuses on strategy making under uncertainty, particularly as it relates to new venture development.  His research on angel investing performance is the first large empirical examination of the outcomes achieved by angel investors in the U.S.  At Willamette University he teaches courses on New Venture Creation, Strategic Management, and Industry Analysis. 
He has published research in top tier academic journals covering topics from top management teams to non-predictive strategies, to formal venture capital practices among angel investors.  He is co-author of the forthcoming book The Catalyst, based on his research as a Batten Institute Research Fellow with the Darden School at the University of Virginia, detailing how managers in existing companies successfully drive organic revenue growth.  Additionally, he serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Business Venturing.  He holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Washington, and a degree in Finance and Accounting from Oregon State University.
Dr. Wiltbank is also a partner with Buerk Dale Victor LLC, a growth stage venture capital firm headquartered in Seattle.  His experience prior to entering academics includes work in finance and sales for a major electronics manufacturer, strategic marketing for two startup firms, and performing due diligence for dozens of private equity investments.