(in alphabetical order by last name)
Marc P. Bernegger, Board Member at Crypto Finance Group
Marc P. Bernegger is a serial web-, fintech- and crypto-entrepreneur. He started the party-platform usgang.ch in his twenties (acquired by Axel Springer) and he is co-founder of amiando, a ticketing-platform which was bought by Xing and has been awarded by the World Economic Forum as “WEF Global Technology Pioneer”. Since 2010, Marc is active as a fintech and crypto investor. He is in the advisory board of FinLeap, co-founder of Crypto Finance Conference and among others board member of Crypto Finance Group and Falcon Private Bank. Marc was awarded as «100 most successful people under 40 in Switzerland» by BILANZ in 2015.
Dr. Lidia Bolla, Co-Founder & CEO vision&
Lidia is CEO and Co-Founder of vision&, a research-focused blockchain investment house. Before co-founding a startup in the field of machine learning applications, Lidia was Managing Partner of a Swiss advisory boutique specialized in quantitative finance. Earlier in her career she worked for major investment firms (J.P. Morgan, Swiss Re, Man Investments) in various asset management roles in Zurich, London and Hong Kong. Lidia holds a PhD from the University of St. Gallen, specializing in quantitative asset management.
Nicolas Brand, Partner at LAKESTAR
Nicolas Brand is a partner at LAKESTAR, a global venture capital group, where he invests in and builds businesses at the intersection of finance, blockchain and technology. He is passionately obsessed with the sector as blockchain has triggered the most significant migration of value in the history of mankind. Far beyond finance, NICOLAS anticipates an impact on everything, from enterprise IT to the very foundation of the digital world, the internet, which might see a complete overhaul. Based out of Zurich, NICOLAS most recently led LAKESTAR’s investments into ShapeShift.io, Blockchain.com and two confidential transactions on the US West Coast. Be it as investors in a venture or in a protocol, LAKESTAR partners with the best entrepreneurs to help them build globally relevant platforms.
Roger Darin, Principal at Lakeside Partners AG
With an international background in investment banking and foreign exchange, Roger got curious about Bitcoin around 2011 but didn’t teach courses on cryptocurrencies and the blockchain until 2015. Once more publicly involved, it didn’t take long until he was an active member of the Bitcoin Association Switzerland and co-founded the Fintech chapter of SICTIC, an established business angel organisation in Switzerland. Fascinated by the intersection of finance and technology, he worked as a Product Manager at a Fintech company before before accepting a position at Lakeside Partners where he managed to turn his passion for helping and connecting people into a full time job in the heart of Crypto Valley.
Dr. Daniel Diemers, Partner, Head Blockchain EMEA at PwC Strategy&
Daniel Diemers studied economics and sociology at the University of St. Gallen HSG and received his doctorate in 2001 on “Virtual Communities” won the European Honeywell Futurist Award in 1997 and published “Virtual Triad: Cyberspace, Cyborgs and Artificial Intelligence” in 2002 Daniel as entrepreneur and founder worked for several years in the field of internet-based early warning systems since 2005 he is partner at PwC Strategy&, where he advises banks and regulatory authorities in Europe and the Middle East on strategy, digitisation and fintech Daniel is PwC Head of Blockchain EMEA since 2017, working closely on topics such as blockchain, crypto and ICOs Daniel is co-founder of the Swiss Finance + Technology Association, Crypto Valley Association & fintechrockers.com and closely involved with the international fintech and crypto community as startup coach and angel investor.
Dr. Thomas Dübendorfer, President at Swiss ICT Investor Club (SICTIC)
Thomas Dübendorfer holds a Ph.D. and master in computer science with honors with distinction from ETH Zurich. He worked as software engineer in Silicon Valley and seven years as Tech Lead on security and privacy projects at Google in Zürich, receiving three Google OC awards. As president he shaped the Information Security Society Switzerland ISSS for five years, during which the number of members more than doubled to over a thousand. He is a lecturer at ETH Zürich and has co-founded several Internet technology based product centric startups in Switzerland, among them Spontacts (exit to Scout24 Group), Contovista (big data for finance) and Frontify (collaborative web design)
Nicola Fantini, Serial Entrepreneur and Business Angel
Nicola Fantini holds a Masters in Business Administration and Computer Science (UZH). Nicola is a Serial Entrepreneur and had two successful exits to US public companies (VMware and Honeywell) Currently Nicola is Co-Founder and active in several ICT companies. Nicola is active in leading edge research projects (Industry 4.0, H2020) As SICTIC member, Nicola is the head of the SICTIC jury and co-investor in a number of startups. Nicola owns an own software engineering force and is the CEO of ScaleTools.
Martin Fabini, CTO and Practice Lead Fintech & Blockchain at ti&m
Martin Fabini received a diploma in Mathematics from of Göttingen. Martin has more than 20 years of experience in software development, consulting, project and line management. Martin has a strong technical foundation as a software developer and software architect. Later he extended his focus to project and program management, IT strategy consulting and client relationship management As CTO of ti&m Martin also had the Fintech & Blockchain practice in his portfolio. With his team Martin develops new offerings based on new technologies for the enterprise customers of ti&m
Ralf Glabischnig, Partner at Lakeside Partners AG
Entrepreneurs, Invested. Involved. This is the core mindset that Ralf embodies as Co-founder of Lakeside Partners. As Managing Partner at inacta and with more than 20 years of experience as a business and IT consultant, Ralf possesses extensive expertise in transforming the finance and insurance industry, as well as a diverse entrepreneurial background stemming from multiple ventures and advisory board positions. As initiator of Europe’s largest Blockchain Competition and founding member of the Crypto Valley Association, he is committed to developing the blockchain ecosystem both in Switzerland and worldwide.
Daniel Haudenschild, CEO at Swisscom Blockchain AG
Daniel Haudenschild is CEO Swisscom Blockchain AG. With over 20 years of Big-4 advisory in financial services, Daniel brings a outcome oriented approach to blockchain. Daniel is working with distributed ledgers technologies as well as captive ledgers (SAP) to develop and explore market origination activities for FinTech possibilities in financial services. Providing motivation, guidance, and strategy to senior stakeholders and teams to realize digital strategies Daniel leverages an international view on the business, with over 10 years in London, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Previously Daniel was heading the distributed ledgers team in his former position, and has consistently led teams to deliver value with blockchain.
Thomas Kern, Member of the Board at Swiss ICT Investor Club (SICTIC)
Thomas Kern holds a master in computer science from ETH Zürich and an EMBA from HSG St. Gallen. Thomas is a board member of the Swiss ICT Investor Club (SICTIC) where he helps to grow the investor community by organizing a better deal-flow and events matching selected tech startups with smart money investors. His objective together with his engagements is to grow and strengthen the fintech, crypto and blockchain ecosystem in Switzerland and globally. In current client relationships Thomas mainly works as senior program manager leading digital transformation initiatives for major financial institutions. In addition to his current advisory and c
Nikola Stojanow, CEO for æternity Ventures
As a passionate believer in the unlimited possibilities of blockchain technologies, Nikola Stojanow is the CBDO of æternity and CEO of æternity Ventures. He has developed and consulted numerous international projects for almost a decade. As a multi-national Business Development Executive with experience working in Germany, Eastern Europe, MENA, Asia and Pacific, Nikola is the go-to person for Strategy and Business Development.
Vasiliy Suvorov, Vice President at Crypto Valley Association
Vasiliy Suvorov is an accomplished technology strategist with more than 20 years of experience in creating and bringing new and emerging software technologies to international markets. As Vice President of Technology Strategy at Luxoft, based in Zug, Mr. Suvorov leads its Global Innovation Labs division which serves as the internal incubator for strategic platforms and technologies. Starting in 2015, he has been driving Luxoft’s strategy and R&D efforts related to the investigation and adoption of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) for the Financial Industry, IoT and Telecom. At the end of 2016, Vasiliy helped to co-found the non-profit CryptoValley Association, dedicated to fostering and promotion of blockchain technology and decentralized business models. Vasily currently serves as a Vice President of the CryptoValley Association.
Cédric Waldburger, Director of Ecosystem Growth at DFINITY.org
Cédric Waldburger holds a master in computer science from ETH Zürich and HKUST Alumni. Cédric is a serial entrepreneur, startup founder, investor and crypto/blockchain enthusiast since 2012. His involvement spans from fintech and eCommerce, to social networks and SaaS. He co-founded DFINITY – a blockchain startup backed by Andreesen Horowitz – and eight other high-tech companies in Europe and the US. Cédric previously co-founded and worked for various businesses around the globe (Zurich, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, London and Berlin) where he held roles on the technology and management side. His experience on both sides of the table (as a founder and investor) helps him bring a unique perspective and solutions to problems in a wide range of environments.
