Dr. Jana Thiel is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at EDHEC Business School in France. Her research focuses on the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy, particularly how entrepreneurs conceptualize and implement strategies in technology contexts. She is also interested in venture team dynamics, examining how entrepreneurial teams organize and structure their joint production. Prior to her current position, Dr. Thiel served as a Senior Researcher at ETH Zurich and as a Visiting Lecturer at Imperial College Business School. She holds a PhD in Management of Technology from EPFL and has held research positions at ESADE Business School and Maastricht University. Dr. Thiel is also an external lecturer in the CAS program "Entrepreneurial Leadership in Technology Ventures" at ETH Zurich.

Prof. Dr. Arjen van Witteloostuijn is a Professor of Business and Economics at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam and serves as the Dean of the VU School of Business and Economics. He is also a Research Professor in Business, Economics, and Governance at the University of Antwerp and Antwerp Management School in Belgium. Throughout his career, he has held academic positions at institutions including Tilburg University, University of Groningen, Maastricht University, University of Durham, Utrecht University, and Cardiff Business School. Since 2015, he has been a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW), where he has held leadership roles such as Head of the Economics Section and Chair of the Department of Business, Economics, Law & Social Sciences. He has also served as an advisor to various commercial enterprises.

Matthias Henze is the founder and CEO of Jimdo, a platform that enables self-employed individuals and small businesses to create professional websites without technical expertise. Henze is passionate about supporting self-employed individuals, whom he considers the true heroes of the economy. He is also the curator of the German Start-Up Award and actively engages with organizations like Futurepreneur e.V. and Social Impact. In 2024, he authored the book Das Unternehmen bist du ("The Company Is You"), sharing insights on entrepreneurship and personal branding.

Kader Sevinç is an internationally active strategist, social entrepreneur, and poet with over 20 years of experience in international relations, public diplomacy, and political communication. She is the founder and CEO of Forward 1919 Global Strategic Advisory in Brussels and was previously a non-resident fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University. Sevinç holds an M.A. in International Relations from CERIS/Paris XI University and completed the Jean Monnet program at Akdeniz University in Antalya. She has also served as a visiting scholar at New York University and is engaged in various civil society initiatives. Her work covers topics such as artificial intelligence, digital politics, transatlantic relations, and European integration.

Prof. Dr. Petra Moog is a professor at the ZHAW School of Management and Law and heads the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Her research focuses on entrepreneurial economics, innovation economics, and entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). She also contributes to the interdisciplinary project “Real-world Laboratory for Future Skills” at ZHAW. In addition, she leads Work Package WP10 of the EELISA Alliance, which focuses on entrepreneurial ecosystems.