Zuzana Čaputová is a Slovak lawyer, environmental activist, and the first female president of the Slovak Republic. She worked in public administration and legal advocacy, focusing on environmental protection and civil rights. In 2016, she received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Elected president in 2019, she led Slovakia through challenging times marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. As president, she stood firmly for the rule of law, human rights, marginalized communities, and climate action. After her term ended in June 2024, she spent time as a guest lecturer at Stanford University.

An expert in negotiation, leadership, and human development. As the President of the Association of Negotiators and a sought-after speaker, he is the most frequently cited negotiator in the Czech and Slovak media. He previously held senior leadership positions at the retail giant Schwarz Gruppe. He completed negotiation training under former FBI agents and attended prestigious programs at Harvard University and St. Gallen University.

I completed a business school education and have since been applying my knowledge in the field of trust and fiduciary services. In my daily work, I focus on accounting, taxation, and corporate administration, supporting clients with precise and reliable financial solutions. Alongside my professional role, I am currently studying Business Administration at Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences, with a specialization in fiduciary services. This dual path allows me to combine theory and practice, strengthening my expertise in corporate structures and taxation. My ambition is to provide clients with efficient and legally sound strategies for long-term success.

Daniel is one of the most prominent experts in etiquette, gentlemanly behavior, and refined communication—his advice is followed and read by millions of people each year. For over 12 years, he has been training business teams, management, and individuals in business etiquette and professional conduct. He created the unique Business Etiquette Mastery™ System, which helps companies improve their business outcomes through cultivated behavior. He is the author of five books on clothing, interpersonal behavior, and gentlemanliness. He also leads practical courtesy courses for teenagers and children. His educational approach is based on his own methodology, combining a proven blend of tradition, practicality, and a modern perspective built on stories and real-life examples.

Romana is a psychologist and leadership coach. In her work, she combines psychological insights with extensive international experience, helping managers discover their own authentic leadership style. With a background in HR at Škoda Auto both in the Czech Republic and abroad, and certification in the Lego® Serious Play® method, she skillfully integrates business reality with creative approaches in her workshops.

Jiří Moos works as the Chief Executive Officer at i&i Prague, having previously served as Marketing Manager at DiaSorin. He is the founder and managing director of the startup Sophomer s.r.o., serves on the Commercialization Council at FN Hradec Králové, is an external member of the Council of the Biotechnology Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Scientific Board of the PIGMOD Center at ÚŽFG in Liběchov. Earlier in his career, he worked at Sigma-Aldrich and for Immunotech a.s., a branch of Beckman-Coulter. Jiří earned his Master’s degree in Biology and Chemistry from Charles University in Prague. He received his Ph.D. (CSc.) in Cell Biology in 1992 from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, followed by a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Pavel Frajtag is a nuclear engineer with over twenty years of international experience in reactor physics, safety, and materials research.
After studying in Prague and gaining operational experience at the LVR-15 reactor, he expanded his expertise through research at CEA Saclay and a Ph.D. at North Carolina State University. At EPFL, he combined teaching with leadership as Head of Nuclear Installations, overseeing reactor safety and training. As Switzerland’s representative in EWGRD, he contributed to European collaboration in dosimetry. He currently serves as Project Leader at the Hotlab of the Paul Scherrer Institute, focusing on advancing nuclear science and safety.

I am a soft skills trainer, coach, and psychotherapist with 22 years of experience in sales, leadership, and education. I combine managerial and entrepreneurial expertise with approaches from systemic coaching and Gestalt therapy, offering clients solutions that have a direct impact on performance, collaboration, and personal growth.

Radek Spisek graduated from the 1st Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague and received his Ph.D. in immunology. Between 2000 and 2007, he worked at various international universities and in the team led by Professor Ralph Steinman, a medicine and physiology Nobel laureate at Rockefeller University. Radek Spisek joined SOTIO in 2010 as a co-founder and was appointed CEO in March 2018. SOTIO is the only Czech-origin biotech company with global clinical development activities. Radek Spisek will share a story how success in pharma/biotech industry could be relative.

Martin Ruščák is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of ÚJV Řež, a.s. Prior to this position, he worked at ČEZ, a.s., where he focused on new nuclear energy sources, particularly in the field of small modular reactor (SMR) development.
He is a graduate of the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague, holds the academic title of CSc. (Candidate of Sciences), and completed an MBA programme at CTU and Sheffield Hallam University.
Throughout his career, he has held a number of senior management positions, including Director of the Norwegian company DNV in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Business Development Director at DNV in the United Kingdom, Director of the Research Centre Řež, and Director of Operations at the U.S. corporation Onsemi.

Tomáš is Partner & Managing Director of the international branding studio GoBigname, where he works with startups, SMEs and multinational companies to grow their brands to foreign markets. Over the past 11 years, the GoBigname team has created more than 250 brand names, brand strategies and visual identities, helped to build 2 unicorn companies and worked with brands serving millions customers around the World. In addition to his main career, Tomáš is dedicated to creating and leading workshops and lectures in the field of Branding, Leadership, and Career strategies as a Google Certified Trainer.

Jiří Juránek is a professional in the field of Business Excellence – EFQM, with over twenty years of experience in top management positions. As a business excellence mentor, Jiří helps individuals and companies achieve better results. He doesn’t rely solely on his own experience but builds on the principles of the EFQM Model, which has been used by leading European organizations for more than 30 years. Since 2024, he has been working on the Business Heartbeat podcast. He is also the author of the book Personal Excellence – Become the Best Version of Yourself.

From night shifts in the ER to a corner office at Swiss headquarters. And then back home – with a head full of experience. And questions about what’s next. She started out as a nurse in a small hospital. And eventually, she was training communication across half the planet. She realized that helping people doesn’t come in just one form. She’ll talk about the double search for a new home. About loneliness in Zurich and the frustration of returning home. And how she overcame it.

Senior Director of Data Curation at Immunai and co-founder of its Prague branch (formerly known as Nebion AG, an ETH spin-off). I hold a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and have over 15 years of experience in Switzerland and the biotechnology industry. I combine expertise in data science and data curation with a talent for team and organizational development. My focus is on building highly effective collaborations that connect people, data, and research.

Kornelia Fabisik is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Bern, focusing on empirical corporate finance, corporate governance, and sustainable finance. She received the 2021 Lamfalussy Research Fellowship from the European Central Bank and the 2022 Rising Star Award from the International Corporate Governance Network. She is also a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. From 2020 to 2022, she was Assistant Professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, where she remains a Visiting Professor. Committed to clarifying ESG metrics, she writes a blog Clarity in ESG (www.clarityinesg.com) to bridge research and practice.

After earning his PhD in Prague, he worked at Johnson Matthey (UK), where he introduced 3D imaging methods into the development of new catalytic systems. As a Marie Curie fellow at the Paul Scherrer Institute (CH), he focused on real-time X-ray tomography—ranging from the disintegration of pharmaceutical tablets to tendon injury development and CO₂ storage. At ANAXAM, he now combines his academic and industrial experience to support companies in research using particle accelerators.
Poor runner, even worse climber. Has fathered a child, but has yet to plant a tree.

She is a microbiologist with a strong interest in bioinformatics and the diagnosis of infectious diseases. She completed her Bachelor's degree at the University of Minnesota and her Master's at ETH Zurich. She then worked at Roche Diagnostics, where she contributed to the clinical development of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests. She is currently pursuing a PhD in medical microbiology at the University of Zurich, focusing on rare zoonotic pathogens, their genomic diversity, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance. Her ambition is to bridge classical microbiology with bioinformatics to develop effective strategies for diagnosing and controlling infectious diseases.

I am a bioinformatician focused on the analysis of biological data, primarily in genomics and transcriptomics. I work on the development and management of computational pipelines and tools, as well as modeling biological systems – from network and dynamic models to agent-based simulations. I am involved in projects including de novo assembly and annotation of microbial genomes from extreme environments, including Antarctica. I developed the tool Augusta for gene expression prediction, for which I received an honorable mention from L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science. I am currently seeking research opportunities in Switzerland.

Veronika Štěpánová has been part of the Technology Transfer Office at the University of South Bohemia since 2019. She began as a project manager and soon advanced to lead activities in intellectual property protection and commercialization. In April 2025, she became Secretary of the national association Transfera.cz. Her work in knowledge and technology transfer is driven by daily challenges and opportunities—from award-winning innovations to the creation of spin-off companies and licensing agreements. She values partnerships that bring specialized expertise to current projects and is proud to have completed the intensive WIPO Summer School while balancing full-time work and family life.

Daniel Fiala is the managing director of SupraMedEx s.r.o., where he focuses on developing innovative solutions at the intersection of science and nature. He has contributed, for example, to the development of disinfecting lamps using the 405 nm light principle. In his work, he combines modern technologies with traditional natural resources to promote health and quality of life. At the conference, he will present his lecture “Wood-decay Fungi in Honey”, demonstrating how the synergy of bioactive compounds in fungi with enzymes, antioxidants, and minerals in high-quality honey can support immunity, help prevent lifestyle-related diseases, and promote overall balance in the body.

Petra Köppl works as a Science Communication Manager at the Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, where for over six years she has been connecting scientific results with the public and the professional community. She specializes in strategic science communication, outreach, and content creation that makes cutting-edge research accessible to a wider audience.

Kamila is an Incubation Manager at i&i Prague. She has over ten years of research experience in molecular biology, genome stability, and DNA repair, gained at leading research institutions including the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Prague, the University of Oxford, and the University of Sussex.

After studying diplomacy in 2011, Jana Skokan went on an internship in Switzerland. She is a professional in marketing and communications. In 2021, she co-founded Frogeex – an online marketplace for sustainable construction solutions, which today connects over 400 partners worldwide. As an economist, marketer, and mother with a family tradition in construction, she combines innovative approaches with practical solutions and focuses on effective adaptation in both B2C and B2B segments.

I’ve spent the last few years building my career in finance while also creating spaces for others to grow. Mentoring has been a constant thread for me: first as a mentee, then attempting to bring Deloitte’s YOUnext programme from Zurich to Prague, speaking about it at a VOGUE conference in Prague.
Today, I co-lead the programme in Switzerland, connecting ambitious female students with female leaders from Deloitte AG. Alongside my professional work, I was honored to be named a One Young World Switzerland National Champion 2025.
For me, the real achievements are the conversations that inspire change.

I miss Switzerland, but I don’t regret coming back. After six years of research in Switzerland, I decided to return to the Czech Republic. What led me to this decision? What is it like to come back from a well-established international environment to the domestic academic scene? And what surprised me—both pleasantly and unpleasantly? In my talk, I will focus less on the professional work itself and more on the return process: motivation, expectations, reality, and the experiences from my first year back.

Veronika is a woman you simply can't put into any box – and why should you?
She’s sailed across oceans, lived on three continents, speaks seven languages, and spent days in silence at Buddhist monasteries. She was a singer on The Voice of Germany, worked as a court interpreter for the Swiss police – and yes, she’s been to prison. Professionally.
For over twelve years, she moved between countries, cultures, and lifestyles. Today, she helps people understand themselves, regain control of their nervous system, and navigate change with calm, clarity, and presence. As a certified complementary therapist (EMR), sports scientist, leadership coach, and sailing and motorboat instructor, she brings body, mind, and direction into motion – both literally and metaphorically.

Experienced Global Manager with over 15 years of leadership in the Biotech and LifeScience sectors, working at the intersection of R&D, product development, and commercialization. Proven track record of driving global, cross-functional projects to co-develop innovative solutions. Passionate about advancing patient care through personalized healthcare solutions and fostering collaborative environments between internal stakeholders and external partners.

Jan Havel studied Finance and earned his Ph.D. in Economic Theory at the Prague University of Economics. He later completed the General Management program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. In 1996, he co-founded ACTUM Digital, which today employs over 450 experts and delivers digital and AI solutions to clients in Europe and the USA. Jan also teaches at the Anglo-American University in Prague, and his academic interests include leadership, neuroscience, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.