The award-winning luxury brand and management consultant founded a luxury brand consultancy based in London-UK and Innsbruck-Austria in 2013. With 25 years of international experience in the strategic and operational development and sales of luxury brands, she was an early adopter of the changing face of luxury. Since 2017, she has specialized in empowering leaders to develop unique, sustainable brands and implement them successfully and authentically with employees. Her core competencies include: Holistic success support from brand strategy to implementation, brand positioning and growth support; Covering customer needs (emotional, social, functional); Emotionalized, authentic customer communication; Coaching and potential development of executives & teams; Building unique gatekeeper networks.
Salvatore D’Ambra is a legal and business administration graduate. He completed his studies at the University of Innsbruck, Università degli Studi di Padova, University of Liechtenstein, Middlesex University (UK) and California Lutheran University (USA), among others. He has been working in the areas of capital markets, finance, compliance and corporate governance as well as digitalization for over ten years. Salvatore D’Ambra worked for several years at the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority as a banking supervisor; he is currently a senior advisor to the government of the Principality of Liechtenstein, particularly in the areas of capital markets and digitalization, including the special topics of governance, artificial intelligence, blockchain, ESG and sustainability reporting.
Since graduating in economics at the University of Innsbruck, Urban Perkmann has been working as a project manager at WIFO – Institute for Economic Research at the Bolzano Chamber of Commerce. Since 2005 he has been in charge of the Studies Department. The focus of his research activities lies in the analysis of the structure and strategic challenges of the South Tyrolean economy. Among other things, he focuses on education and social capital, start-up and succession, competitiveness and location.
Daniel Tocca is a sustainable fashion entrepreneur and cofounder of the sustainable fashion brand Re-Bello, the Kauri Store concept and the consultancy Kauri Distribution. Daniel grew up in Bolzano, Italy, where he lives with his wife, Sara, and their two daughters, Sophie and Joy. Daniel is fluent in Italian, German, English and Spanish and is a passionate entrepreneur and advocate in the sustainable fashion industry. With over 10 years of experience as co-founder and CEO, Daniel has established various businesses and has led dynamic teams toward success. Daniel has proven expertise in the development of new sustainable products and materials, go-to-market strategies, and adapting to digital and international marketplaces.
Dr. Andrés C. Pizzinini studied painting in Urbino and philosophy, theology, and classical philology in Innsbruck. After several years of work experience at the Foundation of Castles in Bolzano and at the Vinzentinum in Bressanone, Dr. Pizzinini has been fully dedicated to research and teaching activities at universities, research institutions, and higher education institutions both domestically and abroad since 2019. Among them are TU Wien, FH Rosenheim, ITHF Hamburg, PTH Bressanone, and the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen. His main areas of expertise are rhetoric, urban planning history, architectural theory, aesthetics, and philosophy.
Having lived and worked internationally, Michelle has worn many hats – from investigative journalist to commodities editor, marketer, business development consultant and entrepreneur. With extensive experience as a luxury marketer, communications and business development consultant, Michelle specializes in creating an environment in which businesses are empowered to connect with new clients and open up new channels of business. Her projects have included work with luxury brands in the travel, lifestyle and fashion industries including LVMH, Wedgwood, Rolls-Royce HR Owen, Iconic Luxury Hotels, Explora, Last Word, The Telegraph, White Desert, Extraordinary Adventure Club and Mantis Collection (acquired by Accor). Michelle also has a particular interest in women and their power as consumers and ambassadors. In 2014 she founded The Women’s Chapter, an invitation-only, networking group and event platform for high impact women with more than 5,500 founders and senior professionals in the community.
Johannes Bittel (M.Sc.) has been working in the areas of corporate innovation and startup entrepreneurship for 10 years. In the digital division of Deutsche Bahn, he is a Senior Innovation Manager. Previously, he was a Startup Innovation Manager, where he specialized in particular on managing early-stage innovation projects (ideation, acceleration, proof of concept), as well as collaborating with startups and innovation consulting. He is the founder of the digital conference platform WikiStage.org with more than 150 conferences in over 10 countries. Johannes is an ambassador of the French Tech Ticket program for entrepreneurship in France. He studied International Business Administration with Master degrees in London, Madrid and Paris and speaks 5 languages.
Anton Kager is Manager Sales Strategy & Operations at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Munich. In his role, he acts as an internal business partner to the senior leadership of the AWS sales organization, assisting in identifying, establishing, and implementing strategic and operational priorities. Previously, he held various positions within the Amazon Marketplace business unit, granting him a comprehensive insight into the services and products offered, such as fulfillment options or Amazon Advertising. This included collaboration with some of the largest third-party sellers on the Amazon Marketplace. Anton Kager holds an MBA in Digital Business from the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI), a master’s degree in International Economic and Business Studies from the University of Innsbruck, and gained international experience during an exchange year at the University of New Orleans.
Alexander Unterrainer currently works as a Financial Engineer in the Foreign Exchange (FX) department of a London-based investment bank. In close cooperation with quants and traders he is working on the development of algorithms in the electronic trading area. After a few years of initial work experience in the value asset department of a South Tyrolean private bank, Alexander decided to study economics and management at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. His passion for algorithmic trading, which is reflected in his bachelor thesis, led him to continue his studies in England. After successfully completing two master’s degrees, including one at the University College of London (UCL), which is one of the best universities in the world, Alexander has continued his career in London working for leading international investment banks. His area of experience includes the development of electronic algorithms for trading equities and FX as well as all related derivatives. Alexander has worked for Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, UBS and HSBC among others.
Patrick Lomsdalen is an entrepreneur in the Hospitality Industry. From launching the world’s first virtual hospitality fair, to providing door access and in room technology to global hotel chains as Marriott, HILTON, IHG, Accor, Starhotels and private hotels. Currently his focus is delivering an intelligent Digital Keys PLATFORM for the accommodation + PMS + Guest Communication industry. Patrick Lomsdalen studied International Business Management in Innsbruck (Austria) and at the Bocconi University in Milan (Italy).
David Bürgin has been a lecturer in marketing at South Tyrol Business School since 2022. After his dual bachelor studies in Berlin and his master studies in Jena, both specialized in marketing, he started working in online marketing at Zalando Lounge. In this context, he was able to strengthen his practical knowledge through various online as well as data-driven marketing responsibilities. Subsequently, he completed his PhD in Pricing at ESCP Business School in Berlin. His research focus is on the promotion of sustainable purchase decisions with the help of smart pricing. He has been working at Mercedes-Benz Consulting since 2022.
Viktoria Neuser is Information Technology Project Manager at Montblanc. Before her appointment to the digital IT world, Viktoria Neuser held various supply chain positions in consumer goods, retail and cable car industries in Italy and in China. Among other things, she led important SAP ERP roll-outs, new implementations and upgrades in the supply chain area at various locations in Italy and abroad. Viktoria Neuser studied Economics and Management at the trilingual Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and completed advanced trainings in Blockchain and Design Thinking.
Paolo Coletti started his research activity with a PhD in computational fluid dynamics at the University of Trento, specifically on partial differential equations of turbulence models in hydraulics, moving to computational linguistics working on language models for automatic speech recognition and on natural language understanding. He has been teaching computer science and data analysis since 2005, carrying on research on computational finance, focusing in particular on data collection and network representations of Italian public companies. He is also involved in projects related to mass customization and cryptocurrency technology.
Stephan Hankammer is Professor of Sustainable Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Vice Dean of the Department of Business at the Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft. He leads the Sustainable Business program, teaches Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Sustainability Management and Innovation Management, and conducts research on sustainable business models that contribute to the regeneration of ecological and social systems. He received his PhD on the topic of collaborative value creation from a sustainability perspective at the Institute for Technology & Innovation Management at RWTH Aachen, where he is an affiliated researcher and guest lecturer. He is co-founder and scientific director of REGWI – Institut für Regeneratives Wirtschaften.
Dr. Kea Larissa Hartwig is a Knowledge Management Consultant in the Otto Group’s Digital & Consulting division. As a Knowledge Management Consultant, she is responsible for providing relevant key figures, data and facts for the strategic planning of the group companies. In addition, she supports the knowledge exchange of the group companies by organizing and conducting round tables, expert panels and best practice clubs. Dr. Kea Larissa Hartwig studied International Business & Management at Hanze University (Netherlands) and at ESCP Business School (UK, France, Germany). She received her PhD in Service Marketing and Customer Value from the Chair of Marketing at ESCP Business School. Based on her dissertation, she published several articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Stefan Gruber is an economist, professor, and coach. He has been teaching for over 20 years at the Universities of Innsbruck and Bozen, the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein, Umit Tirol, and the Landeshotelfachschule Kaiserhof. He is also a Research Fellow at the Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, an expert at the ifo Institute in Munich as part of the Economic Expert Survey, as well as a coach and juror in the startup field. The University of Applied Sciences Kufstein has honored him with the title of Guest Professor. Stefan Gruber has extensive experience in both academic and applied research in the areas of Economic Geography, Regional Economics, and Health Economics, and is well acquainted with South Tyrol through his work. He holds a doctoral degree and a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Innsbruck.
Roberto Donà is a Creative Concept Developer. After graduating from Miami Ad School, he worked for renowned national and international advertising agencies in London, Berlin, Zurich, Munich and Vienna, e.g. at Jung von Matt, Wirz, AMV BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mother, Scholz & Friends and thjnk. His portfolio includes print, TV and online campaigns for Mercedes, IKEA, ExxonMobil, Guinness, BMW, Wrigley’s, Nicorette, Braun, Mars, Pedigree, British Telecom and many more. He was also able to put his creativity to work for ProSiebenSat.1 and Bvlgari Australia.
Andrea worked for 5 years for SAP, Europe’s biggest and the world’s third-largest software company. As a Business Transformation Consultant, she supported organizations (internal and external) in their digitalization processes. She develops creative concepts and experiences following design practices to support internal and external stakeholders in driving change.
Dr. rer. nat. Karola Obojes-Wahler is currently Biosafety Officer of the company Roche Diagnostics GmbH in Mannheim, Germany. Karola has extensive experience in customer service and application support of pharma companies. In her career, she got the MBA scholarship at MCI the Entrepreneurial School together with Südstern. Additionally, she obtained the postdoctoral fellowships Armand Frappier and Louis Pasteur for working in Laval, Canada. Karola holds a PhD degree in Virology from the University of Würzburg and Diploma degrees in Genetics and Microbiology of the Universities of Salzburg and Innsbruck.
Gian Andrea is a senior consultant specialized in business development and management of technology and innovation projects. Over the past 10 years, he has served a wide range of clients in the innovation and technology sectors, across a broad range of functional areas and geographies. He has held senior positions with board-level experience in both renewable energy and information and communication technologies, with a passion for sustainability and a highly entrepreneurial approach. He has significant experience in corporate/market entry strategy and governance/organization design. Gian Andrea holds a Master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Campus Bio-Medico, Rome and an MBA from ESCP Business School.
Gustavo Rinaldi is an economist with a postgraduate degree in economics from the University of Turin and a PhD in economics from Imperial College (London). He is a lecturer in macroeconomics, public and labor economics at the University of Turin. He has been a visiting professor at the Master in Labor Law at the University of Bologna and in Russian Economics at the Institute of International Policy Studies, Ispi in Milan. His research covers Russian, Ukrainian and former Soviet economies, sovereign debt sustainability, productivity, wages, economies of scale, the informal economy and inequality. He has been a consultant to the European Union, the UK government, the Italian Parliament, the German cooperation agency GIZ, the Metropolitan City of Turin, and the International Labor Organization. He developed a successful methodology to teach the fundamentals of wage negotiation translated into seven languages. He has researched or worked on projects involving Italy, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Colombia, Equador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Oman, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. He recently conducted research on corporate resilience in the aftermath of Covid involving companies from four continents and many industries. He frequently contributes to the Financial Times. He is the author of: “Economics for Policy Makers: a guide for non-economists” published by Routledge and used worldwide; for ISPI “Oltre la Crimea – Russia contro Europa?”; for Treccani “Il gap tecnologico della Russia”; and for ITCILO “Economics: Basic Tools for Public Procurement.”
Harshit is a Strategy Director Central Europe for The Coca-Cola Company. He has a strong background in Growth Strategy and Innovation Management through his current and past experiences in different industries (consulting, railway). With deep understanding of how strategic choices and innovation management decisions are made in big corporations, he brings a wealth of experience to help people seeking to enter or expand their career within strategy/innovation field especially in consumer goods industry.
Dr. Dusko Lukac is Head of Education at EPLAN GmbH & Co KG, one of the largest software manufacturers in the field of CAE, represented in over 50 countries worldwide. Dr. Lukac is responsible for the global management of the division. His role is to work with his team to develop learning content for a persistent learning strategy to provide internal employees and, more importantly, customers with a learning platform for sustainable, self-directed learning. A particular focus is on fully localized e-learning. Dr. Lukac has 16 years of professional experience as a university lecturer and, in addition to his engineering degree in electrical engineering, holds two master’s degrees (MBA – International Business and MoE – Sales Management and Production Management) as well as a doctorate in economics (with a focus on strategy and intercultural analysis). He has authored numerous scientific and applied publications.