Corinna Enders has been Chairwoman of dena’s Management Board since October 2023. In this role, she is responsible for dena’s operational and strategic development as well as its content. Her work focuses on supporting the German government and all stakeholders involved in the transformation to climate neutrality.

Corinna studied law in Germany and Italy and is an expert in environmental and climate policy, working briefly as a lawyer before spending many years as a government civil servant. Before joining dena, Corinna established and expanded Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH, a non-profit, in Berlin as Managing Director.

Angela is one of the world’s leading global energy futures experts, an experienced energy executive, a distinguished Oxford scholar and a published author. She has 30 years of experience in leading national, international and global multi-stakeholder transformation initiatives on a wide range of economic, energy, climate and sustainable development related challenges. Angela has worked as a senior executive in the public-, private-, academic- and civic sectors. She joined the World Energy Council in 2017 to create a practical energy transition leaders toolkit and direct a new strategic insights programme. Prior to that Angela led an upgrade in strategic foresight at the OECD, based in Paris. Prior corporate experience includes decades in Royal Dutch Shell and British Gas plc. Angela is an Associate Fellow, Said Business School, Oxford and a Strategic Foresight Fellow of the GOA, USA. She sits on two international advisory boards (HSE, Russia; ECI, Oxford) and is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Science. She has published four books and numerous articles. Angela has a PhD in Physics.

Jane is the Managing Director for Venture Cup China which is an international Innovation and Entrepreneurship Service Platform based in Shanghai. It specializes in global competition, talents attraction and STI transformation primarily in Green & Sustainable Technology. The current operating projects include University Startup World Cup and Nordic Innovation Centre (Shanghai).  She is also the Executive Secretary General for World Young Scientist Summit as an academic event held once a year for the world young talents. The summit is jointly sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province. It highlights the importance of integrating science with industries, venture capitals, arts and other societal endeavors as well as encourages multidisciplinary innovation among young scientist.

Before returning to her hometown, she has over ten years international management experiences in USA, Europe and Hong Kong.

Robina is an Investor at Contrarian Ventures, the pan-European climate tech venture firm focusing on early-stage companies that work on innovations to decarbonize the energy sector, transportation industry, heavy industry, and urban space. Next to these industries, Contrarian looks at Carbon & Climate as markets separately. Robina has joined the team recently and manages the DACH market after founding and building the first circular economy software start-up in Germany for the last five years.

Robina holds an MSc in Politics, Economics, and Philosophy from the University of Zurich and ETH and recently joined the advisory board at dena.

Freerk Bisschop is a seasoned investor and advisor in energy transition innovation. He has a long background in the energy industry, as a scientist, strategist, consultant, manager, entrepreneur, executive, non-executive, investor and advisor. Currently he acts as Venture Partner to Inven Capital and as an independent advisor to startups, scale-ups and investors.

With over 15 years of experience in the energy, mobility, and sustainability sectors, I am passionate about supporting innovative start-ups that drive electrification and decarbonization. As a Partner at Vireo Ventures, an early-stage VC firm, I leverage my expertise in business development, strategy, and marketing to identify, evaluate, and mentor highly scalable ventures that align with our mission and vision. I am also a certified business trainer, with a proven track record of delivering impactful training and coaching programs to entrepreneurs, executives, and teams.

Julia Padberg is Partner at SET Ventures, Europe’s leading energy VC that is currently investing from its 4th fund (€200m). SET aims to create a carbon-free energy system by endorsing pioneering founders with the capital, community, and insights to deliver financial and impact returns. Julia joined SET 8 years ago after 6 years being a corporate finance advisor in the energy & climate tech sectors. She is a director on the supervisory boards of FlexiDAO, Trunkrs and Sensorfact.

David Wortmann is the founder and managing director of the cleantech consulting agency DWR Eco, co-founder and board member of Leaders for Climate Action, and venture partner and investor in Proptech 1 and Planet A. At the same time, David Wortmann is co-managing director of the non-profit Global Eco Transition gGmbH, is regularly active as a podcaster, is a jury member of start-up awards and supports cleantech start-ups as a mentor, board member and investor.

David Arinze is an Electrical Engineer, Innovator, and Energy policy expert with over a decade of experience working in the renewable energy sector in Nigeria and Internationally.  He currently serves as the Off-Grid Energy Portfolio lead at Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI), where he manages the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) funded Off-Grid Energy Program. 

Niclas Carlsson is the Director of International Market Development at the Swedish Energy Agency, which is
responsible for the agency´s strategical activities globally –both in terms of business and investment promotion.

Before joining the Swedish Energy Agency, he represented the Government of Sweden in various international positions, most recently as the Trade Commissioner of Sweden to Saudi Arabia at the Embassy of Sweden in Riyadh.

Apart from representing the Government of Sweden on three continents, Niclas Carlsson has vast experience as a company advisor having supported over three hundred companies in their international pursuits.

Niclas Carlsson has a background in Business Administration as well as International Relations from Stockholm University and Free University of Berlin.

Luis is managing partner at kopa ventures, a Germany- and UK-based early-stage VC with a focus on the most promising European climate tech startups in the fields of Energy, Mobility and Nature & Carbon Tech.

Luis has more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, manager and investor in mobility and energy with a broad network to entrepreneurs, start-ups, corporates, investors, and the public sector. In addition to his consulting experience, he co-founded a company in the AI sector. At EIT InnoEnergy, Luis was part of the early-stage DACH investment team and also restructured and further developed the global mobility portfolio.

As President of Women in Renewable Energy Mexico AC, (MERM) she co-founded MERL, the Latin American Network of Women in Energy that seeks the inclusion of more women in the energy sector, empowering and promoting initiatives with triple impact in the field of renewable energies in LATAM. 

She is part of the boards of directors; Mexican Solar Association (ASOLMEX), Path to 100# by Wartzila, Latin American Council of Renewable Energy LACOORE, member of the MX Alliance and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.  

She has been named 100 Powerful Women in Mexico by Forbes, 200 Important Women in Mexico by Executive World, 10 Women in Energy 2021, among other publications where she writes opinion articles, and actively participates in international conferences and forums as a speaker. 

She is a delegate for Mexico in the official women’s group W20 G20 working group that forms a transnational network of women’s organizations, associations. 

Isabelle/Dr. Isabelle Canu is a partner of the Green European Tech Fund (GET Fund) with a target of 150-250 M EUR to invest in European cleantech start-ups with a potential for high financial returns and a high positive impact on the environment.

Previously, she developed her own business in the field of sustainability strategies for VC and PE funds. She has also built up and managed the public VC fund coparion with 275 M EUR AUM. She is an experienced investment and fund manager and, with 19 years of practical experience in sustainable finance, including at the Federal Chancellery and KfW, she is a recognized pioneer and shaper of sustainable finance in the field of venture capital and start-ups. She is member of the Sustainable Finance Committee of the German Government.

She studied International Relations at Sciences Po in Paris and holds a PhD from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.

Marie-Line Vaiani is since January 2023 Secretary General of the Conseil Français de l’Energie, the French committee of the World Energy Council (WEC).

In France, she has overseen multi-use water management of EDF’s hydroelectric dams, has developed new dispatching systems for the Electricity Transmission Network, as well as worked on local economic development and management for the “Une rivière, un territoire” programme’s investment fund.

Internationally, she has steered development and diversification strategies, from the regulation and design of energy markets to the development of national industry standards for renewable energies, hydrogen and batteries.

She is an ENSTA Paris-certified engineer, specialising in mathematical engineering, and holds a degree in corporate finance and capital markets from Sciences Po Paris as well as an executive MBA from HEC Paris. She is Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Daria is a Founding Partner at World Fund, Europe’s leading climate tech VC. She has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor. In addition, Daria sits on the boards of trustees of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and is the member of the extended board of the German Startup Association. She is the co-founder of the think tank 1E9 Denkfabrik, and has close ties with global tech thought leaders.
Her expertise guides World Fund’s investments. She advises as a board member Customcells, IQM, Space Forge, Vaeridion, ecoworks and Planet A Foods.

Stefan Mager studied political science in Germany and the UK. He joined GIZ in 2008, starting as a project manager for EU Twinning Projects in the environmental sector. Over the years, Stefan has taken on various roles within GIZ, including secondments to KfW and the German Ministry for Environment. He led a project advising the international department of the Ministry on key issues such as the global phase-out of fossil fuels, Just Transition, local climate action, decentralized renewable energy, and digitalization. Before assuming his current role as Head of Section for Infrastructure, Energy, Mobility, and Water, Stefan managed a program in Kosovo, focusing on waste management and circular economy.

Javiera Aldunate is the representative of the MIT Sloan Latin America Office, which supports the creation and transfer of knowledge and the advancement of management education and practices in the region.

She previously served as the head of the International Affairs Office at the Chilean Ministry of Energy, where she was responsible for strategically promoting the country’s position in the energy sector. Before that, she worked as the Executive Director of the World Energy Council Chile, a global non-profit organization fostering dialogue to encourage sustainable energy development. She also founded the leadership development program “Women in Energy-Chile” and is a mentor in WoomUp and Comunidad Mujer, networks that promote women’s professional growth.

Javiera is a Designer from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, holds an MBA from Universidad del Desarrollo, and has completed executive training programs at Stanford University and Babson College. She has extensive experience in creative strategy development, interdisciplinary project management, and user-centered projects. Additionally, she has taught design methodology and social innovation for over 15 years.

Pavina Adunratanasee’s work has been focused at the intersection of clean energy financing and technology innovation. Pavina is the Founder and CEO of Recalibrate Climate, an innovation platform focused on bridging emerging climate tech solutions and industries to accelerate global decarbonization. Additionally, she serves as the Founding Member of  Catalyze Climate; a first-of-a-kind Climate Finance Lab that aims to mobilize innovative financing mechanisms, accelerate technology deployment, and scale climate infrastructure via fostering cross-sector collaboration across finance, policy, and industries. The initiative spun out of Vectors Capital, a deeptech climate Venture Capital firm from San Francisco.

Prior to founding her own venture, Pavina served as Emerging Technology Manager at Iberdrola where she led the commercialization of new technologies to drive decarbonization of the commercial and industrial sectors in Australia. Her work has been focused on bringing decarbonization products to market across distributed energy, energy storage, and electric mobility. Before joining Iberdrola, Pavina achieved significant strides in the realm of renewables development with Siemens Financial Services, where she worked on mobilizing funding for power and onshore wind projects across the APAC markets.

Pavina is a thought leader advocating for leveraging decarbonization technologies to address the progressive impacts of climate change and is frequently invited to share her perspectives across industry leading conferences globally. Among her many accomplishments, Pavina was selected for a global women’s leadership program sponsored by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), a leading clean energy industry body. Furthermore, she has served as an advisor to early-stage startups in the climate innovation ecosystem spanning across the US, EU, and APAC.

Pavina’s journey into the realm of clean energy and sustainability began during her graduate studies in New York she focused her research on bridging solutions to improve access to clean energy in the global south. During this period, she delved into the intricacies of sustainable development, policy design, and development capital mobilization, setting the foundation for her impact driven career. Pavina holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), with a specialization in Sustainable Urban Policy.

Emet, a trained Energy Engineer, is deeply passionate about the intersection of sustainability and technology. At Net Zero Insights, he shapes strategic partnerships and steers business strategies to empower stakeholders in the climate tech industry. His engineering background enriches his approach to fostering data-driven insights for a sustainable future. A firm believer in the synergy between technology and sustainability, Emet envisions a future where both elements work hand in hand to drive positive change for our planet.

Aneri is an award-winning climate & clean energy ecosystem builder with experience building and overseeing 10 entrepreneur support programs while living and working in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. She founded the largest energy access accelerator in Africa called ENVenture that was acquired by New Energy Nexus. She then served on the Board of Directors, and then as their Chief Operating Officer overseeing their people & culture, strategic planning, and technology teams. Her previous experiences include corporate startup partnerships, designing and implementing energy access programs, and growing and running professional clean energy ecosystem networks.

Aneri has been recognized as Renewable Energy World’s Top 40 under 40 in solar, Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst, 2021 Ashden Awards winner for Energy Access Innovation, Nasdaq Milestone Maker, an American Express Emerging Innovator, Cordes Fellow, and member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council. She has a Masters in Environment & Development from the London School of Economics and a BA in International Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Andreas Kuhlmann was dena’s Chief Executive from July 2015 – June 2023. Among others, the graduate physicist has held positions at the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the German Embassy in Stockholm and the European Parliament, the German Parliament and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. He worked as a consultant and office manager at various political organisations and establishments, including the Environmental Committee of the European Parliament. As CTO/COO he is now in charge of operations and all issues around Energy, climate change and CleanTech at Christ&Company.

Mina Syriou is a passionate advocate for space technology and sustainability, with over a decade of experience spanning business development, project management, and leadership roles across NGOs, academia, government, the United Nations, and the space sector. With a strong foundation in Earth sciences and a background in Earth observation, Mina currently leads the Energy & Utilities Working Group within ESA’s Business Applications – Space Solutions (BASS) department, focusing on space-based innovations that drive sustainability and the green energy transition. A Chartered Geographer and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, she is also a business mentor to several EU accelerators, supporting start-ups in leveraging space technology. She has lectured on space-related topics at institutions such as the University of Oxford and UCL.

Iris has worked for innovation and business development in the energy and environment sectors across Europe, focusing on a wide range of topics from grid optimisation and e-Mobility to environmental management systems and lifecycle assessment. Iris holds a M.Sc. double degree in energy engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

Mike Mulcahy is the CEO of GreenCape, in Cape Town, South Africa. GreenCape’s work has typically focused on understanding and then removing barriers to commercially viable projects across energy, water and waste. Over the last decade Mike and his team have supported hundreds of companies, projects and entrepreneurs to understand the green economy landscape and accelerate their businesses. GreenCape has pioneered projects in Energy, including a GreenTech Special Economic Zone, a Green Outcomes Fund as well as significant startup and accelerator support.

Mike is the Chairman of the International Cleantech Network – a network of some 16 000 SMMEs across 4 continents. Mike serves on the board of the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa.

Lars Eiermann is a tech-savvy entrepreneur with a profound background in R&D and logistics, particularly in the automotive industry. His expertise lies in advancing sustainable business models within the sustainability and circular economy sectors. With nearly two decades of executive experience in strategic product development and organizational change, Lars has successfully led initiatives for decarbonization, compliance, and cybersecurity. He is strongly adept at mentoring startups, focusing on their growth and sustainable practices, making him a valuable asset to any forward-thinking venture in the realm of sustainability and technology.

Lucy Yu is CEO and founder at Centre for Net Zero, Octopus Energy Group’s not-for-profit AI and data-driven research institute advancing tech-driven energy systems that benefit humanity. Centre for Net Zero’s research has been accepted by leading global proceedings including What Works Climate Solutions Summit, and the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), the world’s leading gathering of deep learning professionals.

Lucy has 20 years’ experience building and scaling global consumer-facing and deeptech ventures in artificial intelligence; and developing tech policy and regulation for the UK government, European Commission, and the UN.

In 2024 Lucy was appointed a Clean Power 2030 Commissioner by the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). In addition to this role, she chairs ADViCE (AI for Decarbonisation Virtual Centre of Excellence), a DESNZ-funded programme for the development of innovative artificial intelligence technologies that support the transition to net zero.

Lucy is a non-executive director at E3G and Connected Places Catapult, and co-founder of the Institute for Ethical AI & Machine Learning. She sits on the Russell Group’s Industrial Strategy Expert Advisory Group.

Lucy has been named an Asian Tech Pioneer (2024), Top 5 Star in GreenTech (2021) and Financial Times Top 100 Leader in Tech (2019). She studied computational and physical chemistry at Imperial College, and public leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.

Gary Soleiman is a strategic connector in the Israeli climate innovation ecosystem, currently serving at Startup Nation Central. He specializes in linking global stakeholders—including corporations, investors, and governments—with Israeli climate-tech solutions, fostering impactful partnerships. Prior to joining Startup Nation Central, Gary held various product management and business positions in SaaS startups (in climate-tech and cyber security) and worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on climate projects in Africa and the Middle East. Gary’s expertise lies in the fostering climate innovation at the nexus between government and the private sector. He holds a Bsc. in Atmospheric Physics from Tel Aviv University.

Samuel is a senior innovation & venture development manager in the Startup Partnerships team at E.ON Innovation. In his current role, he explores and develops pioneering solutions and partnerships for the future of energy. With open innovation programs like Free Electrons or the E.ON Grid Startup Challenge, he initiates and develops a diverse portfolio of innovation projects and successfully scaled several large scale partnerships. Before joining E.ON, he worked in different internet startups and in venture capital. Samuel holds a M.Sc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation and currently lives in Regensburg.

Anne is an investor at the DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) a Germany-based, early-growth VC aiming to fund ground-breaking technologies in Europe with a total investment volume of up to 1 billion €. Focused on the next generation of technology champions, the DTCF supports companies with extended development cycles and substantial financial needs in implementing sustainable growth strategies. The DTCF invests in innovative, high-growth startups in 4 verticals: climate, computing, industry, and life science (and their intersections) – while in the climate segment especially looking for new energy & smart grid as well as storage and decarbonization technologies.

Anne has extensive experience in venture capital and the energy industry. Prior to joining DTCF, Anne worked at EIT InnoEnergy, where she was part of the DACH investment team and honed her skills in identifying and supporting early-stage green energy ventures. She also worked in consulting as a Manager in the M&A Advisory department at PwC, where she focused on corporate valuation and venture deals.

Axel has a strong background in Management/Finance and Transformation. Before joining InnoEnergy three years ago, he worked at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he was a core member of the Corporate Finance & Restructuring Task Force. Most of his projects have been related to corporate finance topics, transformation, turnaround, restructuring, due diligences for private equity and venture capital clients, etc. In the last three years at InnoEnergy, Axel invested in breakthrough technology ventures in the Climate Tech space, while creating valuable business cases for early-stage ventures as well later-stage growth cases. Further, he successfully helped building turnaround programs for challenging ventures, supported ventures to the next big step (e.g. going to US), as well as realizing first exits. Axel studied Management & Finance Universität Mannheim and did his PhD in Private Equity at HHL Leipzig.

Emeritus Professor Dato’ Dr. Halimah Badioze Zaman is currently the Holder of the Tan Sri Leo Moggie Distinguished Chair in Energy Informatics at the Institute of Informatics and Computing in Energy (IICE), and Director of the newly established National Energy Centre (NEC), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). She is currently also one of the independent (non-executive Director), in the Board of Directors of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) since 2019. Prior to this, she has served in various
capacities and roles for four decades at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and worked very closely with the Government, and industry, both nationally and globally. She received the Professor Emeritus title from UKM for her contribution to knowledge in Computer Science and ICT nationally and globally. She is also fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She has won many accolades for her research at many Research and Exhibitions Conventions nationally and globally. Over the years, she has had tremendous experience in organising symposiums, conferences, and congresses in the field of Computer Science, ICT and Energy. She is currently advisor to one of the renowned research universities in Malaysia to spearhead together with the Ministry of
Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) on the establishment of the National AI Centre (NAIC) for Malaysia.

Michael has been working with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs (since early 2022 Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action) since 2008. Before joining the Energy Department in 2014 he worked on bilateral trade relations with Eastern European countries and in the ministry’s central administration. He has been leading the team on multilateral energy and climate cooperation at the ministry since 2019. Before joining BMWK Michael worked for several years for the EU Commission’s delegation in Moscow and, between 2001 and 2004 for a network of microfinance and small business banks in Russia and Georgia.

 Michael holds a master’s degree in business administration from Passau University, Germany, and a Master of Arts in Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies from Harvard University.

Engineer with a master’s degree in Science and Technology, specialist in statistics applied to processes (Six Sigma Black Belt) and innovation management, PhD student in Innovation Technology at UFMG.

She has been working in the innovation ecosystem for more than 20 years, in public and private efforts to generate a positive impact on people’s lives through innovation, seeking to contribute to the construction of public State policies. More than 1000 startups mentored, plus 100 large companies served on the innovation theme. Some examples of projects with a national scope: Mover Program, National Electric Mobility Platform, executive coordination Anuário Mobilidade Elétrica, Mentora Programa Mulheres Inovadoras Finep.  At Fundep, he works to raise funds and form strategic alliances between multiple partners — such as government, science and technology institutions, startups, industries and social organizations — to address priority issues on the national scene.

Folker Trepte leads the PwC Germany’s Energy, Utilities & Resources Industry since 2020. At the beginning of his professional career he graduated in business administration from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main in 1994. He joined PwC as an auditor, focusing on listed
companies, and completed a secondment at PwC New York, assisting with US listings for foreign issuers. Since then, he is a responsible auditor and advisor for a variety of international and German energy and industry companies. Besides his industry leader role, he is responsible for Go-to-market strategies of the EMEA Sustainability platform, and he manages PwC’s global Commodity Trading & Risk Management network.