Our BOLD Judges
Discover our BOLD jury board! Market leaders, innovators and change-makers around the 4 corners of the globe join us in the judging process of the boldest projects.
MAURIZIO ROSSI
Chairperson of BOLD Awards, curiosity driven dreamer and always a keen observer, Maurizio father of four likes to discover and understand differences of people’s lifestyles and their cultures. He’s fascinated how technologies
impact our day life and about their influence in the society and cultures, thanks to his dynamic
personality he has developed an important network of international connections.
CHAIRPERSON
EPI LUDVIK
Epi is the Founder & CEO of Crowdsourcing Week. In 2008, he created Ludvik + Partners – one of New York’s hottest boutique virtual ad agencies built on a 100% crowdsourcing model. Epi Ludvik is one of the pioneers in the crowdsourcing ad space, an industry expert and thought leader in entertainment advertising – including public relations, event production, experiential marketing, consumer advertising and digital marketing.
CO-CHAIRPERSON
MICHELLE VINCENT
Michelle Vincent is CEO of Mofilm, a content creation network within the Brandtech Group and has over 20 years of experience in media consulting and sales, most recently at Google where she has overseen partnerships with Fortune 1000 brands across a wide range of industries. Prior to that, Michelle held various roles at Meta’s Facebook, Newscorp and Hearst Magazines. Outside of work, Michelle has enjoyed roles contributing as a mentor to young professionals in media at The Forem and She Runs It and has served as a committee contributor at the IAB for Lead Generation and Multicultural disciplines. Michelle earned her BSBA in Business General Management with a dual concentration in Marketing and Finance at the University of Pittsburgh. She originally hails from the Philadelphia suburbs and now lives in Long Island with her husband and two sons.
EDTECH
OLIVIA STOCKWELL
Olivia Stockwell is a woman in Tech, currently serving as the Head of
Global Branding and Marketing at Nreal.
Nreal is an Augmented Reality company, transforming how we
interact with the world and technology though it’s line of products and
through its global partnerships.
Ms. Stockwell graduated from the University of Cambridge, in the
United Kingdom and she has previously worked at Microsoft. Her
achievements at Microsoft include launching Windows 7, Xbox and
Bing as a platform.
Her passion for innovation has also led to the launch of the world first
AI-Powered suitcase while working at ForwardX Robotics.
Ms. Stockwell’s background includes living and working across four
continents, Europe, UK, US, and China. Her exposure to these work
and social environments has provided her with a strong cultural
understanding that goes beyond language to include customs, culture
and thinking.
AR / VR
MICHAEL TRAJKOVIC
Chief Growth Officer at Beyond Form,
#1 European Venture Studio
(+22 startups portfolio – 40M€)
FASHIONTECH
BRIAN BERGER
Resourceful Editor-In-Chief with a demonstrated history of working in the publishing and aerospace industry. Skilled in Government, Editing, Media Relations, Journalism, and Public Speaking. Strong media and communication professional with a BSJ focused in Magazine Production & Editing from Ohio University.
SpaceTech
KEITH KOO
Keith is the Founder and Managing Partner of Guardian Insight Group, a technology advisory services firm focused on identifying, assessing, controlling, and mitigating the risks associated with doing business with technology companies and vendors, such as financial, blockchain, pricing/cost, cyber, information security, business resiliency, disaster recovery, regulatory, and compliance. Keith also serves as a mentor and advisor to a number of innovative companies, breakthrough technology startups, and incubators.
Future of Work
FABRIZIO VALENTE
Consultant | Business Coach | Public Speaker
CPG Brand
DAVID BERKOWITZ
Founder of AI Marketers Guild, FOAF.pro & Serial Marketers; Marketing leader with big ideas who gets the job done
New Media / AdTech
Loic Claveau
Loic Claveau is an accomplished marketing executive with a strong background in the
gaming industry. With over 25 years of experience as a marketer, journalist, publisher,
and manager, he brings a wealth of knowledge and insights as SingularityNET’s Chief
Marketing Officer.
Loic has a deep passion for game development and has gained valuable experience in
contributing to the success of online worlds such as Guild Wars, WildStar, and League
of Legends. This exposure has provided him with a profound understanding of
marketing fundamentals, collaborative storytelling, and the ability to leverage data to
achieve marketing goals.
His leadership style is marked by a strong focus on coaching and mentoring, helping
team members grow and fostering a learning environment. Loic's philosophy is
encapsulated in his belief in providing people with the courage and perspective they
need to forge their own paths.
Crypto
Eliane Fiolet
Eliane Fiolet is the co-founder and editor of Ubergizmo.com, where she writes in English about consumer electronics, SoCs, cool prototypes, innovations, and emerging technologies.
Launched in Silicon Valley in 2005 and distributed in five languages (en/jp/es/fr/pt), Ubergizmo is one of the world’s top consumer tech media. Ubergizmo launched in Japan in August 2018.
Eliane is an Advisor of Baracoda Group, a health tech company that owns Care OS, an award-winning beauty and health IoT platform, and Kolibree, the world’s first connected electric toothbrush.
(CES Awards 2024, 2023,2022, 2021, 2020 (with Colgate), 2019, 2018, 2017).
In 2015, French Minister of Digital Affairs Axelle Lemaire knighted her in the National Order of Merit. Eliane was selected as one of the CES Innovation Awards judges for CES 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Robotics
Eliane Fiolet
Science journalist | Chief of Audio | Podcaster
Science
RICK VERMA
Rick is the Head of Digital at Tipalti in Europe, responsible for its digital economies business. He has a background in management consulting, tax & financial technology and has partnered with businesses of all sizes to fix business critical issues. Prior to joining Tipalti, Rick has run GTM teams internationally and most recently built & ran Avalara’s Marketplace business across EMEA.
MARKETPLACES
LOUISA BURWOOD-TAYLOR
Louisa Burwood-Taylor is the Managing Editor and Head of Media & Research for AgFunder, which she joined as employee #3 in 2015. Prior to that she was the founding editor of the first-ever agriculture investment publication, Agri Investor, following a financial journalism career at the Financial Times and Euromoney.
AGRITECH
CORNEL AMARIEI
Cornel Amariei is a renowned Romanian inventor, speaker and entrepreneur known for creating .lumen – a startup that builds glasses which empower the blind to live a better life. Cornel was born in a family where his parents and sister lived with disabilities. This environment inspired his work, later recognized in Forbes 30U30 Europe and the Global Business Hall of Fame.
YOUNG ACHIEVER
ROB VAN KRANENBURG
Rob Is the Founder of the Internet of Things Council and Bricolabs. He works as Ecosystem Manager for the EU project Next Generation Internet and now is the Chief Innovation Officer at Asvin.io. Rob wrote The Internet of Things: A critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFID, Institute of Network Cultures and co-edited Enabling Things to Talk published by Springer. He recently published Future Urban Smartness: Connectivity Zones with Disposable Identities also by Springer.
IoT
ANGELO RIGILLO
As CEO of Enel Innovation Hubs, he manages offices in San Francisco, Boston, Chile, Brazil, Europe and Israel to seize innovation opportunities in some of the most fervent ecosystems of startups and innovative companies in the world.
He has led the open innovation activities, governance and tools for years at Enel, the leading private electricity operator in the world.
Management engineer, Corporate Innovation master at ESADE and Leadership Program at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, he began his experience at Enel in the Strategy and M&A team and then joined the newly established Innovability function in 2015.
Open Innovation
VASILY KASSAB
Vasily is an Entrepreneur Designer with a wide cultural background across Middle East, Italy, Russia and Eastern Europe.
Building Teams with Heart and Passion, transforming Design Culture within large organizations, scaling Brands and experiences for Major FMCG, Alcohol, Pharma and corporates from Positioning / strategy to Retail experiences and Digital and Fashion, now Vasily is Leading and scaling Strategic Design Team for PepsiCo Latin America Being Based in Mexico and Brazil.
Design
SILVIA AVILES
Silvia is the Event Director of TIS – Tourism Innovation Summit and cofounder at NEBEXT, the leading private organizer of tradeshows and conferences in Spain. She leads all the Marketing and Communications of the group igniting innovation to over 14 global events from different industries. She is really passionate about innovation and new technologies and the impact of it to our society. On her free time, she is mentor of women in tech.
TravelTech
Laurence Kirk
After a successful career writing financial software, Laurence was captivated by the potential of blockchain technology and 8 years ago, he set up Extropy.io, a consultancy specialising in blockchain, cryptography and security.
Laurence is a firm believer in community education and frequently teaches blockchain / zero knowledge proof workshops in person and online.
Blockchain / NFT
Brett Alegre-Wood
Group Managing Director & Founder Ezytrac Property Group
PropTech
Clive Reffell
Clive’s UK-based marketing career has followed the sector’s digital transition from high capital investments paid to mass-media owners to that of working among a multitude of bloggers, influencers and social media addicts. In order to establish his own USP as a Marketing Consultant he decided to focus on crowdfunding, which at the time was in its infancy, and the marketing efforts required to be successful. Clive has immersed himself in the sector, advising users – actual and potential, working with platforms, investing in startups, and writing for BOLD Awards and Crowdsourcing Week since 2016.
Crowdfunding
BONNIE CHIA
Bonnie is a passionate storyteller with more than 15 years of success in the field of marketing and communications, from advertising, public relations to brand development. She cut her teeth in the industry with successful stints at top ad and PR agencies across the globe from LA to Taipei to Singapore, working on internationally renowned brands like P&G, SK-II, ASUS, Panasonic, IHG, etc.
In 2012, she joined the WWF’s Earth Hour global team in Singapore, where she switched her focus to marketing and branding for social good and sustainability, leading the global strategy and planning for the world’s largest grassroots movement. Now as the Head of Brand for WWF International, her portfolio expands to include the development of the WWF brand globally.
SUSTAINABILITY
ALEX CLERE
Alex Clere is the Editor-in-Chief of InsurTech Digital magazine, covering all aspects of insurance and insurance technology. In this role, he regularly encounters innovators and innovations that are reshaping the way insurance is bought and sold. A digital editor with a background in both B2B and B2C publishing, he has previously written about Food & Beverage and FMCG. He is a self-confessed grammar pedant and an over-user of dashes.
INSURTECH
EDDY TRAVIA
Eddy has been a pioneer investor in blockchain technology companies since 2013. He is the Co-
founder of Coinsilium Group (AQUIS:COIN), a Web3 investor, advisor and venture builder which was
the first blockchain company to IPO in 2015. He is also an Executive Director at Indorse in Singapore.
In July 2013, Eddy co-founded the world’s first global incubator of blockchain startups (Seedcoin)
and, in May 2014, was named among the ‘Top 3 Most Influential Investors’ along with Roger Ver
and Marc Andreessen at the 2014 Blockchain Awards.
Eddy has led investments in more than 25 blockchain companies and has advised more than 25
blockchain projects. Eddy has delivered two TEDx talks about blockchain (in 2016 for TEDxIEMadrid
and in 2018 for TEDxINSEAD) and has been a regular speaker at universities worldwide including
Singapore Managament University.
Eddy has completed the Stanford University Financial Engineering program for finance professionals in Hong
Kong and the Oxford University Algorithmic Trading program.
DEFI
FRANK A. SLIWKA
A highly innovative and resilient global business leader with deep digital entertainment, games & esports industry expertise, gained from over 25 years’ building successful businesses and winning teams around entertainment properties.
Recognized with the German Game Developer Award, the European Games Award and with Asia’s Sports Industry Award (SPIA Awards) in 2017 and 2018, I have a verifiable history of commitment to growth, expansion and P&L optimization in the games, esports and media competitive industries in both mature and emerging markets across the Asia Pacific Region, the US, and Europe.
Currently I´m the COO of Epulze and the CEO of ibMedia Group. Before that, I worked with companies like ESL, Electronic Arts, gamescom, UBM (United Business Media), Crytek or MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation).
eGaming & eSports
JEREMIAH OWYANG
Venture Capital Investor at Blitzscaling Ventures | Event host & Conference Speaker | Works in an Airstream
AI
RAF DE KIMPE
Raf’s professional journey began over a decade and a half ago, in a software research center in Belgium and has evolved, with the last five years dedicated to the vibrant fintech industry. Starting his career in the business side of the software research center, he moved through the IT department to the software sales side. This equipped Raf with a profound understanding of what makes a business work.
Raf led the charge in shaping the fintech ecosystem in Belgium, as Director of Business Development & Community for a Belgian fintech hub, where he discovered his innate passion for curating industry events. Raf has emerged as a true trailblazer in the industry and has brought together over 10.000 people throughout the last years.
With two significant interests at heart—fintech and healthtech—Raf’s career has been a journey of exploration and innovation. His knack for orchestrating seamless events, both grand and intimate, across diverse industries and around the globe, has earned him a reputation as an event maestro.
Today, Raf proudly serves as the CEO of Fintech Week London, where he continues to shape the future of fintech through groundbreaking events that bring together visionaries, disruptors, and thought leaders.
FinTech
IRENA CRONIN
Irena Cronin is SVP of Product for DADOS Technology which is creating a data analytics and
visualization platform for the Apple Vision Pro. She is also the CEO of Infinite Retina which
provides research to help companies develop and implement AI, AR and other new
technologies for their businesses. Previous to this, she worked for several years as an equity
research analyst and gained extensive experience in evaluating both public and private
companies.
Cronin has a joint MBA/MA from the University of Southern California and an MS with
Distinction in Management and Systems from New York University. She graduated with a BA
from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Economics (summa cum laude). She has
near-fluent proficiency in Mandarin, intermediate in Japanese and beginning in Korean.
Metaverse
Ben Finlay
Ben is the Global Chief Innovation Officer for Publicis Health and sits on UK and US boards – driving health systems transformation initiatives. He’s an active investor in early-stage ventures and holds several advisory positions across the health and life sciences sector.
Ben started his career in clinical research, with LabCorp, whilst studying Applied Biology. He then joined Medtronic to launch the first European-wide market access program for cardiac disease management.
After 10 years client-side Ben launched a distributed consultancy providing strategic counsel and services for some of the world’s most recognised pharmaceutical brands.
Since 2015 Ben has been leading matrix teams at Publicis Health, delivering new service models across established and rare therapy areas.
He specialises in the creation of new services to market by embracing the spirit of co-venture; developing commercial models alongside and new health experiences, leading distributed teams through change and complexity.
Ben’s proudest achievement is the launch of a brand-new preventative care platform to support healthy ageing in the UK. Starting in 2018, Ben orchestrated the first ever co-venture between Abbott Nutrition, the NHS, health industry partners, and third sector charity organisations.
HealthTech
Vincent Carbone
Vincent graduated from Steven Institute of Technology with a Materials Engineering degree and shortly after graduating went on to get a MBA in International Business studying in Italy. When he returned from his international studies with started an enterprise software company focusing on Innovation Management Software and Services, Brightidea (https://www.brightidea.com/). The company is now the leader in Innovation Management Software with offices in New York and San Francesco and clients including Nike, Merck, J&J, and the US Intelligence Community.