Kristina Eskenazi is Chairwoman of the Health & Life Sciences Cluster Bulgaria and the Artificial Intelligence Cluster Bulgaria, a member of the Managing Board of KRIB—Bulgaria’s leading employers’ federation, and a board advisor to the Medical University of Plovdiv and Ruse University “Angel Kanchev”. She founded the Spinoff Bulgaria Initiative and has led numerous Horizon Europe and Digital Europe projects in AI and health innovation. Kristina mentors and organises flagship hackathons and entrepreneurship events, including AI & I Factory, AI Girls Hackathon, and Pitch2Pitch. She is a member of key European networks such as EuropaBio, ECHAlliance, and the European AI Forum, driving cross-sector collaboration and digital transformation.

Managing Director of LifeScience Krakow cluster initiative and President of LifeScience Krakow Klaster Foundation; Founder and Member of the Board of Sano Foundation.

I have knowledge and working expertise in developing and managing cluster strategies and activities, project management, technology transfer, innovation management, business internationalization, business strategy and business development, organizational learning, and knowledge management.

I possess proficiency in applying systems thinking and systems dynamics to modelling and solving complex problems, organizational development and strategic management, scenario planning, and creative thinking.

I have experience in fieldwork as a software developer, project manager, unit–business–organization manager, business consultant-advisor-mentor, business developer, inventor, trainer, writer, and designer.

Margot Jehle studied chemistry at the University of Würzburg. She earned her diploma and doctorate at the Institute for Biochemistry in Würzburg. Afterwards, Margot worked for several years at the company Immatics in Tübingen.

Since 2011 Margot is working for the business development company BioRegio STERN Management GmbH.

As Head for European Affairs she is responsible for the operational management and implementation of European projects where STERN is involved as project or lead partner.

Margot independently initiated, designed and developed several successfully approved European projects (such as the Interreg NWE project Codex4SMEs or the already completed ERDF project ILDA-care both coordinated by STERN).

Alexis Biton – International Affairs Coordinator at Genopole.

Alexis has a Masters 2 degree in Law and European affairs from Bordeaux University. He is specialized in European Union policies and International Affairs, programs, and financial mechanisms. As he did in his previous experience working for Innovation transfer at École Polytechnique, Alexis now brings his in-depth knowledge of European calls and networks to Genopole members looking to benefit from EU’s programs and International development opportunities.

Alexis is in charge of International & European Partnerships and his activities are structured around 3 main axes:

• International development and opportunities
• European activities
• Support to entrepreneurship

Karen Lindegaard , Internationalisation manager at the Danish Life Science Cluster – www.danishlifesciencecluster.dk

After working 15 years abroad with business incubator management, SMEs and Value Chain development, Karen has since 2012 strived to develop Welfare Tech and Danish Life Science Cluster to become an internationally recognized excellent Clusters awarded he Gold Label of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2024.

Her main focus on is on data-driven healthcare and on providing efficiency to the health-and-care sector by introducing innovative technology solutions, harvesting the benefits of technology introductions, and on sustaining the growth of SMEs within the sector.

PhD in Reproductive Biology at the Medical University of Graz, worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) in orthopaedics & traumatology, as project manager at the Biobank Graz, as product manager for viscosity measurements devices, as policy officer assistant for Food Improvement Agents in DG SANTE in Belgium and as visiting research scientist in molecular biology in the UK.

He joined Human.technology Styria (150+ members; Pharma & Biotech, MedTech, Health and Sustainability, Digitalization, Start-ups and Qualification) in 2023 as business developer responsible for the pharma and biotech field within the cluster.

As a member of Human.technology Styria, he supports the organisation, implementing regional/EU projects, events and workshops, coordinating networks regional and international partners, networking the relevant life science players in the region but also internationally, assisting the partners within the cluster but also looking for new potential partners to strengthen the regional, national and international visibility of the region in close cooperation with the business development digitalisation department.

Ria Hein, works as a senior Lifetech Program Manager at Brabant Development (BOM), in the south of The Netherlands. She is involved in several regional, national, and international programs and projects. She co-developed the drug developed hotspot in the region Pivot Park, contributed as a business developer to the unicorn Acerta Pharma, created and executed several Interreg and Horizon projects. BOM is projectpartner in the ACE project within Interreg NSR. BOM was leadpartner of Boost4Health and projectpartner of Codex4SME’s and Step4Nams within Interreg NWE. From BOM she is chairing the board of LifetecZONe, a cluster organization in the South of the Netherlands. LifetecZONe has 80 Medtech and Lifesciences SME’s as members. This cluster received the bronze cluster certificate of the European Commission.

Ria wants to facilitate companies, making next steps in their businesses, to speed up the process of innovations and products, going to the market. The timeline of products going to the market should be shortened, so that patients get quicker access to solutions for their diseases or prevent that people get ill.