exist Advisory Board

Carolin Ackermann is an entrepreneur who works as a fractional CMO and mentor for technology-driven companies. Previously, she founded and led the deep tech startup SEAWATER Cubes—a spin-off from htw saar’s research transfer program—for eight years. Her focus is on deep tech and translating complex innovations into marketable business models. She is also active as the Saarland regional spokesperson for the Startup Association.

Dr. Marie Asano is currently an Investment Principal at the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in growth companies in the European bioeconomy. Previously, she was a Senior Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). Before beginning her professional career, she earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Universities of Liège and Bordeaux.

Lena Thiede is a co-founder of Planet A. The fund invests in green tech startups. As a senior official at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), she headed Germany’s development cooperation efforts in Tanzania. In addition, she has worked in environmental research and policy consulting for organizations including the OECD and the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU).

Daniel Breitinger leads Bitkom’s startup team. To strengthen the German startup ecosystem, he advocates for improved policy conditions and the networking of individual stakeholders. Previously, he handled public affairs and education policy issues at Bitkom. He studied European and political science and has worked in the German Bundestag as well as in the automotive industry.

Franziska Teubert is the managing director of the Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e.V., which represents the interests of over 1,200 members. She founded Kater Demos Verlag in 2015 and, together with her co-founder, was an early adopter of constructive journalism in Germany. A native of Berlin, she studied communication science at Freie Universität Berlin and George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Florian Täube is the Head of the Startup Division at the RKW Competence Center. He supports key influencers, such as regional startup ecosystems and supraregional stakeholders. Previously, he spent over 15 years conducting research and teaching at Imperial College London, EBS University of Business and Law, Solvay Brussels School, and CBS International Business School on topics such as innovation clusters, intrapreneurship, and migrant, sustainable, and social entrepreneurship.

Prof. Dr. Helmut Schönenberger is a co-founder and managing director of UnternehmerTUM gGmbH, Europe’s largest startup and innovation center. As an aerospace engineer and investor, his goal is to support scalable high-tech startups, founders, and scientists from the initial idea through to a successful product. Since 2020, he has also served as Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

Dr. Julia Rosendahl studied veterinary medicine and founded PerformaNat GmbH in 2015 as a spin-off from Freie Universität Berlin. The spin-off received funding from exist-Forschungstransfer. Today, she is the CEO of PerformaNat and develops new solutions for the health of farm animals. She is also an advocate for IP transfer in spin-offs.

As head of the Research Department at the Secretariat, Dr. Rainer Lange assists the German Science Council in developing recommendations on research and innovation policy. In recent years, his work has focused on the digitization of science and its contribution to societal change.

Silvia Laimgruber has headed the Structural Programs Division at the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) since March 2020. Prior to that, she was responsible at the FFG for funding academic spin-offs, establishing regional incubators (AplusB), and the Spin-off Fellowship, which supports researchers in bringing their startup ideas to life.