Eva de Mol
Founding partner CapitalT, scientist and investor
Eva invested in over 20 early stage software technology companies within the future of work, climate and education context. She’s also an investor in Space-X, sit on the board of TestGorilla, Seyo, and Overstory and is a columnist for Quote and EvaJinek. During her PhD research she collected the data of more than 1,000 entrepreneurial teams over time to identify what made the most successful teams stand out. Following from that, Eva is can truly apply a human capital perspective in her investment practice, and is seen as a changemaker in the international investment industry. Her work is published in top tier scientific journals and she’s a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review. Eva is also a strong supporter of more diversity in venture capital, one of the initiators of #Fundright and a strong advocate for financial literacy among women. Eva is founding partner at CapitalT, scientist and investor. She has a PhD in economics from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
Topic: How to be a good leader
Hinke Malda
Head of Innovation Strategy at Philips
Hinke Malda is Head of Innovation Strategy at Philips. In her role she is leading the Innovation Strategy in an organization that is transforming towards a health technology company. Hinke is the motivating force behind defining and implementing the above-the-business health technology strategic innovation portfolio, aligned with Philips’ long term vision and mission. She has a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Groningen and she has a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. Before joining Philips, she worked at DSM for over 10 years. She has an analytical mind, which is why she choose tech as her direction in life, finding that exact science is also at the basis of understanding life. Next to her job at Philips, she is also vice-president of the supervisory board of Fontys. Hinke is married and in her free time she enjoys running.
Topic: How to find your way in your career
Oana van der Togt
Senior Business Developer Manager at TNO
Oana van der Togt is Senior Business Developer Manager at TNO, a research institute based in the Netherlands which focuses on developing technologies for a large number of markets, from semiconductor industry, defense, ICT, traffic and transport, buildings and infrastructure, circular economy, etc. Within TNO, Oana is responsible for TNO’s participation in the Space Market. In the same time, Oana is also a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Board at TNO. For the last seven years, Oana has put gender diversity on TNO’s agenda, creating TNO’s D&I Strategy and defining D&I interventions.
Topic: How to survive in a male dominated work environment
Andy Lürling
Founding Partner LUMO labs
Andy is a serial entrepreneur in the high tech and creative industries. Noticing the lack of early stage ‘risk’ capital available for start-ups in Western Europe, Andy founded LUMO labs in 2016. LUMO Labs is an impact-driven multi-stage capital fund with a 2-year venture builder program for founding teams of ventures focused on AI/Data, Blockchain, Robotics/Drones, IoT and VR/AR.
Andy believes that emerging technologies hold the key to solving the global social challenges that people face today. LUMO Labs focuses on startups that touch with their products on the following UN SDG’s: Sustainable cities & Communities, Health & Well-being, and Quality Education. Andy represents the Dutch Start ups and scale ups at the Strategy team of the Dutch AI Coalition. This is a public-private partnership in which the government, the business sector, educational and research institutions, as well as civil society organisations collaborate to accelerate and connect AI developments and initiatives according to the Dutch and European standards and values. Andy holds a degree in Information Management from the Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), and successfully completed the Master Class Technology, Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands).
Topic: How to be an entrepreneur
Monique Sommer
Group Leader Mechatronic System Engineering at Demcon Advanced Mechatronics
I was born and raised in Roermond, and moved to Eindhoven when I started studying at the University. Since May 2005 I have been living in the center of 's-Hertogenbosch. I studied Electrical Engineering at the Technical University in Eindhoven, where I received my BSc and MSc. After my graduation, I have been working as a researcher, lead developer and R&D project leader at Océ Technologies (copiers, printers and document management systems). After completing an MBA at the UT Twente I have been working as senior manager R&D, Engineering and Operations at various international, innovative, high-tech companies, such as QI Press Controls (high-tech cameras and innovative optical measuring and control systems for offset presses), Van Eck Group (innovative trailers for fast loading and unloading and efficient road transport) and Tennant Company (high-tech innovative motorized and robotic cleaning machines). As of April 1 2021, I started working at Demcon Best as a group leader mechatronic system engineering. In my free time I like to sport: I play tennis and dance tango. I also play the piano, sing, play music theater, and I love to travel.
Topic: How to find your way in your career
Carmen van Vilsteren
Chair of the Life Sciences & Health Top Sector in The Netherlands
Carmen van Vilsteren is Chair of the Life Sciences & Health Top Sector in the Netherland, reporting to the ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the ministry of Health about innovation, public-private partnerships with industry, Human Capital and Internationalization in the Life Sciences & Health sector. In this role she is also leading the Dutch mission of Gezondheid and Health in the mission driven innovation policy in the Netherlands. Next to the Topsector she is the Director of the Eindhoven MedTech Innovation Center (e/MTIC). e/MTIC is a large size, strategic research collaboration between the Catharina Hospital, the Maxima Medical Center, Kempenhaeghe, TU/e and Philips in the domains cardiovascular, perinatal and sleep medicine. She has been active both in multinationals in MedTech (Philips, Thermofisher) as well as serial entrepreneur and angel investor, including being co-founder and CEO of Microsure, a TU/e spinoff in the field of microsurgical robots. She received her degree with honors from Delft University of Technology.
Topic: How to survive in a male dominated work environment
Chantal Linders
Co-founder and CEO Greenhabit
What if you could change your whole life with simple adjustments? To be healthier, more useful and happier. Chantal has experienced how this is possible. She had struggled with bladder infections for over 20 years and by changing her diet, she got rid of them. That's easy? Yes. For Chantal it was a wake-up call, which she also wants to share with others. And so she made it her life mission. She likes to pass on her knowledge and strength to make choices that are healthy for your heart. She developed a serious game called Greenhabit: a holistic reflection model to tap into the 'potential' of your mind. As a result, you start living from your personal motivations. Thousands of people in the Netherlands and Spain have already followed the 12-week vitality program. "You always have a choice."
Topic: How to be an entrepreneur
Ilse de Graaf
Senior Corporate Recruiter at SMART Photonics
Senior Recruitment professional who loves her job, passionate about the company I represent and Brainport region in general. Hiring talent on a global scale with a focus on the candidate and its journey.
Topic: How to get that dream job (best practices to apply for a job)
Marjolein de Hooge
EU Head of Community Engagement Partnerships at ASML
Last January Marjolein de Hooge joined the Community Engagement team at ASML. In the past Marjolein has worked for companies as Deloitte, Hays, YER and DPG Media. She has broad experience in the recruitment, sales and media field and building & leading strong teams. In her previous role at DPG Media (largest media company in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark) she worked as a Sales Director. Part of her job was Community Engagement, which existed mainly from sponsorships and partnerships. Think of all the professional football clubs in the South of the Netherlands, but also of many cultural organizations and events. Marjolein lives in Veldhoven, is originally from Rotterdam and spent 5 years in Prague during her time at Deloitte.
She is married, has an 8 year old son, enjoys playing tennis, yoga, travelling.
Topic: How to survive in a male dominated work environment
Han Dirkx
Co-founder and CEO of Alphabeats
Han Dirkx is the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Alphabeats. Alphabeats is a Digital mental wellbeing platform that offers a new routine of mental wellness and excellence powered by your favorite music. Han Dirkx is a firm believer in the idea that inner peace creates outer peace: When you feel mentally well you not only benefit personally but it reflects directly to your partner, kids, family, friends and the world around you. He came up with the idea of Alphabeats because of his passion for mental wellbeing and desire to create a stress-free society for everyone. Through Alphabeats he has embarked upon a new journey to transport people to Alpha Mode. He is a practitioner of Yoga and meditation and an active sportsperson.
Han holds a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Maastricht and is a serial entrepreneur with a track record of incubating and growing technology companies. With strong strategic, commercial, and people management skills he has been able to turn purpose-driven, high-tech, and creative ideas into a successful business. Han brings a wealth of experience as a Senior Business Leader with over 13 years of experience in stimulating innovation and business. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Han is also the creator of contemporary alternative Raw Art. His aim in life is to empower and inspire individuals and organisations to use creativity to make a positive difference.
Topic: How to get that dream job (best practices to apply for a job)
Berdien Zwarthoed
Team Lead General Applications and Shared Services at Menzis
I help transform company culture and organisational change, by creating an agile environment. My WHY is to inspire people to do what inspires them, so they become leaders themselves.
Berdien worked for several Dutch hospitals, NXP, Epic and Philips. She now works at Menzis.
Topic: How to be a good leader
Betsy Lindsey
Co-founder and CFO of Aircision
Betsy Lindsey is Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of Aircision. A CERN Spinoff, Aircision has developed a next generation free space optics device for the backhaul of telecommunication. Betsy is a financial advisor and investor with a great passion for innovation and deep-tech. In the United States and Hong Kong, she worked in banking with technology startups and scaleups at Silicon Valley Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. In total, she brings over 20 years of international high-tech finance management and investment experience to the table. Prior to joining Aircision, Betsy was the Managing Director of Investor Relations at HighTechXL, a deep tech venture builder based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. She’s guided over 60 teams through the fundraising process and growth phase of their development.
Topic: How to find your way in your career
Martine Dubling
Recruitment Manager and Program Manager at Sioux Technologies
As the girl between the boys I grew up in a small town in Fryslân. After achieving my Software Engineering degree at the University I moved to the big city of Eindhoven. This is where the high-tech magic happens. I learned about Software & System Engineering and became a proud mom of a beautiful daughter. I passionately share the stories of our technical company Sioux Technologies and what we do to make the world a little better every day, so that our children can grow up on a beautiful planet. I believe that if you want something, you have to go for it. I believe that life will reward you for what you contribute. Being one of the first woman in a management position within our company, I know that this starts with hard work, and especially smart work. But it is also crucial to be kind and sincere, then others will help you to make your dreams come true! Never stop dreaming and believing in yourself. You are responsible for your own happiness. Live your life full and learn how to create and grab your chances.
Topic: How to get that dream job
Cheryl & Terry Boyd
Founders Dispatches Europe
Cheryl Boyd and Terry Boyd are co-founders and co-CEOs of Dispatches Media, which includes Dispatches Europe and ancillary companies. Along with a group of international investors, they founded Dispatches in Eindhoven in 2016, a communications company aimed at the global expat audience of about 17 million people. Before Dispatches, they founded Insider Louisville in 2010, one of the first pure-play digital media companies in the United States. A venture capitalist acquired IL in 2013. Kentucky natives, the Boyds have been married since 1991 and have lived in Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands. Both have backgrounds in media, and Cheryl Boyd has an extensive background in corporate sales and corporate events. She worked with Humana and other large clients, including the European team during the Ryder Cup in 2008, Breeders Cup and other international events.
Topic: How to be an entrepreneur
Saskia van der Velden
Benelux Senior Manager People & Organization | Leading Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in EuroNorth at Dassault Systèmes
Saskia is a hands-on HR Strategist with 20+ years of HR and Communications working experiences. She has a passion for the development and connection of people in an organization with an eye for the customer and the result. Her approach is pragmatic, proactive and solution-oriented. An employed entrepreneur. Specifically interested in STEM and Diversity & Inclusion.
Topic: How to survive in a male dominated work environment
Margot Nijkamp
Co-founder of ESTI, Ecosystem Thinking Institute
Margot Nijkamp-Diesfeldt is the co-founder of ESTI – Ecosystem Thinking Institute and is specialized in the human factor in open innovation. Margot’s career is characterized by the start-ups of organizations like Packard Bell Europe, Intermec EMEA, Emergency One and applied research institute Holst Centre. Margot has a background in Human Resources, Business Economics and Communications. Margot was involved in these organizations from the start on an MT-level. At the start-up of the Holst Centre in 2005, Margot developed a specific HR-strategy to let talent flourish in open innovation. After 5 years Holst Centre had been built up to 240 international talents, she set up the OpenSme program for niche markets by SME-companies. She is the creator of the EcoSystem Game, a game to learn the inner workings of ecosystems by experiencing it. Margot has done extensive research into the open innovation possibilities between education and the labor market and wrote a book “Samenscholing Geboden”, which is currently being translated into English. Writing novels and poetry under pseudonym is her great escape.
Topic: How to be a good leader
Topic: How to survive in a male dominated work environment
Maron Galama
Partner & co-founder Bluetivity
Curious to find out more about What makes You unique? What special values you can bring to a team/company? What particular skills and competences you already do have, but you are not yet fully aware of? Let’s meet! I am Maron Galama a depth psychologist with over 20 years of business experience. As a depth psychologist, I like to combine getting to the core by taking a deep dive and at the same time looking for practical possibilities that will bring you more clarity in your career.
What you will get:
- Recognize Your Uniqueness and Embrace it
- Enable yourself to grow more confidently
- Enhance your Selfconfidence
Topic: How to grow as an individual
Guus Frericks
Founder and CEO at HighTechXL
Entrepreneurial, results-oriented international business leader with strong strategic, analytical, commercial and people management skills. Proven track-record in starting up and growing new global businesses in emerging, dynamic and complex high tech domains. Champion of high-tech startups across the globe. Building successful companies is my passion.
Topic: How to be an entrepreneur
Lotte Geertsen
Director TMC Entrepreneurial Lab
I am an optimist who organizes, connects and likes to build bridges. As a business innovation architect, I develop with future-oriented strategies, particularly in the areas of technology, entrepreneurship and creativity. I develop business out of ideas. In addition, I wonder about technology and human interaction, and I believe that people make innovation happen. I like to build ecosystems with stakeholders and work for a better world of tomorrow.
Topic: How to be a good leader
Bilim Atli-Veltin
Senior Scientist at TNO
Dr. Bilim Atli-Veltin (PhD Penn State, 2009) is Senior Scientist at TNO in the Buildings, Infrastructure and Maritime unit, and Visiting Scientist at TU Delft Aerospace Engineering. Her research interests are next-gen lightweight LNG, LH2 tanks and cryogenic performance of thermoplastics. She is recipient of the “Young Excellent Researcher” award at TNO. She has BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from Aerospace Engineering with specialization in crashworthiness of helicopters. After graduating from The Pennsylvania State University in the US, she moved to the Netherlands to pursue her carrier. She has been working in the Oil & Gas and Maritime & Offshore domains. She has several journal articles and conference proceedings, and member of national and international technical committees. She is married, and mother of two children.
Topic: How to survive in a male dominated environment
Sepideh Khandan Del
Technical Project Lead at SMART Photonics
Sepideh was born and raised in Mashhad, Iran. In 2010 she moved to Stockholm, Sweden to peruse her master studies in Materials Science at KTH-Royal Institute of Technology. Over the years, she gained experience in the field of Micro/Nanotechnology in different research institutes in the USA and Germany. In 2018, she moved to the Netherlands to join TNO as a senior Process Engineer and since August 2020 she is working as a Technical Project Lead at Smart Photonics, a leading company in the field of InP-based Integrated Photonic Circuits. In addition, she is an ambassador for Fe+male Tech Heroes, as well as the Expats Spouses Initiative.
Topic: How to find your way in your career
Yolanda van Dinther
Director Software Development at Thermo Fischer Scientific
Yolanda van Dinther is Director Software Development in the Electron Microscopy division of Thermo Fisher Scientific (formerly known as FEI) leading Digital Transformation. She has been working in various leadership roles since 2001, ranging from software to system development across a variety of high-tech companies in the consumer electronics, healthcare, semiconductors, automotive, life sciences and printing industries. “I enjoy working with teams of professionals and bringing the organization to the next level, delivering on challenging assignments with a can-do mindset.” Yolanda holds a MSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Technology in Eindhoven and a Post Bachelor’s degree in Counseling Psychology.
Topic: How to be a good leader
Madeleen Stamm
Career coach
Madeleen offers practical personal leadership and career coaching to women who are looking for a more fulfilling life, a more impactful career, and a healthier balance between the two. She has over a decade of experience in coaching and recruiting engineers from all across the globe. As a busy mom of three and firm believer that women can change lives, she focuses her work on empowering women in the workplace and beyond.
Topic: How to grow as an individual
Núria Barceló i Peiró
R&D IT Senior Manager at NXP Semiconductors
Broad experience with working in different cultures within the IT industry. Managing an R&D IT team and services at NXP to provide solutions to our R&D colleagues so they can design and create the best chips. Also managing several projects to ensure NXP Intellectual Property is well protected. I have previously lived in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Madrid, near Zurich and finally now in Eindhoven. Thanks to that I can speak, and more important, understand several languages. I'm trying to make NPX’s workplace more diverse and inclusive, specially to and for women, by leading Europe - Women in NXP.
Topic: How to grow as an individual
Helen Kardan
Senior Account Manager Japan at ASML
Helen Kardan received a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and M.Sc. in Computer Sciences from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. After working for several years in various positions in innovation management and business development in high-tech industries, including Semiconductor and Flexible Electronics, she joined ASML as part of New Business Development team responsible for identifying new business domains for ASML’s future roadmaps as well as supporting high-tech eco-system and start-ups in the Eindhoven region. Since 2021 she has a new position at ASML: sr. account manager Japan. In all her functions she actively promotes diversity and inclusion as a driving force for collaboration and innovation, supporting initiatives that redefine leadership and new approaches to match the needs of current high tech industry.
Topic: How to find your way in your career
Gareth Thomas
CEO of VersionBay
Gareth Thomas is one of the Co-Founders of VersionBay with the vision to empower companies to make the most of their software stacks. He is mainly responsible for Business Development, Sales and Marketing. Gareth is very passionate about technology and is fueled by enthusiastic new ideas and thoughts. The decision to start VersionBay is due to his continuous will to embrace change, to adapt and to live life with no regrets. Gareth was born in Johannesburg but has lived in 7 different countries, of which his favorite country was Macau. He loves traveling and exploring new places with different people. One of the most marking moments in his life was when he traveled alone to New York. While walking in the streets of Manhattan he realized that anything would be possible if you really want it. "Most people are always impressed when I share my story of how and why I started a company. Typically the next step is a personal justification why others haven’t done it. I find myself often trying to explain how the startup world works and I am more than happy to help people break those conceptions about how hard/easy it is to create a company."
Topic: How to be an entrepreneur
Clara Otero Perez
Senior Director of System Innovations at NXP Semiconductors
Clara Otero Pérez is Director Systems Innovations for Automotive at NXP Semiconductor in Eindhoven (NL). She is responsible for scouting new systems and applications where NXP’s products would play a role and build proof of concepts and demonstrators for those new applications such as cooperative connected car, autonomous driving and UAV. After graduating in Physics by the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, she started to work for Philips Research in Eindhoven (NL) as a research scientist in the field of real-time systems and multimedia processors. In 2006 she moved to NXP and started working on automotive and secure connectivity related projects. In 2008 she became department manager driving innovation activities both internal as well as with partners in subsidy projects in the areas of IoT, connected car and cooperative mobility.
Topic: How to find your way in your career
Moderators Fe+male Tech Heroes
From left to right: Vivian de Corti, Karina García Del Real, Ingelou Stol, Letícia Batista, Hilde de Vocht, Anke Jutten, Sandra Hijink.
