Dénes Csiszár

With a tech and business background, he is an entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in business development and startup management. After spending a decade in the corporate field designing software and leading tech consulting for large customers, he now leds multiple startup programs and accelerators. Dénes educated or mentored over 250 startups during the years. He is board member of the Hungarian Business Angel Network (HUNBAN) and responsible for the Entrepreneurship track of the Corvinus University of Budapest.

Omar El Zayat

Omar El Zayat is Strategic Advisor at EPSI. He served as Head of Innovation Integration for Paris 2024, where he led, designed and implemented the Games’ first ever innovation strategy and process. Former director of Le Tremplin, Europe’s first sports innovation hub, Omar has also founded a startup and started his career at EY. He holds engineering degrees from UC Berkeley and Arts et Métiers ParisTech.

Alberto Bichi

Alberto Bichi is the Executive Director of the European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI) since 2010, leading a European membership network focused on innovation in sport, physical activity, health and leisure. He coordinates EU research and innovation projects aligned with EPSI’s strategic agenda and collaborates with multiple European technology platforms and regional sport innovation initiatives such as ClusSport. Previously, he served for over 17 years as Secretary General of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), strengthening its role as the leading voice of the European sporting goods sector. His career also includes experience at the European Commission, the Foreign Trade Association (FTA), and senior government affairs roles representing the German and Danish footwear industries at the EU level.

Tomas Pulido

"Tomas is an Engineer turned Oil&Gas Operator turned Startup Strategic Advisor.
He started in oil & gas exploration before moving into entrepreneurship for sport event filming with commercial drones. He has advised European and Israeli startups on Go-to-Market, public, and private fundraising strategies, particularly in deep tech sectors such as MedTech/HealthTech, Biotech, ClimateTech, AI/ML, among others.

He has also been a Venture Scout for startups aiming for European Programmes such as The EIC Accelerator, combined with scouting for a German VC (pre-seed, DACH focused). Besides, he is an Angel Investor in a pre-seed Spanish Business Angel Group and Startup Lab Mentor at IE Business School.

Sports-related: Tomas played 15 years Baseball and had tryouts with MLB Teams (Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins)."

Audra Shallal

Audra Shallal is a bilingual American national residing in France. She is the Co-founder and Co-Chair of EBAN Sports and a Co-founder of Flying Finn Angels, bringing over 25 years of experience in entrepreneurship, pitch coaching, and Investor Ready programs. Audra advises international organizations such as OECD and the European Commission and teaches at prestigious institutions, conducting the global “Craft a Killer Pitch” workshop. She has been instrumental in launching the Enterprise Financing Network within the MENA-OECD Investment Programme, connecting entrepreneurs with financiers and policymakers.

Audra is a Board Member of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN), the Sophia Business Angels (SBA), as well as an Executive Committee Member for EBAN Communities. She serves as an Expert Jury Member for the European Commission’s European Innovation Council (EIC) and the SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Additionally, she is on the Advisory Board of the African Federation of Business Angels Network (AFBAN) and Tenmou, the Advisory Board of Impulse 4 Women (I4W), and is a Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC) ambassador for France. As a WOMEN TechEU partner, she supports women-led deep tech startups in Europe. She is also an Expert for InnoHSupport, an EU-funded project aimed at enhancing innovation in healthcare through the strategic use of public procurement.

A passionate advocate for women in entrepreneurship, Audra actively promotes women entrepreneurs and business angels in the EMEA region. Outside of her professional life, she is a former professional classical ballet dancer and currently a high-level athlete in competitive fencing and horseshow jumping, having earned medals at national and European levels. Audra holds dual BA degrees in International Business and International Economics, an MBA, and a DEA in Strategic Management.

Francesca Passeri

With a consolidated expertise in Alternative Finance and Crowdfunding, as well as Business Creation and Sports, Francesca is driven by a burning passion for innovation. Spanning from market value and performance to social impact, her key focus is on intercepting the many elements and implications that fall in the space between these two poles. Having worked primarily in the world of crowdfunding and alternative finance, she was Deputy Director of the European Crowdfunding Network, co-founder and Business Development Manager of WEgate, the European Community of women entrepreneurs, and now Head of Business Department at EPSI.

Juan Fuentes

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Jari Mieskonen

Seasoned venture manager with experience of some +120 direct investments mainly in Nordics and Baltics area. He has been a board member of all direct investments he has executed and served several years in Invest Europe venture council, FVCA board and is currently chairman of Nordic Venture Network. He is more like generalist than focused specialist what comes to technologies. He has always protected founder’s interest in complex deal structures and kept neutral professionalism in deal making. Based on his long experience in the venture industry he has seen several cycles in the market and knows that timing is sometimes more important than maximum value.

Daniel Kulig

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