VP, CSEM

Bahaa Roustoum is the Vice President, Marketing & Business Development at CSEM.

Before joining CSEM, Bahaa had more than 7 years of industrial innovation management experience with business leaders (Swatch Group/Belenos Clean Power Holding), where he oversaw several projects related to new venture creation and R&D projects in the sustainable energy domain.

Bahaa holds a Master’s in Chemical Engineering from the Ecole Européenne d’Ingénieurs de Chimie, Polymères et Matériaux (ECPM)’of Strasbourg, France and a PhD in Electrochemical Engineering with a Post-Doc fellowship, from EPFL in 2006. Besides these degrees, Bahaa has pursued a full range of business courses including an Executive MBA in Management and Corporate Finance from ‘HEC Lausanne’ in 2012, and a Certificate of Leading Digital Business Transformation from ‘IMD’ in 2019.

Tech4Growth Founder & Program Chair, EPFL Innovation Park

Lan Zuo Gillet is the Deputy Managing Director and Head of start-up training, incubation, acceleration and expert program of EPFL Innovation Park. She is also an Expert of Innosuisse – the Swiss Innovation Agency.  She is the founder of several flagship programs at EPFl Innovation Park (Tech4Growth, Tech4Eva, Tech4trust etc.) in partnership with large corporates. She is the Program Chair of the current conference.

Head of innovation strategy and Venture Building, Romande Energie SA (RE Ventures)

Laurent Botaya leverages 15 years in engineering, business, and sustainability, he has launched ventures, grown companies, and developed impactful strategies across tech, healthcare, transportation, and energy.

Currently, he leads a team at Romande Energie that incubates, accelerates, and provides strategic guidance to cleantech ventures.

Renewable Energy Project Manager, Romande Energie

Marie Chenais is a Renewable Energy Project Manager at Romande Energie. She develops photovoltaic projects financed by Romande Energie that enable its customers to reduce their electricity bill. In this context, she also implements agrivoltaic projects for which photovoltaic systems are placed on top of agricultural crops.

CEO & Co-Founder, Pi Imaging

Ivan Michel Antolović is CEO & Co-Founder of Pi Imaging since 2019. He received the M.S. degree (cum laude) from the University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, in 2012, and the Ph.D. degree from TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands, in 2018. He has held a post-doctoral position at EPFL, Switzerland, from 2018 to 2021. His research focused on large-format photon counting single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) imagers and small-format time-correlated SPAD imagers for microscopy applications. 

Vice President, Micro & Nano Systems Business Unit, CSEM

Michele Palmieri has a vast experience in the field of Micro and Nano Systems, with leadership roles in various companies such as CSEM, Innosuisse, THALLOSJET, Inpeco, and STMicroelectronics. Their expertise spans across MEMS sensors and actuators, ink-jet printing systems, laboratory automation systems, thermal and piezo ink-jet platforms, and biochip technology. Michele also has a strong educational background with degrees in Electronic Engineering, Management of the Innovation Process, and various certifications in project management and complex business contexts.

Managing Director (SPEI), State of Vaud

Raphaël Conz, after studying business administration at the University of Neuchâtel, began his career as a marketing specialist at the Federal Office for Agriculture. He then joined FELCO SA, where he held various marketing and sales positions, including involvement in the launch of an Australian subsidiary. In 2002, he joined the Vaud Economic Development Agency as a project manager, eventually becoming the head of a unit focused on supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry. He also served as deputy director for an organization responsible for attracting foreign companies in French-speaking Switzerland. Mr. Conz, with a DAS in entrepreneurship and business development, briefly assumed the position of head of the Department for the Promotion of the Economy and Innovation in 2018. Additionally, he represents the State of Vaud in various entities within the Vaud economic promotion network. Recently, the State Council of the Canton of Vaud appointed Raphaël Conz as the Head of the Department for the Promotion of the Economy and Innovation, effective from April 1, 2023.

Co-Founder & CEO, Rayform – THE RAYY

Romain is the co-founder and CEO of the EPFL spin-off Rayform. During his computer-science master in Lausanne, he worked on the development of the computational caustics technology which lead to founding the startup in 2016. Passionate about the intersection of computer-science, numerical fabrication and design, he drives the application of the light-shaping technology to domains such as banknotes, jewelry, art installations, and more.