Our BOLD Judges

Discover our BOLD jury board! Market leaders, innovators and change-makers around the 4 corners of the globe join us in the judging process of the boldest projects.

MAURIZIO ROSSI

Chairperson of BOLD Awards, curiosity driven dreamer and always a keen observer, Maurizio father of four likes to discover and understand differences of people's lifestyles and their cultures. He's fascinated how technologies impact our day life and about their influence in the society and cultures, thanks to his dynamic personality he has developed an important network of international connections.

CHAIRPERSON

EPI LUDVIK

Epi is the Founder & CEO of Crowdsourcing Week. In 2008, he created Ludvik + Partners - one of New York’s hottest boutique virtual ad agencies built on a 100% crowdsourcing model. Epi Ludvik is one of the pioneers in the crowdsourcing ad space, an industry expert and thought leader in entertainment advertising - including public relations, event production, experiential marketing, consumer advertising and digital marketing.

CO-CHAIRPERSON

Simon Hodgkins

CMO • President • Editor in Chief • FounderSimon is the Chief Marketing Officer at Vistatec, Founder of the Think Global Forum, the Think Global Awards and Editor in Chief of VTQ magazine. Prior to this, Simon held the positions of Marketing Director and Country Manager, including leadership of the global SaaS/cloud services with Sage Plc (FTSE 100 global software organization). He has extensive experience in strategic leadership, including directorships across Europe, the US, and the UAE. Simon is an Ambassador at the CMO Alliance and President of Club CMO (Previously The CMO Club.)Simon's pioneering work in marketing has not gone unnoticed. His efforts have been recognized with prestigious international awards, including Top 50 Most Influential CMO and Top 100 CMO in Business and Finance. He is listed among the Top 1000 Inspiring figures in Europe by the London Stock Exchange, a testament to his global influence in the field of marketing.In addition to these accomplishments, Simon is a member of the AdAge advisory panel, a prominent speaker, an investor, and the Founder and Host of several award-winning podcasts and video shows.

Design

Cosmo Scharf

Cosmo Scharf is an Emmy-nominated product designer and entrepreneur with a decade of experience in XR. He co-founded Vision Hack and visionOS Dev Partners to support visionOS developers. Previously, Scharf created MovieBot, an AI-powered 3D animation app, and Mindshow, a VR platform for animated content creation. He also started VRLA, one of the world's largest immersive technology expos.

VisionPro Tech

Clive Reffell

Clive’s UK-based marketing career has followed the sector’s digital transition from high capital investments paid to mass-media owners to that of working among a multitude of bloggers, influencers and social media addicts. In order to establish his own USP as a Marketing Consultant he decided to focus on crowdfunding, which at the time was in its infancy, and the marketing efforts required to be successful. Clive has immersed himself in the sector, advising users - actual and potential, working with platforms, investing in startups, and writing for BOLD Awards and Crowdsourcing Week since 2016.

Crowdfunding

Aisling MacRunnels

Aisling is a dynamic and courageous business executive with extensive experience in Silicon Valley’s tech and cybersecurity markets. An Irish immigrant, she excels in understanding industry dynamics and scaling companies from startups to large enterprises. Currently, she is a board member at TagCyber and advisor to several tech firms. Aisling was a founding member of Synack and served in key roles at Sun Microsystems, contributing to the early development of Java and other open-source technologies.

Cybersecurity

Sandra Fazenda Almeida

Sandra Fazenda Almeida is the Executive Director of APDC – Digital Business Community since 2018, with over 15 years of experience in leadership, digital transformation, and strategic development. She focuses on driving impactful initiatives in the Portuguese digital ecosystem, including the UPskill Program, EVOLVE – Digital Transformation Summit, the Digital Business Congress, and several awards recognizing the power of technologies in shaping society and the economy. Sandra is also a Board Member of the WSA – World Summit Awards, promoting digital innovations with social impact. Passionate about innovation, Sandra is committed to fostering collaboration and leveraging technology for social and economic advancement, with a particular focus on the technologies that are shaping the future of work and the way we live.

Future of Work

Dr. Adam CHEE

Dr, Adam CHEE is a seasoned professional with expertise in healthcare, informatics, innovation, and the business dimensions of the healthcare ecosystem. He bridges the gap between key opinion leaders and stakeholders across operational, strategic, and governmental levels, forging partnerships with multinational corporations and startups. Leveraging data, technology, and design, Adam drives transformative changes in health systems, promoting evidence-based practices across the Asia Pacific and Middle East.With over two decades of experience, including leadership roles at SingHealth and advisory positions in both MNCs and startups, Adam's expertise spans primary care to global NGOs. He holds multiple leadership positions, including Chair of HL7 Singapore and faculty appointments at prestigious universities like Taipei Medical University and Swansea University. Recognized as a thought leader, Adam frequently speaks at global platforms and has published three books. He holds fellowships with HL7, HIMSS, ACHI, and the Royal Society of Public Health.

HealthTech

Marcus Howard

Marcus is a lifelong gamer, serial entrepreneur, featured speaker and international startup advisor. In 2013, he launched an indie game platform (ProjectMQ) that he scaled to 40 countries around the world. Since 2017, he's been helping brands of all sizes like the University of Kentucky and the Republic of Estonia use video games to digitally engage their entire communities. His book "Innovate: Gaming & Esports" that teaches gamers, parents, teachers, and brands about the business and STEAM career opportunities in the gaming industry is 5-star rated, and has been shipped to 18 countires on 6 continents worldwide. In 2020, The Game Awards selected Marcus as one of 50 professionals for "Future Class," a worldwide cohort of leaders building a more inclusive future for the gaming industry. In 2021, LinkedIn selected him as one of its ecosystem's top 20 voices for sports. Marcus is always eager to chat about (spatial scent in) video games, and you can find him on LinkedIn.

eGaming

Gareth Christian-Lim

20+ years as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Product Officer (CPO), Director and technology leader with a proven record of success in the Crypto, B2B, B2C, Machine Learning, AI, Sports and Defi industries.Inspiring, inclusive, and collaborative leader, skilled in empowering and leading top talent teams to success. Strong focus on business development, and strategic growth, utilising disruptive technology.Strategic-thinking & problem solving, aligns technology with strategic business goals. Brings well-honed skills in connecting business strategy with digital innovation and business investment, driving investor ROI.Experienced in building and scaling innovative products, within Crypto, Blockchain, DAO, Ecommerce, Payments, Retail, and AI as CEO and CPO. Driven sustainable business growth, generating millions in revenue.

Crypto

Mike Plichta, CFA

Mike has over 15 years of experience at the intersection of startup, corporate, and venture capital ecosystems. As Managing Partner for the APAC region at PropTech Farm, he leads a Singapore-based Venture Capital fund backing early-stage real estate technology companies across Southeast Asia. The fund is part of the global PropTech Farm family from Sweden. Mike also serves as an expert at the Innovation Fund, one of the world's largest funding programmes for net-zero and innovative technologies, with EUR 40 billion in total funding from the European Commission.His journey began in corporate finance at Deloitte's financial advisory team before transitioning to venture capital, where he combined his passion for tech with financial expertise. Starting in pre-seed investments, he progressed to early-stage VC before joining Innogy Innovation Hub, the global CVC of a leading European energy provider. There, he focused on business development, establishing partnerships that led to multiple commercial contracts for the fund's PropTech portfolio companies.In his most recent role before PropTech Farm, Mike led Colliers' PropTech Advisory, where he successfully built a PropTech product portfolio during the global pandemic and implemented smart building and hybrid workplace solutions for numerous landlords and tenants.

Proptech

Mattia De Dominicis

Head of R&D with successful track record in R&D, leading innovation, product development, launch and roll out of consumer good products in Household, Personal Care, Beverages, Health OTC and Medical Devices. Lived and worked in Italy, US, UK, South Africa, France and Germany having experience in inspiring multicultural teams to outperform through new vision. Experience in growing brands through product innovation and in managing complex projects. Expertise on agile practices (design thinking, Lean start-up, Scrum) and on consumer centric innovation.

Open Innovation

Valéria Carrete

Valeria Carrete is a seasoned marketing executive with over 30 years of experience in driving revenue growth and innovation. As the leader of R2U, SocialGen.ai, and Esims, she integrates advanced technologies into strategic marketing initiatives, transforming sectors such as retail, social media, and telecommunications. Valeria excels in business strategy development, market analysis, and team leadership. She has successfully forged international partnerships and spearheaded the launch of innovative AI-driven platforms. Currently, she also serves as the Vice President of Issuers at Pagos.org, where she contributes to strategic growth in the payments industry.

TravelTech

Christopher William Rohe

Mr. Rohe is President/Co-Founder of Rogue Industries® and CEO/Co-Founder of GuardianSatTM. He specializes in commercializing technologies for business and government, with expertise in NextGen IT, AI, advanced manufacturing, and testing/training solutions. He has led over 100 large-scale government projects and development efforts since 2000.Previously, Mr. Rohe was Senior Business Development Manager at Lockheed Martin, Co-Founder of Stryke Industries, and a strategic consultant. At Rogue Industries, he led major contracts including a $5B Emerging Technologies Contract and the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness campaign. At GuardianSatTM, he secured a prestigious NSF Small Business Innovation Award and was recognized in the Top 10 Space Tech for 2024.He has served as President of the National Advanced Mobility Consortium Board and is active in various Harvard and Air Force Academy committees. Mr. Rohe lives in Amelia Island, Florida with his wife and four children, and is dedicated to innovation, responsible development, and inspiring youth in STEM fields.

SpaceTech

Irena Cronin

Irena Cronin is SVP of Product for DADOS Technology which is creating a data analytics and visualization platform for the Apple Vision Pro. She is also the CEO of Infinite Retina which provides research to help companies develop and implement AI, AR and other new technologies for their businesses. Previous to this, she worked for several years as an equity research analyst and gained extensive experience in evaluating both public and private companies. Cronin has a joint MBA/MA from the University of Southern California and an MS with Distinction in Management and Systems from New York University. She graduated with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Economics (summa cum laude). She has near-fluent proficiency in Mandarin, intermediate in Japanese and beginning in Korean.

Metaverse

Eddie Avil

Eddie Avil is an entrepreneur and metaverse strategist driving India's AR/VR and future technology sectors. He champions disruptive innovations and advocates for a decentralized, inclusive future.Key Contributions:Founder of IMMERSION, India's premier VR conference Founder of XROM (www.xrom.in), an XR hub combining news, consulting & marketplace Podcasting: Hosts two groundbreaking Indian podcasts:"The ONE'S Changing The WORLD" (www.youtube.com/@toctwpodcast) "XROM Podcast" (www.youtube.com/xrompodcast) Has interviewed over 450 industry leaders Professional Role:Metaverse strategist at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. Board member, Lifeboat Foundation Eddie's work bridges technology and societal benefit, positioning him as a key figure in India's evolving tech landscape.

AR/VR

David Afolabi

David Afolabi is an experienced technology solutions and technical program leader with more than a decade years of experience leading the design, development & implementation of secure and scalable software products, solutions or systems; cloud solutions, systems integration, intelligent (AI) and robotic process automation; and data solutions, enterprise architecture, etc. and strategically aligning technology product-solutions capabilities with business needs to solve problems, enhance customer experiences and achieve overall business goals. Beyond the technical skills, David's thought leadership in the industry is evident by invitations to speak at conferences, where he shares insights on technologies and strategic capabilities.

IoT

Arturo Rodriguez

Arturo is the co-founder of NotCentralised, a venture studio in the emerging tech space. With a robust background in financial markets, he has experience modeling and trading exotic derivatives and systematic strategies at Merrill Lynch and RBS, where he led the Nordic Desk in London. He later managed a systematic CTA at Freepoint Commodities in London. Beyond his banking career, Arturo has been innovated multiple novel solutions in emerging technologies, including developing a structured finance blockchain platform showcased during the Reserve Bank of Australia’s CBDC pilot. At sike.ai, Arturo has spearheaded innovative methods for the repeatable execution of prompt-based workflows essential for regulated activities, earning recognition from industry leaders such as Microsoft and NVIDIA.

DeFi

Ash Kaluarachchi

Ash has been responsible for multiple initiatives enabling growth for early to mid stage EdTech companies, including the most financially successful EdTech program in history. To date, these accelerators have enabled more than 3,000+ education companies, including 10% of global EdTech unicorns, in partnership with organizations such as Techstars, Google, Amazon, Kaplan, Intel, NYU, and Columbia University. As CEO at StartEd and Producer of EDTECH WEEK, he manages a network of hundreds of senior executives who grow, invest in, and acquire companies solving problems in Pre-K12, HigherEd, Workforce and Adult Learning.

EdTech

Jose Luis Cordeiro

José Luis is a world citizen in our small planet in a big unknown universe. He was born in Latin America, from European parents, was educated in Europe and North America, and has worked extensively in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. He has studied, visited and worked in over 130 countries in 5 continents.

Robotics

Rajiv Avacharmal

Rajiv Avacharmal is a leading expert in the field of AI/ML risk management, with a particular focus on generative AI. With a distinguished career spanning over 13 years, Rajiv has held senior leadership roles at several multinational banks and currently serves as the Corporate Vice President of AI and Model Risk at a leading Life Insurance Company. Rajiv's research interests lie at the intersection of AI/ML, risk management, and explainable AI.

Insurtech

Anna Gevorgyan

Anna is a seasoned innovation management professional with 12+ years' of experience working in private & non-profit sectors. She has rich experience in open innovation, tech & science ecosystem orchestration, and crowdsourcing. She focuses on building impactful partnerships and implementing strategic programs globally. As a Lead of External Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, she is orchestrating the potential of open innovation ecosystems addressing the product teams' needs. Anna cares about social innovation, sustainability & technology for social good.

Crowdsourcing

Anita Puppe

Dr. Anita Puppe transitioned from a medical background into AI a decade ago, with global experience including a year in Israel, where she witnessed innovative technologies in action. She is currently completing IBM's Quantum Schooling program, focusing on quantum applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Anita is deeply passionate about the technologies shaping our future.

Quantum Computing

Bryan Kramer

Proud Father of Human-to-Human: H2H. Executive Coach, Keynote Speaker, Investor, Virtual & In-Person Global Keynote Speaker, CEO of 2 Companies, and TEDTalker. Bryan Kramer is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author, and Forbes contributor. As President and co-owner of PureMatter, a Silicon Valley global marketing agency since 2001 and CEO of H2H Companies, he sparked the Human-to-Human “H2H” global movement that sets out to humanize business through simpler communication, empathy, and celebrating our imperfections. His TED Talk featured a TED “first” – allowing mobile devices during the event to illustrate his belief that even a small inspirational share holds the power to change the world for the better. Bryan has spoken all over the world, over 200 times at global companies including Mastercard, L‘oreal Paris, NASA, GoDaddy, Harvard University, Charles Schwab, SXSW, International Culinary Institute, Verizon, Dell, NFL, and Hawaii Lodging & Tourism, to name a few.

SaaS

Andreas Fuchs

Andreas Fuchs holds a degree in Business Administration specializing in Marketing and International Management from the University of Mannheim. He began his career as a trainee at Audi, later advancing to roles in sales and marketing across Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the UK, and Spain. In 1997-1998, he established Audi in Argentina.In 1999, he joined Toyota Motor Europe in Brussels as Head of Marketing for Lexus in Central Europe. By 2004, he took on responsibilities for marketing, public relations, and business development for the Toyota Formula 1 team in Cologne.From September 2011 to December 2016, Andreas was Head of the Toyota Group Representative Office in Berlin, overseeing Governmental Affairs and advanced technology programs, including hydrogen initiatives. Concurrently, he served as Head of Press and Public Relations at Toyota Deutschland GmbH from September 2013 to November 2014. Since January 2017, he has led the Toyota Mobility Foundation's Berlin Office, focusing on sustainable mobility solutions and integrating renewable energy in Europe and Africa.

Mobility

Gerald Krainer

Gerald is a global executive with over 20 years of international experience in the sustainable mobility industry. He navigated both established organizations and start-ups. He is deeply committed to digital transformation and consistently strives to deliver meaningful value to customers. His visionary and opportunity-seeking mindset, combined with comprehensive expertise, positions him as a leader in the field. His pioneering work in the automotive business highlights his dedication to driving innovation.

Sustainability

Osama Manzar

Osama Manzar is a Senior Ashoka Fellow, British Chevening Scholar, and advisor to WiDEF. After five years in tech journalism, he founded the Digital Empowerment Foundation in 2002, which has digitally empowered over 35 million people through 2,000 digital centers.He has influenced significant policies like India’s National Digital Literacy Mission and PM-WANI, and has led initiatives against misinformation, training over 500 women fact-checkers in rural India.Osama serves on several boards and advisories and is recognized by The Hindu for his extensive travels across 10,000 villages. He also writes columns for Mint and has co-authored more than 20 books.

AgriTech

Shweta Agrawal

Experienced engineering leader with a 20-year track record of success in system design, performance optimization, and data management, with deep expertise in machine learning/AI and advertising technology. At Google (12+ years), spearheaded multiple xxx-million dollar projects, including leading YouTube's TV monetization strategy to achieve double-digit growth through innovative formats, predictive modeling, and quality tuning. Built and managed high-performing teams of 25+ engineers. Prior experience includes driving growth at Google Translate community platform, architecting a core auto-bidding platform at Sokrati (acquired), and optimizing database queries at Sybase (now SAP).

Our BOLD Judges

MAURIZIO ROSSI

CHAIRPERSON

EPI LUDVIK

CO-CHAIRPERSON

Simon Hodgkins

Design

Cosmo Scharf

VisionPro Tech

Clive Reffell

Crowdfunding

Aisling MacRunnels

Cybersecurity

Sandra Fazenda Almeida

Future of Work

Dr. Adam CHEE

HealthTech

Marcus Howard

eGaming

Gareth Christian-Lim

Crypto

Mike Plichta, CFA

Proptech

Mattia De Dominicis

Open Innovation

Valéria Carrete

TravelTech

Christopher William Rohe

SpaceTech

Irena Cronin

Metaverse

Eddie Avil

AR/VR

David Afolabi

IoT

Arturo Rodriguez

DeFi

Ash Kaluarachchi

EdTech

Jose Luis Cordeiro

Robotics

Rajiv Avacharmal

Insurtech

Anna Gevorgyan

Crowdsourcing

Anita Puppe

Quantum Computing

Bryan Kramer

SaaS

Andreas Fuchs

Mobility

Gerald Krainer

Sustainability

Osama Manzar

AgriTech

Shweta Agrawal

AI

awards ceremony dinner // Lisbon (March 28th)

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