Dr. Sébastien Foucaud, Co-Founder & Managing Director

Sébastien has extensively focused his career in deriving insights from data and transferring them into knowledge and products, first in Physics and then for Businesses, by using the power of Data technology and Machine learning. Throughout his career he has been leading teams in Data Science, Data Engineering, Data Analytics, Risk management and Business Intelligence across various sectors. He served as Head of Data Science for classified organizations like Scout24 and Naspers Limited, as well as for a Fintech company.
Sébastien built his expertise through a 15-year-long career in Astronomy, at Professor level, at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China), at the National Taiwan Normal University (Taiwan), and as a Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham (UK).

Dr. Robert Berendes, Chairman of the Board

Robert is a Venture Partner at Boston-based Flagship Ventures and a Client Service Partner at a-connect, where he leads the development of the agribusiness, food, and chemical industries. He is passionate about building businesses – particularly those motored by technology innovation and growth into new markets. He is also a Board Member of Verdesian and holds a PhD in Biophysics from the Max Planck Institute, Germany.

Nils Hagander, Vice Chairman of the Board

Nils is an entrepreneur and Co-Founder of a-connect, Vice Chairman at Sécheron Hasler Intl. and a Board Member of UrbanAlps AG. He is passionate about making a difference to people and companies. During his 30 years of experience in professional services, he has always engaged in attracting, developing and inspiring great talent. As a board member, investor and consulting team leader, he has shaped the future of many companies and institutions, serving clients around the world on their most pressing and important issues.

Dr. Paul von Bünau, Member of the Board

Dr. Paul von Bünau has more than 10 years of experience in implementing data science projects within large organizations. He is the Managing Director at the data science agency idalab, specialising in machine learning, AI, mathematical modeling and data strategy. Paul focuses on integrating strategy, methodology, and product perspectives. He previously worked at SAP, Fraunhofer, Deutsche Bank, and RDRS Bangladesh. Paul holds a PhD in data science from TU Berlin, an MSc in pure mathematics (St Andrews, Scotland) and a BSc in computer science.

Prof. Donald Kossmann, Member of the Advisory Board

Prof. Donald Kossmann is a professor for Computer Science at ETH Zurich, Switzerland as well as a Principal Researcher at Microsoft. His research interests lie in the area of data management in the cloud, i.e. data visualization & analytics and data security and privacy.

Besides his academic achievements he is a co-founder of i-TV-T AG, a company that develops Web-based information systems and the co-founder of XQRL Inc., a company that develops XML database technology and was aquired by BEA Systems in 2002. Furthermore he is a co-founder of the ETH spin-off Teralytics, the leading expert in big data analytics for mobile carriers.

He held positions at the University of Maryland, the IBM Almaden Research Center, the University of Passau, the Technical University of Munich, and the University of Heidelberg. Prof. Kossmann received his MS in 1991 from the University of Karlsruhe and completed his PhD in 1995 at the Technical University of Aachen.