Dorothy Khadem-Missagh

Dorothy Khadem-Missagh is an Austrian pianist and conductor. She is performing internationally at prestigious concert venues such as Musikverein Vienna, Vienna Konzerthaus, Seoul Seognam Art Center, Beethoven Haus Bonn, Philharmonie Luxemburg and at renowned festivals such as the Kyoto Int. Festival, Verbier Festival, Palermo Classica, Liszt Festival Raiding and Styriarte Graz. As a soloist and conductor, she gave concerts with world-class orchestras such as the Tonkünstler Orchester, Wiener KammerOrchester and Seoul Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a prize winner of numerous international competitions such as the Beethoven Competition Bonn and the New York International Piano Competition. In her mid-twenties she founded her annual festival “Beethoven Frühling” making her a role model in the field of classical music as a young and female founder and artistic director.

Alisa Jahnke

Alisa Jahnke is the co-founder of Purelei, a German jewelry brand she started with her husband Frederik and Etienne Espenner. The Mannheim-based D2C company, which takes its inspiration from Hawaii, made €50 million in revenue.

Antonia Rados

Antonia Rados studied Politics in Paris and Salzburg. She worked as a journalist for public broadcasters ORF, WDR and ZDF as well as for TV channels RTL and ntv in Germany. For 40 years, Rados reported from war zones and interviewed many influential figures, most notably Muammar al-Gaddafi and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Lena Lucki

Lena Lucki, an influential figure in the creator and influencer industry, currently leads a team with a dynamic mix of passion and innovation at influence.vision. Within the influencer marketing landscape, Lena strategically manages collaborations with major brands like Dyson, Samsung, Mercedes, and Spar. She holds a managerial position, taking charge of operations and services, showcasing her leadership prowess at influence.vision. Beyond her professional achievements, Lena is committed to uplifting and inspiring young females, guiding them in their growth, encouraging ownership of their space, and fostering their journey toward becoming leaders. As a young female leader, Lena aims to dispel age-related barriers, motivating women to break boundaries and achieve their aspirations.

Photo credit: Valerie Voithofer

Lisa Krapinger-Rüther

Lisa Krapinger-Rüther studied International Business and is CEO and Co-Founder of femtech startup Breathe Ilo, which produced a cycle tracker. Today, Lisa is Head of Digital at Neoh, an Austrian startup producing sugar-free snacks.

Claudia Neuwirth

Claudia Neuwirth, an Austrian entrepreneur, stands as the Co-Founder and CEO of “Novritsch”, a prominent player in the airsoft industry. Under her leadership, she transformed the brand from a notable Youtube channel into a thriving multi-million euro enterprise. Claudia is not only dedicated to the success of her company but is also passionately committed to fostering female leadership.

Haya Molcho

Haya Molcho grew up in Tel Aviv and in Germany, before settling in Vienna. She is a renowned chef and in 2009 founded NENI. The company runs 12 restaurants in Europe and additionally distributes products under its own brand through large supermarket chains. Today, Molcho runs the company together with three of her four sons.

Photo credit: Philipp Horak

Ulla Wannemacher

Ulla Wannemacher founded Ringana together with Andreas Wilfinger and is now an authorized signatory of the company. Based in Styria, Ringana has been producing organic, vegan and microplastics-free cosmetic products since 1996. Today, the company exports to over 30 countries, most recently generating a turnover of around €195 million. Wannemacher describes herself as the “belly” of Ringana, while Wilfinger is the “head”. She says: “He is the sober numbers person, I rely a lot on my intuition.”

Carina Roth

Carina’s mission is to engage and elevate the next generation of successful entrepreneurs and investors creating exceptional impact. She co-founded WisR, an HR- and age tech startup, in 2017 to tackle the problems of an aging workforce by matching retirees again for project-based work and supporting corporates with the loss of their critical experts. Building an age tech for over 4 years she learned how underserved taboo tech and diverse founded ventures are and formed a deep passion to include and build for all people. Besides investing in diverse teams at Calm/Storm, she enjoys sharing her own learnings as a founder and will help grow the fund’s brand. Previously, Carina was a Commodities Trader in Geneva. She holds an MBA from Webster University, is a Forbes 30 under 30 in Technology and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in Social Entrepreneurship.

Photo credit: Klaus Vyhnalek

Sarah Schlagenhauf

Sarah Schlagenhauf's entrepreneurial journey is marked by the creation and growth of two successful ventures, showcasing her adeptness in merging strategic insight and vision with agile team leadership. Her expertise spans emerging technologies across diverse sectors like banking, real estate, luxury and media. With a solid academic foundation in law and hands-on experience in strategic consulting, marketing, and business development, Sarah navigates the entrepreneurial landscape with both drive and a notable impact, showcasing a knack for transforming visions into tangible success. Her latest venture, Vivents, stands at the forefront of integrating Web3 technology with customer-centric innovations, mirroring her mission to redefine traditional business frameworks. As the Founder & CEO of Vivents (ArtDeal AG) and the visionary behind Brand Relations GmbH, Sarah Schlagenhauf is not merely building businesses; she is crafting a new narrative in the modern digital economy, always a step ahead in the entrepreneurial voyage. Bucherer has invested into her company in an early Seed Phase, and her Company Vivents is transforming clients like Lalique, Philoro and Swiss National Ice Hockey.

Katarina Stanisavljevic

Katarina Stanisavljevic is a President of the WU Executive Academy Female Leaders Network created to inspire, empower and connect an amazing community of female leaders who are there to support and challenge each other on their professional and personal growth journeys. This dynamic and diverse community of 2,000 members from over 70 nationalities welcomes and empowers individuals of all genders with a mission to make a meaningful impact and more equitable future for all.

Professionally Katarina is a senior marketing and media executive with over 20 years of experience in Austria and CEE holding leadership positions in the areas of business development, strategy and general management. During this time she was fortunate to work with some of the greatest brands and companies such as Adidas, Henkel, Mastercard, LVMH and Porsche Holding. In 2021 Katarina founded Amazing Next marketing and media consultancy focusing on future proof marketing organization, the optimal partner selection and media efficiency.

Photo credit: Wolfgang Hirt

Oleksandra Matviichuk

Oleksandra Matviichuk is a prominent human rights defender known for her work in Ukraine and the OSCE region. She currently leads the Center for Civil Liberties, coordinates the Euromaidan SOS initiative group, and has authored numerous alternative reports for international organizations, including the UN, Council of Europe, European Union, OSCE, and International Criminal Court. She received the Democracy Defender Award in 2016, was the first woman to participate in Stanford University's Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program in 2017, and received the Right Livelihood Award in 2022. She was also recognized as one of the world's 25 influential women by the Financial Times in the same year, and the Center for Civil Liberties, under her leadership, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mathea Höller

Mathea, an Austrian singer, gained fame after her debut single "2x" topped the Austrian charts in October 2018, earning gold and platinum certifications. Following her appearance on "The Voice of Germany," she moved to Vienna to focus on her music while working as a saleswoman. But Mathea didn't let anything get her down. On the contrary: Shortly after her album release *in 2020* she founded her own label "1998". Mathea has won awards and received multiple nominations, including the prestigious Amadeus Austrian Music Award.

Kurdwin Ayub

Kurdwin Ayub is a Kurdish-Austrian director and screenwriter, who after fleeing Iraq grew up in Vienna and studied at the University of Applied Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts. She has presented her films at international film festivals, including the Viennale and the Berlinale, where her feature-length film "Sun" premiered. In 2023, she was accepted into the European Film Academy.

Lisa-Marie Fassl

Since 2022, Lisa-Marie Fassl has been the managing partner of Fund F together with Nina Nöss. Fund F invests in startups with mixed-gender founding teams in the areas of ClimateTech, FemTech, HealthTech, FinTech and HR Tech. In 2022, they announced the first closing of their new €20 million fund. Until 2023, Fassl was vice president of the Austrian Angel Investors Association.

FRANCINE BROGYÁNYI

"Alone you have power, together we have force", notes Francine Brogyányi in her Linkedin biography. Since 2019, Brogyányi has been a managing partner at the law firm DORDA. In keeping with the value she places on teamwork, which she attributes to her time as a former synchronized swimmer on the Austrian national team, she has initiated a 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯@𝘋𝘖𝘙𝘋𝘈 program with the unambiguous target of appointing more female partners at DORDA in the medium term.  Her education includes, in addition to her masters in law, the Program for Executives and Supervisory Board Members of WKO “Zukunft.Frauen”.

ELISA VENDRAMIN

Elisa Vendramin is an Italian illustrator and artist based in Trieste (Italy). She plays with abstraction in digital collages, exploring the delicate balance between full and empty, aiming to capture those atmospheres that are often hard to describe by figurative illustration.