Awards

The jury will assess the value each start-up is creating and its potential to grow.

The competition includes the following stages:

1. Start-up Impact Report
2. Pitch & Jury Interview
3. On-Stage Presentation

The jury of JA Europe “Enterprise of the Year” Awards 2017 will nominate Winners - 2^nd place and 3^rd place

Criteria and information for participating teams are available in the Guidelines section

2018 JURY (more jury members to be added...)

Hans Daems, Group Public Affairs Officer at Hitachi Europe – CHAIR JUDGE
	As Group Public Affairs Officer for Hitachi Europe, Hans Daems holds responsibility for Hitachi’s corporate communications, branding and CSR activities across Europe.. Reporting to Hitachi’s Chief Executive for Europe, he leads the overall co-ordination of Hitachi’s Corporate Communications activities in Europe as well as Brand Management, Public Relations, Internal Communications, Advertising, Sponsorship, Events and Exhibitions and Website Management. Hans is also responsible for Hitachi’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme in Europe. Hans is Chair of the Board of Directors of CSR Europe and a regular speaker at national and international conferences. He has more than 15 years of experience in corporate communications. Before joining Hitachi’ European headquarters in the UK at the beginning of 2008, he worked in different communication roles in the oil and chemicals sector in Belgium, France and The Netherlands.

Brynhild Vinskei, Chief Markets Officer, 24i Media
	Brynhild Vinskei is the Chief Markets Officer at the leading multi-screen TV app across all devices. In her role as CMO, she is leading the global Sales and Marketing activities for 24i and play an instrumental role in the strategic development, expansion and growth of the company globally. Brynhild has extraordinary business expertise and marketing leadership, and is recognized in the industry for developing and executing strategies that have accelerated growth and created significant brand value. Her insight and industry knowledge help elevate the 24i brand, enabling the company to respond to the increasing demand for their services globally, and drive revenue growth across their entire product portfolio. Prior to joining 24i, Brynhild was the Chief Marketing Officer at Xstream, where she helped establish the company as a leader in OTT solutions. In a career that spans 17 years, Brynhild has held senior positions managing all aspects of sales, marketing, partner management, communication, events, product marketing, strategic planning and business development. Under her leadership, 24i will continue to drive a stronger global market presence and strengthen strategic part.

Andrew McKee, Angel Investor and advisor to early stage companies
	Andrew McKee has spent 30 years as a serial entrepreneur, investment banker and private equity and venture capital investor. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Mr. McKee founded. grew and sold 3 companies: Hear Music Inc, which was sold to Starbucks; Overseas Adventure Travel, which was acquired by Grand Circle Travel (the largest tour operator in the US); and Vacation.com, which was bought by Amadeus IT Group, a major Spanish IT Provider for the global travel and tourism industry. In 2004 Mr. McKee co-founded Webster Capital, a private equity firm with $1b under management, which invests in leveraged buyouts in the consumer, business-to-business and healthcare sector. In 2017 Mr. McKee transitioned back to making early staged and “angel” investments where he has an opportunity to mentor and invest in young entrepreneurs.

Elena Castagnino, HR Project Coordinator, Air Liquide
	Elena is HR Project Coordinator at Air Liquide, in charge of EVE (European Vocational Exchange) project. EVE is an Air Liquide Erasmus+ initiative to offer young non-academic employees the opportunity to work abroad in Europe in their field of expertise for a short period and to offer a cross-cultural work experience. Reporting to the Europe HR VP, Elena manages the external relations with European institutions and other industrial companies that are planning to join this program. Prior to her current position, she worked as Business Controller, being in charge to design and implement the projects’ reporting process at the Group level, as well as to analyse Air Liquide new business opportunities worldwide.

Marite Aleksandra Silava, Fintech Community Manager, Swedbank Group
	Marite is part of Swedbank’s Digital Innovation Team, working on next generation banking services for the bank’s 8 million customers. As the Fintech Community Manager, she is responsible for Swedbank’s startup acceleration program, Open Banking initiatives and meeting and assessing startup companies interested in partnering with Swedbank. Before moving into the innovation field, Marite has over 10 years of experience in leading corporate communication projects, managing events and ensuring employee engagement in various large organizations, including Swedbank. She is not only an avid supporter of the startup ecosystem, but also has co-founded a creative design company, which has been running successfully for the past 3 years, giving her practical insights in the needs of startups.

Edgars Ozoliņš - Ozols, Senior expert at the Start-up support division at the Ministry of Economics of Latvia
	Edgars is a Senior expert at the Start-up support division at the Ministry of Economics of Latvia creating new government start-up incentives and educating the society about the impact of start-ups on a country level. Edgars is not only a start-up activist at the Ministry of Economics, but just recently he has also taken on a role to educate civil servants from other Ministries and governmental institutions about the impact and opportunities of blockchain technology to launch a public sector blockchain pilot project. His entrepreneurial and cross-border operations background has helped him to develop skills and competencies needed to become the new generation of public servants. Edgars not only understands the struggles and shortcomings of student start-ups, but can also relate to them due to his experience by being a part of one when completing his studies in the United Kingdom.

Awards

The jury will assess the value each start-up is creating and its potential to grow.

2018 JURY (more jury members to be added...)

Andrew McKee, Angel Investor and advisor to early stage companies

Elena Castagnino, HR Project Coordinator, Air Liquide

Marite Aleksandra Silava, Fintech Community Manager, Swedbank Group

Edgars Ozoliņš - Ozols, Senior expert at the Start-up support division at the Ministry of Economics of Latvia