Gonzalo Figuera Díez-Picazo, SM in Technology and Policy (MIT), Engineer École Centrale Paris, Industrial Engineer UPM (Madrid), is an experienced business leader, consultant and entrepreneur, specialized in innovation-based organizations and digital transformation.
Currently, he works as Innovation Director at Innogate to Europe, a company specialised in managing international projects. He has over 20 years of previous experience working for large corporations and engineering companies (Telefonica R&D, INECO), large academic institutions (MIT, UPM), consulting companies (Cluster Consulting, now Oliver Wyman), and technology-based start-ups (N2S-GAMESA Group).
His fields of specialty include ICT (information and communication technologies), software, IoT (internet of things), automation, infrastructures, smart cities, energy and energy efficiency, renewables, bioenergy, cleantech, sustainable transport, electric vehicle, infrastructures and sustainability. He teaches courses on technology and innovation management, entrepreneurship, energy and energy efficiency, and acts as editor and contributor to publications, lectures and seminars related to his work.
Miguel Maté, holds a master´s degree in Law and Business Administration in the Universidad Pontificia Comillas and Executive MBA at the IESE. After a brief period of time in the consultancy firm Bain & Company Italy, he started his professional career in Telekom Austria in Vienna, where over 7 years, he acquired experience as a Controller of different departments and areas of expertise, firstly in the Systems Area until being Manager of the CRM department, being appointed afterwards as manager of the Marketing Business and Residential department. In his background stands out the experience in project analysis and monitoring, overall vision understanding of finance and business operations; thanks to his involvement in the Mobilko and Telekom Austria merger and to his position as Chief Financial Officer of several small companies. Since his return to Spain in 2012 he has worked with Innovation and Technology companies connected with universities and research centres, helping them in the early stages as well as in the later acquisition of public and private equity, in Spain and overseas.
David Cano holds MSc in Mechanical Engineering, post graduate studies in Management of Innovation and Technology Policy and Executive MBA program at IESE. He David has an extensive experience in management, development and operation of the innovation process primarily on industrial, ICT and healthcare sectors. Trained in general management and innovation in international centres of excellence, highlights his experience identifying business opportunities, feasibility analysis, fundraising both national and European level and its later product/service commercialization. Passionate about teaching, participates in various related innovation management and entrepreneurship program with a clear market orientation what motivates him to establish his own star-up company in the medical sector.
Ray Garcia is the managing director of Buoyant Capital, a global peer advisory think-tank addressing the growth challenges of small to medium sized enterprises. The firm coordinates its team of experts to help its clients improve competitiveness through talent management, global market expansion partnership access, technology asset management, capital investment and restructuring. Buoyant Capital was founded in 2000 in New York City and has helped launch several start-up companies and works as an advisor to company founders, CEO’s, and their investors. Ray has over 20 years of experience as a technology entrepreneur, as company CTO co-founder, for four venture-backed companies. Since 2015 he is serving as a business expert to EU Commission Horizon 2020 SME innovation instrument where he is evaluating commercialization grant proposals of technology ventures and coaching company executives who have received grant funding.
