Speaker

• 
  Katherine Lucey
  

  Katherine Lucey

  Katherine Lucey is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Solar Sister www.solarsister.org, a social enterprise that provides access to clean energy in developing countries through an innovative market based, women-centered distribution program that provides clean energy technologies to the people who most need it, those living without access to grid electricity. Katherine brings 20 years investment banking and non-profit leadership experience to her role as social entrepreneur. She has been named an Ashoka Changemaker and a winner of Social Venture Network 2011 Innovation Award and a Global Social Benefit Incubator Fellow for 2011 at the Santa Clara University Center for Science and Technology.

  In addition to Solar Sister, Katherine currently serves on the board of Solar Light for Africa, a not-for-profit corporation that brings solar energy to rural communities in East Africa. Katherine serves on the UN Foundation initiatives Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Sustainable Energy for All Practitioner Network. She holds an M.B.A. from Georgia State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia.

  Twitter : @KatherineHLucey | Website: www.solarsister.org

• 
  Alexander Voigt
  

  Alexander Voigt

  In 1985, Alexander Voigt began his research and development of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) and wind systems. As there was no industry or even market for the field of renewable energy at that time in Germany or in any other country, Alexander Voigt decided in 1986 to found his own company and sold PV panels and solar thermal systems directly to the people.

  Through various trade fairs and lectures, Alexander Voigt succeeded step by step in raising public awareness of renewable energies and the necessity of creating a market in that field. This work led to the founding of Solon SE in 1996
as a PV module and cell production company. He began as head of sales and was later named
CEO. Since 2006, he has acted as a member of the supervisory board of Solon SE.

  In 1999, he became the co-founder of Q-Cells and has been CEO of Younicos AG since 2008.

  LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-voigt-65392045/

• 
  Mischer'Traxler
  

  Mischer'Traxler

  Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler form Studio mischer‘traxler. Based in Vienna they develop and design products, furniture, installations and more, with a focus on experiments and conceptual thinking. Balancing between hand craft and technology, they often envision whole systems and new production methods rather than single products.

  After graduating from the IM-masters department of Conceptual Design in context at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Katharina and Thomas found studio mischer‘traxler in 2009.

  In 2011 they were honoured with the  'Designer of the future award' by Design Miami/Basel and W -hotels for their body of work.

  Their work won the Austrian Experimental Design Award 2009, the DMY Award 2009, received a honorary mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2009 and was shortlisted for the Brit Insurance Designs of the year 2010 Award. Exhibitions on contemporary Design displayed their work in many Museums including the Art Institute Chicago, Design Museum London, MAK Vienna, Triennale Milano and in various international Festivals.

  Website: www.mischertraxler.com

• 
  Wolfgang Kessling
  

  Wolfgang Kessling

  Dr. Wolfgang Kessling joined Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH, Germany in 2000 and is principal since 2006.

  He is working as Climate Engineer and expert for integral planning with special focus on low energy - high comfort concepts for buildings in hot and humid climates.

  Wolfgang Kessling is involved in high profile sustainable projects throughout Europe, Middle East and Asia. He has been project manager e.g. for the Experimental Cloud in Frankfurt, the SAP Call Center in Galway, Ireland, the Gehry building for Novartis in Basel, Switzerland and the Edutainment Center Klimahaus 8° Ost in Bremen. In Asia he was involved e.g. in the innovative energy concept of the New Bangkok International Airport, the first Zero Energy Office in Malaysia and the climate and energy concept of cooled conservatories in Singapore.

  Wolfgang Kessling is frequently lecturing at international conferences on sustainable design and integral planning. He is founding member and lecturer for postgraduate Masters in Climate Engineering at the Donau University Krems, Austria.

  Wolfgang Kessling studied and graduated as Diplom Physiker at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, specialized in active solar systems. He obtained his Doctor degree in Physics at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Freiburg developing a new liquid desiccant system for solar air conditioning.

  LinkedIn: Wolfgang Kessling www.linkedin.com/in/wolfgang-kessling-598463162/

• 
  Nils Lindell
  

  Nils Lindell

  Nils Lindell is a management consultant working with both Swedish and international clients and co-founder of Baseline Management Scandinavia AB. Nils specialises in change management, project management and marketing and has written two popular management books, so far published only in Swedish. He got his education in economics and behavioural science at Uppsala University.

  However, in this conference he is invited in his capacity as a father in an ordinary family living in an extraordinary project. While attracting interest from around the Globe Nils and his family set out to reduce their CO2-footprint from the Swedish average of about 7 tons per person and year to the in the, not to distant future, needed one tonne.  

  The figure is not chosen by random. It is based on a UN Climate Panel Report showing that within 50-60 years one tonne per person and year is the amount our planet can cope with without drastic changes to the climate and every day life as we know it. It is quite a challenging reduction that is needed. The question the family explored was how far you can get already today with existing technology and without drastic changes to a modern life style.

  The family lived in an energy efficient house, drove an electric car and got a lot of expert help on how to live and eat climate smart. Prof Azar, who is part of the UN Climate Panel, and his research team at Chalmers Technical University, continually measured the CO2 impact of everything the family did in their daily life during all six month.

  In the end of the project the Lindell family managed to get quite close to the one tonne goal and did get a number of valuable experiences to share and insights to what amount of personal CO2 reduction is fair to ask people to contribute already today.

  LinkedIn: Nils Lindell www.linkedin.com/in/nilslindell/

• 
  Martin Cordsmeier
  

  Martin Cordsmeier

  Founder of millionways (www.millionways.org). Society is facing upheaval. There are revolutions, demonstrations and system changes all over the world. millionways will substantiate this movement with a “label” in early 2012  and thus provide a basis where each human being can productively implement  their talents, visions and ideals. Not online but in reality.

  millionways is a helping-profit global network of organizations, corporations and charitable foundations who share the common goal to change society to be people-oriented - each of them founded by people of different social classes, age groups and fields of interest:

  millionways  is presented by you, who embrace this "label” right from the start.
Let us no longer adapt to society but let us make sure that society adapts to us!

  Martin Cordsmeier - the founder with an unconventional biography - is such an example of an ever-growing group of people who desire great changes rather than mere reforms of the same old system.  When he was a child he felt he didn't fit into this world composed of human beings but being so little human. In 2004 at the age of 20 years he founded his first business. This corporation accepted simple handworks from print shops and bookbinderies and allocated them to needy home workers who didn't have any chances to find jobs. He quickly realized that often these people were very special characters who could and wanted to do so much more than processing paper.

  By this unconventional approach the millionways-concept emerged from the vision of the childhood over the years

  Website: www.millionways.net

• 
  Verena Delius
  

  Verena Delius

  Verena Delius is the CEO of Young Internet, Europe’s leading social gaming company for kids (www.young-internet.com) , since September 2010. Young Internet is present in 12 countries and has more than 60 employees from over ten different countries working in the headquarters in Berlin. Young Internet develops safe, playful and social games for kids aged 2-12 years old on tablet computers, smartphones and the web.

  Verena was the head of sales of Bertelsmann’s e-learning-venture scoyo (www.scoyo.de) from July 2008 – August 2010. Before that she was the regional manager of DACH and member of the board of management of online-matchmaking company be2 (www.be2.com). In 2007 she was the winner of the award “CEO of the future” organized by McKinsey & Company.  She founded Delius Capital in 2004, a company specialized on the sourcing and conception of closed-end funds.

  She holds a Master of business administration with a major in finance, accounting and controlling from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

  Verena is very much interested in the future of digital education, the future of games and new management best-practice in building and running successful companies. She writes about her thoughts in her own blog www.verena-delius.de.

  Website: www.verena-delius.de

• 
  Rune Nielsen
  

  Rune Nielsen

  Rune Nielsen is the co-founder and partner of the Danish design office Kollision. The design firm combines project-driven research and research-oriented practice within the field of a human-centered perspective on new technologies integrated into our surroundings. His works seeks to push the boundaries of what is possible in combining communication and interaction design with physical design, architecture and the urban space. Lately he has been working in larger scale buildings and the city itself in making intangible and abstract aspects of our daily life easier to communicate and to grasp through experience-oriented media facades that engage people on the street in playful interaction.

  Rune is an architect with specialty in interaction design and has been involved in a series of research projects challenging spatial interaction; among them his PhD project New Use of Interactive Technologies in Spatial Design. His work is to be found in temporary as well as permanent installations and exhibitions; among them at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, The Architecture Biennale in Venice 2010, and larger scale installations in HQs of companies and organizations.

  Website: www.vordenk.blogspot.com

• 
  Lehna Malmkvist
  

  Lehna Malmkvist

  Lehna sees a future in which people live integrated within their ecosystems and, to accomplish this, our built environments mimic the processes and functions of nature.

  As an ecologist and the founder of Swell Environmental Consulting Ltd, Lehna works in multi-disciplinary teams for low impact/green development projects, watershed planning, rainwater management, and ecological restoration, ensuring an innovative, whole system approach is integrated into her projects.

  She also shares her expertise by teaching workshops and lecturing at professional, community and university events, helping to educate a new way of thinking about our connection to our immediate environment.

  Twitter: @Lehna_Malmkvist | Website: www.future-iq.com

• 
  Axel Petermann
  

  Axel Petermann

  Axel Petermann is a German criminalist, profiler and book author. He completed his educational training at the police in Bremen and has been a member of the criminal investigation department since 1975. He has worked as an inspector in the homicide division and deputy director of the commissioner´s office for violent felonies. Until today, he has worked on 1000 cases of unnatural death or alternatively led the investigation on homicides.

  Since 1999, Axel Petermann has critically dealt with the FBI-methods of profiling and started to build up the department of Operative Case Analyzing, which he heads today. He advocates the interdisciplinary criminological approach of profiling, whereby the key to clarify a homicide is the interpretation of the traces and the analysis of the victims personality. Since the choice of the victim and the traces of evidence at the crime scene are based on decisions of the offender, the motive gets clear and there are conclusions to his profile.

  Petermann also acts as a consultant for the TV series “Tatort” and supports authors with forensic considerations in their publications. He also teaches as a lecturer for Criminology at the School of Public Administration. In 2005, he co-founded the “IFF- Interdisciplinary Forum for Forensics”, a merger of professionals which aims to enhance communication between forensic science and practice. The IFF also works on the analysis of criminal behavior. Axel Petermann is a member of the author group “Syndikat”. His book “Auf der Spur des Bösen – Ein Profiler berichtet” was featured on the Spiegel bestseller list for over 20 weeks. Several episodes from the book now serve as templates for the “Tatort” episodes produced by the Hessische Rundfunk. In March 2012, Petermann will publish his new book “Im Angesicht des Bösen” at Rowohlt Publishing.

  Twitter: @apgut24

• 
  Thimon von Berlepsch
  

  Thimon von Berlepsch

  Thimon von Berlepsch - magician and hypnotist - found an old magic book when he was 13 years old in one of the suitcases stored in the attic of his family home, a 630 year old castle near the German town of Göttingen.

  Since then, he studies not only the Art of Magic but anything that makes people wonder. His style of combining illusions with poetry, hypnosis and comedy makes him unique in his field.

  Thimon performs at fine galas around the world and also appears in his own shows, SECRETCIRCLE and LE JEU, which are designed for smaller groups of people.

  Every year Thimon travels around the world to be inspired by people, cultures, nature and silence. The unique moments which he experiences on his trips are captured in his mystical pictures as another one of Thimon von Berlepsch’s passions of is photography.

  Twitter: @thimonvb | Website: www.thimonvonberlepsch.de

• 
  Henry Fair
  

  Henry Fair

  Photographer J Henry Fair is best known for his Industrial Scars series, in which he researches our world’s most egregious environmental disasters and creates images that are simultaneously stunning and horrifying, and more closely resemble abstract paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock than what the collective views as reality. His work has been featured in segments on the TODAY SHOW, CNN, NPR’s Marketplace, and WDR German TV, as well as in most major publications, including The New York Times, National Geographic, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, Harper’s Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, and GQ. Additionally, J Henry Fair’s work travels around the world in fine art exhibitions at major museums, galleries, and educational institutions.

  J Henry Fair supports a number of environmental organizations that share his commitment to changing distructive consumer habits and effecting positive change in our environment. His first book, The Day After Tomorrow: Images of Our Earth in Crises was released in February, 2011, published by powerHouse Books in cooperation with Random House.

  Twitter: @JHenryFair | Website: www.jhenryfair.com

• 
  Nik Nowak
  

  Nik Nowak

  Nik Nowak was born in Mainz in 1981. He studied Art at the Universität der Künste Berlin and continued his studies in New York and Shanghai. In 2007, Nik finished his university education in Prof. Lothar Baumgarten masterclass and was awarded the Georg-Meistermann-Scholarship in 2008.

  Nik’s wall paintings and sound objects have made him internationally renowned and he has exhibited his work in museums and galleries in Germany, Austria, Russia and China. His most recent work ’Panzer’, a combination of a caterpillar vehicle and a sound system, triggers a mystifying fascination for the force of sound and impressively demonstrates how sound can occupy space. Nik Nowak lives and works in Berlin.

• 
  Benedikt Foit & Habib Lesevic
  

  Benedikt Foit & Habib Lesevic

  As coach and co-founder of ’Kontext’, Benedikt accompanies human beings on their way to make productive use of their human powers, to unfold harmoniously - in tune with themselves and the biosphere. He also teaches entrepreneurship at Cass Business School in London. As a venturer, he strives to design sustainable systems.

  Habib is co-founder of the systemic coaching firm ’Kontext’ in London and a member of the American Society for Cybernetics. In his work as venturer at Vic Ventures, Habib strives to holistically develop the potentials of the systems and people around him. He teaches systems theory and sustainable entrepreneurship at Cass Business School in London.

  Website: www.energy-streetfight.com

• 
  Johnny West
  

  Johnny West

  Johnny West is a social entrepreneur and writer with 20 years professional experience in and around the oil industry. He began covering energy markets as a Reuters correspondent in the Middle East in the early 1990s.

  He has consulted to the United Nations, Revenue Watch Institute, Internews and others on oil and the public policy aspects of the industry and published in the Petroleum Economist, Iraq Oil Report, and Critical Resources as well as more general media like the Guardian and Huffington Post. He is a frequent guest commentator on broadcast outlets such as BBC Radio and TV, NPR, Sky News and Al Jazeera.

  His book Karama! Travels Through the Arab Spring, is the first book-length account to be published of the events now rocking the Middle East. His book on the concept of direct citizen dividends in oil-producing countries, Give It Back! is due to be published in 2012.

  Johnny was a Classical scholar to Balliol College, Oxford and attended Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. He speaks French and Arabic fluently, has worked in Persian and Spanish and gets by in Hebrew and German.

• 
  Daniela Schiffer
  

  Daniela Schiffer

  Daniela Schiffer co-founded Changers.com in 2010. The Berlin-based startup introduced a portable solar charging system at the recent Web 2.0 Summit, which aims to end global warming by shifting society to the use of a new currency backed by the sun.

  The Changers System combines the production of pure and clean energy, consumer desire for more independence and mobility with the revolutionary power of social media.

  Before starting this adventure, Daniela worked as a consultant at a communications agency where she was closely involved with high-tech companies, specifically in the field of green energy and photovoltaics.

  Having always been passionate about how the usage of media changes our society, she collaborated on different media art projects during her first years in Berlin, contributing to projects such as reboot.fm and giving lectures in the Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst in Zurich as well as workshops at Radio B92 in Belgrade.

  Her work has been presented in different exhibitions, amongst others at hack.it.art in 2005, Tesla Berlin, Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst in Zurich and Gemäldegalerie Berlin in 2006.

  She has a MFA in New Media and attended Freie Universität and Humboldt Universität for classes in sociology and media theory.

   

• 
  John Perry Barlow
  

  John Perry Barlow

  John Perry Barlow is a former Wyoming rancher and Grateful Dead lyricist. A co-founder of EFF, he was the first to apply the term cyberspace to the "place" it presently describes. He has written for a diversity of publications, including Communications of the ACM, Mondo 2000, The New York Times, and Time. He has been on the masthead of Wired magazine since it was founded. His piece on the future of copyright, "The Economy of Ideas," is taught in many law schools, and his "Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace" is posted on thousands of websites. In 1997, he was a Fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics and has been, since 1998, a Berkman Fellow at the Harvard Law School. John works actively with several consulting groups, including Diamond Technology Partners, Vanguard, and Global Business Network. In 1999, FutureBanker Magazine named him "One of the 25 Most Influential People in Financial Services." He writes, speaks, and consults on a broad variety of subjects, particularly digital economy.

  Twitter: @JPBarlow | Facebook: John Perry Barlow www.facebook.com/johnperrybarlow?ref=nameo