Minsk Venture Day 2018

Robert Riley

U.S. Charge d'affaires to Belarus

Kai Mykkänen

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland

Tania Marinich

Cofounder & CEO @ BELBIZ Group of Companies

Prior to Belbiz Tania spent 8 years with the International Finance Corporation leading various projects for private sector development within IFC advisory activities. Tania received her International Executive MBA degree from IE Business School in Madrid

Will Cardwell

Managing Partner @ Courage Ventures Fund; Adjunct Professor @ Kena Flagler Business School at University of North Carolina

He also lectures on entrepreneurship, venture capital topics at Aalto University Executive Education, Aalto School of Science (the Aalto Ventures Program). Will is Adjunct Professor of Finance at Kenan-Flagler Business School,University of North Carolina.

Jamy T. Nigri

Global Head of Commercial Development & Payments @ Wargaming

As the Global Head of Commercial Development, Jamy is responsible for identifying and nurturing new revenue opportunities for Wargaming globally. This role spans everything from platform partners like FB, Google, Amazon/Twitch to mCommerce and emerging technologies. In his pre-Wargaming days he has profitably founded/sold companies on three continents, served within investor-owned gaming companies, was the 4th member of a team that grew to 2,800 in nine [9] months to establish the Department of Homeland Security in Chicago and enjoyed the craziest period in Disney’s history as part of the 50th anniversary celebration team.

Patrick Halford

Nordic Robotics and Drone Ecosystem Director @ IBM

Having worked at IBM for over 15 years, Patrick Halford is a frequent speaker widely experienced in the ecosystems approach of disruptive technologies and in the business applications of these technologies. With a special focus on robotics, drone technology and healthcare ecosystem advancements, Patrick is a true tech advocate, helping the world solve complex challenges across industries. A guy literally bringing the future to our doorsteps.

In his talk Patrick will help you picture the world we’re moving towards thanks to all new technologies out there, and teach you how global ecosystems can come in handy. He will also let you in on some concrete tools he uses in actual client work.

Natallia Nikandrova

Head of National Agency of Investment and Privatization

Eugene Nevgen

CEO & Co-Founder @ MSQRD

Mantas Aleksiejevas

SEED Program Manager @Google

Over years I have witnessed how digital has started to fundamentally change business operations, industries and economies as well as evolve itself. I am looking forwards to sharing insights and learning from my journey with you at the Venture Day Minsk.

Ken Singer

Head of entrepreneurship and tech center @ UC Berkeley

Ken is a serial entrepreneur, technology executive, university lecturer, and director/advisor to numerous startups in the US and Europe. A 14-year veteran of the mobile industry, Ken created solutions spanning all forms of mobile technology and has founded or co-founded five companies in the mobility space. Ken was the co-founder and CEO of AppCentral, the first enterprise app store to let companies distribute mobile applications to their employees’ iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Ken successfully led the company through difficult market conditions and several rounds of venture financing.

Aliaksei Minkevich

CEO @ Juno

Yury Melnichek

Founding Investor @ Fabby

Adrien Henni

Chief editor and co-founder @ East-West Digital News

Central & Eastern Europe: The invisible tech scene


Al King

Global Brand Director @ WARGAMING.NET

International marketing professional with extensive experience in games, online and home entertainment marketplaces gained in market leading organisations. Fully rounded Marketeer with knowledge of all areas of the discipline including digital. Have launched multiple chart topping titles in numerous markets. Very professional attitude. Natural and charismatic leader. Award winning innovator. MBA. BAFTA member. Outstanding contacts in entertainment, media & technology sectors. Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Gary Stewart

Director @ Wayra UK

Director of Wayra UK (cohorts of 20 for-profit businesses in which Telefónica invests as a minority shareholder) and Wayra UnLtd. (cohorts of 10 social ventures in which Telefónica and the British Cabinet Office invest as minority shareholders)
* Former director of Wayra Spain, overseeing academies in both Barcelona and Madrid. Helped Spanish start-ups to raise more than $13 million (and counting) over the last 18 months.
* Redesigned and relaunched IE Business School’s accelerator for MBA students, and taught entrepreneurial management courses to MBAs.
* Proactive entrepreneur. Co-founder of nuroa.com, an Internet start-up based in Barcelona, Spain that has raised over €4 million in financing.
* Results oriented, highly creative, out-of-the-box strategic thinker with strong orientation toward understanding customer behaviors.
* Yale-trained lawyer with first-class experience in top global law firms. Specialized in mergers and acquisitions and securities law.