Alexandra Maier

I am a passionate Media Tech Marketeer with 20+ years in leading roles at Avid, Adobe, Apple and Autodesk/Discreet. Now heading up global Media Solutions Marketing at CGI, one of the largest consulting firms. I recently took on the German chair of RISE. I live in Munich and call San Francisco my second home.

MENTEE: Nina Bayne

Barbara Rosseel

Barbara is a trilingual professional and mother of three, fluent in French, English, and Spanish, with the stamina to drive business growth. She has delivered customer-centric campaigns and high-impact projects at Sony. With an MBA from Texas, she has lived in the US, UK, and Spain, and earned Sony's "Team Spirit" Award for excellence.

MENTEE: Maitte Thais Oliveira Peixoto

Christel Jaekel

My entry into the broadcast and media world was rather accidental during and after my engineering studies (Electrical and computer technology). My background is in the world of live television and editing working as freelancer before joining Avid where I started my career as individual contributor in various technical supporting and consulting roles, extending my experience in media and technology with a dedication to excellence and focus to provide innovative solutions tailored to clients' unique needs. With my commitment and ability to motivate I became a team leader in 2013 constantly developing my leadership skills before I accepted a senior management role for the wider EMEA region a few years later. Today I´m guiding a diverse team of solution specialists leveraging their expertise and creativity to craft customized solutions that address the unique needs of our clients, driving value and fostering long-term relationships ensuring team members stay abreast of the latest advancements and innovations in the industry, empowering them to deliver informed and impactful presentations. I believe in a culture of continuous learning, clear communications knowledge sharing, personal development and positive team dynamics. My passion is for people, technology and media and I´m dedicated to driving success and fostering collaboration across borders. Outside of work, I´m exploring new cultures and enjoy outdoor sports.

MENTEE: Denise Müller

Christer Palsson

Christer has many years of experience in the industry and an impressive network. He has worked with everything from the largest events and clients to smaller jobs and clients - and always with great commitment with the client and the people in focus.

MENTEE: Klaudia Krzysztoń

Claudine Cecille

Claudine has proven experience and skills in Marketing & Communications and Public Relations across the High-Tech, broadcast, and Energy Industries. She has a track record of over 30 years in building successful international programmes, which include media relations, corporate communication, branding, digital marketing, and event management. She has previously worked with large corporations such as Thomson, Technicolor, and GE. Since 2015, she has been serving as the General Manager at Golden Acacia Consulting, where she has developed marketing and communication activities, working for companies like IN Groupe and Tedial.

MENTEE: Stephanie Raven

Delphine Calvini

Delphine Calvini is working in the broadcast domain since 1995 and had several positions in her carrier. Starting with an technical associate degree, she later obtained in 2016 a master of science in management granted in background from professional activities. Either on the vendor side when working for AVID, Philips, CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES, EventIS or Broadpeak; either on the customer side when working CANALSATELLITE, CANAL or TV5MONDE, she has developed a wide technology knowledge but also some strong management skills. She even pursued an activity as an independent project manager for 2 years. Formerly CTO of beIN France in Paris, she moved in 2022 to the Head Quarter of the GROUP located in Qatar to participate to the Football World Cup. She is now leading the Broadcast engineering and support teams at a pivot moment when the domain is moving to cloud or hybrid architecture, and when the skills transition of the broadcast teams is crucial.

MENTEE: Federica Bonardi

Diana Sanchez

Diana Sánchez is Head of Business Development, Access Services for Red Bee Media. A specialist with over 15 years’ experience in audiovisual and broadcast services, she has extensive knowledge of accessibility and localization. Diana is an accessibility consultant for the Spanish government in the working group which draws up standards for access services and is also a founder member of the TransMedia Research Group. Previously, as Head of Operations overseeing Access Services in Europe for Red Bee Media, she managed operations in multiple countries, delivering 24/7 live services to many of the most demanding media customers in the world. A graduate in Hispanics from the University of Manchester, Diana holds Master’s degrees from the University of Salford and the ESADE Business School.

MENTEE: Cara Edney

Dragana Jovcic

Dragana Jovčić is the CEO and co-founder of the social enterprise Uradi – Zaradi, an entrepreneur, mentor, and initiator who is always ready to support other women and young innovators in developing their ideas. She graduated in political science but dedicated her career to digital product development, PR, and startup growth, focusing on users—improving the platform, user experience, legal aspects, and the overall development of the service. Her ambition is to change the world and human experience for the better, especially in the digital sphere. In 2016, she co-founded the startup Uradi – Zaradi with her colleagues Jelena and Dušan, creating Serbia’s first unique online marketplace—an "Airbnb for small household tasks." In 2019, she successfully ran a crowdfunding campaign for the Home Manager project, achieving a 300% growth in service adoption. She is also a trainer and mentor in the Upshift program. Since 2023, she has been working at the Trag Foundation as a Digital Development Advisor, focusing on the development of two platforms for the civil sector in Serbia: a fundraising platform and a one-stop-shop platform.

MENTEE: Andreea Badila

Elizabeth Hughes

MENTEE: Alba Bernal Mateos

Georgiana Verdonk-Sim

As Caton Technology's VP of Marketing & HR, I use over 20 years of experience and global network to foster business growth and transformation. Certified as a coach and counsellor, I empower teams and businesses for career and business success, aiming to contribute to the Rise programme mentees.

MENTEE: Cesira Holterman

Giovanni Piccirilli

I am currently the CTO of RTL in The Netherlands, a role that I have been holding for almost 7 years now. Besides running the Technology organisation, I also have a secondary portfolio around the company's transformation. I have a passion for innovation, human behaviour and business transformation. I am Italian and live in The Netherlands for about 20 years now - Italy is the country that I have lived in the least in. I have lived many years in the Middle East, in Africa and in Europe and I know what it means to be the one that "is different" somehow. I have often created international teams within local organisation, pushing boundaries and driving acceptance.

MENTEE:

Isabelle Pasquesoone

I'm a mother of 3 teenagers with a great experience in the field of medias and audiovisual. I'm also a musician (harpist), a fan of sports (ski competition) and of travels ! I've worked for a wide range of media, first in press and radio for national titles, then internationally for a Pay-TV and an OTT service (FAST channel and an SVOD platform). On both the advertising and publisher side, I have acquired a complete sales expertise within the media industry: Distribution, Sales, leads generation, KPIs, ads revenus are part of my day-to-day role. Passionate about tech and the future of digital, I joined Qwant, the European search engine now part of the Symfonium project led by Octave Klaba as a director of business development and Partnerships. A dynamic, and thrilling universe!

MENTEE: Hind El Bezzaz Semlali

Kathleen Schröter

In 2020, after a total of 13 years working for the prestigious Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Kathleen Schroeter left the world of scientific research institutions and became a technologist & alchemist at the Berlin “Human2Human” company J2C, a consulting firm with a focus on corporate culture. At the same time, Kathleen was elected to the board of XRBB – Extended Reality e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg, where she acts as honorary chair. In late 2021 she co-founded ootiboo GmbH. Using creativity as a vehicle and media tech as tools, ootiboo designs fun, engaging ways for children to connect to a diverse range of topics. The focus is on three core areas: real-life learning; health and wellbeing; and climate education. 2018, the Advanced Imaging Society (AIS) honored her with the Distinguished Leadership Award in L.A. as one of 13 influential women from the entertainment and high-tech industry. As a public speaker and moderator, Kathleen’s insights into Deep and High Tech allow audiences to contextualize tech trends, deepen their understanding of R&D processes, and explore sci-fi scenarios that could soon become a reality.

MENTEE: Mareike Falk

Louisa von Lenthe

With nearly 11 years of experience in the broadcasting industry, I've progressed from starting as an intern to currently overseeing the in-house operations of Sky Sports in Germany. Despite lacking a formal technical background, I have successfully navigated and excelled in technical environments, complementing my qualifications in project management and leadership of diverse teams.

MENTEE: Antje Lang

Margot Ouali

Margot Ouali is Head of Corporate and Marketing Communications at Appear, where she drives strategic and operational communications across global internal and external channels. With 8 years of marketing experience, she blends strategic insight with hands-on execution to enhance brand impact and stakeholder engagement in international organisations. Margot holds a Master’s degree in Management from the Norwegian School of Economics and an MSc in International Business from Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management, complementing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

MENTEE: Charlotte Støfring

Marlene Neuberger

Marlene Neuberger began her professional career in the production of TV shows and events. After years of working as a freelancer for public broadcasting, she was hired in 2016 as a production manager at SWR. Two years later, she took over as head of post-production in Mainz. Since 2020, she has been serving as Head of Department in the Directorate of Technology and Production at SWR, where she is responsible for transforming technical organizational units for the digital future.Together with her team, she strategically develops core departments such as camera, lighting technology, and set construction, ensuring the operational foundation for in-house content production.

MENTEE: Svenja Schlögel

Märta Rydbeck

Märta Rydbeck brings over 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry to her role as mentor in Rise. Her experience spans traditional broadcasting, media technology platforms, and cutting-edge content discovery solutions, providing mentees with insights into both established and emerging opportunities within the sector. Her commitment to solving industry challenges through innovation, combined with her collaborative approach to business development and her understanding of how content consumption is evolving, aligns perfectly with Rise's mission to empower women in broadcast technology.

MENTEE: Kamilla Osnes

Maurice Verlaat

Maurice has been in the industry for over 25 years in Operational, Technical and Delivery roles. Maurice has worked for service providers like DMC, SES and RBM focusing on improvement, excellence or delivery of large scale platforms. It is clear that the most important resource within broadcasting is the people - and they should be empowered.

MENTEE: Emma Sahall

Michael Gamböck

Michael Gamböck works with our stragic partners and our ecosystem worldwide. He liaises directly our partners with a deep understanding of our customer and enduser to address their needs and support our partners to shape their strategies. Additionally, Michael consults closely with Adobe engineering, product management and management to grow usage of Creative Cloud Video products. He actively worked on several released and upcoming products and services in the past and today. He developed and is managing the worldwide Adobe Video Solution partner program, which will deliver value-added services to Adobe clients and help customers build better workflows with our partners. Michael has been in the industry since 1994 in sales, marketing and management roles at organisations including Bavaria Film, Studio Babelsberg TMT, Annova, Getty Images, Avid, P+S Technik and others. He has a deep understanding of all aspects of the Media and Entertainment Industry, from technology and management to creative processes. He managed several big innovative projects and was a managing director for one of Germany's most significant post-production facilities before joining Adobe. He covers exciting new technologies like Adobe Firefly or initiatives like his Adobe Video Solution program in his strategic role. As a father of a 12-year-old girl, he wants to help to change things actively. He is part of Adobe Germany's diversity team, advisory board member of Rise Women in broadcast and is passionate about diversity, inclusion and creativity. However, teams can only be successful if they make these their priorities.

MENTEE: Anna-Maria Zeußel

Nancy Diaz Curiel

Nancy is a third culture kid with more than 15 years of experience in the broadcast/A/V industry. She brings fresh perspectives and new insights to any team with a wide experience in sales and management, having worked in various roles from account sales manager to Director of Sales, Marketing and Communications globally with Digigram. Nancy has extensive international experience, ha ving lived overseas and worked with multiple cultures in different regions. Her career has been shaped by her ability to quickly identify and pursue opportunities. She is passionate about people and new technologies and is actively involved in organizations such as the RISE network and the IABM organization, where she has previously served on the board. Nancy enjoys getting to know new people, and is always prepared for the unexpected, with many travel stories to share. Based from her home office in Bordeaux, France, though being of Spanish heritage, Nancy loves warm weather, spicy food (and spicy cocktails), and enjoys riding her motorcycle.

MENTEE: Diana Jehle

Roberto Iacoviello

Roberto Iacoviello is a Lead Research Engineer, graduated from the Politecnico di Torino. Since 2007 he has been working at the Rai R&D. His current research focuses on Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, and Virtual Production in the realm of broadcast television. In addition, Roberto leads two groups at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU): the Video Evaluation group and the Immersive Media group. He also heads the Enhanced Video Coding group at MPAI (Moving Picture, Audio and Data Coding by Artificial Intelligence) and is an active participant in MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) meetings.

MENTEE:

Serkan Güner

Born in Munich. Studies: Literature, media- and political sciences in Istanbul, Düsseldorf and Naples. In the industry since 2008. With Riedel for more than one decade. Role: Spokesperson, Chief of Optimism und Captain of Press. On the mission to make Riedel the most loved brand in the media, sports, and entertainment industry. Languages: German, English, Turkish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Bavarian

MENTEE: Serkan Güner

Sonya Biernath

Sonya Biernath is Director of Fulfillment, Audio & Access Services at Deluxe, with expertise across the full post-production and localization delivery chain. Her experience includes global oversight of localization talent acquisition—scaling translator networks in over 60 languages to meet the demands of the streaming era—as well as leading subtitling operations and client services for top content creators including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Warner, and Sony. She has also participated in AI-driven initiatives including machine translation, TTS, and ASR. Originally from Canada, Sonya studied in Toronto, Montreal, and New York, and brings a creative perspective shaped by her early career as an award-winning choreographer.

MENTEE: Kristin Koepke

Stephan Heimbecher

Stephan Heimbecher (born 1967) has joined SWR Südwestrundfunk in November 2021 and is leading the ARD Competence Center Production & Infrastructure. Since June 2021 he also acts as the chairman of the EBU Strategic Programme Smart Media Production. Previously, Stephan Heimbecher was Founder & Managing Director of his own consultancy firm, Heimbecher – In media’s res. Before that he was at Imagine Communications as Senior Director Advisory Services EMEA & APAC looking after Imagine Advisory Services, which stand by broadcast clients as a partner during technical and non-technical business transitions – e.g. in the context of IP Migration. From 2002 to 2018 he was working at Sky Deutschland (formerly Premiere) as Director Innovations & Standards in Technology, where he took care of representing Sky on national and international committees, technical work with major Hollywood studios plus technical innovation management tasks within Sky Deutschland. At Sky Stephan Heimbecher has significantly been involved in the launch of some technical innovations including Sky+ (PVR), Sky HD, Sky 3D and at last Sky UHD. The electrical engineering graduate began his career as research associate at the Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT) where he worked on audio coding. Since 1997 he has dedicated his work at IRT to the standardisation of Digital TV before joining Top5 MediaConnection in 2001 (a company of the former KirchGruppe) as manager within the consulting department. In the course of his career Stephan Heimbecher was active in different Industry Groups and Standards Bodies and also chaired various working groups, amongst others DVB (Member of the Steering Board), German TV Platform (Member of the Board, working group chairman), FAME (Co-chairman) and UHD Alliance (Chairman of the Broadcast Group). Stephan has been a Rise mentor since 2022.

MENTEE: Apollonia Hartmann

Tiina Lehmonen

MENTEE: Pauliina Harno

Zlatan Gavran

Zlatan isa tech-first executive with over 15 years in media technology, remote workflows, and broadcast innovation. His has worked for some big names in the industry, acting as Technical Director and CTO for MPP Mediatech Broadcast GmbH and Head of Global Broadcast at Red Bull Media House GmbH before his current position as Managing Director at NEP Germany. He specializes in scaling teams, driving business model transformation, and aligning technology with strategic growth. He is passionate about delivering impactful solutions in high-performance, international environments.

MENTEE: Marija Sarafimova