Mr. David Brandes is the Co-founder and CEO of Planetary, a Swiss food-tech company pioneering low-emission mycoprotein production through patented biomass fermentation technologies. His work centers on transforming agrifood systems by scaling sustainable alternative protein production while strategically leveraging intellectual property as a catalyst for climate-positive innovation. An entrepreneur with deep expertise in technology commercialization, Mr. Brandes’ track record spans IP-based scale-up initiatives across multiple global markets, demonstrating a consistent ability to translate cutting-edge research into viable commercial solutions. His recognition as a 2025 WIPO Global Awards winner underscores his strategic use of patents and trademarks to advance environmentally sound technologies and drive real-world impact.
 

Mr. Brandes has also been nominated to act as WIPO GREEN Ambassador for Switzerland.

Lan Zuo Gillet has been active in the innovation and start-up ecosystem since 2008. She served the Swiss innovation Agency (Innosuisse) as Expert, as Mentor and as Entrepreneurship Training Director for Western Switzerland for the past 12 years. As Consul at the Swiss Consulate in Shanghai, she was instrumental in building swissnex – Switzerland's outpost for science, technology and innovation in China (2008-2011). She also served as Managing Director of Geneva Creativity Center (2012-2014) and Deputy Managing Director of EPFL Innovation Park (2014-2025), where she launched several innovation initiatives including Tech4Trust, Tech4Eva, Tech4Growth, and Future of Health Grant. Prior to her innovation work, she spent 14 years in the private sector as an R&D project manager at Rolex and Head of Operational Planning at a Swiss private bank.

Maike Scherrer is Head of the Institute for Sustainable Development at the Zürich University of Applied Science (ZHAW). After completing her doctorate and habilitation at the University of St. Gallen, her research now focuses on the sustainable design of global supply chains and logistics. At the centre of her work is the question of how new technologies and data-driven approaches can help make processes and supply chains more sustainable, resilient, and circular.

Björn Kälin does not see intellectual property as a legal hurdle, but as a key business enabler. As Managing Partner at morethentic, he draws on his extensive national and international industry experience — including his former role leading strategic projects in more than 35 countries — to help companies make their innovations future-proof and investment-ready on a global scale. In his role as an IPI Ambassador, he bridges the gap between ecological vision and economic reality.

His clear goal is for sustainable technologies to gain, through the right protection, exactly the market traction they need to drive genuine cross-border transformation.

Luc-E. Amgwerd has built his trajectory within entrepreneurial, innovation, intellectual property and impact-driven ventures. Trained as lawyer and researcher at the University of Neuchâtel, he spent his first portion of his professional life dealing with “hands-on” management of IP (mainly copyright, trademarks, patents, collaborations and licensing agreements), while spending substantial amount of time in the wild slopes and glaciers of Chamonix. This latter experience sparked his commitment to sustainable engagements, firstly as partner of Creaholic SA (2009-2017) and then as Co-founder & CEO of Gjosa SA (2017-2024), which delivered unique water-saving solutions and gets recently acquired by L’Oréal. During those journeys, he developed a key sensibility to business R&D with an environmental stewardship and became a true believer that a team with dedication and care doesn’t just act: it creates changes. Besides his current company (Ideality), he acts as advisor, board member and / or investor in local organizations and selected Swiss start-ups, active mainly in the Greentech domains.