The Swiss startup ecosystem gets strong leaders

Maria Anselmi, the new Head of Startups and the Next-Generation Innovators Division at Innosuisse, is an Italian executive with a long career path in business and managing businesses worldwide in countries such as Italy, Slovenia and the US. Most recently, she spent more than 19 years at Stockholm-based Data & Analytics company Bisnode, where she held various top leadership roles. In 2021 Bisnode was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet, a global provider of business decisioning data and analytics. Following the acquisition, Anselmi became the Vice President of Global Data Partnerships for the parent company.

She also brings entrepreneurial expertise, having created one of the first Italian and European payment sites in the 1990s and worked with startups and young companies for more than ten years, including as an Innosuisse special coach. Her business acumen as well as international and digital and data strategy experience thus complement the expertise of the other members of the Innosuisse committee.

“Working for Innosuisse gives me the opportunity to support innovation in an even more concrete way and to help the next generation, inventors, and talented professionals to participate actively in creating the world they would like to live in”, says Amselmi.

Innosuisse published an interview with Maria Anselmi who is also member of the Executive Committee on its website.

Startup Days expands team for new initiatives
Planning the annual Startup Days is underway. The organizers have announced new changes including the addition of new team members to support the event and its new initiative – Collective. Two team members have assumed responsibility.

Melanie Kovac will lead the recently launched initiative Collective, a joint project of Startup Days and SICTIC aiming to boost diversity in the Swiss startup ecosystem. Collective is now entering the next phase. As part of her role, Melanie will be contributing to growing a stronger diverse Swiss startup scene and connecting various initiatives and projects on the topic of diversity and especially ‘Female Founders & Female Investors’.

Serial entrepreneur Cyrille Boinay is assuming the role of Head of startup affairs to implement and nourish the impact of the fields of health, food, and climate, and develop venture as an asset class. He has a track record in building and leading startups, as a founder/co-founder, a member of the advisory board at various startups and a startup coach. Commenting on his motivation to take on the new role, he said: “We as a society, must recognize the impact startups have on the economy, society, and ecology on the national and the local level. They solve problems no other sector is addressing with innovative thinking, thus finding solutions to tackle our actual and future problems.”

(RAN)
Photo: L-R: Maria Anselmi, Melanie Kovac & Cyrille Boinay