Speakers

Bill Reichert

Partner, Pegasus Tech Ventures

Veteran Silicon Valley legend and global early-stage investor

Bill Reichert is a Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures, specializing in deep technology investments and serving as Chief Evangelist of Startup World Cup. With 20 years in venture capital, he co-authored “Getting to Wow! Silicon Valley Pitch Secrets for Entrepreneurs” and has a diverse background including entrepreneurship, consulting, and public service. Bill is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Sheel Mohnot

Founder & General Partner, Better Tomorrow Ventures

Pre-seed and seed stage global fintech investor

Chris Burry

Founder, Global Innovation Dojo

Helping great startup founders reach their full potential around the world

Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the international trade and development industry.

In the past 15 years, he has worked with over 4,000 startup founders from 82 countries to strengthen their mindset, build their skills to assist them on their journey to professional success.

Colin Donohue

Founder/, Startup Connect/
Co-founder, Global Innovation Dojo

Bridging founders, investors, and expertise

Haytham El-Azaizy

Managing Parner, Intuitio VC (Saudi Arabia)

Top 40 Under 40 MENA

An exited founder with over 16 years of extensive experience in
senior leadership and digital transformation, Haytham specialize in auditing
companies and providing financial advisory services. His expertise
extends to evaluating companies and creating detailed reports for
investors looking to allocate funds across various stages, including
pre-seed, seed, series A, B, and C.

Justin Hwa

Fractional & Interim CXO, Empyrean International

E-commerce, B2B, & AI
Former Global Innovation at eBay

Justin partners with growth-stage companies as a fractional or interim C-level leader—typically stepping in as CPO, COO, or CCO. Hands-on and outcome-driven, he shapes strategy, builds teams, implements structure, and execute plans that unlock their next stage of growth. Justin led Wolt’s global B2B business, Wolt for Work. Before joining Wolt, Justin founded and led eBay’s Commerce Innovations venture studio, where they launched new products and businesses that augment the shopping experience.

Sameer Surtur

Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures

Global Startup Ecosystem Connector

Sameer Sortur is the Founder & CEO of SquareCircle Ventures, a global impact investment and advisory firm based in Palo Alto. With over 20 years of experience, he specializes in scaling growth-stage tech ventures across MEA, APAC, and the US—covering B2B SaaS, AI, PropTech, and fintech. Sameer is also MD‑GCC for Founder Institute and a seasoned mentor, having guided 50+ startups valued over $50M

Nada Shaheen

Managing Director, GB Vetures

Nada Shaheen is the Managing Director of GB Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Ghabbour, where she leads investment expansion, fosters innovation, and bridges the gap between CVC and the startup ecosystem. With over 10 years of experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and venture capital, Nada has collaborated with major industry players such as GB Corp, CBE, and the European Union, leveraging her expertise to drive growth and transformation. As a serial entrepreneur, Nada brings firsthand knowledge of founding and scaling startups, complementing her work as a mentor and leader in the venture capital space.

Aleksandre Jashiashvili

Head of Sustainable Development Department, ProCredit Bank Georgia

Aleksandre Jashiashvili is ProCredit Bank’s Head of Environmental Management, responsible for Environmental, Social, Governance, and Sustainable finance. He has held this position since 2021. Mr.Jashiashvili has 18 years of experience with ProCredit Bank Georgia, including 15 years in managerial roles focusing on corporate clients and credit risk.
Aleksandre Jashiashvili holds a Master’s Degree in Macroeconomics and Management from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Furthermore, he graduated from ProCredit Holding Bankers and Management Academies in Furth, Germany.

Mark Sandler

CEO, Step Energy

Expert of Renewable Energy Development

Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He began his career at GGU as a Junior Engineer, working on hydropower plant projects. He then spent over four years at Cerberus, ultimately serving as Deputy Technical Lead, again focusing on hydropower development. In 2020, he founded a renewable energy EPC company specializing in solar power plants, energy storage systems, EV charging infrastructure, and energy efficiency solutions.

Salim Dhanani

CEO and Co-Founder, Pave Bank

Building the world’s first programmable bank

Salim Dhanani is CEO & Co-Founder of Pave Bank, Georgia’s largest digital bank built for a new financial world with programmable money and digital assets. Prior to Pave Bank, Salim co-founded BigPay, one of the largest Southeast Asian neobanks, was responsible for the EMEA division of Carta Worldwide, a digital payments platform, and worked for the World Bank Group in South America. Salim has built his career in financial services, focusing on banking and payment technology for a diverse range of companies – including established banking players and fintech unicorns.

Taavi Velleste

Founder, Cleori Energy

Sustainable future with clean energy

Taavi Velleste is a renewable energy specialist with over three years of experience at Sunly, where he worked as a sales and product manager. He has contributed to the development of grid integration solutions for solar, wind, and storage assets, focusing on access to mFRR, aFRR, and FCR markets. Taavi is currently developing a platform to help small and medium-scale producers participate in balancing and day-ahead energy markets.

Avigail Menashe

former CEO, Kyrgyz Software and Services Developers Association (KSSDA)

Architect of Capital, Identity and Long – term strategy for the Turkic World

Avigail Menashe is founder of STEM Consulting and a strategist driving tech ecosystem growth and cross-border innovation in Central Asia. As former CEO of KSSDA, she facilitated connections between Central Asian senior executives, founders, and business leaders with U.S. corporations, investors, and partners—enabling strategic partnerships, investor pitching, and knowledge exchange for over 100 regional leaders.

She developed Kyrgyzstan’s tech export development program and created the Central Asian Tech Awards, uniting innovators across the region. Avigail organizes flagship forums in New York City and Central Asia.

Widely acknowledged by Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of State (IVLP), and global development institutions as a leading “tech diplomat,” she now leads the Turkic-American Angel Network—investing exclusively in U.S. and European deals with capital sourced from the U.S. and Turkic states. Avigail also advocates for women’s equity in tech.