EuroCDP Venture Development Programme features a wide range of leading experts who offer their assistance and expertise to participating companies. On this page, you can learn more about some of the experts who will be participating in the event taking place in Amsterdam in June.

Bio

Dr. Achim Strass received his Diploma in Physics from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, in 1994 and earned his PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in Silicon Process Technology from the Bundeswehr University Munich in 1998.

He began his career at Siemens (now Infineon Technologies), where he held several technical management positions in Singapore, China, Korea and Germany in the development of electronic packages and high-power modules. He led teams to replace gold wire by copper wire as interconnect for the 1st time in the industry for high-integration automotive electronic packages. In Korea he earned the prestigious High-Performance Award for the development and integration of a novel double-sided cooled power module for vehicle electrification. 

In 2017, Dr. Strass joined Huawei in the greater Munich area in Germany, tasked with building a large-scale, modern manufacturing technology center from scratch. He was appointed Director of the Advanced Power Electronics Technical Management Group at the corporate level. He successfully led the pre‑development of the traction inverter power modules for Huawei‑powered electric vehicle platforms, which have since achieved significant commercial success. Since 2022, Dr. Strass has served as the head of worldwide technology scouting and cooperation at Nexperia, leveraging his extensive network to connect this young company with global semiconductor ecosystems. He is a member of Nexperia’s R&D Leadership Team and contributes to several internal and external top management boards. 

Bio

Dr. Achim Strass received his Diploma in Physics from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, in 1994 and earned his PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in Silicon Process Technology from the Bundeswehr University Munich in 1998.

He began his career at Siemens (now Infineon Technologies), where he held several technical management positions in Singapore, China, Korea and Germany in the development of electronic packages and high-power modules. He led teams to replace gold wire by copper wire as interconnect for the 1st time in the industry for high-integration automotive electronic packages. In Korea he earned the prestigious High-Performance Award for the development and integration of a novel double-sided cooled power module for vehicle electrification. 

In 2017, Dr. Strass joined Huawei in the greater Munich area in Germany, tasked with building a large-scale, modern manufacturing technology center from scratch. He was appointed Director of the Advanced Power Electronics Technical Management Group at the corporate level. He successfully led the pre‑development of the traction inverter power modules for Huawei‑powered electric vehicle platforms, which have since achieved significant commercial success. Since 2022, Dr. Strass has served as the head of worldwide technology scouting and cooperation at Nexperia, leveraging his extensive network to connect this young company with global semiconductor ecosystems. He is a member of Nexperia’s R&D Leadership Team and contributes to several internal and external top management boards. 

Bio

Ahmed Ben Slimane leads ASIC portfolio strategy and roadmap development at IC-Link (imec), with a focus on advanced nodes, chiplet integration, and 3D packaging technologies. He also advises investors and corporates on semiconductor M&A and market strategy through Strategic Semiconductors (Paris). With roots in compound semiconductor research and over a decade of experience across market intelligence, business development, and portfolio management, Ahmed brings a rare combination of engineering depth and strategic breadth to the semiconductor industry. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from KAUST and a Master’s in Micro- and Nanotechnology from INPG and EPFL.

Bio

Fabrizio Del Maffeo is an Italian technology executive and entrepreneur, best known as the CEO and co-founder of Axelera AI, a Netherlands-based semiconductor company developing hardware and software platforms for AI inference. Founded in 2021 and headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Axelera AI has emerged as the Europe’s leading AI chip company, having secured in less than 5 years over $450 million in funding and growing to more than 250 employees across 18 countries with offices in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, UK, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Greece, USA.      

Bio

Professionally born as a physicist, Massimo Gentili has been developing in +40 years an overall competence in business, integrating human resources, assets, and financial constraints in complex high-tech environments. After graduation in 1984 he spent 15 years as researcher at the National Research Council of Italy-CNR before moving to industry in 1999. In industry he was the manager of Advanced Technology in STMicroelectronics and then VP Photonics Technology in Pirelli. More recently he served as Director at the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento-Italy, CTO and Business Unit Director of TESMEC S.p.A and Director General of the Inphotec Foundation of the Scuola Sant’Anna in Pisa. Currently he works as independent professional in the field of Technology Transfer and Management. He is also Partner of the Eureka! Venture, the independent Italian Venture Capital Asset Management Company exclusively focused on deep tech investments. 

Bio

Loïc worked 25 years for ST where he led several product divisions, has been Chief Strategy Officer and co-founded and managed ST’s corporate venture fund. He co-founded and led for 10 years GreenWaves Technologies, an AI processor start-up for energy constrained devices. Loïc is now working on a new project, a server class probabilistic AI processor start-up.

Bio

Markus Bohl is CEO and Co-Founder of Ignite Next, a scale-up program for European deep tech startups. Working with strategic partners including Intel, Infineon, Synopsys, and Arrow Electronics, Ignite Next helps founders in semiconductors, physical AI, and advanced computing bridge the gap between breakthrough technology and commercial scale. Previously, Markus led Intel’s global startup program in Europe. He brings direct founder experience from building and scaling multiple tech companies.

Bio

Misal G. Memeo holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Pavia and completed postdoctoral research with visiting research experiences at the University of Cambridge (UK), Leiden University (NL), and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). Following his academic career, he served as Science Advisor at the Office of the Italian Prime Minister, bridging scientific expertise and public policy. He later earned an MBA and transitioned into the venture capital world. He is currently Managing Partner at Obloo Ventures, a leading Italian VC firm focused on early-stage deep tech innovation across computing technologies, aerospace, and energy & climatetech.!  

Bio

Mohammed Tmimi, PhD, advises investors and corporates on semiconductor M&A, due diligence, and market intelligence through Nanochips Consulting (Paris). He has cross-border experience spanning Europe, the GCC, and Asia, and is currently leading semiconductor due diligence engagements for a sovereign fund. He combines hands-on transaction experience from AAC Technologies’ corporate venture capital and corporate development teams with deep technical expertise gained at STMicroelectronics and Yole Intelligence. He holds a PhD in Nanoelectronics from INP Phelma / Université Grenoble Alpes.

Bio

Peter Vanbekbergen is a repeat deeptech entrepreneur turned investor who previously co-founded multiple imec spin-offs including M4S (acquired by Huawei/HiSilicon) and worked at CoWare (acquired by Synopsys), giving him hands-on experience turning advanced semiconductor research into venture-scale companies. He has cycled multiple times between researcher, associate VP, and innovation manager roles at imec itself, making him an unusually embedded bridge between imec’s labs and the startups that commercialize its technology. 

Bio

Steve Beckers accumulates 42 years of experience in the semiconductor industry. He started his career as ASIC Design Engineer in Alcatel, and subsequently occupied positions as Product Engineering Manager and Quality Manager in Alcatel Microelectronics. Starting 1995, Steve worked 5 years at Alcatel Headquarters and then joined STMicroelectronics where he developed the Connectivity Products Business. Since 2013, Steve is part of imec, 10 years as Vice President and General Manager of IC-link, now in an SVP consulting role, involved in imec’s internationalization.

Bio

Davide Zaccariello is a Leadership Development and Executive Communication expert and creator of the Digital Mindset Coach, Dave, for which he designed the content architecture and learning framework. He teaches at Ashridge HULT International Business School and collaborates with international universities and organizations across technology, finance, and research.  His work focuses on helping founders, engineers, and leaders turn technical expertise into clear, persuasive communication, especially in high-stakes environments involving investors, partners, and complex stakeholders. He has worked with organizations such as UniCredit, Banca Mediolanum, Italian Institute of Technology, Xerox, and Aga Khan Health Services. Through his Reframing the Mainframe method, he enables individuals and teams to influence decisions, navigate complexity, and build effective collaborations across diverse ecosystems.