2024 Speakers

Albert-Jan de Croes is the Investment Specialist of Novel-T, the KTO of the University of Twente. Here, he advises spin-off and startup companies on their fundraising strategies. In addition to this role, Albert-Jan manages LP positions in various DeepTech VC funds for the university holding.

With a Master’s degree in Finance from the Rotterdam School of Management, Albert-Jan transitioned from corporate finance consultancy to the university spin-off landscape. Over the past years, he has focused on early-stage investments, particularly within the hardware MedTech domain. His expertise includes guiding spin-offs specializing in robotics and Organ-on-Chip technologies, steering them towards successful fundraising and development.

Arezki Yaïche is since 2014 a financial journalist specialised in M&A and EU competition law. As a Senior France Correspondent and Paris Bureau Chief for the global M&A newswire Mergermarket (owned by ION Group), he writes on all types of transactions from competition issues, early stage fundraises, and private deals to takeovers of listed companies and IPOs.

Arezki was previously Senior Correspondent Antitrust for regulatory newswire MLex in Brussels between 2019 and 2021. Before that he worked four years as M&A reporter and Paris Bureau Chief for Mergermarket. Arezki also has a six-year experience as Communication consultant specialised in Finance and EU regulation. He worked for financial and public institutions including Dexia Asset Management in Brussels, Credit Agricole Assurances in France, the French embassy in Stockholm, the European Parliament, and the French Ministry for Agriculture

Carole Absil is a consultant, coach and trainer for HealthTech companies. She worked for 15 years at Agoria, the Belgian technology industry association, helping companies with their advocacy and international business development. In 2020, when the pandemic started, she played a major role in the vaccination strategy and campaign in Wallonia (Belgium) as deputy to the COVID-19 General Commissioner. In 2022, she started her own company providing tailored strategy services in advocacy, scaling and international business development to HealthTech companies.

“Currently, in 2024, I hold the position of Director/CTO for Healthcare & Public Sector throughout EMEA at Microsoft, with a keen focus on leading Generative AI Transformation initiatives. My professional background includes being the former Director for Government & Public Sector in the UK and Ireland at Google Cloud, amounting to over three decades of experience in the field of technology.

As a passionate advocate for technology, especially within the public sector and healthcare, I am committed to leveraging tech for the greater good. I am actively engaged in driving business improvement and outcomes while advocating for environmental protection and pursuing sustainability objectives. Bringing extensive expertise and enthusiasm for Technology, AI, and Business Transformation, I excel in orchestrating transformative changes across various industry sectors. My specializations cover a wide range of areas including AI, Multi-Cloud, Novel Technologies, Strategic Planning, Roadmaps, Architectural Design, and Management. My role involves leading the creation of ambitious, long-term transformation strategies, communicating them to clients, and crafting designs that align with business goals. Collaborating extensively with various stakeholders, I ensure to extract the full value of technological change, balancing the potential against the necessary investment justification. I am deeply involved in promoting diversity in tech, particularly supporting women in the industry. I lead multiple initiatives to foster growth and development within the Women in Tech Network and am proud to be selected as a UN Women UK Delegate for CSW68 in 2024.

A distinguished BCS Fellow and a pioneer member of the Fellows Technical Assurance Group, I have taken the helm for Digital Health & Social Care in the UK. Additionally, I produce a podcast titled “The Healthcare Hacktivist”, which spotlights talent, startups, and innovations in healthtech and medtech. With accreditation in public speaking, I am a renowned presenter, confidently engaging audiences at large-scale international and national events. I am dedicated to guiding businesses in sound technological decision-making by sharing my seasoned insights, championing best practices, and narrowing down the disconnect between customers and providers.”

Kyun Thibaut is the Founder and Managing Director of COVARTIM, an engineering company that helps manufacturers develop and certify their Medical Devices. Located in Belgium (Brussels, Liège) and France (La Rochelle), COVARTIM supports its clients from all around the world at every step of the development of their solutions (R&D, prototyping, manufacturing, V&V, QA, RA, APEX QMS ®).

Kyun has more than 15 years of experience in the MedTech industry. In addition to leading COVARTIM, he regularly teaches at the university and other training programs.

Lynn Coorevits is a Health Innovation Manager at imec, a world-leading R&D and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Lynn has over 15 years of experience in the cross domain of (deep)tech, innovation and health. By involving key stakeholders she accelerates and optimizes innovations. In every step of the innovation process she translates  human requirements into technological ones. From patients to buyers to policy makers, every voice counts. With and for them she identifies needs, barriers, potential value and market entry strategies for these novel technologies.

She is passionate about disruptive health tech and  aspires to transform peoples lives by making them a reality.

Lynn holds MSc degrees in Psychology and Marketing Analysis from Ghent University, Belgium.

Nabil RIAHI, GMED SAS Sales Director, holds a Master’s degree in Health Products Marketing and has 13 years’ experience in the medical device sector, starting in industry and moving on to service companies. He is currently Sales Director of GMED group, which provides regulatory (CE mark, UKCA, etc.) and voluntary (ISO, MDSAP, TAIWAN, etc.) certification services.

Päivi Leppänen is a Business Development Director at Innokas Medical, a leading Nordic contract development and manufacturing company specialized in smart medical devices and SW solutions. Innokas has over 30 years of experience in working with the highly regulated MedTech industry.

Päivi has gained an extensive experience in B2B sales and marketing in the manufacturing industry and ICT business areas, where she has worked for over 25 years ranging from start-ups to mature businesses. She has also worked in various international positions in sales and manufacturing, such as Plant Manager, Laboratory Manager, Export Director, and Business Development Consultant.

At Innokas, she is working with innovative Nordic and European MedTech companies on a daily basis from start-ups to scale-ups. She is passionate about helping companies bring their products into market, especially focusing on guiding them in manufacturing related topics.

Päivi holds Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), in Process Engineering.

Paul Borm is expert in Toxicology and entrepreneur in Life Sciences and Medical Technology and. During his 25-year academic career in Toxicology (Utrecht, Maastricht, Düsseldorf) he conducted research into lung and cardiac diseases with a clear focus on occupational health exposure. In 2004 he co-founded a high-impact journal (PFT) for particle toxicology and he is the author of close to 200 publications. For 20 years now, Nanotechnologies feed his activities on regional and global level, and provide inspiration for both his research and business activities. In 2011 he founded Nano4Imaging GmbH in Dusseldorf (DE) which focuses on improvement of cardiovascular diagnosis and interventions using MRI, and Borm is responsible for clinical evaluation, post-marketing surveillance and patent strategy. Borm acts as (strategic) consultant for several global companies and associations in the field of chemicals, minerals and particles. In 2019 Borm has initiated, guided, organized, moderated and published a consensus opinion workshop on PSLT for all relevant stakeholders. Finally, he acts as a consultant in toxicology, expert assessments and due diligence on strategic and operational level. He still teaches Toxicology at post-graduate courses in NL and Germany, and medical imaging at Dusseldorf University.

Susie A. Ruff is the founder of RUFF & CO. Advisory and brings extensive experience in health innovation and health technology, both in Denmark and internationally. She has served in various key roles, including Director of the Healthcare Innovation Centre for the public hospitals in the Copenhagen Region, Head of Research and Innovation focusing on life sciences, and Regional Export Sales and Marketing Manager. She provides strategic and go-to-market support to industry and healthcare organizations across the Nordic region and the EU. Her work emphasizes user-driven and human-centric innovation. Additionally, she is an external lecturer at Copenhagen Business School for the M.Sc. in Health Innovation program and a member of the InnoExplorer Panel at the Innovation Fund Denmark.

Suzanne Elvidge is a freelance medical writer based in the UK. She writes about medtech, pharmaceuticals and healthcare for print and online publications and clients worldwide.

Tristan Debove has more than 30 years of experience in the digital health industry. Today Country Manager of Orion Health, he has been previously in leadership positions in major Healthcare software companies (eHealth division director of Equasens Pharmagest,, Health and Social Care Director at Inetum Software and Country manager at InterSystems). He’s also an active member of Angels Santé, a recognized business angels organization dedicated to healthcare startups.

Yves Bayon, PhD & MBA, is an employee of Medtronic – Sofradim Production as a Chief Scientist with +20 years of experience of Medical Devices development.

He has since carried out various assignments, including the establishment of the porcine collagen production line, and the development of collagen-based medical devices for the repair or regeneration of soft tissues (i.e. Parietex™ Composite mesh and its derivatives with cumulative sales of over €1 billion). Since 2015, his missions have expanded with cross-functional activities across Medtronic’s multiple divisions (eg cardiovascular, neurovascular, spine, ENT) and with activities going beyond biomaterials, in connection with the digitization of medical devices (eg. AI-based solutions, e-health application).

He is also part of the Research and Innovation committee and the Circular Economy working group of Medtech Europe, a mentor of EIT Health, member of the Gtech of the healthcare cluster Lyonbiopole and member of the investment committee of AxLR SATT.