Speakers
Mikkel Skovborg
Senior Vice President, Innovation, Novo Nordisk Foundation
Mikkel has been with the Novo Nordisk Foundation since 2026, where he drives activities in innovation and entrepreneurship. His team is a critical bridge between scientific programme areas, incubators (e.g. BII) and the early commercial activities of Novo Seeds.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Mikkel has served as Research Attaché in Palo Alto, California for the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education and Head of development for the Danish Business Research Academy. Mikkel has also been Director for Science and Innovation in Damvad Analytics.
Mikkel Skovborg holds a Masters in Political Science from Copenhagen University, Denmark.
Lars Frølund
Deep Tech Investment Expert and Executive, European Innovation Council
Lars brings a unique perspective on deep tech and impact investing, shaped by his role as a Deep Tech Investment Expert and Executive at the European Innovation Council, where he helps drive investment in breakthrough technologies across Europe.
He also lectures at MIT Sloan School of Management and has advised organizations like NATO and the European Commission on innovation, technological sovereignty, and venture strategy.
Lars Frølund holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Aarhus University, Denmark.
Fireside Chat
Dr. Laura A. Smoliar
CEO, Quantum Denmark
Dr. Laura A. Smoliar, PhD is the CEO of Quantum Denmark - established at the Niels Bohr Institute.
Dr. Laura A. Smoliar is a seasoned deep-tech innovator with nearly three decades of experience bringing scientific breakthroughs to market in Silicon Valley as both a technologist, startup founder, and venture capital investor. She was the inaugural Executive Director of the Taiwan Science and Technology Hub at Stanford University and a Founding Partner of the Berkeley Catalyst Fund, an early-stage VC fund designed to return profits to UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry.
Dr. Smoliar holds degrees in Chemistry from Columbia College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley.
Rasmus Knappe
Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft
Rasmus Knappe serves as Director of Technology and Security at Microsoft Denmark, where he is responsible for guiding customers in optimizing and modernizing their use of Microsoft platforms. He also plays a key role in helping organizations address today’s cybersecurity challenges, with a strong focus on data protection for both institutions and individuals.
Since joining Microsoft Denmark in 2016, Rasmus has held several leadership roles, most recently as Cloud Solution Architect Manager within the Data and AI domain. Before that, he spent a 10 years at Oracle in various positions, gaining broad experience across the tech landscape.
He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Roskilde University and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence.
Knowledge Exchange Workshop
Shiva Loccisano
Tech Transfer Expert and CEO, AlmaCube srl and Behold srl
With over 15 years’ experience in Technology Transfer and Innovation, he was Head of Technology Transfer at Politecnico di Torino for more than 10 years and is currently CEO of BeHold srl, the holding company managing the University of Bologna Spin-offs portfolio. He is also executive board member at AlmaCube srl, the incubator and innovation hub of the University of Bologna and Confindustria Emilia Area Centro.
He was board member at Netval, where is currently consulting as Senior Project Manager for the Knowledge Share 2.0 project, and was in the past a Council Member within ATTP (Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals).
Shiva holds a Msc in Industrial Biotechnology followed by a PhD in Business and Management and a specialising Masters in Project Management for Business Performance and Innovation.
Alex Leech
Partner, Sofinnova Partners
Alex is a Partner in the Sofinnova Biovelocita Strategy. He is an experienced biopharma company builder and a serial CEO, most recently serving as the founding CEO of Alchemab Therapeutics.
Alex's other company-building roles include serving as CEO of Camphos and Zarodex, Entrepreneur in Residence at Bicycle Tx, and as a Venture Partner with SV Health Investors in London. He is currently Chair of the Board at two start-ups, Ensocell and Sevenless. He previously held a range of senior project management positions within Pfizer's R&D organization, including working as part of a small team leading the restructuring of Pfizer’s drug development capabilities.
He holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sussex and an MBA from Henley Management College, UK.
Moderator
Tom Hockaday
Moderator at Nordic Innovation Fair
Tom is an author and leading expert in university technology transferleadership, management and operations and has led the technology transfer activities at the University of Oxford for ten years from 2006 to 2026.
Tom is currently on the investemtn Comitee of three early-stage investment funds in Spain, Italy, and South Africa, and is advising an IP focused investment fund in the US. Furthermore, Tom has advised numerous universities and organizations on technology transfer and innovation management, and has spoken at conferences around the world.
Before Oxford, Tom spent seven years in technology transfer at Bristol University, where he was managing Director of Bristol Innovations Ltd, and four years previously at University College London.