Future Pioneers Award: This year’s jury

Olaf Gersemann

RHead of Economics, Finance, Real Estate WELT

Olaf Gersemann, born in 1968, has been working for the WELT Group since 2007. For years he was head of department for the business pages of WELT AM SONNTAG. Today he mainly takes care of day-to-day and digital business – and digital innovation projects.

Gersemann has a degree in economics, studied in Cologne and Dublin and worked for Wirtschaftswoche in Düsseldorf and Washington. In 2005 he returned to Germany as foreign editor of the Financial Times Deutschland. Gersemann is married and has two children.

Solveig Rathenow

Editor-in-Chief, Editor-in-Chief, Head of Business Insider Department

“With the Future Pioneers Award, we are putting the next generation in the spotlight, who will play a key role in shaping the change in society and the economy.”

Solveig studied Romance languages ​​and German in Bonn and Paris before beginning her journalistic training at the Axel Springer Academy. After positions in state politics and business at BILD Berlin and BZ, she worked as a freelance correspondent from East Africa. After a foray into corporate communications in the fintech sector, Solveig has headed Business Insider’s business department since December 2020.

dr Ulf Poschardt

Editor-in-Chief WORLD

“In times of upheaval, progress is not a long, calm river, but a stormy sea, sometimes frightening. It is all the more important that there are people who are not afraid of it, but accept the challenges enthusiastically. Extraordinary future makers whose talent, diligence and intelligence are recognized by Business Insider and WELT with the Future Pioneers Award 2023.”

dr Ulf Poschardt is WELT Editor-in-Chief and author. Born in Nuremberg in 1967, Poschardt first studied journalism at the LMU Munich and the German School of Journalism, then philosophy at the Munich University of Philosophy, which is supported by the Jesuit order. The doctorate took place in 1995 with Friedrich Kittler on “DJ Culture” at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Several journalistic positions followed, he was editor-in-chief of the magazine of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, creative director at WELT AM SONNTAG, editor-in-chief of the German Vanity Fair – and since 2016 Poschardt has been editor-in-chief of WELT. Poschardt is the author of several books, including “DJ Culture” from 1995, in which he tells the history of pop culture as the history of disc jockeys, “911” from 2013 about the Porsche 911 as a phenomenon of time, culture, technology and Design history as well as “Mündig” from 2020, a pamphlet for the maturity of the individual.

Ulf Poschardt lives and works in Berlin.

Mina Saidze

Tech Evangelist, FreeTech Academy

“Future Pioneers stand for the German inventive spirit to promote a sustainable economy and society. I would also like to see more technological innovations with the stamp “Made in Germany” so that we can keep up with countries like the USA and China in global competition. Let’s not just talk about the future, but proactively shape it!”

Mina Saidze is an award-winning data expert, tech evangelist and founder. She currently works as a data lead at Axel Springer and teaches as a tech evangelist at the FreeTech Axel Springer Academy for Journalism and Technology.

With Inclusive Tech, she founded Europe’s first consulting and lobbying organization for diversity in tech and AI ethics, which works with Meta, Axa and Yelp, among others. In 2021, she made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and was named a LinkedIn Top Voice. She also won Global Digital Women’s Digital Female Leader Award and the Emotion Award.

She has also been invited by Google, SAP and Deutsche Telekom to speak about technology, innovation and artificial intelligence. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, Forbes, Der Spiegel, ZDF and other media.

Jakob Wais

Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider

“We live in times of dramatic upheaval. The future belongs to those who see this upheaval as an opportunity. People who dare to go ahead and create. The Future Pioneers Award is all about these young pioneers. Together, Business Insider and WELT bring together the most brilliant minds of Generation Z. Together we develop new ideas and change the world.”

Jakob Wais is the editor-in-chief and managing director of Business Insider Germany. Born in Horb am Neckar in 1989, he made a name for himself at a young age as an expert in product strategy and digital distribution. In addition to Business Insider Germany, his journalistic portfolio also includes brands such as Gründerszene and Macht & Millions. In 2022, Medium Magazin voted him one of the journalists of the year. Already in 2018 he was included in the prestigious “30 under 30” list by Forbes magazine and highlighted as one of the most promising young media professionals in Europe. He is a graduate of IESE Business School and the Axel Springer Academy.