Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ EMEIA Class of 2022

Aebhín Cawley, located in Ireland, is the CEO of Scott Cawley and is responsible for ensuring the company’s vision, mission and goals are met. She is currently implementing a strategic review action plan, driving company profitability and developing business in the “nature positive” area. Aebhín is an experienced ecologist, practicing in Ireland since 2002 and building strong relationships with clients, national nature conservation agencies and specialist suppliers. She has been influential in the evolution of ecological impact assessment work in Ireland through capacity-building work, including training at a central and local government level, preparing guidelines, and organizing and speaking at conferences. Aebhín holds an honors degree in Zoology from Trinity College, Dublin, and a postgraduate diploma in Physical Planning at Trinity. She is a Chartered Environmentalist with the Society for the Environment and a Full Member of the CIEEM. She is a ministerial appointee on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Advisory Committee.

Aine O’Leary, located in Ireland, is the founder and owner of Wardrobe, a size-inclusive ladies fashion business. Wardrobe — with a motto of “Let you shine through” — launched in 1991 and has expanded to four physical stores and two online stores. Wardrobe Boutique stocks sizes 8 to 16 and comprises two physical stores and an e-commerce store. Wardrobe Plus stocks sizes 16 to 32 and comprises two physical stores and an e-commerce business. Since the pandemic, the e-commerce side of Wardrobe Plus accounts for 50% of the business and has become a leader in Irish plus-size fashion circles. The plus-size side of the business has also grown quickly. In 2022, the company launched its own brand, Mellomi, of core wardrobe staples developed with sustainability and cost per wear in mind. Outside of work, Aine loves to spend time with friends and family, walk in nature, read, cook and travel.

Anita Cvetić Oreščanin, located in Croatia, is the Co-founder of Poslovna Inteligencija  (PI). She is currently a board member of PI and Managing Director of BIRD Consulting Austria. As a board member, she is responsible of Finance, HR, Internal IT and Marketing. She is also a member of the supervisory board of the Association of Croatian Independent Software Exporters and is active in initiatives focused on supporting women entrepreneurship. In 2019, Anita participated in the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program’s “Hidden No More: Empowering Women Leaders in STEM.”

Bea Magro, located in Spain, is Co-founder and CEO of Komvida, a kombucha company. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting and a master’s degree in International Law from the University of Granada. Bea worked in the education sector in Germany and the US, then moved back to Spain where she was a project manager for a think tank. In 2015, Bea’s entrepreneurial spirit drove her to leave her job in Spain and travel the world. She was introduced to kombucha in California and saw an opportunity to introduce it to the European market. She and her childhood friend, a chemical engineer, founded Komvida in 2017 with a strong commitment to women; its workforce is 86% rural women. Komvida distributes its kombucha through an online store and more than 10,000 organic stores and large Spanish supermarkets, with a presence in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Caroline Gleeson, located in Ireland, is the cofounder and CEO of award-winning tech startup Occupop, a beautifully simple recruitment software built for small-and-medium-sized businesses. An MA graduate of Oxford University with a long career in the recruitment industry, Caroline is passionate about empowering technology in the hiring process to make recruitment incredibly easy and accessible to everyone at work. At Occupop, the automation and digitization of the recruitment process for growing companies have been a key area of focus. The goal is helping small and medium-size businesses across the world turn manual, laborious volume hiring processes into efficient, candidate-friendly digital experiences so businesses can hire the best people and build the best teams.

Claire Mason, located in United Kingdom, is an entrepreneur, non-executive director, CEO and founder of global thought leadership consultancy Man Bites Dog. Claire develops future thinking for brands to position them as leaders in the next economy. With 25 years of experience leading global strategic marcomms programs, Claire and her team create signature campaigns for the technology, professional and financial services firms shaping the future of business. Claire has developed global thought leadership campaigns on the future of work, global trade and financing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Zeronomics (the economics of net zero transition). An established keynote speaker, Claire is a champion of sustainability, global trade, the knowledge economy, entrepreneurship, and diversity and inclusion. Claire is campaigning to close the Gender Say Gap – a term she coined to address the underrepresentation of women and minorities in business and in public life – by increasing the visibility of diverse experts.

Deniz Ficicioglu, located in Germany, is one of the driving forces behind sustainable, plant-based seafood brand BettaF!sh. She and her cofounder and co-CEO Jacob von Manteuffel are turning regeneratively cultivated seaweed into a mainstream ingredient for the food industry, making their shared vision a reality: to create an alternative to fishery that allows our oceans to heal. Deniz holds a BA in Economic and Social Communication from Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin). She lived in Istanbul during the Gezi protests before researching the future of food while working at various food startups. She has authored two cookbooks.

Elle McIntosh, located in United Kingdom, is the multiple award-winning Co-founder of Twipes. Using her degree in biomedical science, Elle invented Twipes, the first truly flushable wet wipe that disperses in water in three hours. Along with her business partner, Elle set up the company in 2015 and since then, Twipes has been featured in The Guardian, Forbes and City A.M. Elle won the Mayor of London Entrepreneur award in 2017 and the MSDUK award in 2018. In 2019, Elle won the Diana Award in her achievements in science. Her most recent achievement is being listed in Forbes 30 Under 30.

Elles Roeleveld, located in the Netherlands, is the founder and CEO of lingerie company Soft Revolt. She studied International Business at Tilburg University and worked for 10 years at ING Bank in different roles. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. After 10 years, she decided to follow her dream and start her own lingerie company. To gain customer experience, she worked for one year in the leading lingerie store in Amsterdam, Salon de Lingerie. During this time, she decided to develop soft and strong lingerie to appreciate and support women with their natural curves. She developed the first 3D knitted wireless yet supportive bra for women with larger cup sizes, reducing pain and increasing comfort. With this patented product, CO2 emissions are up to 20 times lower than ordinary production methods. Elles lives in Amstelveen with her partner and her two children.

Hedwig Heinsman, located in the Netherlands, is driven to disrupt the global architecture, engineering and construction industry with her circular architecture on-demand platform Aectual. She has over 15 years of experience in the cutting-edge architecture firm DUS, known for the 3D Print Canal House, an internationally acclaimed design-and-build research project into new global housing solutions and market explorations. In 2017, she cofounded digital construction firm Aectual, a global platform for circular and customizable architectural products at industrial scale. With its proprietary software tools and XL robotic 3D printers, Aectual enables designers and builders to create tailor-made architecture on a mass scale in a sustainable way using bio-based and recycled materials. Globally recognized brands like Nike, Hermes, BMW and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol use Aectual’s technology. Hedwig studied architecture at Helsinki University of Technology and holds a cum laude master’s degree from Delft Technical University.

Julie Brien, located in the United Kingdom, is the creator of TriMedika, a medical technology company. She graduated with a master’s degree in German from Aberdeen University, Scotland, and began working as an export sales manager for a business based in Northern Ireland, using her abilities in modern languages to promote products throughout the EU and Nordic territories, then the Far East. She undertook post-grad qualifications in Communication, Advertising and PR, which supported her role as Comms Officer for a leading local company specializing in heating engineering. She was part of startup team for a med tech company before taking the step to create TriMedika with other members of the founding team. This journey began in 2014, and the company was incorporated in 2016. Managing ethically in a way that enables others to identify and meet their potential is an essential part of TriMedika's culture, with collaboration as the cornerstone.

Lidija Karaga, located in Croatia, is a cofounder of Poslovna Inteligencija (PI) and managing director of BIRD Nordics, Sweden. As a PI board member, she is responsible for Sales, Partners Management and the Project Management Office. She is active in initiatives focused on encouraging children in science, technology, engineering and math. In 2016, Lidija was named “Best Women Entrepreneur” by Women in Adria. In 2020, Lidija was among finalists for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ for Croatia.

Lucia Schwienbacher, located in Germany, grew up in Munich. She studied law at the University of Regensburg and Helsinki with a focus on criminology, European and international criminal law, juvenile justice and law enforcement. She spent her first professional years in one of the oldest law firms in Munich, specializing in general civil law and intellectual property law. In 2013, she founded Sym GmbH and Hypozentrum GmbH, and in 2014 her own law firm with a focus on holistic legal and tax advice for small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs at the shareholder level. From the beginning, the law firm has worked purely digitally and with the guiding values of openness and reliability. Lucia is passionate about promoting and shaping the transformation process toward an ecological, regional and social economy. She is married and the mother of two boys. She is also an art lover and a passionate violinist.

Lucy James, located in United Kingdom, is the cofounder of Quarsh, a recruitment and retention company, and is experienced in all aspects of hiring. Her focus for the last 12 years has been on helping companies hire well and for the long term. Her recruitment career began in 1998. A second career as a scuba instructor came in 2003, culminating in running a dive shop on a Nicaraguan island until a hurricane destroyed it. She joined Norman Broadbent to learn executive search, then took a partnership in a boutique search firm. She set up Quarsh in 2010 with her cofounder, her former CEO at Norman Broadbent, while expecting her first baby. Their focus is on rolling out more sustainable recruitment processes for small and medium-size companies. Quarsh became B Corp Certified in 2022. Entirely self-funded and organically grown, it now has 25 employees and a supportive, inclusive culture.

Magdalena Linke-Koszek, located in Poland, is a lawyer, author and lecturer at University of Oxford and UCL London, speaker at business conferences and, above all, founder and CEO of Her Impact, a platform and an app for women's professional development. In 2021, she published the e-book Let's Talk about HER Money on the subject of building financial independence and investing, very closely related to her experience. In 2022, she launched a podcast with the same title, in which she discusses in detail the process of building a company and raising funds for it. Currently, she is working on two new formats of this same topic.

Marta Palmeiro, located in United Kingdom, is the Co-founder of StudentFinance, a career mobility platform operating at the intersections of FinTech, EdTech and the future of work. She was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, and her professional background is in investment banking, having worked at Credit Suisse in the Capital Markets division in London and Madrid for over 10 years. She has been actively involved in innovation and the startup ecosystem in Portugal as an angel investor and as a founder and board member of Portugal Fintech. The association promotes the FinTech ecosystem in Portugal and fosters collaboration among startups, regulators, investors and incumbents/corporates. StudentFinance, founded in 2019, is developing the technological infrastructure to eliminate the skills gap and support the end-to-end reskilling and upskilling journey so that everyone has the opportunity and financial access to education and economic mobility. Marta is also the mother of three girls.

Ophelia Snyder, located in Switzerland, is the cofounder and president of 21.co, which provides access to crypto through simple and easy-to-use products through its collection of companies, including 21Shares and Amun. Ophelia is a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum. She began her career working in venture capital and then investment banking which led her into crypto. She was born and raised in Italy and the United States, and she attended Stanford University.

Ralitsa Ivanova, located in Bulgaria, has been interested in technologies and computers from a young age. She graduated from Technological School Electronic Systems in Bulgaria and started working as an iOS developer at age 19. At age 20, with two of her classmates, she founded software company Appolica, which now has 60 people. She was selected for the Forbes 30 under 30 2022 group.

Rasmina Gurbatova, located in Azerbaijan is the founder, owner and designer of Resm, the first Azerbaijani jewellery brand inspired by traditional patterns and ornaments. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors from the Baku State University’s International Relations and International Law Department. She worked for the World Bank Group for 10 years as a communication assistant, consultant and country communication associate. In 2012, Rasmina established Resm, inspired from ancient ornaments and designs. All pieces come with explanations of the design’s historical context, the origin of ornaments and traditional patterns. Resm pieces feature a gold base as well as precious stones to enhance the overall aesthetic and intrinsic value. The brand became very popular and in 2013, Rasmina opened her first concept boutique. In 2017, she expanded her offerings to scarves designed with images and explanations of symbols. As a hobby, Rasmina likes composing music and giving concerts.

Dr. Roisin Molloy, located in the United Kingdom, is CEO and founder of TriMedika, an innovative medical technology company. Roisin is a biochemist with over 25 years of experience in product research and development, sales and marketing of medical products into international hospital markets. TriMedika is redefining care by providing accurate clinical devices for hospitals worldwide. In 2016, the company realized that contact thermometers were a huge source for infection. To improve vital patient care worldwide with technology that safeguards patients and caregivers, it designed a non-contact infrared thermometer for use in hospital clinical wards. TRITEMP is engineered to be used 40,000 times and is sold in 21 countries through hospital distribution partners. Its key markets are Ireland and UK, followed by Germany and Austria. It plans to scale the business through product diversification into connected devices and market diversification into the US.

Sarah Chapman, located in the United Kingdom, started working for herself many years ago and developed her business through 20 years of hands-on research and experience. Her bespoke facials combine her signature “gymnastics” massage with advanced technology and cosmeceutical formulas to deliver rejuvenated skin that glows with health. Her award-winning, industry-disrupting Skinesis skincare range was launched in 2008, proving that high-tech formulas can be combined with the best natural ingredients to deliver effective results in a luxurious way. Her flagship Skinesis Clinic in Chelsea, London, and pop-ups in New York City and Los Angeles are the ultimate destinations for those pursuing healthy, radiant skin. Her exceptional facial massage is much-loved by clients all over the world including, celebrities. Her London team performs over 15,000 facials a year, with a waiting list of over four months. The Skinesis Clinic is regularly featured in the pages of the world’s top beauty press.

Silviya Pavlova, located in Bulgaria, is the founder of Orenda Group, an organic cosmetic company. She studied in three continents and has always been curious to discover new ways of learning and working. Later in her professional life, she realized that true magic comes when you write your own rules. She started her company in 2014 with the idea that she was not going to seek the standard understanding of success. For Silviya, it was more important to make honest products, awesome partnerships and a stress-free working environment. Two months after the launch, the company exported to eight countries, reaching 12 by the end of the year. Its kids’ sunscreen is No. 1 in safety on the planet, according to INCI Beauty. To clear her mind, Silviya is a guest lecturer at American University and Sofia University. She also writes culinary books and records songs.

Sinead Doherty, located in Ireland, is the founder and CEO of Fenero, a financial management company for contractors and freelancers that has grown from a one-woman business in 2009 to a team of more than 70 today, processing over €200 million in payments annually. She was born in Dublin, Ireland, grew up near London, then moved back to Dublin at 22 after finishing her studies. She graduated with an honour’s degree in Modern History and International Relations, but her interest in business led her to an accounting career. She qualified as an ACCA accountant before founding Fenero at age 27. She also became a Qualified Financial Advisor and more recently a qualified Executive & Leadership Coach. She is passionate about the power of business as a vehicle for positive change and is currently undertaking the US-based Inner MBA program for conscious leadership and business. Sinead was awarded Accountant of the Year in the 2020 Irish Accountancy Awards.

Slađana Krpić, located in Croatia, joined PI in 2005 after graduation and grew her experience as a consultant, designer, architect, team lead and project manager on complex data analytics projects for enterprise clients in region and Europe. She has held different management positions in the Consulting and Implementation department and grew to become a genuine people and business leader. As a PI board member, Slađana is responsible for Consulting and Implementation, and manages a team of more than 110 experts.

Valeria Vahorovska, located in United Kingdom, is the cofounder and CEO of Fondy, an innovative online payments solution with global coverage and an ever-expanding portfolio. With over eight years of experience in financial services, she is an innovative key player in FinTech, committed to channeling her influence to support and increase inclusion within the e-commerce space. Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in nurturing passion and innovative advancements in today's world, so for Valeria, entrepreneurs are the biggest drivers of the economy. To support this, she developed an educational platform for those who want to start and scale their businesses. The core aim is to transfer valuable knowledge. An ambassador of the European Women Payments Network (EWPN) and a proactive champion of women in FinTech, Valeria works with EWPN to support and mentor many other female entrepreneurs.

Verónica Orvalho, located in Portugal, has been a global leader for 15 years in the research and development of facial technology and the application of that technology to help people communicate and connect more authentically. Veronica created Didimo with the focus on making the digital world more human and has pioneered the technology to generate high-fidelity digital humans. This patented technology is transforming how companies can establish more human digital experiences for their consumers. Verónica has a PhD in Computer Graphics and is a professor at Porto University. Her inventions have been used by Universal Studios, Sony, Microsoft and Amazon. She is a dreamer and an optimist and believes everyone should have access to education. Verónica is the mother of a boy and a girl — and is helping to create a world that allows them to express and present themselves anywhere they wish while simultaneously safeguarding their digital selves.

Yuehua (Moonie) Zhu, currently residing in Germany, cofounded eTOC, which help international companies thrive in the Chinese market with their China e-commerce digital marketing expertise. Born in China, Moonie moved to Germany in 2006. She adapted quickly and is now well versed in both cultures. Her professional career set sail from Beiersdorf, where she gained deep insights into supply chain. Moonie then moved to Henkel which helped her gain complementing knowledge in marketing and was given her first P&L management role. However, something was still missing — the connection to China. This opportunity was aptly delivered by Tchibo who offered her the opportunity to take the helm of their Chinese market entry. In 2018, Moonie realized her ambition as she co-founded eTOC. This start-up managed to double its revenue every year with zero funding. It gained the trust of over 50 renowned brands for their Chinese online business.