Impactful Innovation 26

Fraser is a master of scaling physical products in complex, highly regulated industries. As the General Manager of Virbac NZ and Innovation Director for the Pacific, he oversees the entire commercialisation lifecycle—from ambitious R&D to manufacturing and global strategy. Fraser brings decades of executive experience bridging the gap between foundational science, regulatory hurdles, and massive commercial success in planetary and animal health.

Juliana Garaizar is a driving force in funding the global energy transition. As a Partner at EnergyBackers and Founding Partner of Energy Tech Nexus, she has built a formidable career at the intersection of international venture capital and sustainable innovation. From launching major climate tech incubators like Greentown Labs Houston to her extensive work as a Lead Investor and Kauffman Fellow, Juliana reveals exactly what it takes to fund, build, and scale transformational climate technologies for a global market.

Kathryn Meng invests in solutions that heal the planet while delivering healthy profits. As a Principal on the Planetary Health team at RA Capital Management, she deploys capital into the next generation of energy, industrial decarbonization, and biotechnology startups. Kathryn offers founders and investors a masterclass in combining massive environmental impact with serious commercial viability, capital discipline, and long-term market scale.

Dr. Kelli Luginbuhl has lived the ultimate biotech commercialisation arc. She co-founded Isolere Bio while finishing her PhD at Duke University, stepped into the CEO role, and successfully navigated her platform technology to a major corporate acquisition. Now an ecosystem builder, startup advisor, and board director, Kelli offers founders an unfiltered, practical blueprint for translating university science into real-world commercial triumphs.

Ollie is an engineer by training, entrepreneur by heart, and investor by trade, with deep expertise in bioprocessing and life science tools. He completed his Engineering Doctorate at UCL before founding Puridify, a biotech tools company based on his academic research. As CEO, he led Puridify through venture funding to a successful acquisition by GE Healthcare in 2017. He has since worked across both corporate and investment environments, including GE Healthcare, Danaher Corporation, and M Ventures, supporting innovation, business strategy, M&A, and early-stage company building. Having led an SME and worked within large global corporates, Ollie brings practical insight into the needs of spin-outs and start-ups from inception through to growth and exit. Based in London, Ollie is an Honorary Lecturer at UCL, has served two elected terms on the board of the BioIndustry Association, and is active on 10 company boards globally, and invests in life sciences through his role as EIR and Investment Director at M Ventures, and more broadly as an angel investor.

Dr. Rinku A. Patel has evolved from clinical pharmacy practice to the cutting edge of AI healthcare technology. As the CEO of Polysight and the former founder of the successfully acquired KloudScript, she knows exactly what it takes to scale SaaS platforms in high-stakes, heavily regulated industries. Rinku will deliver a practical founder's playbook on leveraging AI-assisted prototyping to validate ideas earlier, move faster, and build world-changing companies with absolute trust and discipline.