Jury

The shortlist and eventual winners for each Awards category - as well as the Special Mention - are selected by an independent jury, set up by the European Commission, and composed of a cross-section of European experts.

 

DETLEF FECHTNER

Jury - Detlef Fechtner

Detlef Fechtner is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Börsen-Zeitung. He studied politics, economics, and history in Frankfurt and Brussels, and worked at the Center for North American Studies in Frankfurt. His academic background includes research stays in South Africa, Ukraine, and the United States, including time at Cornell and Harvard.

Following his studies, Fechtner began his journalism career as an editor and later financial correspondent for the news agency vwd (now Dow Jones Germany). He then joined the Frankfurter Rundschau, working in the business section, eventually serving as Deputy Head of Department. In 2005, Fechtner became Frankfurter Rundschau's correspondent in Brussels. A year later, he moved to the Brussels office of the WAZ Group, where he reported for four years on EU affairs for 19 German regional newspapers.Since 2010, he has served as Europe Correspondent for Börsen-Zeitung.

 

EGLĖ FREDRIKSSON

Person

Eglė Fredriksson has been a Portfolio Manager at East Capital since 2004. A Lithuanian national, she studied finance and economics at the Stockholm School of Economics in both Riga and Stockholm. Fredriksson focuses on investment management for Eastern European fund products and mandates, with a strong emphasis on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) engagement with portfolio companies across Central Europe and the Baltics. She has been active in the asset management industry since 2003 and is currently based in Stockholm.

East Capital is an independent asset manager founded in 1997, specialising in investments in emerging and frontier markets. The firm follows an active and responsible investment approach, with a strong integration of ESG principles. This includes regular engagement with portfolio companies, guided by proprietary ESG scorecards, to help enhance long-term returns.

 

EKATERINA GIANELLI

Person

Ekaterina Gianelli is a Partner at Nordic venture capital firm Inventure. An operator-turned-investor, she works closely with founders, focusing on seed and early-stage investments across a wide range of sectors, including consumer businesses, digital health, femtech, the future of food, and circular or conscious consumption.

Before joining Inventure, Gianelli was part of the core team that scaled Fjord from a small consultancy into a globally recognized design and innovation firm. Fjord was later acquired by Accenture Interactive in 2013. She also gained hands-on experience in product and sales at the advertising technology startup Kiosked.

 

MARTIN HOCK 

Martin Hock

Martin Hock is the Finance Editor for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) in Frankfurt. He studied economics in Mainz, where he also worked as a research assistant. In 1997, he completed his doctoral thesis on the political dynamics behind the long-term transformation of Hungary’s socialist economy from 1968 to 1996. That same year, he joined the editorial team of the finance TV program ‘3satBörse’. Hock later worked for the magazines ‘DIE TELEBÖRSE’ and ‘DM’, which was later rebranded as Euro, serving as deputy head of the online edition. In 2005, he joined the finance section of FAZ.NET, where he specializes in reporting on investments in small and medium-sized companies.

 

PHAEDON TAMVAKAKIS

Person

Phaedon-Theodore D. Tamvakakis is the Co-Founder (est. 1987) and currently serves as Chairman of Alpha Trust Mutual Fund and Alternative Investment Fund Management S.A. He started his career in 1985 at Unilever Greece as a Product Manager, and has since been Managing Director at both Hambros Hellenic Mutual Fund S.A. and Orion International Investment Trust S.A.

Tamvakakis is a member of the Board of the Hellenic Authors' Society, as well as occupying various non-executive positions in corporations and charities. He holds a BA in Economics and English from the American College of Greece, and an MA in Investment and Finance from the University of Exeter.