Hailing from over 20 countries, our multidisciplinary team spans restorative neuroscience, neurotechnology, brain-computer interface, robotics and game design.
Executive Team
A neuroscientist, engineer, entrepreneur and member of the international advisory board of the Brain Forum, Tej is the founder and CEO of MindMaze. Born to a family of physicians in Hyderabad, after studying Electronics Engineering in India, he moved to Switzerland in 2004 to pursue his PhD at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).His research topic, Neural Mechanisms of the Embodied Self: Merging VR and electrical neuroimaging, was the starting point for his pioneering vision to create a computing platform that captures neural and ambient signatures based on intent.
Pierre-Emmanuel has a BA in entrepreneurship from Babson College and an MBA from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Prior to joining MindMaze, Pierre-Emmanuel worked for Pricewaterhouse Coopers for five years in Lausanne. He also holds a CPA license, started his own startup consulting company Tyxom SA in 2011 and has supported many startups in financial modelling and fundraising.
Formerly executive with Medtronic, Lysis, Sensimed, KB Medical and now with MindMaze SA, Jean-Marc has over 25 years of experience in international growth management and financing. Since 2003, he has been active as an executive, director and consultant for innovative high-tech companies. He spent 8 years as founder and CEO of Sensimed, then took the position of CEO with KB Medical, a company active in providing robotic assistance for spinal surgery procedures and led the company to a successful trade sale with Globus Medical. He joined MindMaze as Chief Operating Officer in September 2017 and holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from EPFL and an MBA from IMD.
A neurologist and neuroscientist, John is currently the John C. Malone Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the Director of the Brain, Learning, Animation, and Movement (BLAM) laboratory, and co-founder of the KATA project at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His areas of interest range from motor learning and motor control and Stroke to bioethics. From 2003 until 2010 he was the codirector of the Motor Performance Laboratory at the Neurological Institute of Columbia University. He received his bachelor’s degree at Trinity College of Cambridge University and his medical education at Columbia University. He completed the Osler internship at Johns Hopkins University and both his Neurology residency and Neurovascular fellowship at Columbia University.
With more than 20 years of healthcare and medical device industry experience, Walid is also a technology venture investor and advises several global private equity firms. He previously held significant leadership roles at Cardinal Health as president, International MPS and senior vice president of Strategy and Corporate Development. Prior to that, he worked for Medtronic Europe as Head of Business Development and Head of Finance, CRM, and started his career at Procter & Gamble in Brand Management. Walid holds an MBA from the Wharton School, a Master of Law from University of Paris and is also a graduate from “Science Po”, the Institute d’Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Junien is a high-tech industry veteran, with strong experience in product and technology management having spent 24 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Starting as a French engineer in EE/CS, he spent 13 years at Philips Electronics, working on microprocessor architecture, development of ASICs and custom ICs for the disk drive industry. In 1995 he teamed with a Silicon Valley start-up as VP of Engineering to develop Windows-based video cameras. He then joined Logitech Inc. in 1997 and was named SVP of Products in 2006, managing the definition and the development of the worldwide product portfolio. Since 2013, he’s held several executive board positions with start-ups in the Lausanne area.
With 27 years of investment and operations experience focusing on media, technology and healthcare, Rafael Fogel was a Founding Partner at Falcon Investment Advisors, EVP at SunAmerica Investments and CFO and Head of Business Development at BIG3 Basketball and related entertainment properties. He started his career at Franklin Templeton Group of Funds, after receiving a BA with honors in Economics from Haverford College, and has sat on the Board of Directors of dozens of companies including Legendary Pictures, ARCA, Saveology, TCC Wireless, and Village Roadshow.
Board
A neuroscientist, engineer, entrepreneur and member of the international advisory board of the Brain Forum, Tej is the founder and CEO of MindMaze. Born to a family of physicians in Hyderabad, after studying Electronics Engineering in India, he moved to Switzerland in 2004 to pursue his PhD at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).His research topic, Neural Mechanisms of the Embodied Self: Merging VR and electrical neuroimaging, was the starting point for his pioneering vision to create a computing platform that captures neural and ambient signatures based on intent.
Scott is a seasoned senior financial and operations executive, with more than three decades of experience. He specializes in all aspects of financial management and strategic development from start-ups to large corporations. He was the CFO of Magic Leap, a spatial computing company, from 2014 until 2019. Prior to this he was CFO at Beats Music and Beats Electronics, helping to lead the company’s transition from a licensing company to a fully independent global manufacturer and streaming platform, and through its acquisition by Apple in July 2014.
Advisors
Henk is an entrepreneur and clean energy visionary, who has dedicated the past decade of his career to the research, development, advocacy and implementation of renewable energy sources. He’s a leading global advocate for space exploration as the Chairman of the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems and the founder of the International MoonBase Alliance, a group dedicated to building the first colony on the moon. He spent his early career in Japan as a video game developer and publisher, gaining distinction for producing the country’s first major role-playing game, The Black Onyx. Then went on to revolutionize the video game industry by securing the rights for the blockbuster Tetris, which 30 years later remains a bestseller and global icon of gaming culture.
Olaf is founding director of the Center for Neuroprosthetics, Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Cognitive Neuroprosthetics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He also directs the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience at EPFL and is Professor of Neurology at the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Geneva. His research is dedicated to the neuroscientific study of multisensory body perception and its relevance for self-consciousness by using a broad range of methods such as the neuropsychology, invasive and non-invasive electrophysiology, and brain imaging in healthy subjects, neurological and psychiatric patients. Most recently he has pioneered the joint use of engineering techniques such as robotics and VR with techniques from cognitive neuroscience and their application to systems and cognitive neuroprosthetics and neurorestorative care.