Alan Whiteside is founder of Stonnivation Ltd with over 25 years’ experience spanning healthcare, energy, digital technologies and sustainable development. He has led the design and delivery of regional, national and international innovation clusters, bringing together SMEs, academia, public sector and third sector partners around shared missions such as sustainable healthcare and rural resilience. His work combines strategic cluster development with rigorous desktop research, mapping ecosystems, identifying gaps, and assessing market and technology readiness, particularly in peripheral and rural regions. Alan’s approach is grounded in evidence-based market assessment, translating research insights into viable innovation pathways, investment cases and collaborative projects. He has experience in market and use-case analysis for emerging technologies including AI, IoT, VR/AR, satellite and drone applications, particularly where markets are immature or fragmented. His desktop research and foresight work has informed smart specialisation strategies, cluster roadmaps and commercialisation plans across healthcare, energy, food systems and digital infrastructure. Known for bridging strategy and delivery, he consistently turns research, market intelligence and stakeholder insight into cluster collaborations that accelerate technology adoption, collaboration and sustainable economic impact.

A business graduate with an MBA in industrial development and masters in international politics, Christian completed his journalism training and landed work at the Wall Street Journal Europe followed by a report writing stint for the Atlanta Olympics. His experience covers a range of editorial, consulting and communications activities in diverse sectors. His corporate and institutional clients include agencies, EU organisations and specialist consultancies such as REID and NEBS. He is Brussels reporter for the Dutch publication Impact Investor and contributor to Chronikler, an award-winning blog. His book credits include the non-fiction title Tourism and the Media and novel Ray of Hope.

Mariam graduated in Philosophy & Economics with a strong research focus on data-driven innovation policy. She has worked with the German Development organization in Armenia in the field of innovation policy, especially with respect to SMEs in the high-tech area. Having furthermore worked in international Management Consulting, she is now in the Business Development of a German public sector IT company & consulting firm with its origin in the European eGovernment leader Estonia.

Michel has worked in foreign direct investment (FDI) for 25 years and is co-founder of two consulting firms specialising in international corporate expansion. He has engaged in corporate location work globally and supported Helsinki Business Hub (the regional development agency for Helsinki region) from 2007 to 2021. He’s been involved in mentoring programmes for different cities, regions and countries around the world and has a passion for helping locations in developing strategy and implementation towards FDI attraction, expansion and retention. Michel is Franco/British(and Irish), studied European Business Administration in London and Reims and was one of the very first beneficiaries of the ERASMUS program.

Nikolaos is an accomplished Business Developer and Strategist with 20+ years polyvalent experience in EU ICT, Digital Transformation and Communication services. His experience covers a range of policy dissemination, editorial, digital and communications strategy activities in diverse policy domains of the International Institutions. Nikolaos specialties include Management Consulting, Business Development, Sales and Pre-sales Management, Tendering (bids coordination, quality assurance and writing), International Procurement, Information Dissemination, Digital Transformation, ITIL and PRINCE2, Programme Management, Business Mentoring & Coaching and Communication Strategy. He is often collaborating with REID and BRUSCRIPT elevating experience of many years to co-create value with diverse clients.

PhD in anthropology from the Université Côté d'Azur, Olivier completed his career mostly in the industry world. First a researcher at the Paul Bocuse Institute then innovation project manager within the R&D department of the SEB group, he has developed a solid experience in innovation and design. He founded Users Matter, a user-centric innovation agency and co-hosts the Making Tomorrow collective, which practices foresight through design and fiction for large companies and European and national institutions. He teaches anthropology for innovation at Audencia Business School (Nantes) and La Cambre (Brussels).

Raphaël has accompanied REID Consulting SPRL since day one, providing accounting, financial and tax advisory services. He is Managing Director of FIDEM Services and supervises and coaches a team of accounting and tax experts so as to optimise their clients' financial performance. He is recognised for his expertise in providing financial and tax advice for business creation, strategic reorganisation and for the transfer or acquisition of companies.

Slavo Radosevic is Professor of Industry and Innovation Studies at the University College London. His main research interests are in science, technology upgrading and innovation policy in Europe, with particular reference to central and eastern Europe (CEE) and emerging economies. He has published extensively in international journals in these areas and has edited several volumes on these issues. He favours empirically oriented and policy relevant research projects, based on neo-Schumpeterian economics. He acts as an expert for the EC, OECD, UNESCO, UNIDO, World Bank and UNECE. He also had significant policy-making experience in Croatia and ex-Yugoslavia at the highest policy level. He has been a special advisor to the EC DG Commissioner for Regional and Urban Policy (2015-2019). He tries to make his own contribution to sustainable and more just world.

After following a bachelor’s degree in Business Engineering at UCLouvain, Thibault completed his education by graduating in Political Science with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Economics with a research orientation. He is currently pursuing doctoral (PhD) studies in economics at Maastricht University. While having many interests, aiming and pushing for a fairer, more sustainable and more respectful of both the planet and its inhabitants is what drives his day-to-day actions

Ysaline is a PhD researcher at the University of Antwerp, specialising in EU environmental and trade governance, with a particular focus on the EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation 2023/1115 (EUDR). Her research explores the transnational impacts of the EUDR, with a special emphasis on socio-legal changes in Brazil, especially in relation to agrarian and food security issues. She hold a LL.M. from the University of Antwerp, where she specialised in Sustainable Development and Global Justice. She also studied Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa at the Centre for Human Rights (CHR) of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. At REID Consulting she has supported on a number of projects including the evaluation of Creative Wallonia