AWROA Team
Cornelia Jahnel
Cornelia Jahnel is a dynamic networker with over 25 years of experience in international sales, corporate communication, and financing young companies. She built Asia sales for a biotech company, led Investor Relations at JENOPTIK AG, and managed the German office for an English VC fund.
A decade ago, Cornelia founded the COM3 group, which includes a consulting and venture arm. Her motto, “Communicate – Combine – Compose,” reflects her passion for discovering ideas, uniting people, and creating sustainable partnerships.
Cornelia co-founded BAM!, a business angel club in Central Germany, and advises the US-based ASTIA angel fund. She is a jury member for several business plan competitions and an active member in the Association of German Female Entrepreneurs (VdU), where she leads the Saxony chapter and co-initiated the female investors network. Cornelia also mentors through the Ouissal program by EMA e.V..
Deborah Hey
Experienced Executive with critical problems solving skills, creative-thinking capabilities, excellent communication and presentation skills, exceptional team building and team motivation skills. Offers a passionate commitment to personal and professional success, with a proven track record in start up organizations. She is the former Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) President and local Schloss Mutzschen/MotoSoul Founder. With this project she won the “Sächsischer Gründerinnenpreis 2020”.
Julia Cacha
Mentors (Germany)
Ina von Spies
As an experienced communicator, Ina von Spies not only has a keen eye for good storylines but also a clear approach to the strategic support of business personalities.
Katja Käseberg
Katja has made a name for herself in the German venture capital scene as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with a track record of successful financing of various start-ups.
Together with Ina von Spies, she runs the management consultancy numbers&words in Leipzig. She also gives talks and workshops on sustainable entrepreneurship – including in schools.
Maximiliane Birken
Maxi has a degree in translation and after graduating she started her own business as an event and marketing manager for clients in various industries (automotive, payment, healthcare, logistics, IT). As Ruby Reckless, she also organizes and hosts motorcycle tours throughout Germany with her BMW motorcycle with sidecar (Emma) – especially for vintage motorcycles. Since 2020, she has also been running a freelance tutoring institute with three locations, providing free learning support to children from low-income families.
Tanja Seiler
Personal Mentoring for Managers
Tanja is an expert in conscious leadership, self-leadership and mindset. As a certified business coach, she accompanies managers to greater leadership strength, impact and personal fulfilment. She brings experience from a 20-year global corporate career, the development of a start-up and effective coaching techniques. She is committed to a new corporate world that empowers both men & women and is convinced that success begins on the inside.
Mentors (USA)
Amber Ratcliffe
As co-founder and CEO of Arbor Health Functional Medicine & Psychiatry, Amber is an award-winning entrepreneur, mother, and passionate advocate for empowering families to regain control of their well-being holistically.
Amber founded Carena Urgent Care Online in the US, securing multiple capital raises over $10 million. She won the Grand Prize at the University of Washington (UW) Business Plan Competition and has been a judge for the regional competition for 20 years.
Lynn Parker
Lynn Parker has been a creative and strategic marketer since the ’90s. She wrote some of the earliest business books on brand strategy, including Brand Driven and Integrated Branding, and authored a long-running monthly column on marketing for the Puget Sound Business Journal. Relevant expertise includes running her own 20-person brand strategy agency for 19 years, as well as working as a marketing strategist for two leading Pacific Northwest-area agencies. She launched some of the earliest Apple Macintosh Computers and HP LaserJet printers, as well as worked in the health care, non-profit, financial and transportation industry sectors. In terms of giving back, Lynn was a mentor for the University of Washington’s MBA program for 10 years, and served on the local and international boards of the Young Entrepreneur’s Organization, as well as the boards of two non-profits: Pomegranate Center and Camp Unalayee. Of particular note, she is a highly rated speaker, including being tapped to give a TEDxPugetSound presentation on naming.
Nicole Donnelly
Nicole is an experienced global entrepreneur with 3 successful exits. She specializes in crafting a powerful vision and executing with teams to grow highly sought-after brands through strategic marketing and emotion-driven customer experience design. She believes in the power of emotionally connecting with her team and customers, and teaching others how to do the same with Emotionality.
After competing as a professional snowboarder, Nicole launched her first venture at the age of 27. By 31, Nicole had successfully grown the business with distribution in over 85 countries, to allow for her first successful exit. Nicole is fiercely committed to sharing the powerful lessons learned along her journey to empower aspiring entrepreneurs to travel their own remarkable, memorable, and profitable paths to success.
Sari Davidson
Sari is the owner, founder, and CEO of BooginHead. What she built in her kitchen in 2005 has grown into a globally distributed brand of stylish baby essentials like pacifier clips, baby bibs, cup tethers, and teethers, trusted by parents around the world to keep their babies safe, comforted, and soothed. Sari was honored as 2020’s Innovator of the Year in Puget Sound Business Journal, one of Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs and in 425 Business Magazine as their “Powerhouse Entrepreneur” in an article about women changing business in Washington State. @booginhead