eindhoven
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Edwin van Rest
Edwin van Rest is the co-founder and CEO of Studyportals, the Eindhoven-based platform that helps students compare study programs across borders. He started the company in 2007 with two engineering friends after his own year abroad in Japan showed him how hard it was to find information about international study options. Today Studyportals lists hundreds of thousands of programs, reaches millions of students a month, and van Rest is a recognized voice in international education, a former EAIE Rising Star Award winner, and chair of the EAIE Marketing & Recruitment Expert Community.
Marleen Vogelaar
Marleen Vogelaar is a Dutch entrepreneur who co-founded Shapeways in 2007, helped build it into the world's largest 3D printing marketplace, left in 2014 to start the on-demand apparel company Ziel, and then returned to Shapeways as CEO in December 2024 after the company went bankrupt - buying back the brand and rebuilding it around a leaner, B2B, profit-first model. A former competitive heptathlete and industrial engineer, she is known for pairing operational discipline with an insistence that a company's mission should not be hostage to its investors, an idea she put into practice by converting Ziel to steward-ownership.
Abdul Ahad
Abdul Ahad is a data consultant and TEDx speaker based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with over seven years of experience building data infrastructures for small and medium organisations across e-commerce, insurance, energy, and finance. He is the founder behind KYD Analytics and holds the philosophy of 'Bringing Data and Humans Together' - believing the human element matters more than the tool. In November 2024, he delivered a TEDxEindhoven talk titled 'Why aren't people voting anymore?' exploring how community bonds and incentivisation could revitalise democratic participation. A lifelong learner who codes, consults, and speaks on the stage.