Frank leads the European Space Agency's Innovation and Ventures Office (formerly the Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Office) – created to share research and development gains with industry. Their space tech is already being used to purify the air in intensive care, to survey rock for tunneling, in the manufacture of running shoes and to transfer space technology to the Vatican Library. Frank’s team has also incubated or facilitated over 550 start-ups and 150 spin-offs. His speech tells conference audiences how they might foster a space agency culture of creativity and ambition.
View / Submit"His presentation was engaging, informative, an eye-opener, he made us laugh, he made us think think about where technology is taking us."
Roche Products Ltd
Frank Salzgeber is Head of the Innovation and Ventures Office (formerly the Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Office) of the European Space Agency (ESA). He is chiefly responsible for dealing with businesses that contribute to the space programme, and businesses that seek to adapt and build on the ESA’s technology including technology startups. As such he leads the world's largest space entrepreneurship network.
After graduating in industrial engineering, Frank joined Apple to become their sales manager for central Europe. He then became COO of a Munich-based IT startup before joining the ESA. He served as Head of Commercial Development in the agency’s human space programme before leading the Technology Transfer Programme Office.
Frank and the Innovation and Ventures Office are responsible for strategy relating to the use of space technologies and systems in other areas from hi-tech manufacturing to consumer products, services and apps. He works extensively with startups and venture capital, and himself is a board member of the European Business Network, the innovation board of the STFC (UK government body involved in science and engineering research) and several other advisory roles. In less than a decade Frank has supported over 550 new businesses and over 150 new technology transfers.
Looking at one of the most advanced areas of innovation, Frank tells organisations how they can foster a space agency sense of creativity and ambition, as well as looking at broader technology trends, entrepreneurship, and disruptive forces in industry.
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