Female Founders Award 2026

Miriam Corcoran

Co-Founder & CEO, MiViA GmbH

About Miriam Corcoran 

Miriam Corcoran began her career in hospitality management before moving to the United Arab Emirates, where she gained early leadership experience managing the establishment of a new business location. This international and operational background shaped her entrepreneurial mindset and sparked her interest in building scalable businesses. 

Driven by the ambition to combine business expertise with innovation and technology commercialization, she returned to Germany to study Business Administration and later completed an MBA at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. 

Following her MBA, she joined EY as a Tax Consultant, where she gained experience in corporate structures, strategic business processes and project-driven consulting environments. 

Through her involvement in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, she connected with researchers in materials science and artificial intelligence and became involved in the commercialization of AI-driven technologies for industrial applications. 

In 2021, she co-founded MiViA GmbH, a deep-tech company developing AI-based software for automated microstructure analysis in industrial materials engineering. 

About MiViA GmbH 

MiViA GmbH develops AI-based software for automated microstructure analysis in industrial materials engineering. Its cloud-based platform enables manufacturers and laboratories to analyse metallographic images faster, more objectively and reproducibly, supporting data-driven quality assurance in the metal processing industry. 

Ghazaleh Madani 

Founder & CEO, CanChip GmbH
 

About Ghazaleh Madani 

Ghazaleh Madani is Co-Founder and CEO of CanChip. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science and a Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Potsdam.
Driven by a deeply personal motivation rooted in her family’s experience with cancer, she set out to challenge the status quo in drug development. She brings together scientific expertise and entrepreneurial vision to build solutions that address one of the most critical gaps in pharmaceutical research.

Under her leadership, CanChip has secured its first customers and received multiple prestigious awards, including the KfW Award Gründen 2025 (State Winner Brandenburg), the German Startup Award 2025 (Newcomer of the Year), and the EUROTECH SDG Award (1st Place, Health), as well as the Brandenburg Innovation Award (Special Prize).

About CanChip GmbH 

CanChip is a biotechnology company developing advanced organ-on-chip and tumor-on-chip systems to improve the predictability of drug development. By recreating human-relevant microenvironments on microfluidic chips, the company enables more accurate testing of drug responses and disease mechanisms, overcoming key limitations of traditional models.

Stephanie Pfeil-Coenen

Co-Founder & CEO, Phaeosynt GmbH
 

About Stephanie Pfeil-Coenen
 

Stephanie Pfeil-Coenen is the founder and CEO of Phaeosynt, a German biotech company pioneering animal-free antibody production using microalgae. With a background in business development, entrepreneurship and innovation management, she focuses on building scalable and sustainable alternatives for the diagnostics industry.

Together with her team, Stephanie developed the world’s first animal-free pregnancy test under the consumer brand “hey mela”, demonstrating the commercial feasibility of animal-free antibodies in real-world diagnostic applications. Beyond consumer products, Phaeosynt is developing a scalable B2B platform for next-generation diagnostic antibodies for industrial and research applications.

Stephanie is passionate about combining biotechnology, sustainability and ethical innovation to transform how diagnostic components are produced globally.

About Phaeosynt GmbH
 

Phaeosynt is a biotechnology company developing animal-free antibodies produced in microalgae for diagnostic applications. The company’s proprietary platform technology enables scalable, reproducible and sustainable antibody production without relying on animal immunization or animal-derived cell culture systems.

By combining biotechnology, diagnostics and sustainable manufacturing, Phaeosynt addresses growing regulatory, ethical and industrial challenges within the global diagnostics market. The company’s technology has already been validated through commercial applications, including the launch of “hey mela”, the world’s first animal-free pregnancy test.

Phaeosynt’s long-term vision is to establish animal-free antibodies as a new industry standard for diagnostics and beyond.

Lucie Toepfer

Co-Founder & CEO, pyropower GmbH 
 

About Lucie Toepfer

Lucie Toepfer is Founder and CEO of pyropower GmbH, a GreenTech company based in Lusatia, Germany. With a background in business administration, environmental science and digital business management, she is committed to turning sustainable technologies into scalable business models. As a founder and entrepreneur, she focuses on industrial decarbonization, biochar, renewable energy and the role of innovation in transforming structurally changing regions. Her mission is to prove that climate protection and economic value creation can go hand in hand. 

About pyropower GmbH

pyropower GmbH develops innovative decentralized energy systems that convert biogenic residues into biochar, green electricity and usable heat. The company’s technology supports industrial companies, municipalities and agricultural stakeholders in reducing CO₂ emissions while creating economic value from residual biomass streams. By combining pyrolysis, energy generation and carbon removal in one integrated process, pyropower contributes to scalable decarbonization, regional value creation and a more resilient energy supply. 

Dr. Jana Maria Weinand

Co-Founder & CFO, leitspalt GmbH

About Dr. Jana Maria Weinand

Jana Maria Weinand holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Cologne, a Masters in Management from London Business School, and a Ph.D. in Innovation & Entrepreneurship from RWTH Aachen University. She began her career as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, advising clients on strategic growth projects in the chemicals and automotive industries. During her doctoral research, she investigated how to accelerate the transition toward more sustainable consumption practices. As a Co-Founder and CFO of leitspalt, she leads finance, business development, sales, and marketing. She is driven by the conviction that sustainable mobility should be the standard, and is committed to making that a reality.

About leitspalt GmbH

leitspalt GmbH is a battery technology company from Aachen, Germany, developing next-generation battery systems for high-performance mobility applications. Spun out of RWTH Aachen University and built on patented technology, leitspalt collaborates with OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers across automotive, aviation, marine, and rail - on a mission to become the leading provider of high-performance and cost-efficient battery systems made in Europe. 

Nadine is the Head of Communications Europe for LONGi Solar, moderator, consultant and speaker with a focus on diversity, gender equality, leadership and entrepreneurship. At Germany’s largest online network for women, Digital Media Women (#DMW), she campaigns for the visibility of women on public stages as well as giving women a share of voice in the era of digitalization. At the DMW, she is also studying companies with at least 30 percent of female representation in the top three management levels.

Marie Christine is an experienced lawyer and Risk Advisory expert at AlixPartners, advising companies on complex forensic investigations and corporate compliance challenges. Drawing on her background as a public prosecutor for white collar crime, she brings strong analytical rigor and deep insight into regulatory behavior. With an entrepreneurial mindset, she supports clients in safeguarding value, managing cross border risks, and building resilient governance structures across industries and transaction environments.

Gabriele Haessig is Managing Director Communications & Sustainability at Procter & Gamble DACH, where she leads communications, public affairs and the company’s sustainability transformation agenda across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

She began her career at P&G in 1990 as a Brand Assistant and has since built more than three decades of leadership experience in Germany, DACH, European and global roles, combining deep operational expertise with strategic stakeholder engagement.

In her public‑affairs capacity, Gabriele serves as Chairwoman of the German Personal Care and Detergent Industry Association (IKW) and is Co‑Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce Rhine‑Main, actively shaping transatlantic business dialogue and policy frameworks. Beyond her core responsibilities, she is engaged in a range of social, cultural and educational initiatives, including as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rheingau Music Festival and as an advisory board member of the Enactus student initiative.

A strong advocate for leadership development, diversity and inclusion, Gabriele mentors young talent inside and outside of P&G and initiated an intergenerational dialogue program within the company to foster entrepreneurial mindsets, mutual learning and future‑ready leadership.

Xenia Scholl is a proud awardee of the AmCham Germany Female Founders Award 2019. She is Co-Founder and COO of Aitonomi AG, which operates in Germany with its subsidiary TeleRetail GmbH. Xenia Scholl focuses on transport automation technology developments for vehicles of different sizes and shapes: from large industrial vehicles to small retail robots. The proprietary Aitonomi Autopilot software enables fully autonomous operations of transport vehicles with payloads up to 55t. Xenia Scholl has more than 15 years professional IT experience and a strong passion for the development and implementation of technology innovations. Xenia Scholl successfully completed many national and international innovative projects for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, LG Electronics, and Kansai Electric. She cooperates with international partners such as NEOM and TK Elevator.
 

Andreas Schwaiger started his professional career at Texas Instruments (TI) in 1997, working in a variety of roles across different functions before being appointed Managing Director of TI Germany and Vice President. He is a member of the AmCham Germany Executive Committee, is wholeheartedly engaged in initiatives like NextGen and a jury member of the Female Founders Award since its start. Andreas Schwaiger is excited to uphold TI’s commitment to STEM development from school through university to a career in Engineering, particularly focusing female development in these areas. As executive sponsor of TI’s CSR branch in EMEA, he is strongly engaged in the team’s efforts, supporting initiatives like Girl’s Day and Female Tech Leaders, and acts as mentor for the initiative #BayFID supporting female talents in digital professions. For him, TI’s commitment to drive innovation and support start-up initiatives matches perfectly to the engagement with the AmCham Female Founders award.