Creative Dock Group

Founder and Executive Chairman of Creative Dock, who led its growth through acquisitions and its push into AI transformation.

Beth Rostan is Managing Director, North America at Creative Dock Group, where she works with organizations developing new ventures. With over two decades of experience, she has held leadership roles in operations, go-to-market strategy, venture incubation, and sales enablement across technology, sustainability, and mission-driven sectors, ranging from early-stage startups to larger innovation firms. Her background includes building organizational infrastructure, launching AI-powered tools, and scaling high-growth companies.

Christian Lindener is a serial entrepreneur and founder of The Entity who has co-founded multiple startups including Reflex Aerospace, Europe's first venture-backed satellite manufacturer, and Skyroads, a digital operations platform for urban air mobility. He previously served as Head of Airbus Scale, managing the company's innovation activities, and as Managing Director of Wayra Germany, Telefónica's corporate venture capital arm. Lindener is also a co-founder of the Climate DeepTech Fund and has advised on over 20 accelerator programs while holding board positions at several European high-tech startups.

Heinrich Arnold is an innovator who has helped build more than 70 businesses, including as director of research and innovation at Deutsche Telekom AG and as a supervisor and investor. He holds an honorary professorship at TU Berlin, led innovation work at the Berlin Institute of Technology, and contributed to high-tech development in Berlin and Israel. He has served on the advisory board of the Davidson Technology Growth Fund, advised the company Bekaert, and is a member of Creative Dock's Pioneers' Circle.

Mark Melvin is a Partner at Creative Dock Group and a board member at Abstract Group. He has held senior commercial and strategy roles across the UK, Europe, and Middle East, including VP EMEA at Mach49, where he worked with large organizations to develop and launch new ventures. His experience encompasses corporate transformation, strategic partnerships, business scaling, and growth strategy within technology and professional services sectors.

Ales Machander is Global Head of New Products at Creative Dock, an independent corporate venture builder serving major clients including Adidas, Ahold, Avast, E.ON, Mondelez, Shell, and Siemens across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States. He joined the company during its early stage and has contributed to its expansion while previously leading the development of a data analytics department focused on credit risk management, customer intelligence, and IoT applications. Based in Zurich, he supports international business development and product development initiatives with corporate partners.

Deep tech lead collaborating with Creative Dock, with a background spanning large corporates such as Airbus and Telefónica as well as founders, investors, and venture builders. He focuses on turning corporate technology into fast-moving, founder-led ventures.

Craig Milligan is Head of AI Agentic Commerce at Creative Dock Group, where he designs and builds AI-first products focused on autonomous systems that enable agents to discover, evaluate, and transact on behalf of users. He brings 20 years of experience leading global teams across data science, machine learning, digital strategy, and commercial functions. In parallel, he is developing a stealth-stage venture applying generative AI and computer vision to personalized coaching, with a working product approaching launch.

Daniel Buning is an Operating Advisor at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and serves as CEO of Equity Distribution Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company he founded in partnership with Sam Zell to focus on the industrials sector. He previously served as President and CEO of Anixter International, a global distributor of network, security, electrical, and utility power solutions, which he joined in 1984 in inside sales before being named President and CEO in 2018. He has more than 35 years of experience in the industrials industry, including strategic acquisitions and integrations.

Co-founder and CEO of FoundersLane and a board member of Creative Dock Group following the acquisition of FoundersLane.

Iveta Kutmanova is Chief People Officer at Creative Dock Group with over 15 years of executive leadership experience in international and regulated environments. Her background spans senior roles in banking and corporate finance at institutions including HSBC, ABN AMRO, HVB Bank, and Bank Austria, where she led cross-border client advisory and corporate finance teams across Central and Eastern Europe. As a C-level HR partner, she designs talent strategies and organizational structures across Europe and Asia, with expertise in HR strategy alignment, global HR operations, talent analytics, and regulatory compliance across banking and labor law.

Leads the Manufacturing and Construction industrial vertical at Creative Dock; previously headed one of Microsoft's national offices.

Director of Innovation at Creative Dock, previously associated with Swiss innovation company Spark Works.

Martin Halasz is Chief of Domain at Creative Dock Group, where he serves on the Executive Board and oversees a growth domain responsible for approximately one-third of the company's client portfolio across Europe and Asia, spanning industries including eCommerce, fintech, and retail. Previously, he held leadership positions in group operations, big data, risk management, and special projects at Creative Dock. Prior to joining Creative Dock, he worked at ING Bank from 2016 to 2021, serving as Global Head of Consumer Credit Risk overseeing 13 countries and as Head of Retail Credit Risk for ING Czech Republic, with focus on digitization, automation, and standardization.

Neil Reid is an Associate Partner at True North Partners who brings nearly 30 years of strategy consulting experience focused on transformational work across the GCC and Europe. He advises organizations on business growth and productivity improvements through optimization of existing assets. Reid recently joined Creative Dock, an independent venture building firm, to develop its MENA operations.

Peter Jager is a Domain Lead at Creative Dock Group. His professional focus includes innovation, venture building, and strategic business growth across organizational change initiatives.

Former CEO of Dutch insurer VIVAT with experience in insurance and finance across the US, Europe, and Asia; now an advisor to Creative Dock.

Has spent 7+ years at Creative Dock developing innovative products, bringing them to market, and managing teams; his latest project is Kalkulator.cz, a machine-learning-powered comparison service. He previously managed LG's Mobile Communication Division and held managerial roles at Oskar Mobil/Vodafone Czech Republic, and holds an MSc in Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering and a PhD in Theoretical Physics.

Serge Dupaux is Director of Foresight, Innovation and AI Transformation Growth at Creative Dock, where he leads growth initiatives alongside work at Rohrbeck Heger in corporate venture building and strategic foresight. He works with corporations to enhance future-readiness and capitalize on emerging opportunities through foresight-driven methodologies, customer-centric approaches, prototype validation, and generative AI applications. His background combines startup and corporate experience with a multicultural perspective across both ecosystems.