HRWC 2026
A global team of entrepreneurs, technologists, researchers, and strategists united around a single mission: making humanoid robots compete in the real world.
Core Members
Advisors
Operating Team
Core Team
The championship is built by operators, technologists, and strategic leaders who translate bold vision into execution.
Roberto leads the overall vision, strategy and execution of the Humanoid Robotics World Championship. He is a serial entrepreneur and former executive at Heineken, DHL and Swiss Post with a strong track record in digital platforms and innovation. With his network across Switzerland, Europe, India and the Middle East he builds the global ecosystem around HRWC.
Swiss-based business development expert with over two decades of global experience across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Francisco bridges technology, strategy, and markets, helping AI and robotics companies expand and scale through innovation-driven partnerships.
Daniel supports HRWC on technology, data and digital platform topics. He has over 20 years of experience in digital transformation and AI-enabled solutions across logistics, retail and regulated industries, including roles at Kuehne+Nagel, Louis Vuitton and DHL. His focus at HRWC is to make sure that the event and its ecosystem are built on robust, scalable technology foundations.
Minerva leads funding and partnerships for HRWC across public, private and philanthropic channels. She focuses on building long-term sponsorships and co-investment structures around the HRWC verticals and connects international partners and family offices to the Zurich and Dubai editions. Her role is to secure the financial backbone that allows HRWC to grow sustainably.
Jay oversees finance, investor relations and sponsor deal structures for HRWC. He brings more than 16 years of experience in banking and financial services, having delivered strategic and regulatory projects across Europe and Australia. At HRWC he designs sustainable sponsorship and funding models and translates the championship’s vision into an attractive proposition for investors and key sponsors.
Ivory Jiang is the China Regional General Manager of HRAS, with 26 years of professional experience in international relations, international trade, and international finance, as well as extensive industry resources in China. To make important strategic expansions and implementation for the development and cooperation of HRAS and HRWC in China.
Jan Smejkal is the Shenzhen Chapter Lead of HRAS, with over a decade of experience building tech ventures and communities in China/APAC. His career spans business development/GTM, and strategic partnerships across fintech, AI, and emerging technology - with experience at Credit Suisse/UBS and deep involvement in Startup Grind and Forbes he has earned a reputation as one of the most connected figures in South China's tech ecosystem.
Advisory Board
Our advisory board spans robotics research, venture capital, enterprise technology, and policy — ensuring HRWC is grounded in both scientific rigour and commercial reality.
René “Mr. Vision” Vogel advises HRWC on extended reality, human–machine interaction and future user interfaces. As CEO and founder of Mr. Vision he brings more than two decades of experience in digital products, AR/VR solutions and technology storytelling for leading brands. At HRWC he helps connect humanoid robotics with intuitive, immersive experiences that make complex technology tangible for audiences and partners.
Prof. Dr. Yulia Sandamirskaya advises HRWC on neuromorphic computing, cognitive robotics and scientifically robust challenge design. She leads the Research Center “Cognitive Computing in Life Sciences” at ZHAW, where her group develops brain-inspired architectures for real-time AI in assistive robots. Previously she headed the “Neuromorphic Cognitive Robots” group at the Institute of Neuroinformatics (UZH/ETH Zurich) and the applications team in Intel’s Neuromorphic Computing Lab, bringing a unique combination of academic and industrial experience to HRWC.
Justinas is the robotics and AI specialist advising HRWC on vertical challenges and technology strategy. As Strategy & Partnerships Manager with academic roots in robotics, AI and computer vision from ETH Zurich and other leading universities, he bridges cutting-edge research and industrial applications. At HRWC he links teams, sponsors and investors around concrete humanoid use cases.