Jeff Shay is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Executive Director for Academic Operations at the Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College. He serves on the GEM Board of Directors and is co-leader of the GEM United States team. Jeff has held endowed faculty positions at Washington & Lee University and the University of Montana and has taught entrepreneurship courses at other leading institutions such as London School of Economics, Peking University and Cornell University. Focused on the intersection between international business, strategy, and entrepreneurship, his research has been published in premier journals and recognized through his receiving the Western Academy of Management’s (WAM) Ascendant Scholars Award, WAM’s Joan Dahl President’s Award and the North American Case Research Fellow Award. Jeff has taught executive education for global organizations and provided case method training for academic institutions around the world. Jeff earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship and Finance from Babson College and a Master’s of Business Administration from Babson’s Graduate School of Management.

Professor Maya Dougoud works as a legal advisor in the academic sector (University of Applied Sciences for Western Switzerland in Fribourg) with a focus on ICT law, data protection, intellectual property and public law. She also conducts research as part of her work as associate professor at the School of Management Fribourg (HEG-FR). After completing her training at the law faculty at the University of Fribourg, she worked in a bilingual (FR/DE) law firm specialising in commercial law and then at the public prosecutor’s office. She carries out ICT projects and is also involved in social projects through her associations “38.5” and “strukturelle”. As member of the Federal Commission for Women’s Issues in Switzerland, she also represents women’s entrepreneurship at the federal level. A member of GEM Switzerland for more than three years, she was appointed team leader in February 2025. Working on the digital transition and contributing to the sustainability report, Professor Maya Dougoud will enrich the perspectives within the GEM with a particular focus on policymakers. You can connect with Maya on LinkedIn.

Ana Fernandez Laviada is an associate professor at the Universidad de Cantabria, president of Observatorio del Emprendimiento de España (GEM Network) since 2013 and Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) in Cantabria since 2008. Fernandez Laviada is also director of the Yunus Social Business Centre (YSBC) in Cantabria since 2019 and associate Editor of the Spanish Accounting Review (SAR-RC). A prolific researcher, Fernandez Laviada has more than 50 papers published on indexed journals such as Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, Entrepreneurship Research Journal, Investigaciones Regionales, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, Journal of Risk Research, Managerial Auditing Journal, Revista Española de Financiación y Contabilidad, Revista Europea de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa, Journal of Social Entreprenuership, Spanish Accounting Review, Universia Business Review, Sustainability and Voluntas. Her research interests are social and educational entrepreneurship, teaching innovation in accounting and auditing, and internal and financial auditing, among others.

Dr. Christian Friedl, Associate Professor at FH JOANNEUM’s Institute of International Management and Entrepreneurship in Graz, Austria. He is leading the Austrian Global Entrepreneurship Monitor team since 2017 and member of the APS GRIPS group since 2020. Christian acquired and coordinated European Knowledge Alliances like Corship and BizMOOC and developed award-winning entrepreneurship MOOCs and MicroCredentials. His research and publication span entrepreneurship, edupreneurship, and intrapreneurship. Christian earned his PhD at University of Graz and holds Master´s Degrees in European Project Management, Business Administration and Environmental System Sciences. Beyond academia, he consults entrepreneurs and establish business on innovation matters, building on 14 years of entrepreneurial experience in the music industry. Connect with Christian on LinkedIn.

Ehud Menipaz is a Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Business Administration at Ben-Gurion University and the Chairman, Board of Governors, The National Association of Engineers, Architects and Academics in the Technological Sciences. He is the Head of the GEM Israel Team (one of the 10 founding countries of GEM), providing both academic and economic sponsorship to GEM Israel and globally. He is a four-term member of the GEM-GERA Board, a former Chairman of the Association of GEM National Teams (AGNT), and a former member of the GEM Research and Innovation Advisory Committee (RIAC). He also serves as Chairman of The Ira Foundation of Business, Technology & Society and a founding member of Junior Achievement Israel. A former Senior Partner and Service Director with Ernst & Young International, Ehud has served as a Visiting Professor and Research Scholar at Columbia University, New York University, and UCLA (USA); McGill University and York University (Canada); Bilkent University (Turkey); Deakin University (Australia); and ISM (Germany). During his academic career, he was a full Professor of Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering & Management, and Business Administration. He has published books internationally with Prentice Hall International, Sage Publications, and L’Harmattan Publications. He has served as the IE&M Committee Chairman of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (two terms) and held advisory roles in international organizations. Ehud has three children and eight grandchildren. His hobbies include skiing, tennis, and piano playing. His favorite quote is by Sir Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.

Anna Tarnawa is Head of the Research and Strategy Unit in the Analysis and Strategy Department of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. She has more than 10 years of experience in designing and coordinating research projects on entrepreneurship, innovation and human resources, as well as analysing their results, promoting them and using them to shape evidence based public policy. Anna also has experience in running consultation processes of legal regulations with SMEs and in international projects. Author of various reports on entrepreneurship in Poland, including The Report on SME Sector in Poland as well the GEM Poland National Report, Anna is the leader of the GEM Poland Team and has been part of this organisation since 2011. Anna has also served as a representative of Association of the National Teams GERA Board since 2018. Prior to her current role, Anna worked at the Euro Info Centre (now Enterprise Europe Network), where she was engaged in various activities supporting the development of small and medium sized companies – from running the Exporters Club, helping SMEs to internationalise, preparing articles and providing advice on grants and other external sources of funding that would help SMEs grow and innovate. Anna holds a MA in Economics from the Staffordhire University (UK) and MA in Banking and Finance from the Warsaw School of Economics (Poland). She completed her Project Management postgraduate studies at the Warsaw School of Economics and the Academy of Evaluation at the Centre for European Regional and Local Studies (EUROREG) at the University of Warsaw.

Niels is an Associate Professor at the Utrecht University School of Economics and cofounder of the Utrecht University Social Entrepreneurship Initiative. His main research interests are individual entrepreneurial and innovative behaviour in regional and social contexts. Niels has been published in several leading academic journals and has been involved with GEM since 2005. Niels received his PhD from Utrecht University – his dissertation focused on the geography of entrepreneurial activity and regional economic development.