About

The People Behind the Stage

All volunteers. All passion.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED Events

The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self-organized TED-style events around the world, and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

About TEDxZurich

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.) TEDxZurich has a focus on topics related to the city of Zurich and its surroundings, but also caters to bring ideas, knowledge and talks about broader topics.

TEDxZurich Event

TEDxZurich is a yearly returning day of wonder, inspiration and awe. We hope to connect you to our knowledge thirsty audience and uncover exhilarating, fascinating and eye-opening topics together. The event is a series of short talks, ranging from approximately five to eighteen minutes in length. In between speakers you will have the opportunity to enjoy performances, eat some eclectic food choices and wander around our creatively inspired event spaces.

Core Team

Hanna Brahme

Lead

With a passion for bold ideas and utopian visions, Hanna enjoys partnering with like-minded people and companies to try and move the needle. Before this Swedish engineer joined ETH to support spin-off companies, she lived and worked in six countries for organizations like ABB, MAN and the United Nations. Hanna is equally enthusiastic about astroparticles, gallery openings and mountaineering and will be happy to reveal her best tips on breeding geraniums.

Viola Klink

Legal and Finance Lead

Viola is an international business-, tax- and transfer pricing expert with a strong and passionate background in financial analysis. She is always seeking novel, better and more efficient ways to solve problems and reach visions. Viola is excited about new and disruptive digital technologies to support the market share expansion of the leading companies she works with. Viola is passionate about change and transformational leadership. She strongly believes in the power of support.

When she’s not at the office you’ll find her in the surrounding nature (walking dogs or swimming) or diving deeper into the topics of health and continuous improvement, as well as philanthropy (i.e. performing supportive activities for the environmental protection, for the general well-being and for the public welfare).

Sara Leidinger

Audience Experience Lead

A volunteer at heart and passionate Yoga practitioner. With a deep interest in personal development and being fascinated by the power of the mind, Sara believes that sharing ideas worth spreading can make the world a more connected place. The momentum of our 2017 event with the theme “opening doors” was a kickstart and eye-opener for Sara who then just flipped her career path to 180° – from a corporate global sales environment to a year full of volunteering and studies of holistic healing arts. This kind of momentum is what drives her in creating experiences that last.

Clemens Merk

Location Lead

Due to his passion and curiosity for his vocation, Clemens decided to leave his home country of Germany many years ago. He went on to enrich his experience in the food and beverage industry in Scotland where he developed a love for peaty whiskey. His journey then took him to the Netherlands, and after that, wanting some sun, he moved to Dubai. Now he is to be found continuing the next chapter of his adventure in Switzerland. If he is not surrounded by his passion, food and beverages, you might find him lost in a puzzle or creating music with the trombone.

Xenia Schmidt

Partnerships Lead

With her Kyrgyzsian and German roots Xenia spend her last 13 years exploring the world for her International Business & Management study and worked for companies like Mercedez Benz, H&M, Hugo Boss and currently Sonova in Operations & IT roles. Being an ambivert, a little nerd with a passion for like-minded people Xenia loves to connect ideas, knowledge & information management with inspirational human beings at her position at TedXZürich. She spends every spare minute on sketching visual notes to capture impressions and original ideas.

Sybille Zimmermann

Marketing Lead

Sybille’s first experience with TEDx as a volunteer for an ad hoc task was so captive that she happily accepted the role as marketing lead when she was presented with the opportunity. With a background in marketing and communication she worked for several larger financial institutions before managing the marketing efforts for a Swiss fintech startup. In her current role at the ETH Zurich Entrepreneurship group, she supports and engages with entrepreneurial minds, and making them more visible. Sybille has travelled many countries: She loves the vastness of Patagonia as much as the urban vibes of a lively city. She loves delicious and authentic food, be it from a simple chiringuito at the beachfront or a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Marko Panjek

Salon Co-Lead

Marko’s TEDx story starts years back in Slovenia, where he helped organise probably the highest TEDx event in Europe at the time on Slovenians highest mountain of Triglav. Later on his passion for robotics (and let’s be honest, mountains as well) brought him to ETH in Zurich where he eventually found his new TEDx family. In his spare time, Marko loves hacking things together, which explains why his flatmates gave him a title of “head of home automation”. When the days are sunny though, you will find him cycling the Swiss countryside or exploring the scenic trails in the mountains.

Georgia Tagara

Salon Co-Lead

Georgia’s first volunteering experience with TEDx was in 2019 when TEDxZurich was celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and Georgia was a wardrobe volunteer. With more than 600 attendees and not a single jacket or umbrella lost on the day, evidently, the TEDx team would invite Georgia to support again. What wasn’t evident, is that in April of 2022, Georgia would be nominated to lead Audience Experience for the TEDxSalon events, and to eventually co-lead TEDxSalon.
If Georgia hadn’t been trying to save the planet with sustainability and innovation projects for a Fortune 500 company, she would have had a career in interior design, in astrology, or in smoothie-making.

Doris Dario

Volunteers and Participants Lead

Doris is originally from the ski slopes of South Tyrol in Northern Italy but left her beloved Dolomites early to study, live and work all over the world. Her passion for the real language within its culture and region got her a masters’ degree in translation and interpreting and has her speaking four major European languages fluently. She has a strong background in transcreation and localisation, high cultural sensitivity and large project, account and talent management experience in the exciting world of marketing. Doris is best described as a creative mind with a human approach and a passion for intercultural communication. Her love for travelling and exploring the world through all senses has taken her to over 70 countries and when she isn’t abroad you can find her snowboarding down some Swiss mountain with her kids.

Magda Kern

Speakers Lead

Magda Kern is a public speaking trainer, psychologist, and PCC coach. In 2021 she was chosen as one of the top 11 public-speaking coaches worldwide. The experience of giving many interviews, singing in Cuban musical, and in many jazz concerts gave her the push to start helping people with public speaking. By combining her business, psychological, and stage experience, she supports people in dealing with stress, preparing for their speeches in front of hundreds of people in the audience, and conducting small meetings or presentations. She has been coaching TEDx speakers for already six years. Magda joined TEDxZurich as a coach in 2021, and after a few months, she was nominated as Speakers Team Lead. After working in small enterprises and corporations, she opened her own company. She is an entrepreneur with a passion for learning new skills. Magda is a big fan of tea, swing dances, traveling, and playing the cello.

Stefanie Hetjens

Production Lead

Steffi’s passion is to bring human emotion and connection to everyone world-wide. Some years ago, she started her own production company for digital experiences, and she creates global events, that stretch over multiple time zones. And now, she spreads ideas with TEDxZurich. Software engineering and entrepreneurship and working for digital agencies is her professional background. Steffi lived in six countries – from the US to Japan – before she settled for good in Zurich. When Steffi needs to disconnect, she takes her bow and does archery.