Our core team consists of the founders of Defining the Nex Decade, each bringing a unique perspective and skillset to the imagined table to create a thriving community and movement across humanity. We have a broad set of contributors and publishers without whom Defining the Next Decade could not exist and thrive.
Core Team
Maxwell Kangkolo
Maxwell Kangkolo is a storyteller, filmmaker and creative. He believes in using the power of collaborative creation to build a better world at the intersection of humanity and technology. Further in the idea that the world changes because we give ourselves the freedom to imagine new possibilities. He operates on the philosophy that we need to have a passionate pursuit of progress, not perfection.
A co-founder and the Berlin Co-Curator of Defining the Next Decade a platform that brings together the leaders and the local community to shape the next decade of positive change in cities around the world. He is also currently the Head of Branding at Garage, a digital design studio focused on building ambitious ideas for the world of tomorrow.
Sandra Schoeber
Sandra Schoeber is a futurist with a passion for social entrepreneurship. She is always looking to grasp how technology shapes people, their relationships and environments. She has worked with social entrepreneurs across cultures and continents, previously co-founded Authenticitys, and researched topics including inclusive entrepreneurship, impact investment & measurement, business model innovation and the future of work in.
Always curious – looking to bring people together, understanding their perspectives and turning the puzzle pieces until they fall into place. With an interest in having the difficult conversations openly, she has a thing for empathy in tech, the ethics of AI & data, sustainability in urban development and equitable wellbeing (among many, many others).
Benjamin Mateev
Benjamin was most recently a product leader at Microsoft, following the acquisition of Wunderlist in 2015. At Wunderlist he was an engineering lead, responsible for scaling the award-winning todo list app to over 30 million users. With over a decade of experience in building digital products from a technical, business and design perspective and leading teams, he is also mentoring and coaching young entrepreneurs in how to build successful products and create great teams to do so. Before Wunderlist, Benjamin worked in various engineering and product leadership roles and started his own company, building digital solutions with world-renowned design agencies.
He is passionate about education and life-long learning and about creating purpose-driven and impactful companies and products.
