Catharina James Keynote Speaker

Catharina James is a chemist and materials scientist, business consultant, award-winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker and innovation expert. Her work revolves around helping people to innovate and create new products. With extensive experience in business and a passion for helping others, Catharina is one of the most sought after speakers and consultants for startups and companies worldwide.

Catharina is the founder of DRCJ, where she previously served as CEO and Director of Materials and Innovation, fostering innovation by bringing startups and corporations together. The organisation aims to help customers understand the value of waste and create renewable power from manufacturing processes and waste management, thereby developing a circular economy. Since 2019, she has been involved with the research and development fund manager, GrantTree, as an Innovation Grant Writer. Catharina is a former lecturer of technology at Cambridge Judge Business School and now serves as a coach and mentor through the school’s Accelerate programme. She previously served as an Expert Evaluator for the European Commission and Chief Scientist for Levidian Nanosystems (formerly under Cambridge University), where she was in charge of leading the company’s advanced manufacturing of high-quality graphene materials. Catharina began her career at Infineon Technologies as a Research Intern and completed her master thesis at the chemical manufacturing firm Treibacher Industrie AG.

In 2014, Catharina was elected as the Royal Society of Arts fellow. The UK media named her one of the top business leaders to watch, and The Telegraph called her “The First Lady of Graphene”. She was presented the Grant Thornton Face of a Vibrant Economy award, and she has numerous publications and patents to her name.

Catharina is a long-standing advisory board member of Johannes Kepler University Linz and Infineon Technologies.

Catharina  graduated from Karl Franzens University with a Master of Science in Chemistry, and she holds a PhD in Materials Science from Cambridge University.

Catharina is passionate about women pursuing careers in business and STEM and uses her skills and experience in promoting technology, promoting gender equality and helping people achieve their own success. She is an engaging speaker who has presented addresses at various conferences, including, Tedx. Catharina believes that innovation breeds collaboration and her passion for science shines through in her talks, which are both informative and entertaining.