Aurora Award 2026 Expert Panel:
Mentoring the Next Generation of Tech Leaders
Frida Vargas is a crypto and fintech executive with 15+ years of experience building growth at the intersection of payments, stablecoins, and institutional partnerships across LATAM. She has held Country Manager and BD leadership roles at some of the region's most prominent crypto companies, including Binance Mexico and Bitso Business.
Advising founders on:
- Business development & partnerships
- Leadership, hiring & founder development
- Go-to-market & scaling strategy
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Growth, GTM & Sustainability: Business leader with 20+ years at global companies including Coty (Global Chief Digital Officer) and Salesforce (Global Industry Advisor), driving growth and digital transformation across consumer goods and tech.
Startup mentor with Techstars Sustainability and Founders Institute, impact investor, and Cambridge sustainability student, with a strong track record of scaling channels, launching markets, and building sustainable commercial strategies across 40+ countries.
Advising founders on:
- Marketing, growth & brand positioning
- Business development & partnerships
- Product development & product–market fit
- Leadership, hiring & founder development
- Go-to-market & scaling strategy
- General startup strategy & decision-making
Co-founder&CEO at Fundraisly.com - an AI-powered fundraising platform that helps startups connect with relevant investors and book meetings. 3k+ calls conducted with top-tier VCs like a16z, General Catalyst, Sequoia, etc. $100M+ raised. 8.7/10 NPS score.
Advising founders on:
- General startup strategy & decision-making
With over 25 years of experience as a venture capital and startup attorney, Jose Padilla is the founder and managing attorney at Padilla Law PLLC. The firm represents entrepreneurs in cutting edge technologies and those that invest in them.
His legal practice includes company formation, employee incentive creation, early stage financings, private equity, acquisitions, commercial and licensing contracts, and general advisory regarding corporate and financing strategy. He graduated with honors from Harvard University, and law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Advising founders on:
- Legal & corporate structure
- General startup strategy & decision-making
Alejandro Vásquez is a Growth Strategy and Product consultant with 10+ years helping tech-based businesses across the US and LATAM build and scale digital products.
Advising founders on:
- Marketing, growth & brand positioning
- Product development & product–market fit
- Go-to-market & scaling strategy
- General startup strategy & decision-making
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Maria Lokteva is an impact research and analytics professional with 10+ years of experience across social impact measurement, corporate strategy, and technical business development. She currently leads impact research and measurement at inDrive, developing evidence-based methodologies to assess social change across global markets.
Previously, she spent nine years in aerospace, working on international business growth, operational excellence, and new product research. Maria holds an MBA in Finance from Grenoble Ecole de Management.
Advising founders on:
- Product development & product–market fit
- Impact strategy & assessment
Abigail Napsuciale is a Co-founder and Сhief Investment Officer at Atta Impact Capital, where she also serves as a member of the Investment Committee and the Board of Directors. Originally from Mexico, she has a diverse background spanning biotechnology engineering with a specialization in plants from the National Polytechnic Institute, marketing, digital transformation (certified by Alibaba Business School), business development, and impact investing. She has co-founded and led multiple organizations focused on strengthening the Latin American entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly in the bioeconomy sector. She co-led the expansion of the Kirchner Impact Foundation’s impact investment programs in food security into Central America and, subsequently, spearheaded the Foundation’s entry into the bioeconomy sector, which culminated in the development of the first ecosystem report on impact investment and the bioeconomy in Costa Rica. This pioneering publication, produced in collaboration with the CRUSA Foundation, mapped more than 100 companies in the country.
She also serves on the Board of Directors of CAPCA, the Central American Private Equity Association, and is a co-author of academic articles, technical reports, and public policy documents prepared for national and international authorities, including the G20.
Advising founders on:
- Fundraising Strategy
- Pitch & Storytelling
- Legal & Deal Structuring
