Michel Ktitareff, co-director FBIA
President of Silicon Valley Technopole

Expertise:
Technology assessment and company readiness

Michel Ktitareff arrived in California in 1992 to launch a business newsletter about the newest Information technologies from Silicon Valley (High Tech News). This newsletter is still sold in France by subscription only to French executives involved in the IT investment process in their corporation.

Michel Ktitareff has been the High Tech Correspondent of the business daily newspaper Les Echos since 1994. He covers the daily high tech news and he also writes reports, large stories and analysis articles beyond those high technology topics.   In the mid-90’s, with several investors of the Silicon Valley, he bought and developed a newsletter written in French for the francophile community of the Bay Area, called La Litote, and turned it into a color magazine about American society.

In 1997, he launched 101 TEK, an Internet start-up, funded by venture-capitalist, which was publishing articles online in four languages including French, English, German, and Spanish. Those articles were written by European high-tech correspondents based in the Silicon Valley.

In late 2004, he co-founded Silicon Valley Technopole. This firm, a member of the Retis Network in France, helps French start-ups to get funded by US venture capitalists. SV Technopole also helps more mature French tech companies to transfer their technologies in the US or expand their business in this country.  Michel has an Economics Sciences degree (Paris I-Sorbonne) and a computer sciences background.  He is fluent in French and English. 

Michelle E. Messina, co-director FBIA
President of Explora International

Expertise :
Target market need and company readiness

Michelle E. Messina is president of the global direction and strategy agency, Explora International.  The agency’s clients include technology entrepreneurs and governments from Europe, Asia, and Latin America.  Michelle is also Vice President of International Programs at The Enterprise Network of Silicon Valley, www.tensv.org, responsible for creating strategic relationships with technology innovation regions throughout the world.  Michelle is active in the international entrepreneurial community as an advisor to TechBA, the Mexico - Silicon Valley Business Accelerator, and a board member for SAGE, Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship, focused on advancing youth entrepreneurship and community service around the world. 

Michelle has over 19 years sales and marketing experience with emerging technologies and companies including E-commerce and internet applications, VoIP, computerized robotics, biotechnology, and enterprise services and software applications.  She has served as a Vice President Sales, Vice President of Marketing, Business Development Director, and Business Unit General Manager.  As a published photographer and author, Michelle is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator at conferences in Europe, Canada, Latin America and the U.S.  She is also an advisor or board member to multiple technology companies in Silicon Valley and is bilingual in English and Spanish.