Tugi Guenes

Tugi’s aim is to enable and empower creative minds, driving the development of impactful solutions for the problems of tomorrow.

Inspired by protagonists of adventure movies, he decided to become a scientist graduating with a MSc in Systems Biology from ETH Zurich but left academia to support the innovation and entrepreneurship efforts at a Swiss bank. A fascination for Japan led him then to a role as community manager at a VC/incubator in Osaka, where he spent about 2 years. Back again in Zurich he led the operations at an early-stage e-commerce startup and later joined the national innovation agency of Switzerland managing programs for deep tech startups. Looking for new experiences and motivated to support more founders in different fields, he moved to Canada and joined the DMZ.

Tugi particularly enjoys working in the intersection of value creation and storytelling and cares for establishing a stimulating and fair work culture.

Get to know Tugi Guenes

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Kyoto (Japan) but escaping to Horta (Azores) for the summer months

Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?
I have been called James McAvoy, Nathan Fillion, Frodo and most recently Zelensky

How do you relax?
A walk in the nature, sketching, and playing video games

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Scientist - somewhat mislead by Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, and Raiders of the Lost Ark

Which person, living or dead, would you have dinner with?
Sebastião Salgado - a world class photographer and co-creator of the Instituto Terra project