Jon Colbert has over 17 years of Accounting and Finance experience. He began his career in 2006 with HCA, Inc, a Fortune 500 Company and one of the largest Healthcare companies in the world.

Alessandro Usuelli is an Italian architect who started his climbing walls designer career in the Far East, where most of his projects are located.

Nataleigh is a co-founder of Blackbox Boulder and Atari Climbing. She is a professional routesetter and has done both high level comp and commercial setting.

Dani Castillo, Co-founder and investor of Sputnik Climbing, wears multiple hats as Commercial, Communication, and Marketing Director. With 25 years of experience, Dani excels at transforming crazy ideas into viable plans. Passionate about climbing, surfing, and culture, he always strives to think outside the box.

Alessandro joined the IFSC in 2017, and he accompanied the sport growth in its first Olympic appearance.  He has worked in close contact with multiple IFSC stakeholders, to shape the IFSC event calendar of the past six years. Additionally, he is working with suppliers and brands to enhance the connection between the IFSC and the climbing industry worldwide.

Pro climber Daniel Woods  is considered one of the most important climbers in the history of bouldering. He has climbed over thirty boulders graded 8C (V15) or harder, making him one of the most prolific climbers of hard boulder problems. He has also won several competitions, such as the U.S. National Bouldering Championship and some international competitions.

Simon is a climber and architect based in Frankenjura, Germany, where he runs his own 5500sqm bouldering gym. Since 2011, he and his partner have been designing and building unique and functional bouldering gyms. They believe in simplicity and functionality as a main design principle. Simon shares that it is much more difficult and time-consuming to design a simple yet beautiful and functional shape than a complicated one.

Charlie is a British broadcaster and writer with a broad spectrum of experience across different media formats. Between 2016 and 2020 he presented and commentated the live coverage of the IFSC World Cups – of which there are 20 per year in Europe, China, Japan, India, Russia and the USA – and helped to prepare climbing for its (eventually postponed) Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

Patrick Andrey is business developer of Camp5 Climbing Gym and Managing Director of SMA, representing Walltopia in the Asia Pacific Region.

Halil has travelled far and wide, climbing some of the world’s best crags and competed against some of the world’s best climbers in the World Cup circuit. After being ranked No.1 in Singapore for 5 years and being in the top three in regional competitions, he decided to give back to the community through Climb Asia in 2003. Climb Asia currently owns and operates 10 climbing facilities spread across 5 countries in Asia. It is the company behind emerging global brands like Climb Central and BelaySafe.

Borislav Stefanov has a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and extensive experience in business strategy, management, and finance.

Mark Sebille (born 1955, in Brussels) has been climbing on four continents for half a century and has participated in several expeditions.

Paula currently serves as the Executive Director with the Climbing Wall Association (CWA), partnering with the board of directors to strategically meet the needs of the indoor climbing industry.

Yasmin Gahtani has made substantial contributions to the world of rock climbing and hiking. She was appointed as the executive director of the Saudi Climbing and Hiking Federation (SCHF) in 2018 to advance and popularize climbing in her country.

Ged MacDomhnaill is a true visionary in the world of climbing, having founded and led The Climbing Hangar to great success since its opening in 2011.

Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou is a highly successful American businesswoman and rock climbing coach. As the founder of ABC Kids Climbing in Boulder, Colorado, she has developed a thriving business that focuses on developing young climbers’ agility, balance, and coordination.

Remi is a seasoned professional in the world of climbing with an impressive career spanning over 11 years. She has held various roles in the industry, including General Manager at Pacific Pipe and Manager at L.A. Boulders, both of which are part of Touchstone Climbing.

Frank Bogerman is a professional route setter and climbing hold maker from the Netherlands, with 30 years of experience in the climbing industry.

Celso “Finuco” Martínez is an eminence of block climbing in Spain, he is even considered as the father of the sport in the country. He has dedicated his entire life to it, both as an athlete and as an organizer, ideologue, and mentor.

Matilda Söderlund is a professional climber and the co-founder of Moumo,a boulder climbing gym.

Guillermo, originally from Argentina and graduated in Computer Science, began to explore the routesetting profession in 2001.

Alice discovered climbing while living and working in London in 2008, following a difficult breakup. She was inspired by the healing and self-discovery that climbing brought her, which led her to co-found Sender One in 2011 upon returning to the United States with her business partners.

Henrik Suihkonen has been a background influencer in the development of Finnish sport climbing since the 80s. As the Finnish indoor climbing champion 1994 and 1997, he has developed sport climbing in Finland from the grades 7c to 8b+.

Peter is a seasoned routesetter with almost 20 years of experience in the field. He has established himself as a specialist in commercial routesetting and is well-known for his expertise in safety procedures.

Niklas Wiechmann spent most of his childhood in the woods or his parents´climbing gym, where he started setting when he was a teenager.

Stefano Ghisolfi is an Italian professional rock climber and sport climber who competes in lead climbing, bouldering, and speed disciplines.

Vasil Sharlanov is specialized in the design and architecture of all sorts of climbing facilities, as well as family entertainment centers (FECs). 

Killko Caballero is a serial-entrepreneur, having spent over 20 years launching, and working with, several technology startups in Silicon Valley. Upon his return to Europe, Killko decided to combine his passion for climbing and startups, and co-founded TOTEM Climbing in 2016, a chain of bouldering gyms which now counts four locations in Switzerland.

Jeffery Bowling is a seasoned professional with almost 30 years of experience in the climbing industry. He has done nearly every job one can do in a climbing gym.  He holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and is currently serving as the Marketing, IT, and Business Development Manager at Touchstone Climbing and Fitness.

Steve is 32, he graduated from the most prestigious french university and started his career as a consultant for the French Football Federation and the IOC. Steve has been climbing for 10 years and deciding to create Arkose in 2013 to fill the lack of climbing gyms in Paris at the time.

Greg is a 42 years old climber, he has been climbing for over 25 years and knows quite well the climbing scene.

Bill is the founder of MyClimb, an app that brings climbers together.

Bill has been climbing since he was five years old and he says that he was lucky to have his first climbing experiences in the beautiful setting of Joshua Tree, California, where he still enjoys visiting every year.

Chris Locrasto is an owner and Routesetting Director of Summit Climbing Yoga and Fitness, and CEO of Premium Holds.

Michael Schöpf, 38 years old, from Tyrol (Austria) was active as a cross-country skiing youth coach in the Tyrolean Ski Federation and graduated as Master of social and economic science at the University in Innsbruck before he was joining the Austrian Climbing Federation in 2008 as Sports Manager.

Patrick Andrey is business developer of Camp5 Climbing Gym and Managing Director of SMA, representing Walltopia in the Asia Pacific Region.

Lyn is currently the general manager of Touchstone Climbing’s busiest gym, Berkeley Ironworks, but has been at the helm of a total of four Touchstone gyms in her sixteen years in the industry.

Laurent is a routesetter and hold maker with more than 30 years of experience. He is one of the first international setters and his craft is widely recognized and cherished by the world’s climbing community.

Passionate about climbing and retail expert with more than 18 years’ experience in high volume and growing businesses. She has joined the climbing industry as a Expansion director for Indoorwall Climbing Centers, company with 10 centers and 3 new openings in 2019.

Started with first fitness gym in 1983. Sold 5 gyms in 1998 with 26.000 members. Gross revenue increased in the 15 years from SEK 700.000 to 70.000.000.

David is a fitness industry entrepreneur with an international footprint and 30 years’ experience. He is founder and Director of the successful and unique Leisure Database Company which audits and reports on the industry.

Doug Miller co-founded Sales Makers in 1980 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Doug moved to Europe; in 1994, to introduce the Sales Makers approach and has worked with over 900 Clubs throughout the world, in total.

Andy designed and built Mile End Climbing Wall – the first dedicated climbing facility in the UK – in 1986. A former Chair of the Association of British Climbing walls, Andy helped create the National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS).

Laura oversees the CWA’s Industry Research Program, including the annual indoor climbing industry study.

Dave has been climbing obsessed for over 20 years since starting to climb in his local Granite quarry in Dublin. Dave has experience of working in many different climbing facilities and in various capacities: instructor, outdoor leader, route setter, coach, trainer,  duty manager and now director and wall owner.

Peter is a seasoned routesetter with almost 20 years of experience in the field. He has established himself as a specialist in commercial routesetting and is well-known for his expertise in safety procedures.

Robin has been climbing for over 25 years and been working full time with climbing the last 15 years, as a route setter, instructor and educator but also dedicated to create a learning organisation in safety aspects as part of the Swedish Climbing Federation.

Cody Roth, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been climbing since the age of 10. He now resides in South Tyrol, Italy, home to Vertical-Life and world class climbing.

Peter Pircher has been working as a Sales Manager for Vertical-Life since 2016. Among other things he is responsible for the distribution of software solutions for climbing gyms.

Ivaylo Penchev is a serial entrepreneur. He has founded and is actively involved in a number of companies – Walltopia, AFCM, Auxionize,  Extrapack, HRT, CompositeX.

Lance Brock grew up in middle TN and went to the University of Tennessee and studied architecture. He practiced architecture for about 7 years before deciding to open Climb Nashville.  He was a sponsored climber for about 10 years and served on the board of directors for the Access Fund.

Rich Emerson is CEO of The Climbing Academy Group Ltd and Chair of the Association of British Climbing Walls.

Lillian Chao-Quinlan is the President and principal owner of Sportrock Climbing Centers, one of the first commercial indoor rock climbing gyms in the USA. During her tenure, Lillian has managed three expansions within their facilities.

Bozhidar Oreshkov is the head R&D scientist of Climbmat. He has a PhD in the field of Physics.

Irina has been focused on investments and growth partnerships within the Walltopia group since 2012.

Nate McMullan is the Founder and Chairman of the Route Setting Association, which oversees qualifications and standards of safety for Route Setting.

Hilary Harris is the founder and co-owner of EVO Rock + Fitness. She oversees the strategic business and brand development for EVO as well as oversees the marketing and events at the Louisville location.

Daniel French is founder and Executive Director of Composite-X – the World’s largest climbing holds producer.

Jeffery Bowling is a seasoned professional with almost 30 years of experience in the climbing industry. He has done nearly every job one can do in a climbing gym.  He holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and is currently serving as the Marketing, IT, and Business Development Manager at Touchstone Climbing and Fitness.

Peter is a seasoned routesetter with almost 20 years of experience in the field. He has established himself as a specialist in commercial routesetting and is well-known for his expertise in safety procedures.

Peter Pircher has been working as a Sales Manager for Vertical-Life since 2016. Among other things he is responsible for the distribution of software solutions for climbing gyms.

Ivaylo Penchev is a serial entrepreneur. He has founded and is actively involved in a number of companies – Walltopia, AFCM, Auxionize,  Extrapack, HRT, CompositeX.

Adam Koberna is the President of Walltopia USA. With a over 20+ years experience in the climbing wall industry, Adam has helped guide gym owners through the climbing wall construction process to make their vision a reality.

Bozhidar Oreshkov is the head R&D scientist of Climbmat. He has a PhD in the field of Physics.

Irina has been focused on investments and growth partnerships within the Walltopia group since 2012.

Nate McMullan is the Founder and Chairman of the Route Setting Association, which oversees qualifications and standards of safety for Route Setting.

Christian is one of the founders of the new “Bahnhof Blo – Bouldercafé”  boulder gym in Wuppertal, Germany and as part of his role as CEO at Climb-Inn also the Managing Director of the DAV Climbing Centre, the Wupperwände.

Chris is the Operations Director for the rapidly expanding Momentum Indoor Climbing. Starting at the front desk in 2011, he has worked almost every position in the gym and strives to improve operations from the ground up while focusing on the customer experience.

Joe Zentmyer is co-founder and CFO of Chicago-based First Ascent Climbing & Fitness, one of the fastest-growing gym operators in the United States.   First Ascent has opened 4 locations since starting operations 3 years ago and has more in development.

Andre has been leading a part of Bänfer since 1986. He is not only the inventor of the patented fall protection system, but also a member of the German DIN committee for artifical climbing structures.

Jeremy set up The Lakeland Climbing Centre in 1995 and became one of the 4 partners in The Yorkshire Climbing Company in 2014.  Together, the two companies own and operate the Kendal Wall, VauxWall West and East, HarroWall, the Depot Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.  They have a further 3 projects currently under development and are the largest owner and operator of climbing walls in the UK. 

Christoph has been actively climbing since 1983. For the past 20 years he has been consulting climbing gym owners and has designed over 40 000 sq.m (430 000 sq. ft) of climbing surface for walls of various purpose throughout the years.

Vasil Sharlanov is specialized in the design and architecture of all sorts of climbing facilities, as well as family entertainment centers (FECs). 

Dimitar Petrov has been with the Walltopia Group for over 13 years. Currently, he is R&D Manager of Safety Engineering, where he is responsible for the development and manufacturing of new products related to climbing safety.

Andrea has been a part of the Bänfer Bouldering team for more than 8 years. She is a trained vendor in sports articles. Together with Andre Friderritzi, she supervises the clients in Germany and worldwide and is his support. 

Sebastian is a Managing Director in one of the fastest growing REITs in USA STORE Capital. He joined their team in 2016 working with real estate brokers nationwide to source acquisitions that meet STORE Capital’s investment criteria.

Dimitar Georgiev is CEO of Gym Realm Technology JSC, and has more than 10 years of experience in the IT sector. The company develops a Gym Management software that is specialized in helping fitness and climbing gym operations.

Matthias Polig is co-founder and CEO of Vertical-Life, national route setter, guidebook author, climbing event manager with a passion for innovation and technology.

Boriana has been with Walltopia for over 12 years. She started as an engineer and quickly worked her way up to becoming the Engineering department’s head, and the developer of most of Walltopia’s Active Entertainment products.

Jack is a Business Development Manager at Portman Asset Finance; a UK based financial services firm providing funding solutions from £10,000 to £2million+. Prior to joining Portman Finance in 2017, Jack received a degree in Business Economics from the University of Portsmouth before gaining a multitude of experience from a FinTech start up in London to a global technology company.

Evgeny Angelov is Chairman of the Bulgarian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. In parallel, he is Partner at PostScriptum Ventures. Previously, Evgeny was the Economic Advisor to the President of Bulgaria and the Deputy Minister of Economy. His focus in the public sector has been on economic, investment and innovation policy formulation and implementation.

Alan is Director of the Climbing Academy. He has been climbing indoors and out from a very young age, and a routesetter for many years before becoming involved with The Climbing Academy group’s second gym in Glasgow.

Hilary Harris is the founder and co-owner of EVO Rock + Fitness. She oversees the strategic business and brand development for EVO as well as oversees the marketing and events at the Louisville location.

Lucas Kovalcik co-founded The Gravity Vault Indoor Rock Gyms in 2005. The Gravity Vault now owns, operates and franchises climbing facilities throughout the Northeastern United States.

Routesetting for twenty years, Ward is currently the Director of Routesetting for Earth Treks Climbing & Fitness.  He oversees all routesetting operations at their five soon to be seven locations.

Joe is the owner of Hoosier Heights Indianapolis, Hoosier Heights Bloomington, Climb NuLu, and Climb Cincy. Joe’s experience as both a sole owner and partner in small, mid, and large sized markets has given him insight into the successes and challenges facing the climbing industry going forward.

Alexander has been at the helm of Urban Climb, one of Australia’s largest indoor climbing companies for the last 10 years, in that time he has been a part of the exciting growth witnessed in the climbing industry.

Tonde Katiyo is an international route setter and an international personality in general. Born in Paris, he moved to Zimbabwe where he started climbing at the age of 12.

Frank Blaeser is owner and CEO of Kletterfabrik Cologne. He has been a climber for about 35 years.

Currently the VP of Retail and Brand working with both the Marketing and Retail departments for Earth Treks | Planet Granite.

Daniel French is founder and Executive Director of Composite-X – the World’s largest climbing holds producer.

• Business Unit Director-Climbing Sales at Black Diamond

Killko Caballero is a serial-entrepreneur, having spent over 20 years launching, and working with, several technology startups in Silicon Valley. Upon his return to Europe, Killko decided to combine his passion for climbing and startups, and co-founded TOTEM Climbing in 2016, a chain of bouldering gyms which now counts four locations in Switzerland.

Gregor is a sports scientist, and Owner and CEO of Kletterfabrik Köln. He has been a climber for almost 40 years, and has participated in WC 1990, EC 1991, and Rockmaster 1992 and 1995.

Jeffery Bowling is a seasoned professional with almost 30 years of experience in the climbing industry. He has done nearly every job one can do in a climbing gym.  He holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and is currently serving as the Marketing, IT, and Business Development Manager at Touchstone Climbing and Fitness.

Dr. Matt Roberts is founder of The Kernmantle Group, an economics research and training consultancy and acting President of Vertical Adventures, a rock-climbing gym in Columbus, OH. 

In 1982, Jeff and a college roommate taught themselves to climb in Rock Canyon in Provo after purchasing a copy of Royal Robbins’ Basic Rockcraft to guide them.