Meet our team
Isabella Tomás
CONSUL | CO-DIRECTOR
Isabella joined the Open Austria team as Austrian Consul and Co-Director in August 2022. Before coming to San Francisco, she was counselor and Head of Unit of Transportation, Telecommunications, and Innovation Diplomacy in the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria. Her postings abroad during her diplomatic career were in Madrid and Brasília. Before joining the Foreign Service in 2008, she worked as a foreign language assistant in two lycées in Versailles, France.
She received her M.A. in Romance languages and literature, political science, and communication science from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany and did a postgraduate diploma in international relations, international law, and economics at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria. In her free time, Isabella likes traveling, reading, and trying exotic food. As a former competition dancer, she also enjoys (Latin American) music.
TRADE COMMISSIONER | CO-DIRECTOR
After receiving his Master’s degree in Business Administration in Austria, Daniel worked in various locations in Europe before joining ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA in 2015. His first posting brought him to Thailand as Deputy Trade Commissioner at ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Bangkok (2016 – 2019). In August 2019 he switched twelve time zones and got posted in New York where he stayed until August 2021. Currently, he is director of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA and Co-Director of Open Austria in San Francisco. He is interested in the disruptive effects of new technologies, sustainable smart city solutions, and building up strong and recognizable brands. As a passionate photographer and traveler, he spends his free time exploring new places and discovering San Francisco and the Bay Area.
PROGRAM MANAGER | STARTUPS & INNOVATION
Armed with a deep network, Natasha has been a Silicon Valley insider since 2007 in a variety of roles, from software engineer at Microsoft to Innovation Advisor for European companies, investors and governments. She has organized and/or co-founded several bootcamps, hackathons, roundtables and workshops, and mentored hundreds of tech startups from all over the world. Natasha founded BrainCoral Labs to leverage her network and connect the Caribbean directly to Silicon Valley in order to raise the innovation and entrepreneurship quotient of the region. Born and raised in Curaçao, she has been in the US for 20+ years, of which 15+ in the Valley.
MANAGER | TECH DIPLOMACY & COMMUNICATIONS
Evgenia has joined Open Austria as the Tech Diplomacy and Communications Manager in 2023. Prior to joining Open Austria, she worked at the German Chamber of Commerce in Moscow and San Francisco, a German foreign institution and network that offers advice and representation to companies looking to establish or expand their business abroad. Evgenia holds a M.Sc. in International Economics and Management from the University of Paderborn, with a focus on development economics. In addition, she has studied at the Tongji University in Shanghai and the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, further expanding her knowledge of international business and cross-cultural communication. As the Tech Diplomacy and Communications Manager at Open Austria, Evgenia is building and maintaining relationships between the Austrian tech industry, government, and international partners.
INTERN | TECH DIPLOMACY & COMMUNICATIONS
For the duration of her internship Sophie contributes her knowledge in international business and education management to the Open Austria team. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in International Business from the University of Economics and Business in Vienna, Austria, where she specialized in business training and education management. Currently, Sophie is pursuing a Master's degree in Business Education, further sharpening her skills and knowledge in this field. Her love for travel has taken her to many different countries. In 2018, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by embarking on an exchange semester in Chile, demonstrating her eagerness to expand her horizon beyond her comfort zone. Alongside her academic pursuits, Sophie is also a certified yoga instructor and finds joy in practicing during her free time.
INTERN | ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA
Carolina Korntner is a student at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, specializing in Data Science, Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Her passion for exploring the intersection of business and technology has been a driving force behind her academic pursuits, with a particular emphasis on utilizing AI to drive innovative solutions in the business world. Carolina's exceptional academic record, combined with her entrepreneurial mindset and eagerness to learn, has positioned her for a promising career. She recently started an internship at Open Austria, where she hopes to gain practical experience and contribute to the organization's mission to connect Austria and Silicon Valley in the fields of business, technology, investment, tech diplomacy, and the arts.