Chrétien Herben has over two decades of experience in transforming academic discoveries into viable startups, particularly within the life sciences, biotech, medtech, and cleantech sectors. He earned his PhD in Optoelectronics with distinction (cum laude) from Delft University of Technology, following a degree in Physics from the University of Twente. His academic journey laid the groundwork for his entrepreneurial pursuits, culminating in the founding of a high-tech startup based on his doctoral research. Serving as the Chief Technology Officer, he guided the company through its formative years until its successful acquisition. This firsthand experience provided him with deep insights into the challenges and rewards of commercializing scientific innovations.

Motivated by his entrepreneurial journey, Herben founded LifeSciences@Work (LS@W) in 2008, a national startup support program in the Netherlands aimed at assisting life sciences researchers in commercializing their findings. A cornerstone of LS@W is the Venture Challenge, a 10-week program designed to help entrepreneurial scientists in pharma, medtech, diagnostics, and enabling technologies develop their business ideas. The program's success was recognized in 2022 when it received the European Enterprise Promotion Award and In 2024, LS@W was ranked 24th overall in the Financial Times' list of Europe's Leading Startup Hubs, placing 4th in mentoring and 9th in networking. Besides LS@W and the Venture Challenge Chrétien is involvemed in several other startup programs such as Faculty of Impact and the Biobuisness Masterclass and he continues to mentor startups across scientific fields, playing a key role in strengthening the Netherlands’ innovation ecosystem.