Ana Maiques (born 1972 in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain) is a Spanish entrepreneur and business executive. She is the CEO and co-founder of

Neuroelectrics Neuroelectrics is a Barcelona-based Spanish company which produces devices to stimulate and treat the brain. Founded in 2011, it is a spin-off of Starlab Neuroscience Research which was established in 2000. The company was founded by Ana Maiques ...

, a company based in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

that develops non-invasive brain stimulation devices to treat neurological disorders. Maiques is also the President of EsTech, a platform for high-growth technology companies in Spain, and a member of the European Innovation Council Advisory Board. She is a prominent advocate for gender diversity in STEM fields, promoting women's representation in tech and business. Ana Maiques was named as one of the Most Inspiring Fifty Women in Europe.

Education

Maiques studied economics at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

and has an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

. She has also completed

IESE Business School IESE Business School is the Catholic Church, Catholic graduate business school of the University of Navarra. It was established in Barcelona in 1958 by Opus Dei. From 1963, in collaboration with Harvard Business School, it offers a two-year Maste ...

's advanced management program.

Business

Early career

Maiques began working in Barcelona for Belgian-owned company

Starlab Starlab NV/SA was a multidisciplinary, blue sky research institute established to serve as an incubator for long-term and basic research in the spirit of Bell Labs, MIT Media Lab, Xerox PARC, and Interval Research. Its primary headquarters was ...

in 1999, where she worked with her husband Giulio Ruffini (they had met in Barcelona a couple of years before). In 2001, when Starlab declared bankruptcy, they took over the company's Barcelona-based research division with Manel Adell. Starlab went on to develop revolutionary technologies in the fields of space and

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

. In 2014, Maiques won third prize in the European Woman Innovator of the Year awards, for her entrepreneurial vision in promoting Starlab as an innovative company of scientific excellence.

Neuroelectrics

Maiques founded Starlab spin-off

in Barcelona, Spain, in 2011, and also established offices in

Boston, United States Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

in 2014. Focused on developing medical devices for the brain, Maiques describes Neuroelectrics as a "digital brain health company" that aims to treat

brain disease Central nervous system diseases or central nervous system disorders are a group of neurological disorders that affect the structure or function of the human brain, brain or spinal cord, which collectively form the central nervous system (CNS). Th ...

in a non-invasive, personalized way through the use of technology. The devices Neuroelectrics develops record

brain activity Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The bio signals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neoc ...

and stimulate the brain by administering small currents, while brain models and

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...

s enable treatments to be customized to the needs of individual patients. Its brain reading and electro-stimulation headgear has been used to measure brain fatigue in

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

pilots and may have applications in the treatment of

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. Other areas of research include applications in

neurodegenerative A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

diseases such as

Parkinson's Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become more prevalen ...

and

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, and in

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

and depression. Notably, Neuroelectrics has developed the Starstim device, a non-invasive brain stimulation technology that combines transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) and

electroencephalography Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignal, bio signals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in ...

(EEG) to simultaneously stimulate and monitor brain activity. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Neuroelectrics adapted Starstim for home use, receiving

FDA approval The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

for treating

major depressive disorder Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive depression (mood), low mood, low self-esteem, and anhedonia, loss of interest or pleasure in normally ...

s remotely. In 2021, Maiques secured $17.5 million in funding to advance clinical trials for epilepsy and depression, further enhancing the device's capabilities and expanding its applications in telemedicine. Under Maiques' leadership at Neuroelectrics, the company has achieved recognition as one of the Best Entrepreneurial Companies in 2016 in the United States, awarded by

Entrepreneur magazine ''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. First published in 1977. it is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquartered in Irvine, Cal ...

EsTech

Ana Maiques is a co-founder and the President of EsTech, a platform launched in March 2022 by nine leading Spanish high-growth technology companies, including

Cabify Cabify is a platform to facilitate the transport of people and objects. The company operates in Spain and Latin America Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay). Previously, it also operated in Portugal Mexico, and Brazil. Cabify was founded ...

, and Glovo. EsTech aims to increase visibility and support for technology-based scale-ups in Spain, emphasizing their contributions to the economy, environment, and job market. The organization focuses on talent acquisition and training, access to financing, public education about the new economy, and public policy advocacy. Maiques believes these companies will significantly impact the Spanish economy in the coming years.

Additional Roles and Recognition

In addition to her significant role at Neuroelectrics, Ana Maiques is an active figure in the innovation scene, both in Europe and the United States. She is a permanent member of the European Innovation Council Advisory Board and became a Termeer Fellow at the

Henri Termeer Henri A. Termeer (February 28, 1946 – May 12, 2017) was a Dutch biotechnology executive and entrepreneur. He served as CEO at Genzyme from 1981 to 2011. Termeer created a business model, subsequently adopted by others in the industry, based o ...

Foundation in 2018. Maiques' career has been acknowledged on multiple occasions, including Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs award by

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

at the 2022 Builders and Innovators Summit and the title of Most Inspiring Women on the Inspiring Fifty list in Europe for two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016.

Advocacy

Ana Maiques is a passionate advocate for gender equality in STEM fields. She is vocal about the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in the tech industry and is committed to creating opportunities for more women to participate in these fields.

Personal life

Ana Maiques is married to physicist Giulio Ruffini. She has four children, and spends her time between Barcelona and Boston.

Awards and recognition

* 2010: Nominated as one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Spain under 40 by the University of Navarre's

IESE IESE Business School is the Catholic graduate business school of the University of Navarra. It was established in Barcelona in 1958 by Opus Dei. From 1963, in collaboration with Harvard Business School, it offers a two-year Master of Business Adm ...

Business School * 2014: EU Prize for Women Innovators * 2014: International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) * 2015: Best Start-Up Health Award (for Neuroelectrics), Wired Health (UK) * 2015: One of Inspiring Fifty's most inspiring European female leaders in the technology sector * 2016: One of the Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America (for Neuroelectrics) in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Entrepreneur 360" list * 2016: One of Inspiring Fifty's most inspiring European female leaders in the technology sector * 2022: Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs Award by

* 2023: Disruption Award by Women's Startup Awards for women entrepreneurs who are "breaking the mold."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maiques, Ana Living people 21st-century Spanish businesswomen 21st-century Spanish businesspeople Spanish chief executives Businesspeople from Valencia 1972 births