Salvatore Cavallaro - Startup Program Manager

Essen, Germany

Experience

Jan 2026 - Present

1 month

Essen, Germany

Startup Program Manager

BRYCK Startup Alliance

Managing the new BRYCK Startup Alliance Accelerator with a dedicated team of 3 people
Funnelling startups from all verticals (energy, water, chemicals, materials, proptech and real estate, personalised medicine, secure & intelligent systems) into one unique accelerator structure
Managing services, supporting connections to other programs and investment opportunities
Facilitating growth opportunities through pilot programs

Oct 2025 - Present

4 months

Strategy & Fundraising

Semantic Map UG

Developing financial planning and modeling for an AI-native B2B SaaS startup in the market research space
Acting as sparring partner for founders on business strategy
Creating investment strategy and managing investor relations

Apr 2024 - Dec 2025

1 year 9 months

Essen, Germany

Startup Program Manager

BRYCK

Co-designing, organising and managing tech and deeptech acceleration programs for pre-seed and seed stage startups in energy and hydrogen
Scouting and evaluating startups, managing investor, corporate and expert relations
Supporting mentoring activities and mentoring founders on strategy, business models, funneling, marketing, go-to-market, pitching and fundraising
Member of the Board and Program Manager for the EU funded D2XCEL project, creating a deep tech network and managing acceleration programs for Series A startups in energy storage, recycling, upcycling, sustainable materials and water

Mar 2023 - Apr 2024

1 year 2 months

Essen, Germany

Event Manager

BRYCK

Designing, organising and managing innovation-related events including workshops, conferences and fairs
Coordinating multi-department work, marketing campaigns, invitations, stakeholder relations and brand communication
Managing startup program involvement, procurement and all operations-related activities
Managed BRYCK’s largest event to date within two months, focusing on startup pitching, promotion, networking and cooperation with a budget of €500k+
Conducting EU funding research, consortium partner research and relations

Sep 2022 - Mar 2023

7 months

Bad Wiessee, Germany

Coordinator, PM EU Funding

EU Tech Chamber

Managing community growth in climate tech and regional innovation development for Latin America through online events, roundtables and meet-ups
Defining community strategy, preparing position papers and communication materials
Coordinating EU funded project activities including research and analysis of Horizon funding opportunities, consultant sourcing and contracting, consortium partner research, grant writing and project structuring

Mar 2022 - Jul 2022

5 months

Madrid, Spain

Tourism Market Intelligence & Competitiveness Intern

UN Tourism – United Nations

Assisting the Best Tourism Villages project with communication content for social media and website support
Supporting report design and stakeholder management

Oct 2021 - Feb 2022

5 months

Florence, Italy

Business Travel Agent

PQE Group

Arranging business travel itineraries and accommodations
Managing client relations and travel logistics

Sep 2021 - May 2022

9 months

Italy

Co-Founder & Vice President

Destinaction APS

Promoting and developing areas with tourism potential in collaboration with private and public partners
Building the first community for destination management professionals in Italy
Coordinating projects, supervising communication and representing the organisation to attract new partners
Organising bootcamps, events, dissemination and educational activities

May 2021 - Sep 2021

5 months

Barcelona, Spain

Commercial Cross-Functional Intern

Hosco

Conducting market research on hotel trends and project pipelines for a hospitality job platform scaleup
Generating leads, conducting cold calling and managing warm lead sales
Handling account management and providing customer success support

Jan 2018 - Dec 2020

3 years

Catania, Italy

Volcanological Guide

Etna Official Guide

Leading guided tours of volcanic sites
Providing educational information on volcanology to visitors

Jan 2017 - Dec 2024

8 years

Arequipa, Peru

Representative, Communication and Sales, Business Development

South America Inside Out

Representing the organisation at major tourism fairs (FITUR, TTG, WTM)
Promoting activities and managing stakeholders including procurement partners, tourism entities, B2B partners and platforms
Driving B2B2C and B2C sales through warm and cold leads
Executing marketing and communication activities and providing strategic support to the Owner & Director

Jan 2015 - Dec 2016

2 years

Driver

N.C.C. Tourist Activities

Providing transportation services for tourists across various destinations

Jan 2008 - Dec 2012

5 years

Ski-renting

Family-run business

Managing ski rental operations and customer service

Skills

Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
Wordpress, Seo And Social Media Tools, Adobe (Photoshop, Xd), Canva, Photography
Salesforce, Hubspot, Sharepoint, Sharesuite, Jira, Asana
R, Rapidminer, Python Basics, Vibe Coding