Symposium 2026 Speakers
At ESS you’ll find presentations, workshops, panel discussions and interviews with people whose experience is a source of knowledge for all of us. Experts, engineers, instructors, inventors – you’ll find everyone really worth knowing here!
Albert Berchtold
- 🇺🇸 USA
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USPA
Executive Director at the United States Parachute Association (USPA) with more than 20 years of experience in the sport, representing the US in Canopy Piloting.
Andrew Samper
- 🇺🇸 USA
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UPT
The Rigging Loft Supervisor at UPT, a multi-rated instructor, an active fun jumper, and canopy pilot. He strives to promote safety and education surrounding the use, maintenance, and understanding of the gear to which we trust our lives.
Angie Aragon
- 🇺🇸 USA
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USPA
7500+ jumps, USPA National Director, USPA Coach, AFF & Tandem Instructor Examiner with 400+ graduates to date, UPT & Firebird Tandem ExaminerCoach, AFF & Tandem Instructor, FAA Senior Rigger.
Armando Fattoruso
- 🇮🇹 Italy
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Flight-1
Flight-1 Instructor, +13 000 jumps, CP competitor, Top 5 world ranking, Top 3 European ranking, multiple record holder, 24 years in the sport.
Beau Riebe
- 🇺🇸 USA
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Performance Designs
Performance Design’s Government Client Relations, Flight-1 instructor, UPT Mutant Ambassador, AFFI & TI
Daniel Ossio
- 🇨🇠Switzerland
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Wingsuit Academy
Wingsuit instructor, the creator of the educational platform wingsuit.ws and a member of the Swiss Wingsuit Team. Expert in High Speed Exit Flare and AWF.
David Rhea
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
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CPS
Complete Parachute Solutions’ European accounts executive, with a background in sport and military instruction. 6500+ jumps, USPA AFFI/TI, Sigma TI, MMPC-I, FAA Sr. Rigger, Wind Tunnel Instructor (IBA & TI.org)
Dieter Kirsch
- 🇩🇪 Germany
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Tora Tora
Dieter Kirsch is one of the world’s foremost big-way organizers, responsible for multiple world and European sequential records. His experience as a multi-time German champion and his innovations in formation design and coaching have shaped modern skydiving.
Dominik Zasadni
- 🇵🇱 Poland
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Tora Tora
Former Cargo Drop Instructor in the 6th Airborne Brigade and Special Forces. Currently a cargo drop expert at Outsourcing G7.
Elia Roselli
- 🇮🇹 Italy
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Italian Aerospace Engineer and Skydiver, specialized in aerodynamic design, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and experimental flight testing. With experience in UAV systems, parachute performance optimization, and advanced simulation workflows, he combines technical expertise with a passion for human flight.
Ernesto Gainza
- 🇪🇸 Spain
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freelancer
Globally recognized skydiver, BASE jumper, wingsuit pilot, and four-time Guinness World Record holder.
Frank Carreras
- 🇩🇪 Germany
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AirCrew
Frank Carreras, German, 54 years old, married, no children, first jump in 1988, full-time skydiving instructor since 1989, rigger since 1990, self-employed since 1991 with “AIRCREW”, AFF & Tandem IE since 1996, FAA Master Rigger since 2009.
Gonçalo Resende
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
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Tora Tora
Gonçalo Resende grew up on dropzones and is now a skydiver, coach, and leader of the Frickflyers freefly team. His greatest passion is canopy piloting, with the goal of reaching a world podium.
Gulcin Gilbert
- 🇺🇸 USA
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400 movie
Gulcin Gilbert is the producer and director of “400 The Movie” and a 400-way world record holder. With over 18,000 flight hours and 4,000 skydives, she combines her passion for aviation and filmmaking to tell stories of courage, unity, and adventure.
Hans van Marrewijk
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
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Performance Designs
Performance Designs European representative since 2014. Ex-full time skydiver and instructor for over 30 years.
James La Barrie
- 🇺🇸 USA
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Beyond Marketing
Jumper and founder of the first marketing agency dedicated to the skydiving community.
Jens Gronemeyer
- 🇩🇪 Germany
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Alti-2
7000+ jumps, currently Alti-2 director and evangelist, also experienced jump pilot and former DZ owner and manager, the active competitor in such disciplines as FS-4, FS-8 & FS-16.
Jim Cowan
- 🇺🇸 USA
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Flight-1
24,000 jumps and over 25,000 skydivers trained in canopy piloting – from civilian beginners to military and government agencies worldwide. Multiple US and World Champion in Canopy Formation, USPA Safety & Training Advisor, AFF and Tandem Examiner, and co-founder of the Quantum Leap CF Team.
Julian Barthel
- 🇩🇪 Germany
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Flight-1
The Canopy Flight Shool Instructor and founder, +9 000 jumps, AFF Instructor, Coach, Tunnel instructor, Tandem Instructor, flocking enthusiast and evangelist.
Julien Peelman
- 🇫🇷 France
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JYRO
Aeronautical engineer with a Master’s in aerodynamics, involved in canopy design at NZ Aerosports (now JYRO) since 2009. Creator of hundreds of prototypes and many successful models, he remains dedicated to building better parachutes.
Kate Cooper-Jensen
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
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Big Way Organizer
+14 000 jumps, 40+ years of experience, multiple records holder and big-way organizer. The only female skydiver to participate in all the “even number” FS World Records – 100, 200, 300, and 400. Kate organized also Jump For The Cause organizer, and numerous other national and women’s records globally.
Kras Bankov
- 🇦🇺 Australia
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GLH Systems
Kras Bankov has spent 10 days and nights of his life in freefall. Currently he works on improving safety by implementing equipment expertise, skydiving knowledge, and neurobiology into training and decision-making in skydiving and rigging.
Lesley Gale
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
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SkydiveMag
Organizer and participant of many skydiving world records, Hall of Fame 2021 inductee. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Skydive Mag.
Martin Mall
- 🇩🇪 Germany
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freelancer
Parachute jumper and record holder in FS formations, performer and juggler that will set the mood for the After Party!
Maxine Tate
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇺🇸 USA
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Flight-1
10 000+ jumps, Flight-1 Instructor, Demostration Jumper, AFF Instructor, multiple record holder.
Neil Wilcox
- 🇺🇸 USA
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UPT & CPS
UPT and CPS Tandem Program Director Neil holds all of the USPA Examiner ratings across all methods and is a USPA Examiner Rating Course Director (ERCD), He is a master parachute rigger and IBA Tunnel Instructor.
Norman Kent
- 🇺🇸 USA
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Norman Kent Production
32 000+ jumps, 50+ years in skydiving, world-class skydiving photographer and cameraflyer, the Skydiving Hall Of Fame inductee, the Path Of Excellence award winner, multiple record holder and educational movies creator.
Pete Allum
- 🇪🇸 Spain
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Skydive Empuriabrava
Flight-1 instructor, coach, 36,000+ jumps, 40 years of experience, multiple FS-4 medalist.
Ron Bell
- 🇺🇸 USA
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USPA
USPA Director of Safety and Training since October 2018. With more than 20 years of experience in the sport, he is a USPA trainer examiner, tandem and AFF instructor examiner and PRO qualification holder, as well as an FAA Senior Rigger.
Stuart Schoenfeld
- 🇺🇸 USA
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Flight-1
Military Director at Flight-1, more than 8000 jumps and passionate about the innovations and technology in canopy piloting training.