We are a team of experts with diverse backgrounds and experience, translating the genetic code for athletes, coaches, and management, and providing a scientific basis for optimization decisions.
Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Martin
As CEO of DNAthlete, I combine my passion for sport, innovation, health tech, and performance optimization with solid experience in strategy, operations, and finance, both in start-up environments and in established companies. What drives me is the conviction that modern genomics can create real value for health, performance, and prevention, provided it is understandable, well founded, and individually applicable.
Since joining DNAthlete in 2024, I have been convinced by the company’s scientific depth and clear vision: empowering people in their health and performance through personalized, data-based insights. Together with our interdisciplinary team and strong partners, we translate complex data into practical recommendations, whether in elite sport, training, or everyday life.
My focus is on the sustainable growth of DNAthlete, expanding our presence, and further developing high-quality, scientifically sound solutions that make each individual’s potential visible and usable.
I am a passionate age-group triathlete, so you will usually find me swimming, on the bike, or out running. In my free time, I enjoy being active outdoors with my wife and our dog, Bailey.
Chief Medical Officer
Professor Dr. Florian Pfab
Enthusiasm for sport also runs like a common thread through my life. Even during my medical studies I began training in sports medicine. Further positions in sports medicine included the sports orthopedics and radiology departments at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston/USA), the Department of Prevention, Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine at Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, FC Bayern Munich, and FC Ingolstadt. Academic highlights include my habilitation at the Technical University of Munich (2009), a research fellowship from the German Research Foundation, and a visiting professorship at Harvard Medical School (Boston/USA, 2010/2011). Today I run my own practice focused on sports medicine in Munich, lead the medical department at Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG, and hold teaching posts at TUM and the University of Regensburg. I also give sports-medicine lectures and publish in international scientific journals. What drives me? Sports medicine is becoming increasingly specialized. Topics such as individualization and prevention are moving more into focus. Thanks to scientific progress, genetics is now ready to be implemented in elite sport and to raise athletes to a new level of performance. That is exactly what I enjoy!
Managing Director, DNAthlete Austria
Paul Friedl
Sport has always been my calling, and for some years it was also my profession. I know the euphoria of winning a title, and I also know the despair after 19 defeats in a row. I can still feel the pressure of the national jersey on my shoulders. By now I also know how thin the air is at 8,000 meters and what goes through your mind on the start bar at the Bergisel ski jump. During and after my studies, sport shaped my life, and it is still an essential part of my professional life today. Helping athletes realize their life’s dream is what drives me.
Managing Director, DNAthlete Austria
Dietmar Karner
I grew up as a city kid and first chased the ball on so-called “ghetto courts”, and I eventually realized there are less bloody ways to move. That realization matured in a very Austrian way in dance school. My switch to competitive dance happened rather by chance, and then it became all the more intense: in Latin formation dancing I achieved my greatest successes with two World Championship and one European Championship appearances. Today I take it easier. Jogging and yoga are the perfect balance for a trained business economist who is responsible for sales and organization at DNAthlete AG.
Genetics, DNAthlete Austria
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Thomas Kocher
Now I finally have the opportunity to unite profession, hobby, and passion. At the age of five I was already playing club football, I went through all the youth selection squads, and I managed to gain a foothold in adult football in Austria’s highest amateur league. I also worked as a youth football coach for two years. Alongside football I began my studies in genetics, which I completed with a doctorate. In 2022 I completed my habilitation at the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg. Today I lead human genetics at DNAthlete. From my own experience I know that small things and details can decide success or failure in sport.
Bioinformatics, DNAthlete Austria
Marc Nowakowski MSc
The question of what constitutes the human being at depth is at the center of my work. With a background in cognitive science, I focus on the interplay of thinking, feeling, and biological foundations, especially where modern data analysis opens new perspectives. At DNAthlete, this understanding informs our bioinformatics. In this field between science, technology, and human reality, I am fascinated by subtle differences, patterns, and potentials.
For balance I spend time outdoors, in the mountains, exploring new places, or simply in conversation with people who see the world from different angles.