EBAN Team
Jacopo Losso
Director General
As the Director General, Jacopo tracks issues of strategic importance to the early-stage investing ecosystem. He also strives to identify opportunities to influence the EU decision making processes, working closely with industry’s stakeholders to promote the excellence and expertise of EBAN’s Board Members to the European audience. Jacopo is also responsible of the coordination and implementation of EBAN’s activities in EU funded projects. Being the first contact point of the Association, he is also looking after members’ interests and helping ensure they obtain best value from their membership. Jacopo holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Thanks to his education and his strong academic background both in marketing and in financial management, Jacopo has a successful track record with international work experiences. He is a native Italian speaker and perfectly bilingual both in English and Spanish.
Kärt Klein
Events Director
Kärt is a versatile and adaptable professional with a passion for innovation, entrepreneurship have a strong background in community building, startup events organisation, deal sourcing, and external communications, as well as a master’s degree in international business and a micro degree in corporate finance. In addition, Kärt has been involved in several startup community and ecosystem initiatives, and as leading Buildit Green Accelerator & fund pilot, a program that supports sustainable hardware startups, and have experience in Venture Capital from in the Venture Fellow program at Laconia in NYC and Change Ventures, a seed-stage VC firm in Baltics.
Elena Stefanatou
Marketing Director
Elena started her studies in Communication at the University of Athens before moving on to the Sorbonne Nouvelle in France and the University of Keio in Japan for her Masters. Her work experience includes advertising agencies and big international organizations such as the Alliance Francaise in Canberra. She joined the marketing department of EBAN in September 2021.
Alessandro Craglia
EU Projects Manager
Alessandro is an EU Project Manager at EBAN. He currently leads six major EU projects aimed at facilitating angel investment through actions that range from designing guidelines and training courses, to match-making, and organising major pitching and networking events across the EU. He has a Masters of Science degree in Science and Technology Policy from the University of Sussex, and a Bachelors degree in Sociology and Social Policy from Trinity College Dublin. His past working experience includes working at the European Economic and Social Committee in the Consultative Committee for Industrial Change, and EU Project and Communications Management at Carr Communications, in Dublin. In the latter, he led the project management of the Horizon 2020 funded project Factory2Fit, and supported the management of other EU funded projects that include DARWIN, SCENT, In-Prep, DELTA, and PASSME.
Fabiana Pompermaier
EU Projects Manager
Xènia Colomer Martín
EU Projects Manager
Luka Simic
Finance and Operations Manager
Luka, holds a degree from the University of Sheffield. Before joining EBAN, he worked at two Big4 companies, Deloitte and KPMG, where he gained extensive experience collaborating with various international companies. His professional background extends beyond finance to consulting, event coordination, and public policy supporting EBAN’s mission of fostering innovation and early-stage investment across Europe.
Kadi Lääts
Community and Network Manager
Nathan Clos
Events Manager
Nathan is recent Masters in Management graduate at the European School of Managment and Technologies in Berlin. With a specialization in global businesss strategy, he started his professional journey as and Event Coordinator for MCI Benelux. During this period he organised profesional events for the European Commission and incentive meetings for private companies. He has chosen to pivot his professional experience towards marketing and communications in which he is now taking an active role in supporting the EBAN team for their various projects and events.
Samuel Ribeiro
Marketing and Communication Intern
Executive Committee
JORMALAINEN Janne
President
FiBAN, FINLAND
Janne Jormalainen is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He is active in the angel investment scene in Northern Europe, he has invested to over thirty high tech and education companies. He is currently chairman of the board in four highly successful start-up companies. He is chairman emeritus of the Finnish Business Angel Network (FiBAN). He is a frequently heard speaker in conferences and seminars. Janne made his early career in large corporate environment, then moving to entrepreneurship. At Nokia, he was in charge of multiple functions and businesses; managing for example the mobile accessory, IoT and wearables business unit with 860 M€ in annual revenues. He has lived and worked in the USA, Europe and Southeast Asia. Since 2005 he has been working as an entrepreneur in multiple industries and founded several companies. In 2015 he sold SPU Oy, a company producing energy efficient building materials, to Kingspan Plc. Janne holds master’s degree from Tampere University of technology. He considers himself as a resident of the world with current home in Espoo, Finland. He is passionate about the opportunities technology and entrepreneurship can bring to the human race.
PRODANOVIC Selma
Vice President
Austrian Angel Investors Association, AUSTRIA
Named Startup-Grande-Dame by the media and elected “TOP 100: Europe’s most influential women in the startup & VC space” in 2022, Selma is an internationally celebrated keynote speaker and thought leader. She is passionate about empowering people and creating a better future. In the last 20 years, she considerably shaped the startup and angel investing ecosystem across Europe. Global media in over 40 countries (Forbes, Financial Times, Elle, Aljazeera, Bloomberg Adria) covered her expertise and activities. She is the founder & Board Member of the global SDG platform 1MillionStartups and the Austrian Angel Investors Association. She advised and supported hundreds of startups, hosted the “EBAN- Masters of Angel Investing” interview series with the best business angels in Europe, authored two books, and is lecturing entrepreneurship at universities. Besides her passion for entrepreneurship, she is a fervent advocate for female empowerment and mental health. Above all, Selma is happily married to her first love and is the proud mother of two fantastic young adults.
JARLBÆK Jesper
Treasurer
Danish Business Angels, DENMARK
Jesper Jarlbæk is an angel investor and board member of a number of growth businesses. Jesper is currently Vice-Chairman of DVCA (Danish Venture Capital Association) and Chairman of DanBAN, Danish Business Angels, Denmark’s largest and most successful Business Angel Network. In 2009, Jesper was awarded the “Business Angel of the Year” title by DVCA. Jesper Jarlbæk is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Bang & Olufsen A/S, an NASDAQ OMX listed company and Chair of Happy Helper listed on NASDAQ First North. Jesper is the Chair of CataCap, a Danish PE fund. Until 2002, Jesper Jarlbæk was employed at Arthur Andersen, ultimately holding dual positions as Managing Partner, Denmark and Nordic Managing Partner – Assurance and Business Advisory. From 2002 to 2006, Jesper was Managing Partner of Advisory Services at Deloitte. Jesper lectures and mentors at CBS, Copenhagen Business School and is a member of the Danish Committee for Good Corporate Governance.
Jacopo Losso
Director General
As the Director General, Jacopo tracks issues of strategic importance to the early-stage investing ecosystem. He also strives to identify opportunities to influence the EU decision making processes, working closely with industry’s stakeholders to promote the excellence and expertise of EBAN’s Board Members to the European audience. Jacopo is also responsible of the coordination and implementation of EBAN’s activities in EU funded projects. Being the first contact point of the Association, he is also looking after members’ interests and helping ensure they obtain best value from their membership. Jacopo holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Thanks to his education and his strong academic background both in marketing and in financial management, Jacopo has a successful track record with international work experiences. He is a native Italian speaker and perfectly bilingual both in English and Spanish.
KETIKIDIS Panayiotis
Capacity Building Committee Chair
Hellenic Business Angels Network, GREECE
Professor Panos Ketikidis is the Co-Founder of the Hellenic Business Angels Network (HeBAN) and Board Member of EBAN. Current position: Professor of Innovation and Technology, CITY College – Chairman of the South East European Research Center (SEERC) and Business Angel Investor. Professor Ketikidis has over 30 years of experience in management, education, innovation, research, and competitive research funding and very solid networks as a result of this experience. His expertise lie in (responsible) innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, triple helix, (impact) investment, regional development, supply chain management and health informatics. Prof. Ketikidis also served as President and Board member in several profit and non-profit associations supporting and mobilizing the knowledge triangle (research, business and education) to facilitate innovation. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Science, Health Informatics from CITY University (UK).
DREMELJ Nina
Membership Engagement Committee Chair
Business Angels of Slovenia, SLOVENIA
Nina Dremelj is the president of Business Angels of Slovenia. Her greatest passion is to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into real, successful businesses. In last 5 years she invested in more than 17 companies with average investment multiple 7,71x. She also puts her energy and focus towards Alita Capital, Investment company, investing smaller tickets but a lot of time and knowledge into extremely early stages or founding teams with a lasting will to bring innovative projects to life. In the past, she co-owned and successfully managed the Swiss seed fund AlpVent AG. In 2021, under the auspices of business angels, she helped set up the first daFUND venture capital fund, supported by business angels and also invested in it.
LUZ Ricardo
Partnerships Committee Chair
INVICTA ANGELS, PORTUGAL
Founder & Partner of Gestluz Consultores, Matching Ventures and Absolute H. Board Member of EBAN & Partnerships Committee Chair. Founder & President of Invicta Angel – Associação de Investidores early-stage do Norte de Portugal. Founder & Vice-President of FNABA, the Portuguese Federation of Business Angels Associations, 2007-15. Executive Board Member of Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento (now BPF), 2015-17. Former Board member of several SME´s and private associations, and Consultant of Strategy, Business and Competitiveness. Former Professor of Higher Education of Courses of Management, Sales and Finance. Undergraduate Degree in Economics and Master degree in Design for Sustainability. Postgraduate Degrees in Political Journalism and National Defense Auditor.
Board of Directors
JARLBÆK Jesper
President
Danish Business Angels, DENMARK
Jesper Jarlbæk is an angel investor and board member of a number of growth businesses. Jesper is currently Vice-Chairman of DVCA (Danish Venture Capital Association) and Chairman of DanBAN, Danish Business Angels, Denmark’s largest and most successful Business Angel Network. In 2009, Jesper was awarded the “Business Angel of the Year” title by DVCA. Jesper Jarlbæk is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Bang & Olufsen A/S, an NASDAQ OMX listed company and Chair of Happy Helper listed on NASDAQ First North. Jesper is the Chair of CataCap, a Danish PE fund. Until 2002, Jesper Jarlbæk was employed at Arthur Andersen, ultimately holding dual positions as Managing Partner, Denmark and Nordic Managing Partner – Assurance and Business Advisory. From 2002 to 2006, Jesper was Managing Partner of Advisory Services at Deloitte. Jesper lectures and mentors at CBS, Copenhagen Business School and is a member of the Danish Committee for Good Corporate Governance.
DREMELJ Nina
Treasurer, VP
Business Angels of Slovenia, SLOVENIA
Nina Dremelj is the president of Business Angels of Slovenia. Her greatest passion is to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into real, successful businesses. In last 5 years she invested in more than 17 companies with average investment multiple 7,71x. She also puts her energy and focus towards Alita Capital, Investment company, investing smaller tickets but a lot of time and knowledge into extremely early stages or founding teams with a lasting will to bring innovative projects to life. In the past, she co-owned and successfully managed the Swiss seed fund AlpVent AG. In 2021, under the auspices of business angels, she helped set up the first daFUND venture capital fund, supported by business angels and also invested in it.
LUZ Ricardo
VP, Partnerships Committee Chair
INVICTA ANGELS, PORTUGAL
Ricardo Luz is a partner of Civitta Portugal; Founder of Gestluz Consultores, Matching Ventures and Absolute H.; Vice-President of EBAN’s Board. Founder of Invicta Angel – Associação de Investidores early-stage do Norte (Portugal), 2007. Executive Board Member of Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento (now BPF), 2015-17. Founder & Vice-President of FNABA, the Portuguese Federation of Business Angels Associations, 2007-15. Former Board member of several SME´s and private associations, and Consultant of Strategy, Business and Competitiveness. Former Professor of Higher Education of Courses of Management, Sales and Finance. Undergraduate Degree in Economics and Master degree in Design for Sustainability. Postgraduate Degrees in Political Journalism and National Defense Auditor.
ANSON Rita
Norwegian Business Angels Network, NORWAY
Secretary General at NorBAN Norwegian Business Angels Network – from April 2018 – Present :Expert consultant as head of program coordination for business angels training and startups, helping to create arenas where angel investors and entrepreneurs/companies meet.
– Facilitating training programs and events in Norway and the North Atlantic for new angel investors in startup investment strategies, covering the evaluation of startups, and creating local networks.
– Delivering courses on entrepreneurship training (Investment readiness, Pitching training, Startup guidance for migrants, Entrepreneurial Orientation) to strengthen individuals in the Nordics on how to establish their own company, guiding and helping professionals and young entrepreneurs in the innovation eco-system, to set a network and to get introduced to investors.
Nordic Ignite – Partner & CoFounder – from March 2022 to Present Deal flow and lead manager at Nordic Ignite and member of its investment committee. As a member of the pre-screening team in Norway responsible for the initial due diligence of early stage startup investment opportunities
WIN Women Investor Network Norway Co-Founder – March 2020 – Present. Empowering women to strengthen their financial position, with programs to learn how to invest in startups, and by providing an arena for women to evaluate investment opportunities and invest together.
BJARKBY Christine
Stockholm Business Angels, SWEDEN
Christine Bjarkby is an investor and founder at Lincs focusing as Senior Advisor in Growth Capital at Lincs. Christine is in the board of EBAN since 2017. Christine has a broad experience from business development worldwide from large public global companies to small start-up companies. Christine has previously worked with investments as a representative of Invest Sweden, Entrepreneurship Network (Enterprise Network for Startup ICT) and Connect Sweden. Christine is and has been a board member of several startup companies and is herself a business angel. Christine is one of the founders of NordicBan and are now building up the Business Angel community in Sweden. Christine matches growth companies with capital and crucial skills and contacts. Her network consist more than 500 investors is spread all over Sweden both Business Angels as VC. Christine works actively to develop its investment network at regional, national and international levels.
COLOMER Albert
Business Angels Network Catalunya, SPAIN
Albert has been at the forefront of the angel investor movement in Spain. In 2002, he co-founded and became executive director of the Business Angel Network Catalunya BANC, the first Spanish angel network, which he led. Additionally in 2006 he co-founded ESBAN, a private foundation to raising awareness and promoting angel investment and Business Angels Networks in Spain. Since 2003, Albert is member of the Board of EBAN. Albert has been appointed by the Parliament of Catalonia as member of the Advisory Board of the Catalan Institute of Finance, the public credit institution of the Government of Catalonia. During his career, Albert has gathered a profound knowledge of the entrepreneurship skills. As a consultant, advisor, coach or business angel, His experience in entrepreneurial field, over 25 years, has helped thousands start-ups and entrepreneurs to born and grow. He is co-founder (1986) and executive director of CPAC (Fundació Privada per a la Promoció de l’Autoocupació de Catalunya), an independent charity with a mission to help people and organizations to be entrepreneurs.
DRIDJE Marcel
Sophia Business Angels, FRANCE
Marcel Dridje is the SOPHIA BUSINESS ANGELS President Emeritus & a Mentor at The Camp in Aix en Provence. A seasoned European Sales senior Executive, Marcel has substantial field experience helping IT and Telecom startups in the US and EMEA. Marcel has a broad range of experience in all aspects of sales, marketing, communication and management with direct experience with Fortune 500 enterprises (IBM, Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, EMC, ALU) and startups (Quantum, Andrew Networks, Pluris, Corvis, Ascend and Airespace). During the course of his career he has held VP roles most notably as VP EMEA Corvis (first all optical router) where he grew the team and business to an outstanding success. Of French-Algerian and British origin, Marcel launched his career after completing a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science from Portsmouth Polytechnic UK and holds an M&A executive program credentials from INSEAD. Marcel most recently left CISCO after 35 years in IT and Telecom Sales to start his new venture as a Business Angel with SBA to help startups with seed money, VC connections and Business development. Vaelsys/ IVAS (France), Zetalabs (France), Faveeo (CH), Digitalarti (France), OnePulse (UK) and Cyberflowanalytics (Recently acquired by Webroot a leading US cybersecurity company based in Denver USA) are six of his star ventures. A self-proclaimed Serial Entrepreneur, Marcel loves new Challenges in sharing his 30 years IT& Telecom experience with IT VC firms and new High-tech Start Ups Ready to expand their Sales & Mktg success across EMEA, USA and APAC.
HUIDOBRO Marta
Asociación Española de Business Angels Networks, SPAIN.
KETIKIDIS Panayiotis
Capacity Building Committee Chair
Hellenic Business Angels Network, GREECE
Professor Panos Ketikidis is the Co-Founder of the Hellenic Business Angels Network (HeBAN) and Board Member of EBAN.
Current position: Professor of Innovation and Technology, CITY College – Chairman of the South East European Research Center (SEERC) and Business Angel Investor.
Professor Ketikidis has over 30 years of experience in management, education, innovation, research, and competitive research funding and very solid networks as a result of this experience. His expertise lie in (responsible) innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, triple helix, (impact) investment, regional development, supply chain management and health informatics. Prof. Ketikidis also served as President and Board member in several profit and non-profit associations supporting and mobilizing the knowledge triangle (research, business and education) to facilitate innovation. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Science, Health Informatics from CITY University (UK).
LINNANVIRTA Reima
Finnish Business Angels Network, FINLAND
Reima Linnanvirta is an angel investor turned into a venture capitalist. He has invested in 35 startups as an angel investor and made several exits, the quickest one in just 104 days.
Reima currently works as a Partner at Trind Ventures and is the President Emeritus of the Finnish Business Angels Network.
O’CONNOR Michael
CorkBIC, IRELAND
Michael O’Connor started in marine and arctic exploration before specialising in high technology or innovative projects usually involving international growth. Early experience with Raychem Corporation Menlo Park before co-founding Intepro, a venture capital backed Irish IT startup. Led the US market entry with several rounds of international venture capital before a successful trade sale. Since returning from the USA he has created many new initiatives, advised over 300 start-ups and built an angel network doing over 100 deals, investing over €50m in primarily start-ups. Founded the International Security Accelerator to invest in AI, Cyber & big data global start-ups and co-chairs the EBAN E-Xcelerator. Graduated from Cambridge University in Engineering and holds an MBA from London Business School and the Wharton School. Board member & investor in several companies. International judge and umpire in the sailing world for major international events.
PRODANOVIC Selma
Vice President
Austrian Angel Investors Association, AUSTRIA
Named Startup-Grande-Dame by the media and elected “TOP 100: Europe’s most influential women in the startup & VC space” in 2022, Selma is an internationally celebrated keynote speaker and thought leader. She is passionate about empowering people and creating a better future. In the last 20 years, she considerably shaped the startup and angel investing ecosystem across Europe. Global media in over 40 countries (Forbes, Financial Times, Elle, Aljazeera, Bloomberg Adria) covered her expertise and activities. She is the founder & Board Member of the global SDG platform 1MillionStartups and the Austrian Angel Investors Association. She advised and supported hundreds of startups, hosted the “EBAN- Masters of Angel Investing” interview series with the best business angels in Europe, authored two books, and is lecturing entrepreneurship at universities. Besides her passion for entrepreneurship, she is a fervent advocate for female empowerment and mental health. Above all, Selma is happily married to her first love and is the proud mother of two fantastic young adults.
ROUHANA Nicolas
IM Capital, LEBANON
Dr. Nicolas Rouhana (PhD) is currently the Chairman and CEO of IM Fndng, managing IM Capital & IM Ventures funds of $60M, providing Matching Capital, Equity Guarantee and Technical Assistance to businesses and investors in Lebanon. The funds co-created the first Seed accelerator SpEED@BDD in Lebanon, created and managed 5 business angel groups with more than 135 angel investors, trained more than 65 mentors, invested in more than 45 startups, leveraged more than $40M matching private capital, and created and maintained more than 800 jobs. Between 2002 & 2015, Nicolas was the Executive Director of Berytech, a leading Technology Business Innovation & Incubation Center in Lebanon. We was also board member of EBN (European Business Network). He is currently President of the Internet Society-Lebanon Chapter and the Chairman of Speed@BDD accelerator, and board member of Berytech and several Lebanese technology companies. Nicolas has a Telecommunications Engineering degree from Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, a PhD in Networking Systems from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, and an EDP graduate from INSEAD, France.
SAI Caroline
Angels Santé, FRANCE
Caroline is of French-American background and educated both in the US and France. After a master’s degree in International Business, she gained extensive business and Communication experience in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She is currently the Operations Manager of Angels Santé, the largest business angel network in Europe solely dedicated to healthcare and well as the Head of the EIT Health Investor Network operated by Angels Santé. This European network dedicated to equity investment in healthcare brings together Healthcare investors and pre-qualified healthcare European startups raising between 500 K to 10 M €. She represents Angels Santé on the EBAN Board. Caroline, who is passionate about early stage investment and the power of networking, is now based in Paris.
SAKUS Rita
Lithuanian Business Angel Network, LITHUANIA
Rita is an experienced investor, co-founder of the Lithuanian Business Angel Network (LitBAN), a board member of the European business angel network (EBAN), and an active mentor in the European startup ecosystem. She is a Canadian-Lithuanian and has a BA from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston and an executive education certificate from Harvard University all with a sharp focus on innovation and high tech. Her colourful career led her to great corporations such as Texas Instruments, Nortel Networks, Transcom Worldwide and others. While working with Venture Capital in Israel twenty years ago, she couldn’t help but notice parallels between there and Lithuania vis a vis innovation and incredibly bright talent. Shortly thereafter she moved to Lithuania and taught seminars at the International School of Management in her first years in Vilnius on Venture Capital and building innovative startups. Startups are her passion since the start of her career led by great professors of entrepreneurialism. She is a certified scuba instructor and enjoys singing a bit of jazz from time to time.
SHALLAL Audra
Corenvest, FINLAND
Audra Shallal is the Vice-President of Corenvest, with over twenty years of experience in entrepreneurship, business planning, and pitch coaching for investor-ready programs. Based in Finland and France, she consults for esteemed international organizations, including the OECD, UNEP, UNIDO, and the European Commission. Audra teaches courses on entrepreneurship and finance at prestigious institutions such as ENSCP, X, ParisTech, and CELSA, and she conducts her popular workshop, “Craft a Killer Pitch,” globally.
Her significant contributions include launching the Enterprise Financing Network within the MENA-OECD Investment Programme, which connects entrepreneurs, financiers, research bodies, and policymakers to improve financing conditions. As a former Vice-President of FBA and past board member of NFBAN, she holds advisory roles with various startups and business angel networks, including EBAN, SBA, I4W, AFBAN and Tenmou, and is a co-founder of Flying Finn Angels and co-chair of Eban Sports.
Audra is also an Expert Jury Member for the European Commission’s European Innovation Council (EIC) and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), a D2XCEL Stakeholder member of the AI-Powered Digital Services for Sustainable and Smart Cities Group, and an EIC Mentor/Expert for Clean Fuels and Hydrogen. Additionally, she serves as a D2XCEL Mentor/Expert for Renewable Energy Production and Sustainable Mobility, and is a WOMEN TechEU partner, supporting women-led deep tech startups from Europe to grow into tomorrow’s tech leaders within the European Commission.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Audra is a former classical ballet dancer and is involved in performing arts. She competes in high level fencing and show jumping, winning multiple medals. Bilingual in English and French, she holds two BA degrees in International Business and Economics (AUP), an MBA (École des Ponts et Chaussées) , and a DEA (Sorbonne) in Strategic Management.
SIMA Petr
DEPO Ventures, CZECH REPUBLIC
Founder of DEPO Ventures with 25 years of experience in M&A and Corporate Finance with emphasis on business valuation. Founder of Angel Network and Grouport Investment Fund. Petr has extensive VC and Investor exposure accumulated over the years.
SIMONGULASHVILI George
Axel – Georgian Business Angels Network, GEORGIA
George Simongulashvili is an active angel investor and Axel – Georgian Angel Investors Network’s board member who actively applies deep insights toward driving high-potential startups to successful positions and promoting the culture of angel investing in the region. He brings more than 25 years of incomparable experience in driving transformative change with growth across a wide range of industries. George is a founding partner of GEC Consulting, leading more than 100 impactful projects that have navigated businesses within Georgia and Central Asia toward sustainable growth and competitive advantage. With recognized strategic foresight and hands-on approach, George has gained a reputation for creating measurable success in business process optimization, digital transformation, financial management and strategic planning. He was founding partner of first internationally accredited business school/university in Caucasus (Caucasus School of Business, Caucasus University) largely contributing to the development of new generation of managers and entrepreneurs in the country of Georgia. His collaborations with international organizations like EBRD, USAID, and UNDP underpin his commitment to creating innovation and scalability at the global level.
SOSSO Ian
Monte Carlo Capital, MONACO
Ian Sosso, winner of EBAN’s “best European early stage award” in 2019, is the founder of Monte Carlo Capital (MCC), a group of business angels, UHNWI and family offices investing in Europe and the US in early stage deep tech and highly disruptive businesses. MCC combines the best features of business angels and venture capital: a global group of sophisticated investors and family offices capable of taking businesses from seed all the way to exit, providing financing and helping management scale their businesses up internationally. MCC typically starts investing as pre-seed/seed, taking an entire financing round, and leads follow-ons too. Ian is also a managing partner of the Start Up Nursery fund, a fund dedicated to financing the creation of deep tech US university spin offs. Ian started his career in 1993 and previously worked in Paris, London, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong with HSBC, UBS and JPMorgan, holding investment banking positions in trading, sales and financial engineering. Before founding Monte Carlo Capital, Ian was, until 2009, the regional managing director and head of capital markets in Asia for Commerzbank where he was managing all capital markets activities in Asia, including equity derivatives, credit, precious metals, foreign exchange, debt capital markets, as well as the treasuries of HK, Singapore and Shanghai. Over the years, Ian has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences in China, HK, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia and Monaco. Ian currently lectures venture capital to MBA and finance MSc students at the International University of Monaco, and a regular speaker at leading business school. He is also a board member of the Monaco Venture Capital Association. Ian joined the European Business Angels Network (EBAN), in 2016 and recently won the best performing new member award at the annual conference of EBAN in Malaga. Ian is a Monégasque and holds a MSc in Finance from the London School of Economics (LSE).
POLEKHIN Vitaly
International Investor Organization INVESTORO, ARMENIA
Vitaly Polekhin is the President of International Investor Organization INVESTORO aiming and focusing on early stage investment deals in startups and scale ups around the world. Since 2016 he serves as a Board Member of the European Trade Association for Business Angels, Seed Funds and Early Stage Market Players (EBAN) and the President of the National Business Angels Association of Russia. Vitaly is a founder and head of the Association of Entrepreneurship Development ‘SKOLKOVO Community’ Investor’s Club – a platform that brings together entrepreneurs and investors looking for new business opportunities. Vitaly Polekhin is an active angel investor and was named Angel Investor of the Year 2015 in Russia, has PhD in Philosophy and graduated Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO (Executive MBA), Lomonosov Moscow State University (MBA) and different programs in business schools like MIT Sloan School of Management (Entrepreneurship and Innovation Executive Education), UC Berkley Haas School of Business (Venture Capital Executive Education), Harvard Business School (Private Equity and Venture Capital Executive Education).
KRAWCZYK Dominik
CobinAngels, POLAND
Dominik is currently a CEO of Cobin Angels, the biggest angel network in Poland. He is also a Supervisory Board Member of tech company Salesbook. Dominik’s previous experience is connected to consulting firm among the other PwC. He was providing advisory services on behalf of corporate and startups in the area of innovative organisational change, fundraising, valuations, strategy and arranging beneficial cooperation between startups and corporations. Dominik was also involved in running a corporate accelerator owned by PricewaterhouseCoopers, covering Central and Eastern Europe.
DEMIRHISAR Huseyin R
BiD Capital Partners, THE NETHERLANDS
Founder & Partner of Gestluz Consultores, Matching Ventures and Absolute H.; Board Member of EBAN & Financial Institutions Partnerships Committee Chair; Founder & President of Invicta Angel – Porto Business Angels Association; Member of the Fiscal Council of Payshop, SA; Founder & Vice-President of FNABA, the Portuguese Federation of Business Angels Associations, 2007-15; Executive Board Member of IFD – Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento, SA (now BPF), 2015-17; Former Board member of several SME´s and private associations, and Consultant of Strategy, Business and Competitiveness; Former Professor of Higher Education of Courses of Management, Sales and Finance; Master degree in Design for Sustainability, Postgraduate Degrees in Political Journalism and National Defense Auditor; Undergraduate Degree in Economics.
GOLUB Cyril
Latvian Business Angels Network, LATVIA
Cyril is a venture capital professional and well-known business angel in Baltic countries. In 2023, Cyril was awarded as a Business Angel of the Year in Latvia. Co-founder of two business angel associations: LitBAN (Lithuania) and Angels Band, and Board Chairman at LatBAN (Latvia); actively participates in several CEE angel investor communities, focusing on early-stage technology startups founded by entrepreneurs from Central and Eastern Europe. He knows exactly what potential investors look at when deciding to give the green light to support an investment round. Cyril personally invested in over 20 startups, mostly at the pre-seed and seed stages. Executive MBA at Kozminski University (Warsaw, Poland).
President Emeritus Advisory Council
JORMALAINEN Janne
EBAN President 2020-2024
Janne Jormalainen is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He is active in the angel investment scene in Northern Europe, he has invested to over thirty high tech and education companies. He is currently chairman of the board in four highly successful start-up companies. He is chairman emeritus of the Finnish Business Angel Network (FiBAN). He is a frequently heard speaker in conferences and seminars.
Janne made his early career in large corporate environment, then moving to entrepreneurship. At Nokia, he was in charge of multiple functions and businesses; managing for example the mobile accessory, IoT and wearables business unit with 860 M€ in annual revenues. He has lived and worked in the USA, Europe and Southeast Asia. Since 2005 he has been working as an entrepreneur in multiple industries and founded several companies. In 2015 he sold SPU Oy, a company producing energy efficient building materials, to Kingspan Plc.
Janne holds master’s degree from Tampere University of technology. He considers himself as a resident of the world with current home in Espoo, Finland. He is passionate about the opportunities technology and entrepreneurship can bring to the human race.
JOHNSON Candace
EBAN President 2014-2018
Candace Johnson is a co-founder of SES, the world’s pre-eminent satellite group and the architect of SES Global. She is also the founder of various companies as Loral Cyberstar-Teleport Europe, Europe’s first independent private trans-border satellite communications network, and Europe Online, the world’s first Internet-based online service and a founding investor and Member of the Board of Kacific, the high-throughput Satellite Internet System for the Pacific. Under her presidency of EBAN, she co-founded MBAN, the Middle East Business Angel Network and ABAN, the AfricanBusiness Angel Network. Ms. Johnson is also the President of three investment funds and is the founder of the Global Telecom Women’s Network (GTWN), Global Board Ready Women (GBRW) and the VATM, the German Association of Private Telecom Operators.
ANDREZ Paulo
EBAN President 2012-2014
Paulo Andrez is an angel investor. He is Vice-President of FNABA (Portuguese Business Angels Federation), President of Cascais Business Angels, and Member of the Board of DNA Cascais (BIC). He chaired (2010-2012) the EBAN Research Committee, which produced the first EBAN Co-Investment and Tax Breaks reports, in cooperation with BDO. Paulo Andrez was the Chairman of the 2007 World Business Angels Leaders Forum (Estoril) that decided to create the World Business Angel Association. Within the scope of his involvement with FNABA, Mr. Andrez participated in the design of the first Business Angel co-investment fund in Portugal. In 2010 he also participated in the design and implementation of the first Business Angels Tax Break in Portugal. Paulo Andrez has experience as a serial entrepreneur and has created several companies in areas like IT software, training, real estate and industrial resins. In 2000, he participated as an entrepreneur (seller) in the IPO of Novabase (via Euronext), the largest national IT provider in Portugal, with more than 1900 employees and working in 33 countries. From this point on, Mr. Andrez became a business angel, helping entrepreneurs achieve desired results. He is an IT Engineer and has an MBA from Nova University in Lisbon.
BAUMANN Brigitte
EBAN President 2009-2012
Brigitte is the Founder of Go Beyond Early Stage Investing. Go Beyond enables novice & experienced, small & large investors, to access angel investing as an asset class through its unique platform, tools, training and expert angels. Go Beyond works with individual investors, family offices, professional groups/associations and corporations. Go Beyond operates in Europe and the US. Its team is comprised of seasoned business angels and is the subject of a Harvard Business School case. Brigitte is a Business Angel since 2003 and has received The European Investor of the Year from EBAN in May 2015. In 2017, Brigitte was selected in EY’s European Winning Women Entrepreneur program. In November 2016&2017, Brigitte is listed in Europe’s TOP 50 most influential women in the start-up and venture capital space and Top Women in FinTech. Brigitte is President Emeritus of EBAN, the European trade association for Business Angels and Seed Funds www.eban.org and Member of the Board of CTI Start Up www.kti.admin.ch . Brigitte is past Chair of Young Presidents Organization’s www.ypowpo.org (24k CEOs) global Angel Investing group. Brigitte Baumann has 20+ years of experience in bringing new technologies to market in the US and Europe . She was the CEO and Director of iWORLD Group, a VC backed, global developer of mobile content. She was Senior Vice President and General Manager Internet at American Express (Amex) Corporate Services. There she launched a variety of internet businesses including online travel (strategic partner of Expedia.com and subject of HBS case study) and e-Procurement. Prior to that, Brigitte spent three years as President for US and Canada of Gemalto, the world’s leader in smart card technology and applications to introduce smart cards in the North America. Before, she spent six years in different Vice-Presidential/General Manager positions in the UK, France and Switzerland at Amex. She also spent five years with McKinsey & Company Inc. as Senior Engagement Manager, in New York, Paris and Tokyo. She began her career in manufacturing and sales with Rohm & Haas, a leading specialty chemicals company. Brigitte holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University, Boston and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania Born and raised in France, Brigitte and her family now live in Zurich.
CLARKE Anthony
EBAN President 2004-2009
Anthony is professionally a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Legal Secretary having qualified whilst with the City of London based Deloitte Haskins & Sells. His early career post qualification was as a CFO and CEO of a number of U.K. based SMEs before becoming a serial angel investor nearly 25 years ago. During this period he founded the UK’s first Government backed Angel Co investment Fund in 2002 namely London Seed Capital where he was also its CEO. He also founded London Business Angels twenty years ago and sold this business and its associated Angel VC arm to City of London based Newable Group in 2017. He remains as an Investment Committee member of Newable’s private investment arm. Anthony joined the Board of EBAN in 2004 and served as its President from 2004/2009. He is currently President Emeritus of EBAN. He also co founded UKBAA in 2003 and was its Chair from 2004/2012. Anthony is a co founder and Managing Partner of early stage City of London based VC firm Seraphim Capital which was established in 2006. It manages circa 125m EUR which includes the world’s first Series A Space Fund notably Seraphim Space Fund which was launched in 2016. Anthony cofounded EBAN Space in 2016 and was its President until 2019. He is also a Board Member of the UK’s Space Research and Innovation Network (SPRINT).
JUNGEN Peter
EBAN President 2001-2004
Peter Jungen holds an MBA from Cologne University, Germany. Starting his career in the industry, he became CEO of Strabag AG, Köln 1987, one of the largest European Civil Engineering Groups. After a successful turnaround of Strabag AG, he founded Peter Jungen Holding GmbH in 1991, which holds investments in various industrial and service companies. He is a Co-Founder of or Investor in numerous start-ups in Europe and in USA, including Idealo Internet GmbH, the leading German prize comparison shopping platform from Berlin. He is a Partner at the Halo Fund, Palo Alto. Peter Jungen is the Founding President of Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland (BAND) as well as Co-Founder and President (2001-2004) of European Business Angels Network (EBAN). He is a member of the New York Angels and founding member of the China Business Angels Network (Cban). He is a Co-Founder of or Investor in numerous start-ups in Europe and in USA, including Idealo Internet GmbH, the leading German prize comparison shopping platform from Berlin. He is a Partner at the Halo Fund, Palo Alto. Peter Jungen is the Founding President of Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland (BAND) as well as Co-Founder and President (2001-2004) of European Business Angels Network (EBAN). He is a member of the New York Angels and founding member of the China Business Angels Network (Cban). Mr. Jungen is a Member of the IAC, Columbia University. He is the Chairman of the MENA-OECD Enterprise Financing Network, a Member of the International Josef Schumpeter Society and of the Mont Pelerin Society. Additionally, he used to hold the position of Chairman of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University. In August 1999, Peter Jungen was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by its President.
