Venture Capital

Dr. Karim Maizar

Dr. iur., Start-up and venture capital attorney, Partner Kellerhals Carrard

Karim is a partner in our Zurich office with a passion for start-ups. As co-founder and head of the firm’s Startup Desk, he led the firm’s efforts to establish itself as one of the leading Swiss law firms for entrepreneurs and its investors who push the boundaries of technology and drive market-changing innovations.
In his role, Karim works with many of Switzerland’s most promising technology and life sciences start-ups during all phases of their growth, from university spin-offs and initial seed rounds to growth financing rounds and exit transactions. He also has extensive experience in advising VCs, strategic investors (including CVCs) and business angels as part of their engagement with Swiss high-tech startups. He is a regular speaker in his field and holds workshops for founders throughout Switzerland. He is closely associated with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and acts as a coach for the BioEntrepreneurship & Innovation Program at the University of Zurich. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Swiss Entrepreneurs & Startup Association (SWESA), a member of the Legal & Tax Chapter of the Swiss Private Equity and Corporate Finance Association (SECA) and a member of the jury of the annual Swiss Top100 Startup Awards. His unswerving commitment to start-ups and venture capital transactions and his enthusiasm for the Swiss start-up ecosystem have earned him considerable recognition in the market for his practice. In 2019 he was named one of Switzerland’s “Top 100 Digital Shapers” by Bilanz/Handelszeitung/Le Temps.

Dr. Nicolas Mosimann

Dr. iur., LL.M., Partner, Kellerhals Carrard

Nicolas Mosimann’s practice focuses on M&A, technology and intellectual property law. He advises both Swiss and international companies and institutions on transactions (acquisitions, joint ventures, financing rounds, licenses and outsourcing) and technology projects (e.g. IoT and blockchain based platforms), research and cooperation agreements, commercial contracts and data protection (including the EU GDPR). In addition to which, Nicolas specializes in advising both providers and customers on software (from development to protection and licensing, including SaaS and open source software) and cloud projects.
Moreover, as a founding member and co-head of the Startup Desk of Kellerhals Carrard, Nicolas knows the needs of founders and their companies in the seed and growth phases. Nicolas has an excellent international network, and advises clients across a range of industries and sectors, such as life sciences, IT, technology, advertising and arts and entertainment, throughout the world.

Dr. Michael Altorfer

Dr.sc., CEO Swiss Biotech Association

Dr. Michael Altorfer is the CEO of the Swiss Biotech Association since 2018. He has more than 25 years of experience in the life science industry comprising both big pharma and smaller biotech organizations. As a member of the Executive Committee, he supported the build-up of Polyphor Ltd in Allschwil in many different roles (Head BD&L, CFO, COO and CEO). Michael started his career as a scientist in pharmaceutical research at Sandoz, Ciba-Geigy (Summit, NJ, USA), and Roche. From 1996 to 2001 he held program management and line management roles at the investment bank UBS Warburg.

Michael studied Natural Sciences at the ETH and he obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Dr. H.-J. Hansen (University of Zurich) and Prof. Dr. K. Müller (Roche) and holds an MBA degree from the University of Rochester, NY, USA

Nicolas Autret

MSc., MBA, Partner, Walden Catalyst Ventures

The role of venture capital partner combines Nicolas’ lifelong interests in technology, finance, and entrepreneurship. Before joining Walden Catalyst, Nicolas served as Managing Director at Samsung Catalyst Fund and General Partner at 360° Capital Partners, where he led investments in early-stage startups.

Nicolas’ investments span a wide range of sectors including automotive, robotics, digital health, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and device-level solutions. He is based in Paris, France. In 2021, Nicolas was named a Top 10 Emerging Leader by Global Corporate Venturing, which recognizes the industry’s top 1% of investors chosen from 2,000 corporate venturing units.

Jose Campos

JD, Partner, Wilson Sonsini

Jose Campos is a partner in Wilson Sonsini’s London office, where he focuses on advising U.S. and European technology start-ups and scale-ups through all stages of their U.S. life cycle, including incorporation, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and other strategic transactions.  He also supports investors that invest in technology companies. He is well-versed in assisting non-U.S. technology companies with their U.S. expansion plans and “flipping” into U.S. holding companies. Jose’s broad and varied experience gives him unique insight into advising technology companies on their growth and expansion plans.

Dr. Hanspeter Fässler

Dr. sc. tech., Co-Founder, Board Member, Anybotics

Dr. Hanspeter Fässler, a mechanical engineer from ETH Zurich and Stanford University, established robotics at ETH in the 1980s and earned the very first ETHZ doctorate in this field in 1989. He then worked for 20 years at ABB, where he held various management positions, including CEO of ABB Switzerland, France, and Italy, and Head of the Mediterranean Region. After a short period as CEO of Implenia, he returned to ABB in 2012 and headed the Power Grid Systems division until the end of 2014, whereafter he turned into a professional board member and enterpreneur. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Datwyler Group since 2004, and is in the board of various technology companies and foundations, including the Dübendorf Innovation Park. In 2016, he co-founded ANYbotics and in 2022 Gravis Robotics, where he serves as Board member and Chairman. He also supports other technology startups as board member and investor.

Petra Hanselmann

Attorney at law, LL.M., Partner, Pestalozzi

Petra Hanselmann is a partner and member of the executive committee at Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law in Zurich. Petra advises on a wide range of corporate work, including M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. She has extensive experience of acting on private equity, growth and expansion capital transactions of all types and sizes for investors and management teams. She also routinely advises on general corporate and corporate governance matters.

Thomas Heimann

MSc. Banking & Finance Lucerne University, Board Member and Chair Venture Capital Chapter SECA

15+ years experience in Investment Research, Analysis, FINMA Risk Mgmt. and client services in institutional asset management & venture capital. Master and Bachelor of Science in Banking & Finance from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Previously worked in investment analysis and valuation and in client advisory at a Swiss bank. Author, editor and (co-) founder of various well-known industry reports and educational platforms in the VC industry (eg Swiss Venture Capital Report, Swiss VC workshops, VCs on Stage). Visiting lecturer at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Henri B. Meier Unternehmerschule St. Gallen. He is also an advisor to the leading initiative “Venture Hub Switzerland” at DeepTech Nation. The goal is to enable the AWI Deep Tech Fund which is designed to close critical funding gaps within the Swiss startup ecosystem while offering attractive risk-adjusted returns to institutional investors. The Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation is an independent non-profit foundation that emerged from a private initiative of the founding members Swisscom and UBS.

He is Member of the Board of SECA (Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association)

At HBM Partners AG, Thomas is Head Operations & Investment Solutions. HBM Partners, founded in 2001, is a leading investment advisor in Healthcare with around $2.4 billion under management, based in Zug.

Nicole Herzog

lic. iur. (HSG), Attorney-at-Law , Chairwoman, VIU VENTURES

Nicole Herzog is a tech entrepreneur, board member, and early-stage investor. She co-founded one of Switzerland’s first venture capital funds (b2venture), built and exited multiple technology companies (umantis & Sherpany), and currently serves on several boards across tech and consumer sectors. As a member of the Innovation Council of Switzerland’s federal innovation agency, she helps shape national priorities at the intersection of innovation and policy.

Currently, Nicole is actively contributing to Switzerland’s growing space economy by connecting industries, fostering international collaboration, and supporting early-stage ventures through her role on the advisory board of ESA BIC Switzerland at ETH Zurich.

Stefan Kuentz

Managing Partner, Swisscom Ventures

Stefan Kuentz is Managing Partner, co-leading Swisscom Ventures. With more than 15 years of experience in venture capital, Stefan spearheaded investments in high-growth startups and scale-ups across a range of sectors, including cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, blockchain, and enterprise software. Key portfolio companies include Aircall, Fireblocks, Cato Networks, and Scandit, with numerous successful exits such as Amplidata, Exoscale, and Fastly (NYSE IPO).
Prior to his role at Swisscom Ventures, Stefan held several business development and senior management positions at Swisscom. He also drove international partnerships and corporate growth strategies, working closely with U.S. and European tech companies. Earlier in his career, Stefan worked at IBM for nearly a decade, where he held various leadership roles, including Associate Partner, leading IBM’s IT strategy consulting in Switzerland.

Dr. Harald Nieder

PhD Physics., MSc Financial Economics, General Partner Redalpine Venture Partners AG

Dr. Harald Nieder is a General Partner at redalpine, the European venture capital fund specializing in software and science investments. He is a theoretical physicist by training and invests in technology startups, with a specific focus on frontier tech and AI. Prior to joining redalpine, Harald spent over seven years in banking, working in Foreign Exchange Structuring at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and BNP Paribas. He is a graduate of the Vienna University of Technology and furthered his research at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, during his PhD. Harald spent three years as a post-doctoral researcher at Tel Aviv University before completing a Master in Financial Economics at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.

Karin Oberlin

lic.iur. et lic.rer.publ. HSG, LL.M, Partner MLL

Karin Oberlin is a partner in the firm’s corporate and finance department. Her main area of practice is financing where she assists lenders and borrowers in asset backed financings, acquisition finance, structured finance and syndicated loan transactions. Karin Oberlin is especially experienced in complex financing structures across several jurisdictions. Having worked for several years as head of transaction management in Credit Suisse’s aviationfinance department, she has in-depth knowledge in aviation and ship financing transactions.

Karin Oberlin also frequently advises clients in M&A and private equity transactions. Her M&A experience includes transactions with clients from various industries with an emphasis on technology intensive businesses and the banking and FinTech industries. In addition to the transportation and to the banking and finance sectors, she holds a special interest and advises clients regarding any corporate matters in connection with current technological changes. Additionally, Karin Oberlin heads the industry group MLL Start! which focuses on advising Swiss start-ups and their investors.

Stefan Oesterhelt

lic. iur., LL.M., Certified Tax Expert, Partner, Homburger

Stefan Oesterhelt’s practice focuses on tax law, in particular international tax law, mergers and acquisitions, capital market transactions and tax litigation. He is a lecturer on tax law at the University of Sankt Gallen and regularly speaks at seminaries on tax law.

Dr. Patrik R. Peyer

Dr. iur, Attorney-at-law, Dr. iur., LL.M., Executive MBA HSG, Partner Niederer Kraft Frey

Patrik Peyer is the co-head of NKF’s Corporate and M&A team. He is a corporate law specialist with a focus on complex M&A transactions, private equity, venture capital and corporate governance. He has broad experience in and a deep understanding of all phases of the private equity and venture capital investment life cycle. He provides innovative legal solutions to help companies of all sizes to achieve their commercial and growth objectives. Patrik was the managing partner of Niederer Kraft Frey from 2021 until 2024

Dr. Oliver Triebold

Dr. iur., Rechtsanwalt, M.C.J., Partner, Schellenberg Wittmer

Oliver Triebold ist spezialisiert auf grenzüberschreitende und nationale M&A-Transaktionen, Private-Equity- und Venture-Capital-Investitionen, Corporate-Governance-Angelegenheiten sowie Unternehmensumstrukturierungen.

Prof. Dr. Vanessa Wood

PhD Electrical Engineering and Computerscience MIT, VP Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations ETH Zurich

Prof. Vanessa Wood is a full professor and chair at the Institute for Electronics (IfE) in the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (D-ITET) at ETH Zürich. Her research group is the Materials and Device Engineering Group (MaDE). Besides her professorship, Vanessa Wood is the Vice President for Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations at ETH Zürich since 2021.

She was appointed assistant professor in 2011 at ETH and received tenure in 2014. She was appointed full professor in 2019. From 2018 to 2020 she was head of the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering.

She won the 2014 Science Prize in Electrochemistry endowed by BASF and Volkswagen Group, and the Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Materials Research Society in 2018.

Vanessa Wood holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics from Yale University (2005), a master’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2007), and a PhD in Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2009). Her PhD work, with Prof. Vladimir Bulovic, focused on the development of quantum dot LED technology. From 2010-2011, she was a postdoc in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, working with Professors Yet-Ming Chiang and W. Craig Carter on lithium ion battery flow cell technology.