0100 Conference Mediterranean 2024

At EIF since 2009, Marco is heading the team responsible for equity investments in European funds focused on Sustainable Growth, including strategies oriented towards circularity, climate and energy transition, digital transformation and investments in sectors which are strategic for the European economy. Marco coordinates the investment activity for the AMUF European Private Equity compartment and for several fund-of-funds initiatives, with specific thematic or geographical scope, (e.g. Turkey, Poland, Baltics, Central Europe, Italy, Portugal). He represents EIF on the Advisory Boards of several funds. Prior to EIF, he worked in direct investments, in an Early Stage VC fund, and in management consulting. Marco holds a M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management.

Matteo Riccardi is the Chief Investment Officer for the Italian Insurance Banco BPM Vita (part of the banking group Banco BPM) since 2017. He approached the insurance investment management sector in 2004, joining the Italian Business Unit of Zurich Insurance Group, where he worked for 13 years serving as Chief Investment Officer for Italy from 2014 to 2017 and, before that, as Head of Securities Investment and ALM senior analyst. Prior to this experience, he worked in the Risk Management Department of Eptafund Sgr (now part of Eurizon Capital) in Milan and in Dublin for three years. Matteo graduated from Bocconi University in Finance and Financial Management Services in 1999, he is CFA Charterholder since 2004 (member of the Board of CFA Society Italy since 2011 and Vice-President since 2017) and he has also achieved the CIPM, CAIA, FDP, FRM and CIIA designations.

Ash is the former investment lead for the $100Mn Polygon Ventures Fund I for investing in early stage web3 startups globally with LPs such as Softbank, Tiger Global, Sequoia, Accel, Lightspeed etc. Now, she is the youngest Partner at LocalGlobe in London leading their blockchain practice, ranked #1 early stage fund in EMEA and #3 globally with highest number of unicorns in portfolio, with companies like SoRare, Copper, Robinhood, Wise, Figma, Twitter and LP in a16z, Sequoia etc. They've been long standing partners with LBS, and run Newton Venture Program in collaboration for helping boost the VC and entrepreneurial opportunities on campus.

Colin joined Balderton in 2016 and is based in Berlin. At Balderton, he invests in purpose-driven, product-focused founders spanning verticals including Cloud, Consumer, Marketplaces, and Fintech. Colin is part of the team at Balderton responsible for driving the firm's Sustainable Future Goals initiatives. Prior to joining Balderton, Colin worked at SoundCloud in Berlin where he led Emerging Market Growth. Colin began his career at Goldman Sachs in New York where he focused on raising capital for Asian internet companies. Colin has a B.A. from Princeton University in Political Science with a certificate in Political Economy where he was also a Captain of the Men’s Swimming Team. He has competed in the United States Swimming Olympic Trials and spent his childhood in Indonesia and Hong Kong. Colin speaks Mandarin, German, Spanish and is most comfortable in the ocean.

Ricardo is Partner and Head of Private Equity at Arcano, a global alternative asset manager with €8bn in AuM. He previously worked at Citigroup’s Investment Banking division in London and started his career at BankBoston, first as a credit analyst and then a fixed income trader. Ricardo holds a bachelor’s degree in Business & Finance from the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas and an MBA from Columbia Business School

Matt is an Investment Director at VenCap and leads the secondary strategy. Having started his career in corporate finance, over the last decade he has built extensive experience in the secondary market having led investments in numerous GP & LP-led secondary transactions. Matt has also completed a number of co-investments and primary commitments over the years. VenCap is an Oxford-based fund-of-funds with over three decades of VC experience.

Anastasia is Head of Italy and a Principal in the Client Solutions Group, leading the firm’s Milan office. She is responsible for client management locally and plays a significant role in the development of investment activities and client relationships in Italy. In addition, she is involved in European investment activities and client management. Anastasia has over 15 years international experience in private capital, both on the investment side and client management. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane, initially based in the firm’s Sydney office, Anastasia was an Associate Director in the Investment team at Quentin Ayers, an Australian advisor on global private capital portfolios for institutional clients. She began her career at the European Investment Fund (EIF), based in Luxembourg, where she held roles in the Risk Management department and Private Equity & Venture Capital Investment team. Anastasia earned her M.S. in General Management from Bocconi University, Milan.

Kirsten joined Octopus Ventures in 2021 to launch First Cheque Fund, its first dedicated pre-seed fund. Before joining Octopus Ventures, Kirsten was the managing director of CyLon, Europe’s first deep tech and cyber security accelerator programme investing in and supporting more than 60 startups, including Tessian and Immersive Labs. Kirsten was also part of the original team at Seedcamp Investment Management. During her five-year tenure, she travelled extensively across Europe meeting the best local entrepreneurs and backed some of Europe’s trailblazers, such as Wise, UiPath and Revolut. Before launching First Cheque Fund, Kirsten dabbled as an angel investor and enjoys nothing more than helping founders on their growth journey.