0100 Europe 2026

Constantijn van Oranje leads Techleap.nl, the accelerator for the tech ecosystem in The Netherlands. As Special Envoy, he is on a mission to turn The Netherlands into a unicorn nation. He and his team connect the Dutch tech ecosystem to help ambitious and promising Dutch tech companies grow fast internationally by improving their access to capital, market, talent and technologies. Constantijn co-founded StartupFest Europe, which is still the biggest start-up event ever organized in The Netherlands. Previously, he was Chief of Staff to VP Neelie Kroes at the European Commission in charge of the Digital Agenda and led the Brussels office of the RAND Corporation. He is also currently the Director Digital Technology & Macro Strategy at Macro Advisory Partners in London and New York, and Edge Fellow at Deloitte Centre for the Edge. Additionally, Constantijn is ambassador of the European Innovation Council. Aside from innovation and technology, Constantijn van Oranje is passionate about art, music, photography and nature.

Joaquin is currently Head of Secondaries at the European Investment Fund, where he joined in 2008 as part of the primaries lower mid-market investment team. At EIF he has led and closed transactions in Buyout, Development Capital, Growth, Credit & VC strategies, having successfully executed primaries, buy-side and sell-side secondaries (including single asset and multi-asset GP-leds, LP-tenders, preferreds, single LP-led and portfolio LP-led transactions) as well as co-investments across Europe. As part of the EIF’s private institutional investor programme (AMUF), a platform which has raised over EUR 1.6bn to date, Joaquin led and closed a EUR 100m private equity secondaries fund focused on GP-led solutions and acquisition of single LP positions in the lower end of the mid-market. Regular panellist on secondaries, primaries and co-investments across Europe. Holds a Degree in Law from Nebrija University, an International MBA from IE Business School and the Private Equity Certification Program from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Fluent in English (proficiency), French (mother language) and Spanish (mother language).

Mattias focuses on the European primary portfolio and is involved in the sourcing, screening, execution, monitoring, and exiting of growth and buyout co-investments. Prior to joining Adams Street Partners, he was a Managing Director in the Private Equity Advisory & Asset Management division of the StepStone Group where he led European primary, secondary, and co-investments. Previously, he was a Principal in the Private Equity Secondaries group of Greenpark Capital, as well as a Private Equity Analyst at Lehman Brothers. He was also a Sergeant with the Amphibious Battalion of the Swedish Marines. Mattias is a member of Adams Street’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Committee.

James joined Balderton in 2013 and became a Partner in 2016. He invests across geographies and stages with a specific focus on AI, energy, productivity and health. He sits as a board member and observer for multiple portfolio companies, including Sophia Genetics (Nasdaq-listed $SOPH), Depop (acquired by Etsy), Tibber and GoCardless, and has been involved in the sale of companies to Amazon, Epic Games and Elastic. Prior to joining Balderton, James helped launch and run one of the UK’s first social venture funds. He has worked with entrepreneurs and businesses in Europe and Africa, in a fintech startup, and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company. James is also a member of the UK Government’s Industrial Development Advisory Board, where he oversees large investments into critical infrastructure like the UK’s space, energy and transport sectors, and is a member of the investment committee for Christ Church, Oxford.

Marcus joined FERI in 2005. As Head of Alternative Investments, he is responsible for Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Investment Solutions, Manager Selection and positioning of FERIs Alternative Investment Division including client reporting. Additionally, he is Member of the Board at FERI (Luxembourg) S.A., FERI’s fund management company subsidiary. He started his career in 1994 as an advisor to UHNWI before moving to London in 1998 joining the Investment Banking division of Robert Flemings Ltd. (acquired by JPMorgan). Until 2003 he was a Director within the Global Equities department of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London. He has over 30 years’ experience in capital markets, corporate transactions, manager selection and investment allocation across asset classes. He has written several articles and book chapters on Alternative Investments and Hedge Funds which have been published in professional journals and industry magazines. Marcus holds a master’s degree in Finance/Capital markets and International Management / Economics from Humboldt University Berlin in addition to a two-year apprenticeship as a bank manager. He is married and father of three children. FERI is a specialist in Alternative Investments and one of the largest Investment Management firms in Germany based in Bad Homburg managing approximately EUR61bn including EUR18bn in Alternative Investments. FERI invests in Hedge Funds (UCITS and offshore) and Private Equity funds for Institutional Investors and UHNW / family offices mainly for German-speaking clients in Europe. FERI allocates to Alternative Investments since 1999 and has built up one of the largest Alternative Investment teams in Europe with approximately 50 employees.

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.

Matthieu Baret, Managing Partner in charge of Venture, joined the Group in 2005. He has overseen over 40 investments and is primarily active in the telecoms/media, software, B2B sectors. Before that Matthieu has worked 10 years in the telecom sector, mainly for carriers. He regularly speaks on entrepreneurship at Centrale-Supelec and Dauphine. Matthieu is a graduate of CENTRALE-SUPELEC, and holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech (Atlanta, USA) and an MBA from INSEAD.