ACTIVE SPARRING PARTNERS

TEAM PROFILES

Daniel Koppelkamm

Founder, Managing Partner & Investment Committee Member

Daniel co-founded Convergence Partners in 2018 with the vision to establish a VC firm that actively supports the internationalisation and potential exit of EU HealthTech in the world's largest healthcare markets. He has more than 15 years of High tech venture capital investing - and company building experience, focused on sectors that have a positive impact on planet and society. From 2009 to 2017, Daniel was Investment Partner and Investment Committee Member at Jadeberg Partners, a pioneering VC firm in European Cleantech-investing. Prior, Daniel worked for 7 years at Man Group, one of the world's leading alternative investment management firms, in London, Chicago and Hong Kong, focused on environmental technology investments. Before joining Man Group, Daniel worked at the EU headquarters of Intel Corporation. Daniel holds an MBA and BSc in Business Studies from Bayes Business School, London (formerly Cass Business School) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Daniel loves the outdoors, especially skiing and mountaineering and keeps mentally fit with transcendental meditation.

Raj Airey

Founding Partner & Investment Committee Member

Raj has been in healthcare for 30 years, of which he spent 20 years in MD roles at Pfizer and Baxter in Europe and Asia. He is also a serial entrepreneur, having built and managed 3 high growth businesses. In the last years, Raj has been an active business angel and company builder in the HealthTech space. He is also an Accredited Executive Coach and mentor and member of the expert advisory board of EIT Health, a pan-European public private initiative that fosters innovation with in healthcare with EU, top universities, innovation hubs and large corporates. Raj is a graduate in science from the London University and has received executive education from both Harvard Business School and INSEAD.

Pascal Joncour

Partner, Investment Committee Member

Pascal has been in Healthcare for almost 20 years, of which he spent 12 years in MD roles at Pfizer in Europe, notably participating in the launch of a new global business unit focussed on Integrated Health and “Beyond the Pill” solutions. Following his industry career, he became Managing Partner at Argon Global Healthcare, a leading network of independent full service healthcare communications agencies. As an agency executive he served medical start-ups and scale-ups and already well established clients within the pharmaceutical, med-tech, digital therapeutics and health insurance industries around the world by helping them build their brand and develop their business. He is a passionate entrepreneur, board member and angel investor focussing on driving innovation in Healthcare and Life Sciences. Pascal started his career as a strategy consultant at Roland Berger & Partners. He holds a Master’s Degree from EM Strasbourg Business School and a Diplom Kaufmann Degree from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg. He is also a Guest Lecturer at the Master in Marketing Farmaceutico at the University of Pavia.

Dr. Jenny Hao (MD)

Operating Partner

Jenny is supporting the development of our portfolio companies in Biotech, Biopharma and Computational Biology segments. She has over 20 years of experience in global pharma and medical device industries, having held senior positions at Pfizer, Novartis, Vifor and Takeda across the US, EU and China. With her strong expertise in business development, market access, and strategic partnerships, she has completed several cross-border business partnerships and licensing deals. In addition, Jenny has built a broad network with various stakeholders and conducted numerous market research to assess and validate the commercial potential of the assets. Jenny is also an active business angel in healthcare start-ups. She is passionate about helping young companies to grow and succeed. Jenny is a trained as medical doctor, graduated from Capital Medical University in Beijing, China; She received her MBA at Fairleigh Dickinson University and had executive courses at Harvard and other top US universities.

Volker Herrmann

Operating Partner

Volker is a veteran pharmaceutical and biotech executive leader, who brings more than 25 years of experience in management, commercial development, business development, marketing and strategy to Convergence Partners. Volker was previously CEO of Sonata Therapeutics and a Flagship Pioneering CEO-Partner. Prior to that he was the CEO of Inzen Therapeutics after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer at SQZ Biotechnologies. Prior to SQZ, he held various leadership roles at Pfizer, including European Lead CNS/Pain franchise, Global Lead Pain franchise and Head of Global Strategy, Marketing and Commercial Development within Pfizer’s Vaccine Business Unit. Subsequently, he served as the Chief Commercial Officer for Viamet Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for preparing the organization for the launch of its first commercial product as well as streamlining the company’s pipeline. Volker received his M.D. from Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg in Germany and an MBA from the University of San Diego.

Ulrich Wallenhorst

Operating Partner

Ulrich is supporting the development of our portfolio companies in MedTech and Digital Health segments. He has held managerial and executive roles with extensive business, product, market and technology expertise in companies of various sizes (500 – 80,000 people), industries (medical, digital, telecom, industry, machinery, automation, etc.) and structures like the German Mittelstand or in large listed US corporations. Thanks to his operational and strategic implementation experience in the top management of corporations and as an advisory board member and mentor, he can effectively support the introduction and evaluation of products, business models, technologies and methods in tech-driven companies. Ulrich is a chairman and board advisor to several PE companies and strategic investors. He graduated with honours in applied physics from University Osnabrück.

Shirley Choo

Investment Director & Investment Committee Member

Shirley Choo is an accomplished investment professional with extensive experience across investment banking, growth investing, and private markets, with a career spanning Europe, the UK, and Asia. Prior to joining Convergence Partners, Shirley served as CFO and Head of Investment at Algoritmi Group, a technology and real estate group, where she led the firm’s fundraising, strategic planning, and investor relations efforts. Earlier in her career, she was a founding member of Stifel’s Growth Capital Investment Banking division, working on transactions across Healthcare, Technology, Consumer, Industrial, and Renewable Energy sectors, with deal sizes ranging from $15 million to $300 million across Europe and the United States. Shirley holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Social Science from the University of Manchester and has completed Executive Education in Alternative Investments at Harvard Business School. She also holds the FCA-required Investment Professional Certificate (CISI – UK Financial Regulation) and the Fundamentals of Alternative Investments Certification (CAIA Association). Beyond her professional pursuits, Shirley is dedicated to the Japanese Tea Ceremony (Urasenke School), and is an avid pianist and Pilates practitioner.

Elena Baltaga

Investment Director

Elena is an investment professional with a cross-disciplinary background in consulting, private banking, digital assets and biotech. Prior to joining Convergence, she co-founded an independent R&D initiative exploring the potential of mycelium in brain health and sustainable biomaterials and supported fundraising of startups in the wellness and mental health sector. Her earlier roles include managing client portfolios at Credit Suisse and Sygnum Bank, where she advised private clients and family offices on both traditional and crypto investments. With a strong interest in cognitive health and women's health, Elena focuses on ventures at the intersection of neuroscience, wellness and FemTech. She holds a Master’s in Management and a Bachelor’s in Applied Economics from Paris Dauphine University, an MBA from IMD Lausanne and is a Certified Wealth Management Advisor.

Dr. Laura Johnson

Venture Partner, Germany

Laura is supporting the landing and scale-up of Convergence' portfolio companies in Germany. She has been working in MedTech innovation for 16 years with senior and executive roles at Siemens Healthcare in the USA and Asia. In the past few years based in Berlin, she has been VP of Clinical Affairs for Protip Medical, an Entrepreneur in Residence for Startup Bootcamp Digital Health, Head of Strategic Partnerships for the Berlin Institute of Health, active mentor to multiple young teams and startups in Berlin and a freelance business and clinical strategist. She is also an expert panel member to EIT Health and active contributor to the Charité Entrepreneur Summit. Laura is a graduate from Leeds Medical School and holds a M.Res. from University College London and a PhD from Kings College London in the application of Augmented Reality in neurosurgery.

Alexandra Sasha Bessmertnaia

Venture Partner, UK & Ireland

Alexandra is a health tech advocate working at the intersection of policy, technology, and health. She serves on the advisory boards of Lionheart, a U.S.-based brain health technology fund, and Convergence Partners, a Switzerland-based fund focused on health tech. She is also a member of the Milken Women’s Health Network chaired by Dr. Jill Biden and actively participates in female-led impact initiatives, including roundtables across Europe and the UK. In addition to her work in health and technology, Alexandra is one of Denmark’s youngest politicians, currently serving as 1st Deputy to the Danish Parliament. She is a former 1st Deputy of the Frederiksberg Council and a former candidate for the European Parliament. Her political priorities include technology, education, mental - and female health.

Yannick Ormen

Venture Partner, Switzerland

With 4 years of investment experience in Neuroscience, Yannick brings a well-rounded skill set in industry analysis and investment strategy to the team. Prior to Convergence, Yannick held a position as Healthcare Analyst at AtonRâ Partners, a Swiss asset management firm specialized in long-only thematic equity investments. In this capacity, he conducted in-depth analyses in areas such as MedTech, Digital Health, and Neurosciences, and was instrumental in the development and management of a private equity fund dedicated to advancements in Brain Health. Prior he worked as a Computer Vision & Data Analyst at MindMaze. Yannick holds a MSc degree in Medical Biology from ETH Zurich, with a specialization in Neuroscience. In his freetime Yannick enjoys playing tennis, hiking, travelling, and cooking.

Boye Hartmann

Venture Partner, Nordics

Boye is supporting Convergence deal-sourcing and management activities in the Nordics and China. Boye has been an entrepreneur for 30+ years. Being a central person in the startup community (Humbolt, SEA, CBS, FI, PlugNPlay the Alchemist) Boye is spending lots of time in the engine room of the next generation Unicorns. Boye has Co-created 50 + companies and as an Angel invested in a similar number. In the last 10 years, Boye has been involved on the VC side of the table advising VCs, family offices and dealmakers in the industry. Boye Holds a degree from Niels Brock - Copenhagen Business college and sits on a hand full of Boards around the world.