Twenty-three NATO Allies* have selected the investment team to run the Alliance’s new 1 billion euro deep technology venture fund.
The senior management team will be led by Andrea Traversone as Managing Partner, together with Kelly Chen, Thorsten Claus, Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky and Chris O’Connor, who bring over 6 decades of collective experience in technological innovation, military operations and venture capital.
“In venture capital, the Senior Management Team are the brains behind investment decisions. I am confident that the NATO Innovation Fund’s Founding Team has the experience, drive and capability necessary to deliver the NIF’s mission,” said David van Weel, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges.
The NATO Innovation Fund is the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund and will invest 1 billion euros in start-ups developing technologies for defence and security. The management team will steer the fund’s investment strategy, helping to drive emerging and disruptive technologies toward Allied adoption, build innovative capacity across the Alliance and promote commercial success. The NATO Innovation Fund Board of Directors will play a supervisory role.
“I am proud we have selected an exceptional international team who will take the vision of the NATO Innovation Fund set out by participating Allies and the NIF Board and translate it into a portfolio of bold investments,” said Dame Fiona Murray, Director, NIF Board of Directors. The NATO Innovation Fund was launched at the 2022 Madrid NATO Summit. The appointment of the fund’s Founding Team marks a major step towards the selection of initial investments later this year.
*Participating NATO Allies: Belgium; Bulgaria; Czechia; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Spain; Türkiye; United Kingdom
