We built a team with deep experience in serial entrepreneurship, MedTech product development and Liom’s key science disciplines.
Leo Grünstein
Founder & CEO
Founder of LG Capital, a Family Office focused on incubation of “big idea” ventures
Serial entrepreneur, investor & Co-Founder of more than two dozens international start-ups, with multiple VC investments and successful exits (e.g. MoneyPark, acquired in 2016 for CHF 153m)
Previously project manager at McKinsey & Co. & Analyst at HSBC’s M&A team
MBA Columbia Business School, B.A. St. Gallen University
Bernd Wittner, PhD
Chief technology officer
20 years of experience in the MedTech industry. Built and lead cross-functional and multi-national R&D organizations; successfully developed, launched and sustained complex therapy systems
Previously Senior R&D leader of the Acute Therapies business in Baxter Healthcare Inc and Gambro Lundia AB
PhD in Engineering Design from the University of Cambridge
Adler Perotte, MD
Chief science & innovation officer
Physician and scientist with over 15 years of experience in medicine, computational biomedical research, and innovation
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University; created and lead a large research operation developing novel machine learning methods and biomedical devices; published in top-tier machine learning, clinical, and basic science journals
MD, Columbia University, MA in Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, AB Princeton University
Ismene Grohmann
Chief product officer
Visionary and strategic product leader with 15 years of experience in med tech and consumer health
Built and led global product organizations and successfully launched innovative hardware, software and services products
Previously Head of Product of Abbott’s Consumer Biowearabales and Director of Innovation for the Diabetes and Nutrition businesses
MSc Econ Philipps-University Marburg
Daniel Perotti
Chief operating officer
Former Associate Partner at McKinsey & Co. with 8+ years of experience in management consulting, focusing on strategy, M&A, and business building for major high-tech manufacturers and service providers
Operational experience in Design-to-Value, procurement and production programs for high tech products
MA in Economics University of Zurich
Jennifer Ireland, MD
Chief financial officer
Medical doctor turned investor with over 15 years of experience in clinical practice
A deep and nuanced understanding of chronic disease, aging, and the biopsychosocial model of healthcare
Previously an investor at Baillie Gifford focused on identifying and backing exceptional public companies
MD and BSc in Anatomical Sciences from the University of Glasgow
Övünç Okyay
Co-founder & venture builder
Managing Director LG Capital
Previously PE investor at The Carlyle Group’s $500m MENA Fund, analyst at Morgan Stanley and consultant at McKinsey & Co.
Diverse industry expertise with strong experience in investing, strategy and portfolio management
MBA Columbia Business School; M.Sc. Production Engineering TU Berlin
Banu Eyueboglu Seitz, PhD
Clinical study manager
15 years of experience in design and management of global Class II and III medical devices clinical studies
Previously with BIOTRONIK AG and Alvimedica as Senior CPM, Medical Manager and Clinical Trial Manager
PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetic from TU Munich, and MSc in Biotechnology from METU, Ankara
Elsa Ghirardini, PhD
Biomedical scientist
9 years of experience in biomedical research at top European institutions, including Cambridge University and the Institute of Neuroscience of the Italian National Research Council
Strong expertise in electrophysiology, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons and gene therapy of brain disorders
PhD in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacological Sciences and MSc in Medical Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine from the University of Milan
Fabien Rebeaud, PhD
Director biomedical sciences
Executive Scientific Leader with 15+ years of experience in the biotech and medical device industries
Previously CSO of Abionic SA. Built and led cross-functional teams encompassing R&D, Clinical, Medical and Regulatory Affairs
Developed and brought to market innovative diagnostic solutions improving patient health
PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Lausanne
Fernanda Lavorato
Senior laboratory technician
Over 6 years of experience in clinical analysis laboratories in renowned health care institutions in Argentina
Broadly cross-trained in molecular biology, hematology, serology, microbiology and chemistry; phlebotomy procedures interacting directly with patients in ER, ICU, OR and recovery
Laboratory Technician from Dr. Ignacio Pirovano Hospital in Argentina
Gevi Anathavettivelu, PhD
Clinical scientist
6 years of experience in immunology and clinical research conducted in academia
Strong expertise in acute and chronic inflammation, hepatology, tumor biology and liver diseases
PhD in Sciences from University of Hamburg, MSc in Molecular Medicine and BS in Biochemistry from University of Frankfurt
Marcela Camenzind
Junior biomedical scientist
2 years of combined experience in molecular biology research in academia and biomedical R&D in industry
MSc in Biology from the University of Zurich
Vanessa Matos Gonçalves
Biomedical scientist
2 years of experience in assay development, electrochemical biosensors and molecular diagnostic
MSc in Biomedical Engineering at University of Minho & Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Andrea Sterzi, PhD
Principal photonic engineer
10 years of research experience in Physics, focused on designing and operating a wide range of optical spectroscopy techniques at several institutions such as Empa (ETH, Switzerland) and at the international synchrotron facility Elettra (Trieste, Italy)
Designed and developed a market-oriented deep-UV Raman spectrometer
PhD in Physics from the University of Trieste and BS in Physics from University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Brescia
Christian Zakian, PhD
Principal photonic engineer
15+ years of R&D experience in academia focused on clinical translation of optical and acoustic sensing and imaging technologies
Previous scientific lead in EU projects for advanced molecular endoscopy (Helmholtz Munich)
Expertise in translation of imaging techniques for dentistry
PhD in Physics (University of Manchester), Masters in Inflammation (Queen Mary University London)
Gijs Jacobs
Senior biophotonics lab technician
10 years of experience in IVD test development with a focus on immunoassays
MSc in Biomedical Sciences from the Radboud University Nijmegen
Jean-Christophe Blancon, PhD
Manager biophotonics
10 years of research experience in physics, materials science, and optics-photonics at Rice University, Los Alamos National Lab, Université de Lyon, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Recipient of the 2018 IUPAP Young Scientist Prize for Semiconductor Physics and of the 2019 Highly Cited Researcher
PhD in Physics from Université de Lyon and MSc in Optics & Photonics from KIT
Martin Varga
Junior photonic scientist
2 years of experience in experimental and theoretical quantum electronics, including quantum correlations, photonics, metamaterials and metadevices
BSc in Physics and currently completing Physics MSc at the University of Debrecen, been a visiting student at ETH Zürich for one year
Olena Synhaivska, PhD
Senior biophotonic application specialist
5 years of research experience in biosensor development and optical spectroscopy at Empa
Development of biosensors for specific metal ion detection using peptides; expertise in optical spectroscopy techniques for characterization of proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases
PhD in Physics from the University of Basel
Onur Gökçe, PhD
Senior R&D engineer
15 years of multidisciplinary research experience in academia and industry at Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology, IBM Research Zurich, Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zurich and 1Drop Diagnostics AG
Expertise in microfluidics, biochemistry at microscale and data science – and is a keen troubleshooter
PhD in Neuroscience from LMU Munich, MSc in Biosciences/Bioengineering and BSc in Mechatronics Engineering from Sabanci University
Pardeep Kumar, PhD
Senior photonic engineer
10+ years of professional experience, with strong expertise in the development of optical system instrumentation and ultra-precise measurements for data acquisition
Extensive research experience in the design and development of optical systems for the study of light-matter interactions
Anton Holmberg
Junior data scientist
Six months of experience in applying machine learning to physics research
MSc in Engineering Physics from Uppsala University
Cemal Baran Erdoğan
Junior electronics engineer
3 years of experince in academia with CMOS integrated circuit design
MSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at EPLF and BSc in Electronics with Minor in Physics at Sabanci University.
Ennio Monteil, PhD
ASIC design engineer
7 years of experience in R&D in academia at University of Turin and INFN
Design of analog and mixed-signal ASICs for the readout of silicon pixel detectors used in high energy physics applications at CERN; low-power and low-noise electronics design; ASIC testing and characterization, notably in high radiation environments
PhD in Physics from the University of Turin
Luis Miguel Jara Casas
Senior electronics engineer
5 years of experience in applied electronics research for high energy physics at CERN
Deep expertise in ASIC testing and characterization, especially in radiation harsh environments; radiation effects to electronics for pixel detectors, total ionizing dose (TID), single event effects (SEUs) and data acquisition systems (DAQ) development
MSc in Electronics Engineering and in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid
Paolo Livi, PhD
Manager electronics engineering
10 years of experience in R&D conducted in academia (ETH Zurich) and in the industry (Dectris Ltd.)
Design of analog and mixed-signal CMOS integrated circuits (ASICs); design of novel sensors and of integrated sensing systems (bio-chemical sensors, hybrid photon counters); ultra-low power electronics
PhD in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zurich
Bauke Tilma, PhD
Senior principal photonics engineer
16+ years of experience in academic (TU Eindhoven and ETH Zürich) and commercial (Coherent Laser Enterprise Zürich) research, development and production of Semiconductor laser and Photonic integrated circuits for Sensing applications and Telecommunication purposes
PhD in Electrical Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology
Benjamin W. McMillen, PhD
Senior mechatronics engineer
18+ years of experience in academic and commercial research and development in fiber optics, ultrafast laser materials processing, and systems engineering
Specialization in mechatronics and systems design with an extensive background in electrical and mechanical engineering, applied physics and optics, laser-matter interaction, and ultrafast laser systems
PhD in Electrical Engineering from University of Pittsburgh
Bertold Ian Bitachon, PhD
Photonics validation & test engineer
5 years of academic research experience focusing on high-speed optical fiber communication especially in system level implementation and digital signal processing
Deep expertise in high-speed photonic system incorporating machine learning for channel optimization
MSc in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from ETH Zurich; BSc in Electrical Engineering from University of Twente
Jens Hofrichter, PhD
Manager optics & photonics engineering
15 years experience in integrated photonics R&D; drove the laser integration for Silicon Photonics at IBM
Led projects for the development of CMOS computed tomography scanners, wafer-level integration and photon counting for medical imaging, AR cameras and optical microphones at ams-Osram
Author of more than 30 patents; MSc in Electrical Engineering from RWTH Aachen; PhD in Photonics from TU Eindhoven
Mike Gugel
Junior test & lab automation engineer
One year of industrial experience in sensor development and test engineering, specializing in the advancement of medical devices
One year of combined academic and industrial research expertise, with a focus on photonics and automation engineering within the MedTech sector
MSc in Medical Engineering Science from the University of Lübeck
Anna Krawczyk
UXR lead
Engaged User Research leader with 15 years of tech industry experience
Passionate about improving people’s lives by understanding their needs & advocating for great user experience for customer and enterprise products
Previously led research projects at Fitbit & Google – focused on bringing WiFi to Emerging Markets, creating new research methods for Tech&Built Environment and improving user’s health with Fitbit
MSc in Sociology University of Wroclaw, BA in Economy Economic University in Wroclaw, Higher Diploma in Web Technologies NCI, Post-graduate Diploma in UX Design SWPS
Jason Short
Design lead
Design leader with over 25 years of experience creating physical and digital consumer products
Previously UX Lead at Google, and UX Director at Fitbit and GoPro
Asma Jebali, PhD
Technical program lead
15+ years of industrial experience in R&D
Initiated and managed multi-disciplinary R&D projects leading to the development of market-ready products such as medical devices and consumer appliance at Helbling Technik
Led business development and product ownership roles in dynamic start-ups
MSc in Microengineering at EPFL, PhD in Integrated Photonics at ETH Zurich & IBM Research
David Kallweit, PhD
Distinguished scientist
20+ years of experience in advanced development of novel technologies in MEMS and micro-/nano-optics with a focus on conception, feasibility, systems design and simulation
Previously with CSEM SA and Fraunhofer IPMS, led innovation and development projects in the fields of MEMS, optical biosensing, medical devices and lighting
PhD in micro-optics from IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Germany
Svenja Mauthe, PhD
Project manager R&D
Expert in semiconductor optics and optical sensor development with 8+ years of experience in industry research
Previously managed and led interdisciplinary R&D programs and projects including state-aided projects leading to product development as R&D program manager at ams OSRAM
PhD in Photonics at ETH Zurich and IBM Research
Martin Gamble-Salt, PhD
Lead integrator optical subsystems
Optics design and manufacturing leader – ams OSRAM, Knowles Electronics and Heptagon
Martin is experienced in the “make it small, make it work” world of mobile & wearable sensing (Apple, Meta, Google), as well as tiny medical imaging systems
PhD in Physics from the University of Exeter
Mattias Cattepoel
Manager quality assurance R&D
15+ years of experience in systems engineering in aeronautics and space industry
Previous Team Lead System Engineering at RUAG Space, focus on team building and processes towards a robust and sustainable customer-oriented development
Dipl.-Ing. in Civil Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg
Petteri Kotaniemi
Head of manufacturing & supply chain
Manufacturing and supply chain leader with 20 years’ experience in making consumer products
Has successfully built and led international teams and projects delivering mobile phones, automation solutions and wearable technology
Previously Head of Supply Chain at Oura Health
Pit Pillatsch, PhD
Technical project lead
8 years of experience in systems engineering in wearables and consumer products
Experienced in international R&D, start-up environments, building high performing teams and getting products to market
PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College London, MSc in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich
Agustina La Greca, PhD
Junior data scientist
5+ years of research experience spanning academia and industry, expertise at the intersection of computer science and healthcare
Previous work has focused on leveraging AI and ML methods to address critical healthcare challenges, with an emphasis on improving the quality of care for cancer patients
PhD graduate in Computer Science/Medical Physics attained from ETH University, accomplished through collaboration with the University Hospital of Zürich
Cosmin Argatu
Principal data engineer
Data leader with 10 years of experience in Data and Software engineering spanning various industries (Finance, Manufacturing, Retail)
Previously, P&C Reinsurance data lead at SwissRe, building analytical products leveraging big data systems on very large scales
BSc in Computer Science from Newcastle University.
Geoffrey Chinot, PhD
Machine learning research scientist
7 years of academic research experience in mathematical statistics with a particular focus on high-dimensional phenomena
Expertise in applied mathematics with applications to data-science (mathematical modelling, optimization, optimal transport)
PhD in theoretical statistics, Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Hannah Bos, PhD
Senior machine learning research scientist
10+ years of research experience in computational neuroscience and machine learning in academia and industry
Expertise in designing algorithms and deep networks for streaming applications that run on custom edge devices, data analysis, and modeling of complex systems
PhD in Theoretical Neuroscience from RWTH Aachen; MSc in Physics from the University of Oslo
Jaime Moreno Mateos
Manager machine learning reseach & engineering
15+ years of international experience in Information Technology, spanning across academia, R&D, start-ups and multinationals
Previously Team Lead Machine Learning at Credit Suisse, building ML-powered products to fight Financial Crime
MSc in Industrial Engineering from UPM. Data Science & ML management from EPFL
Juliane Klatt, PhD
Senior machine learning scientist
6 years of academic research experience in Theoretical Physics and Computational Biology, plus 2.5 years of professional experience as data science consultant at the UN
Broad expertise in mathematical modelling and applications of machine learning
PhD in Theoretical Quantum Optics from University of Freiburg, Germany
Lidia Casado Noguerales
Junior machine learning engineer
1+ year of experience in industry on software engineering, MLOps, and process automation
BSc in Computer Science Engineering at UCM and EPFL, majoring on Algorithmics and Computational Science
María Sánchez
Junior machine learning scientist
Over a year of experience on mathematics applied to machine learning research between academia and industry
BSc in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science and MSc in Applied Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence in the Institut Polytehcnique de Paris
Michael Seitz, PhD
Senior algorithm engineer
6 years of academic and industry research experience in material science, physics, chemical engineering, and opto-electronics at ETH, MIT, UAM, Harvard, and Stanford University
Extensive experience in deploying time-resolved microscopy and spectroscopy techniques for opto-electronic materials
PhD in Condensed Matter Physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid. MSc and BS in Mechanical Engineering from ETH
Migle Grauzinyte, PhD
Senior machine learning scientist
7 years of research experience in academia and industry
Expertise in the area of computational modelling, optimization, data science techniques and deep learning
PhD in Computational Physics from the University of Basel, MPhys from the University of Edinburgh
Reece Bailey
Principal cloud DevOps engineer
10+ years experience as a System / Cloud Engineer, specialising in enterprise grade Governance and Solution Architecture
Thomas Berger
Junior data analyst
1+ year of experience in advanced spectroscopic analysis and data exploitation concepts in bioprocessing
MSc in Applied Computational Life Sciences at ZHAW Wädenswil
Vithurjan Visuvalingam
Junior data engineer
8 months of experience in data orchestration and data management
MSc in Computer Science at ETH Zürich with focus on Machine Intelligence and Data Management
Daniela Schultz
Head of HR
Senior leading HR professional with 12+ years of experience in all people related topics as HR operations, learning & training, talent management and recruiting
A focus on talent acquisition and employer branding. Leading functions in strategy consulting industry for 7+ years
MA in International Politics from ETH Zurich/University of Zurich
Florian Wiedmann
Senior associate strategy & operations
5 years of experience working in fast-growing start-ups and for a multinational professional services firm
Former Finance Director at a Swiss cybersecurity start-up
MSc in Business Analytics from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and a BA in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen (HSG)
Francesca Ingargiola Barbato
Administrative assistant
Administrative assistant with many years of experience in administration and supporting functions in a large corporations
Franziska Jaeger
HR & recruiting manager
Experienced HR professional with 9+ years in multinational companies, skilled in Swiss labor law, HRIS implementation, and employee lifecycle management
Expertise in change management, intercultural communication, and strategic HR initiatives
BSc in Business Psychology from Kalaidos Fachhochschule
Lisa Wolff
Business operations specialist
Fundamental experience as an Executive Assistant in a large corporation as well as a background in upscale hospitality
Remo Tschudi
IT admin/engineer
20+ years of experience in IT industry with main focus on support, system administration and engineering
Previously at RUAG, migrated 700+ users in Zurich, helped building infrastructures in other countries for migration purposes, and contributed to clean-up and outsourcing projects
Microsoft certified professional, technology specialist and systems administrator
Sophie Bouchard, PharmD
Senior associate strategy
3 years of experience in pharmaceuticals & clinical pathology, focused on strategy and innovation
Doctorate in Pharmacy, PharmD Candidate at Université de Lyon
MSc in Management at Emlyon Business School and National Taiwan University
Chen Li, PhD
Senior system solution engineer
10 years expertise in design and simulation of micro optics, freeform optics and optical system for various applications in Fraunhofer IOF
4+ years experiences in product definition, system solution engineering, requirement engineering and technical project leading at ams OSRAM
PhD in Photonics from technical university of Vienna, Austria
Lukas Brückner, PhD
Lead system integrator optics & spectroscopy
10+ years expertise in the field of optical spectroscopy with focus on non-linear near-infrared Raman techniques
6+ years of experience working in a multi-national start-up environment leading the R&D team to implement innovative optical concepts for the design of novel miniaturized biomedical products
PhD in Physical Chemistry from Heidelberg University
Marc Torrent Cuairan, PhD
Photonics engineer
6+ years of research experience as an experimental physicist at the Nanophotonics System Laboratory (ETHZ) working on chip integration of optical trapping schemes towards inertial and ultra-small force detection aplications using levitated nano-particles
Deep expertise in optics and photonics technologies
PhD in Photonics (ETH Zurich) and MSc in Photonics (ICFO-UPC, Barcelona)
Marcel-li Grimau Puigibert, PhD
Principal photonics engineer
+10 years experience in photonics R&D in both academia and industry
Deep expertise in photonic technologies for quantum communication and sensing applications
Previously team lead of at ams-OSRAM (Innovation office Lab) focused on the development of innovative photonic solutions for consumer market applications
PhD in Physics (University of Calgary), MSc in Photonics (ICFO-UPC, Barcelona)
Marco Rocca, PhD
Fluidics scientist
4 years of research experience in microfluidics at IBM Research/KIT and 1 year of working experience at Cadence Design Systems
Expertise in microfluidics, capillary-driven flows, microfabrication, miniaturized assays, biosensing, prototyping, 3D printing and electronic package design
PhD in Chemistry from KIT and MSc in Nanotechnology from Politecnico di Torino
Robert Lovchik, PhD
Principal engineer
15 years of experience in developing microfluidics for diagnostics and cellular studies at IBM Research Zurich following 6 years on developing biotech and bioprocess engineering
Drove the productization of the microfluidic probe technology at IBM and worked with diagnostic companies to develop core technologies for research and market-oriented platforms
PhD in health sciences and technology from ETH Zurich, MSc in micro/nanotechnology (UAS Dornbirn), BS in biotechnology (ZHAW)