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
Letizia Luperini
Chief revenue officer
Experienced executive with over 15 years in B2C and B2B sales, marketing, and operations
Founder of Pamono, Europe’s largest marketplace for vintage design, successfully scaling and leading it to acquisition. Previously an Associate at LGT Capital Partners, with prior marketing and sales roles at DuPont and Anheuser-Busch
MBA from Columbia Business School and a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana
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
Experienced technology and product leader. Skilled in building and scaling technology teams and developing digital products
As Director of Technology at Propportunity AG, he led the technological development of an AI-powered SaaS product, overseeing strategy, architecture, and team leadership. Previously, as Deputy CTO at Migros Online, he established a new development department in Zurich and drove the technical integration of LeShop, MGB and launch of the SubitoGo App
With a background in software development and modern leadership, he combines technological excellence with pragmatic execution. His focus is on building high-performing teams, scaling digital business models, and implementing agile methodologies
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
Jaime Moreno Mateos
Chief of Staff
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
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
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
Christian Zakian, PhD
Senior principal photonics 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)
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
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
Principal 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
Luis Miguel Jara Casas
Principal 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
Benjamin W. McMillen, PhD
Principal optomechanics 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
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
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 (Principal engineer)
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
Florian Vogl, PhD
Senior algorithm engineer
11 years of experience in taking acoustical, fluoroscopy, robotics, and artificial intelligence projects from concept to prototype at ETH Zurich
PhD in Biomechanics from ETH Zurich, MSc in Experimental Quantum Physics from University of Innsbruck
Giorgio Racca
1.5 years of experience in ML and Data Science
MSc in Statistics from ETH Zurich
BSc in Applied Mathematics from Polytechnic University of Turin
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
Thomas Berger
Data scientist
1+ year of experience in advanced spectroscopic analysis and data exploitation concepts in bioprocessing
MSc in Applied Computational Life Sciences at ZHAW Wädenswil
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
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
Anton Holmberg
Data scientist
Six months of experience in applying machine learning to physics research
MSc in Engineering Physics from Uppsala University
Florian Wiedmann
Business development & operations lead
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
Luca Flury
Junior associate strategy & operations
2 years of experience in dynamic startup environments and boutique consulting firms, specializing in strategy and business development
MSc in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology from Imperial College London and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Warwick
Chen Li, PhD
Senior principal 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
Senior manager system integration optics & photonics
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
Marcel-li Grimau Puigibert, PhD
Senior 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
Senior R&D engineer
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)