Keen Venture Partners

Ben Verwaayen is a venture investor with over three decades of experience in telecommunications and technology leadership, having served as CEO of BT Group and Alcatel-Lucent. He brings deep expertise in defence technology and industrial cooperation between the U.S. and Europe from his advisory work with the Dutch government and military background. Currently he focuses on supporting early-stage entrepreneurs building meaningful businesses.

Briehan Burke is an investor at Keen Venture Partners based in Amsterdam. Previously, he was an investment professional at Catalyst Investors, a growth equity firm, and an early employee at Lola, a feminine care products company. He began his career as an investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and holds an honors degree in Psychology from Middlebury College.

A technology investor and strategist with over a decade of experience, Robert co-founded Keen Venture Partners after serving as Principal at Prime Ventures where he worked on investments including Mendix and Takeaway.com. He began his career as an analyst at PA Consulting Group and worked as a strategy consultant at Monitor Group.

Alexander Ribbink is a venture capitalist with 35 years of experience in international marketing, sales, general management, and venture capital. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer of TomTom and a general partner at Prime Ventures, where he invested in and served on boards at Takeaway.com and Bright Computing. He holds an MA in Law from the University of Amsterdam and an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management, and is a vocal advocate for European defence and security technology innovation.

Alexander Kremer is a Partner at Keen focusing on SME Tech and AI-native software. Previously, he was a Partner at Picus Capital leading Gen AI and Frontier Tech investments across Europe, the US, and Asia. He brings experience from his time as Director at JD.com in Beijing, where he led product for the Search & Recommendations platform and international expansion, plus consulting at McKinsey and IBM. He holds a Master of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar and a BA from the Berlin School of Economics and Law.

Giuseppe Lacerenza is a venture investor with a background in defense tech and artificial intelligence. He previously led the Venture Team at Slimmer AI, where he oversaw investments in companies including Sentinels, Biller, Hadrian, and Vesper. Before that, he spent six years at McKinsey advising on defense, financial services, and digital transformation, and holds degrees in electronic engineering from Politecnico di Milano and an MBA from INSEAD.

Venture capital professional with background in defense, financial services, and AI. Previously led the venture team at Slimmer AI, where he invested in multiple companies including Sentinels and Biller. Holds degrees in Electronic Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and an MBA from INSEAD, with previous experience at McKinsey & Company and Vodafone.

Robert Verwaayen is a technology investor and strategist with over a decade of experience in venture capital. Prior to co-founding Keen Venture Partners, he was a Principal at Prime Ventures where he worked on investments including Layar, eBuddy, Cint, Mendix, and Takeaway.com. His earlier career included strategy consulting at Monitor Group and analyst roles at PA Consulting Group. He holds a BSc in Business Management from Babson College.

Stephanie Davis is a venture partner at Keen Venture Partners who began her career as a product manager at Medtelligent, a medtech scale-up, and later joined Carv in Amsterdam as a product manager building an AI-powered recruitment automation platform. She holds dual bachelor's degrees in Linguistics and East Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago, graduating cum laude.

Djoni de Vos is a venture investor at Keen Venture Partners who previously worked as a strategy consultant at BCG, where he developed analytical and presentation skills. He holds a bachelor's degree in cognitive neuroscience from Amsterdam University College and a research master's degree in Business in Society from VU and UvA. Beyond his investment work, he is also a stand-up comedian and practitioner of boxing.

Angad Singh has worked on aerospace research with a UK defence company before joining Keen Venture Partners. He previously invested in early-stage defence technology and space companies across Europe as part of Expansion fund, and earlier worked at Mentmore Capital on industrial acquisitions. He holds an MSc in Aerospace Dynamics from Cranfield University and a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Bournemouth University.

Gonçalo Lopes is a Finance Manager at Keen Venture Partners focused on the Defence fund. He began his career in audit and financial discipline at EY across multiple offices, including an internship at CGD, Portugal's largest bank. He holds a Bachelor's and Master's in Management from ISEG and ISCTE in Lisbon and is ACCA-certified.

Juliette Petit founded and bootstrapped shō-moon, a natural wellness brand focused on refillable products, scaling it to over 25 retailers across five countries and securing corporate clients such as Calvin Klein Europe. Before founding her own company, she held business development roles at Box and Zoom, managing sales cycles and enterprise relationships. At Keen Venture Partners, she serves as Chief of Staff across the Defence and SME Tech Funds, overseeing systems, team operations, and internal processes.

Sara McMunn is Chief Financial Officer at Keen Venture Partners since 2018. She previously held finance roles at Octopus Investments, Albion Capital, Macquarie Group, and PwC, with experience spanning audit, M&A finance, and venture capital finance. She holds a Chartered Accountant credential and a Master's in Accounting from University College Dublin.

Product manager with experience at Medtelligent, a medical technology scale-up, and Carv, an AI-powered recruitment automation platform. University of Chicago graduate with degrees in linguistics and East Asian languages and civilizations.

Ties Klinkhamer previously supported innovative and societal projects at Invest-NL, the Netherlands' government venture capital fund, where he worked with blended finance structures. He focuses on bridging technological knowledge gaps within European defense ecosystems. He is an accomplished field hockey player who has competed internationally, including at the European and World Cup levels.

Tomek Lepka invests in European defence technology at Keen Venture Partners, focusing on mission-critical technologies that strengthen European sovereignty and security. Previously, he worked as an Investment Manager at OTB Ventures backing deep tech and defence companies, and earlier held roles in fund-of-funds investing at PFR Ventures and investment banking at BNP Paribas. He holds an MSc in International Finance from NOVA SBE and a BSc from Universitat Pompeu Fabra.