NGP Capital

Christian Noske is a Partner at NGP Capital, which he joined in 2021, focusing on industrial tech, enterprise software, and deep tech investments. He previously was a Partner at Target Global, founding Managing Director of Alliance Ventures (Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi), and a founding Partner at BMW i Ventures. Earlier he served as CFO of a digital agency acquired by WPP and held finance and business development roles at Robert Bosch GmbH; he holds a degree in business information systems from the Cooperative State University Baden-Württemberg.

Dr. Yue Zhuge is a Partner at NGP Capital, which she joined in 2023. She previously co-founded QuarkStar, an advisory firm focused on high-tech and strategic AI consulting, and served as General Manager and VP of R&D at Hulu Beijing, where her team worked on machine learning, AI, video, advertising, search, and data science; she has also held roles at Yahoo! and Microsoft. She holds an MS and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford, an MS in Applied Mathematics from Stony Brook, and an undergraduate degree from Tsinghua University.

Ossi Tiainen is a Partner at NGP Capital, which he joined in 2016. He has over eight years of venture capital experience and three years in management consulting, focusing on AI, cybersecurity, spatial computing, and space tech. He holds an M.Sc. with distinction from Aalto University in Helsinki, where he studied industrial engineering, computer science, and economics.

Upal Basu is a Partner at NGP Capital, where he leads the US investment team, and has spent over 20 years in the mobile and software technology industry. He previously founded and served as CEO of Mformation Technologies, a mobile device management company acquired by Alcatel-Lucent, and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in New York and London, as well as leading product management at Risk Management Solutions (RMS). He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in Engineering from Stanford University, and an engineering degree from Imperial College, London.

John Gardner is a Venture Partner at NGP Capital who has led and managed investments across information technology, including enterprise software, carrier software, systems, and component companies. He was previously a founding partner at BlueRun Ventures and earlier held a senior business development role at Nokia, with over two decades of experience in start-ups, M&A, and venture capital transactions. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Paul Asel is a Venture Partner and co-founder of NGP Capital, based in the U.S., with over 25 years of investing experience. Before NGP Capital, he led technology investments in Southeast Asia at the International Finance Corporation, was a Partner at Telos Venture Partners, oversaw M&A and investments at Cadence Design Systems, and worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA from Dartmouth College, and has taught international entrepreneurship at several universities.

Atte Honkasalo is VP of Data and Analytics at NGP Capital, where he leads development of the firm's AI-powered deal flow engine "Q" and applies data to VC sourcing, benchmarking, and portfolio support. He previously worked as Lead Data Scientist at Dentsu and led data and analytics initiatives as team lead and product manager at telco BSS company Qvantel. He holds an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Tampere.

Cathy Li joined NGP Capital in February 2023 as a Post-Investment Manager working with NGP's China CFO, where she handles portfolio financial analysis and internal operations. She previously worked in investor relations and post-investment management at a state-owned fund, covering fundraising, investment, portfolio management and exit, and had earlier roles at Pernod Ricard's global headquarters and in HSBC France's derivatives risk control department. She holds double Bachelor's degrees in Grape and Wine Engineering and in Finance from China Agricultural University and a Master's in Management from ESSEC Business School.

Listed as part of the deal team for NGP Capital's investment in Tractian.

Dennis Rosbäck joined NGP Capital in 2025 as a Senior Accountant on the finance team, handling finance operations and reporting in Europe. Before NGP, he spent six years at PwC Finland as a Manager in Audit, working on financial reporting, internal control evaluation, and IPO processes for listed companies. He holds a Master's in Economics and Information Systems from Åbo Akademi University.

Douglas Garrett is Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Neurobane, an R&D company applying neuroimaging and AI to psychiatric care. He previously directed the Lifespan Neural Dynamics Group at the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research for 13 years and led the Cluster Computing Working Group at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, alongside data science and statistics consulting. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Toronto and served as an Emmy Noether group leader.

Ellen Higuchi joined NGP Capital in 2017 after working as a consultant with the firm for five years, and her role covers finance administration, office management, and executive assistant duties. Her earlier career includes work as a software engineer at a defense contractor, a linguist at a speech recognition software company, and an English tutor. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and a Master of Arts in Linguistics.

Listed as part of the deal team for NGP Capital's investment in Tractian.

Esko Aho served as Prime Minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995 and was a Member of the Finnish Parliament from 1983 to 2003, having chaired the Centre Party from 1990 to 2002. He later led the Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA and served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations and Responsibility at Nokia Corporation. He has held academic roles at Harvard University and Aalto University and served on advisory bodies including J.P. Morgan's EMEA Advisory Council and the board of Sberbank.

Jan Goetz is the CEO and co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers, a Finnish-German company developing superconducting full-stack quantum computers. He sits on the governing board of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC) and serves as an EIC Ambassador at EISMEA. He holds a Ph.D. in superconducting quantum circuits from the Technical University of Munich and was a Marie-Curie Fellow at Aalto University, where he is a docent.

Jean-François Baril is CEO, Co-Founder, and Chairman of HMD Global, the Finnish maker of Nokia phones founded in 2016. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at Nokia, was Procurement Director at Compaq, oversaw Hewlett-Packard's PC supply chain, and worked at Schlumberger. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers in Paris and from Stanford University, is Professor Emeritus at EIPM in Geneva, and was an operating partner at Talomon Capital and EQT.

Jonas Schneider is the Founder and CEO of Daedalus, a German deep tech startup building AI-driven factories that produce precision parts for defense, medtech, and advanced manufacturing; Daedalus is a portfolio company of NGP Capital. He was previously OpenAI's first engineer, where he served as Technical Lead and co-founded the Robotics team, leading software engineering for combined software, ML, and hardware systems. He holds a Computer Science degree from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and is an active angel investor in the European and US AI ecosystem.

Juha Christensen is a Danish technology founder who serves as Chairman at Bang & Olufsen, Chairman and Co-Founder at the technology consulting firm Star, and Vice Chairman of Netcompany. He founded Star in 2008 and grew it from 40 to 750 employees across Europe, the US, and Asia. Earlier in his career he led the founding of Symbian and held leadership roles at Microsoft and Macromedia.

Justin Jin joined NGP Capital in 2021 as China CFO, overseeing portfolio management and finance operations in China and supporting the firm's investment, capital-raising, and exit activities. Before NGP Capital, he served as CFO at Kinzon Capital for over five years and spent five years at Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Service as a senior manager focused on financial due diligence for PE/VC firms, having started his career as an auditor at KPMG Shanghai. He holds a bachelor's degree in business law from the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics and is a China CPA.

Marco Hutter has been Professor of Robotic Systems at ETH Zürich since 2015 and has helped found ten ETH spin-off companies that have collectively raised over €230 million, including ANYbotics, which builds quadrupedal robots for industrial settings. He held the Branco Weiss Fellowship from 2014 to 2019 and focuses on mobile legged robots and their artificial intelligence for operating in challenging environments. He earned his Ph.D. from ETH Zürich, conducted research stays at Stanford and MIT, and since 2024 has served as Director at the Zurich office of the Robotics and AI Institute.

Marshall Lux has worked in financial services consulting and practice for over 35 years, including senior partner roles at McKinsey and BCG, where he remains an active advisor. He previously served as a senior risk officer at Chase, focusing on consumer financial products. He currently teaches, writes, sits on several boards, and advises financial technology companies, including SecurityScorecard and Workfusion.

Matti Hölttä is a Senior Data & ML Engineer at NGP Capital, where he works on the firm's AI-powered deal flow engine, "Q." He previously spent four years as a Senior ML Engineer at Solita and began his career as an auditor at PwC. He holds an M.Sc. in Accounting and Finance from Aalto University School of Business and has studied Data Science, Machine Learning, and AI at Aalto University School of Science.

Michael Sova is Vice President, Finance at NGP Capital, where he oversees finance, accounting, investment reporting, and compliance across the firm's funds. He previously handled financial, tax, and regulatory reporting at Asia Alternatives and began his career as an auditor at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from San Jose State University.

Monica Johnson is the Operating Partner and Chief Financial Officer of NGP Capital, with over 25 years of financial experience. She previously provided CFO services to ecommerce, SaaS, and digital health startups, and served as CFO of CafePress (through its growth and IPO), ARC (a software IP company listed on the London Stock Exchange), and Webvan Group Inc., after beginning her career at Hewlett Packard. She holds an MBA from Cornell University and an Economics degree from UC Berkeley.

Nathalie Macalma is the Senior Marketing Manager at NGP Capital. Before joining the firm, she was Integrated Marketing Manager at Forge Global, a private securities marketplace, and previously Marketing Manager at fintech company NetSpend. Her background spans digital, direct, and product marketing, and she holds a degree in Graphic Design with Digital Marketing and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Psychology.

Neeta Shrotriya joined NGP Capital in 2021 as Senior Accounting Manager for the global management operating entities. She previously worked as a Fund Accountant and Accounting Manager at a fund administration firm serving venture capital clients, and earlier held roles in public accounting and with startups handling accounting and HR functions. She holds Bachelor and Master of Commerce degrees from the University of Pune and is a Certified Public Accountant in California.

Peter Schwarzenbauer has more than 35 years of leadership experience across the automotive and mobility industries. He held roles at BMW in marketing and international sales and served on the Boards of Management at Audi AG and BMW Group, with responsibility for brands such as MINI, BMW Motorrad, and Rolls-Royce, along with the Aftersales and Digital Business Innovation divisions. He now invests in European deep tech startups and holds a degree in Business Administration with a marketing focus from the Munich University of Applied Sciences.

Sanni Stjernberg joined NGP Capital in 2025 as an Associate on the European investment team, where she looks at investments across the firm's focus areas including industrial tech. She previously worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group on strategy and implementation projects across sectors such as energy, industrial goods, TMT and BFSI, and has also worked for Slush and a Nordic corporate venturing alliance. She holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management from Aalto University.

Tori Orr joined NGP Capital in 2025 as a Senior Associate on the U.S. investment team, working across the firm's focus areas with a particular interest in deep tech. She previously held early-stage investing roles at JetBlue Ventures, Vera Equity, Harlem Capital, and Dorm Room Fund, and began her career at Intel as a Mechanical Design Engineer and later Product Manager, also contributing to the Tesla Model 3 launch. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School, a B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in Mathematics from Spelman College.