Northzone

Elena leads Northzone's platform function, helping portfolio companies build teams and advising founders on growth, while supporting the investment team on pre-deal talent needs. She previously worked at Bain Capital Private Equity Europe, Impetus, Third Bridge and UBS, and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Partner at Northzone who has invested since 1998, starting at Deutsche Bank principal investments and Amadeus Capital before joining Northzone in 2012. He focuses on network effects in enterprise software and fintech, with investments including Trustpilot, Stream, Zopa and TrueLayer, plus a growing AI portfolio.

Jessica Schultz joined Northzone in 2014 and is a Partner in the Stockholm office, focusing on product-led platforms and UX-driven SaaS with early-stage founders. She previously co-founded and served as Global CMO of HelloFresh and worked in strategy consulting at L.E.K. Consulting.

Listed as a member of the Northzone team associated with the CuspAI investment.

Molly Alter is a New York-based Partner at Northzone investing across early and growth stages with a focus on Vertical SaaS and AI. She previously invested at Index Ventures and Insight Partners, backing companies such as Quantive, Glia, Lightricks, and Frame.io (acquired by Adobe), and holds a History of Science degree from Harvard.

Partner at Northzone since 2004 focusing on disruptive businesses in energy transition, health, consumer and AI. Previously ran his own investment firm and was a McKinsey consultant; holds an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics and has appeared on the Forbes Midas List.

Partner at Northzone based in London, investing from seed to Series B with a focus on applied and physical AI, software infrastructure and fintech. Previously spent over eight years at firstminute capital, where he led seed investments in n8n, Storyblok, Stitch, Protex and Unleash, and started his career in M&A at Goldman Sachs.

Partner at Northzone based in London, leading the Growth Fund and sourcing later-stage investments across sectors. Previously led private-tech investments globally at Tybourne Capital and technology investments at Matrix Partners; has an international background spanning India, the Netherlands, Europe, Asia and the US.

Wendy Xiao joined Northzone in 2015 and is a Partner in the New York office. She invests across healthcare, consumer, and developer tools (and early Web3 infrastructure), backing companies since seed; previously she founded co-working/childcare company CoHatchery and consulted at A.T. Kearney and Accenture.

Physics-trained investor with a product-centric focus on Future of Work and vertical SaaS—especially AI-enabled automation and B2B marketplaces—who writes for product builders and urges founders to be selective about VCs.

Dominik Esen joined Northzone as an investor in 2021, focusing on early-stage companies in AI applications, Vertical SaaS, and Fintech. He started in the Stockholm office and moved to Berlin in 2024; previously he served as a paratrooper in the German Military and worked at Allianz and Bain & Company, and holds a Master's from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Manavi Mehra is a Vice President in Northzone's London office who invests in growth-stage technology companies across Europe and the US. She previously worked on the investment team at TCV covering crossover software and fintech across EMEA, and before that in J.P. Morgan's technology investment banking team; she holds an economics degree from the LSE.

Markus Gleim relocated from Stockholm to Berlin in 2021 to lead DACH sourcing; he originated Ravio and Stonly, co-authored a Plaid-for-X framework, and focuses on API-first and distributed-renewables software.

Maxine Rior, Swedish‑French with engineering from Lund and finance experience at Carnegie and Kinnevik, focuses on AI-native, agentic B2B SaaS founders across Nordic and French ecosystems with a relationship-driven approach.

Michelle Nacouzi demystifies VC with plain-language explanations (a VC 101 Thanksgiving talk), treats founder meetings as invitations, and specializes in e-commerce fulfillment logistics including instant delivery and cargo orchestration.

Vice President at Northzone since 2023, based in London, investing across sectors with a focus on complex, fragmented industries being reshaped by new technology or changing behaviour, spanning energy, fintech, enterprise/vertical AI, marketplaces, consumer and gaming. Previously worked at J.P. Morgan on principal investments and strategy, and earlier invested at Creator Fund and Outlierz Ventures; holds a Business & Management degree from Durham University.

Investor at Northzone focused on early-stage companies in AI, fintech, healthcare and vertical SaaS. Previously an early employee at climate-tech startup Odd Industries / Lemu leading strategy and space teams, and a strategy consultant at Bain & Company's private equity group. Holds degrees from Amherst College and Tsinghua University, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar.

Listed as a member of the Northzone team associated with the CuspAI investment.

Amanda joined Northzone in 2024 as an Executive and Office Assistant in the New York office before moving to London in 2026 to become Events Manager. She previously worked as an actress in New York theatre and opera and holds degrees in Theatre from American University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Andrea is an investor at Northzone's Stockholm office focused on early-stage to growth companies in the Nordics and beyond. Before Northzone she spent over four years at Bain & Company on tech investment due diligence and commercial excellence, and previously worked in later-stage private equity, investment banking, and at Antler; she holds a Bachelor in Business Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Dennis leads talent-led value creation at Northzone in London, supporting portfolio companies on senior hiring, leadership build-outs, and talent strategy. He previously worked as a Senior Engagement Manager at a global executive search firm, leading C-level mandates across EMEA, APAC, and North America.

Evan Duff joined Northzone in 2026 as Executive and Office Assistant for the New York office. He previously worked as a professional actor and as a community manager at a coworking space, and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Ball State University.

Grace Bentley is Northzone's HR Manager in the London office, having joined in 2019 as an Executive Assistant and Office Manager. She holds a CIPD Level 3 qualification, is pursuing Level 5, and focuses on Northzone's people strategy and HR operations; she has a Criminology and Sociology degree from Kent University.

Harriet Hamblin is a fast-rising VP who leads early-stage UK-focused investments in product-led B2B SaaS, fintech and healthcare, combining Credo Consulting private-equity deals experience with an Oxford First-class Classics degree.

Iby Khan is a Management Accountant at Northzone's London office, leading UK reporting, supporting operational finance teams across the group, and preparing quarterly investor reports. She previously spent over five years as a Senior Accountant at a digital media company and holds a BSc in Economics with Accounting from Bayes Business School (City St George's, University of London) along with an ACCA qualification.

Jackson Heddy is Northzone's CFO based in London, responsible for investor reporting and the firm's financial obligations. He previously served as Financial Controller at IP Group and trained at PwC, and holds an ACA from the ICAEW along with degrees from the University of Sussex.

James Braithwaite joined Northzone in 2025 as Financial Controller in the London office, overseeing fund finance including investor reporting, valuations, and group-level operational finance. He is a Chartered Accountant (ACA) who trained at PwC and previously worked in finance at Gresham House and Bluewater, with a degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Manchester.

Joined Northzone as a Data Analyst in 2025, leading the firm's data strategy. Previously spent three years as a data consultant across a consumer marketplace company and a private equity firm, and earlier worked at Stockholm startups including Hedvig and Northvolt as well as in venture capital. Holds a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and a Master's in Machine Learning from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

Laura Clifford joined Northzone in 2021, moving from London to the New York office in 2023 to support US-based portfolio companies and European firms expanding to the US. She builds out Northzone's Operator Network, connecting talent to portfolio companies, and previously worked on the private equity/VC recruitment team at Dartmouth Partners in London.

An early-stage investor at Northzone's New York office focused on US companies translating frontier science and engineering into real-world systems, including healthcare, bio, industrial deeptech, and lab automation. Previously a researcher at Stanford, and an analyst at Elaia Partners and Kurma Partners, with degrees from Stanford and Imperial College London.

Marlowe Cameron joined Northzone in 2023 in London as an Executive Assistant before relocating to the Amsterdam office. She previously studied at the Fashion Institute of Sydney and worked as an assistant buyer and executive assistant, including within the Australian Government.

Molly Cooke joined Northzone in 2024 as a Team Assistant, helping manage the London office and supporting the operations and investment team, including internal and external events. She previously studied Sociology at the University of Sussex.

Nicola studied Fashion Media and Communication at London College of Fashion and worked in the fashion industry in buying roles before joining Northzone in 2019 as an Executive Assistant supporting the partners and team.

Sanna leads Northzone's sustainability strategy, covering ESG and impact across firm-level practices, portfolio support, and LP/regulatory reporting. She joined in 2020 focusing on global operations and portfolio programmes, having previously spent 8 years in London supporting PE and VC executive teams and running events.

Sarah Nockel, founder of Femstreet, is known for community-building and public writing that give her unusually deep access to female founder networks and reputation as a thoughtful operator and writer.

Northzone's General Counsel, joined in 2021. Previously at Cooley advising high-growth companies on financings and corporate matters, and began his career at Osborne Clarke in London where he was seconded to Microsoft as lead consumer & retail lawyer in the UK. He has worked with accelerators and enjoys supporting seed-stage founders.

William Jilltoft, Director of Strategy & Operations, leads firm strategy and investor relations, focuses on web3, gaming and DeFi across Northern Europe, and blends accelerator experience with commercial fishing roots.