PeakBridge VC

Nadav Berger is a Founding General Partner of PeakBridge and a third-generation food industrialist who transitioned from industry into entrepreneurship, building companies in food applications, marketing, and distribution. In 2008 he co-founded FoodLab, a food systems innovation hub, which led to FoodLab Capital, an early FoodTech seed fund, and then to PeakBridge in 2018. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Tel Aviv University and an EMBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Dr. Gali Artzi holds a Ph.D. in cell immunology and biology and has worked in the food ingredients and nutrition sector. She held senior leadership roles at Enzymotec, Frutarom, and IFF, where her work included scouting technologies, guiding product development, and managing innovation and commercialization. She focuses on foodtech.

Martina Pace is COO of PeakBridge. Before joining the firm, she helped set up the Technology Transfer Office and business incubator at the University of Malta, where she worked on commercializing technologies and managing intellectual property, and she previously worked at the Malta Council for Science and Technology and as a product engineer at Procter & Gamble. She holds master's degrees in chemical engineering and in entrepreneurship.

Thomas van den Boezem previously worked as a Business Creation and Investment Manager at EIT Food and as an Investment Analyst at Innovation Industries, and served as a program director at StartLife. He founded BoxBites, a healthy snacking subscription company. He holds an MSc in Management, Economics, and Consumer Studies and a BSc in Public Health from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and focuses on food industry technologies and innovations.

Yoni Glickman is Managing Partner of FoodSparks, PeakBridge's seed-stage fund, and has held board positions across biotech, food ingredients, water tech, and pharma. He was previously President of Natural Solutions at Frutarom (acquired by IFF for $7.1 billion) and later EVP at IFF, and founded the FoodNext Innovation Lab. He has also served as CEO of water tech company Atlantium Technologies and CEO of Hanita Coatings, which focused on energy efficiency in buildings and appliances.

Matthias de Kock is an investor at PeakBridge VC focused on food technology startups. He has prior experience working on deals in New York and now works with founders and co-investors in venture capital. He is particularly interested in the application of AI across the food industry, from optimizing bioprocesses to improving crop breeding and supply chains.

Chris Thoen is an R&D executive with over 35 years of technical and innovation leadership experience across AgTech (Plant Genetic Systems), consumer goods (Procter & Gamble), flavors and fragrances (Givaudan), and food and beverage (Bühler) industries, as well as in startup ecosystems. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and is named as an inventor on more than 80 patents and patent applications.

Einav Gefen is a chef with a background in foodservice and retail foods. She joined Restaurant Associates in 2021 as Chef | Innovator after working at Unilever from 2008, where she rose from Corporate Head Chef to Corporate Executive Chef and led a team focused on innovation, product development, and global projects. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, she began her career in Israel at Orna & Ella and Mul-Yam and later held chef roles at New York restaurants including Danal, and taught at the Institute of Culinary Education from 2003 to 2008.

Gianluca Vitale joined PeakBridge after working as an investment analyst at GP House, where he focused on acquiring minority stakes in European mid-market private managers. He previously interned in private debt at Clessidra Capital Credit evaluating Italian SME opportunities, and started his career on the Private Equity Fund of Funds desk at IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo. He holds a double degree in Finance & Corporate Finance from Tilburg University and Luiss University.

Juliette Nille works as an ESG Analyst at Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity, where she supports investment teams with ESG requirements and leads cross-functional ESG projects. She manages the implementation of the Net Zero Asset Manager initiative across EDR's private equity activities. She holds a degree from ESCP Business School with a specialization in energy transition.

Miriam Ueberall is VP R&D International at The Kraft Heinz Company and previously worked in R&D at Unilever. She has held roles in various international locations, including Moscow and Istanbul, and evaluates food tech founders and startups.

Nurit Ben joined PeakBridge after more than 16 years in global news media spanning TV broadcasting, print, and podcasting, with roles at CBS News, CNN, and The New York Times. Her work included anchoring live global news, interviewing newsmakers, field reporting, running newsrooms, and moderating innovation summits. She now works with startups and founders on communicating their stories, having become interested in food and ag tech after hosting an innovation summit in Dubai.

Tom Nicholson works in food and agriculture technology after a prior career in international news, where he anchored live TV. He became interested in FoodTech after hosting an innovation summit in Dubai that featured food and ag tech startups. He draws on his media background to focus on communication, presentation, and helping convey the work of startups clearly.