Samaipata

Eduardo Diez-Hochleitner is a Founding Partner at Samaipata based in Madrid. He is Chairman and an early business angel at the Spanish telecom operator Másmóvil Group. Earlier in his career he was a Director in banking at BNP, CFO/COO of media group PRISA, and a Partner at APAX Private Equity, and has served as a business angel and board member at several startups.

Founding Partner at Samaipata and co-founder of Spanish food-delivery platform La Nevera Roja, which sold to Rocket Internet for $100M in 2015.

Partner at Samaipata leading the Platform function (the Hive) that supports portfolio founders. Previously spent over 15 years at hyper-growth startups including Groupon, Airbnb and Letgo, invested in and advised startups for over a decade, and founded his own advisory firm &Cuevas as well as the Rescue United Foundation.

Aurore Falque-Pierrotin is CEO and Co-Founder of Darwin Data, a SaaS platform that helps businesses and financial institutions quantify and manage nature-related risks across operations and value chains. She previously spent eight years in venture capital investing in software and AI companies, followed by several years as a strategy consultant at Roland Berger conducting due diligences for private equity firms. Darwin's platform covers biodiversity, water, climate, land use, and pollution, and supports asset screening, action planning, and regulatory reporting.

Jose del Barrio is founder and managing partner of Samaipata, a venture capital firm with €150 million in assets under management focused on early-stage technology companies with network effects, operating offices in London, Paris, and Madrid. Previously, he founded and served as CEO of La Nevera Roja, a Spanish food delivery company that grew to become the largest player in its market before being acquired by a German public company for approximately €100 million within four years of launch. His investment approach emphasizes B2B products with strong network effects, scalability, and defensibility.

Partner at Samaipata leading the investment team, based in Madrid. Holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and Business from MIT and an MBA from Wharton; began his career at Citi in London's M&A group before becoming an active angel investor with a portfolio of 38 investments and serving as CFO for two portfolio companies.

Pablo Ferreras is Samaipata's Partner and COO/CFO, overseeing the fund's financial and operational matters. He brings over 15 years in asset management, having worked as a financial auditor, at the Spanish regulator, and as a finance manager at an independent investment firm.

Member of Samaipata's investment team focused on investments in Southern Europe. Previously advised European and Latin American fintechs and financial institutions on M&A and capital markets transactions at Barclays Investment Bank.

Ignacio Tovar is Group Innovation Director at International Airlines Group, overseeing innovation strategy across the airline group's portfolio including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, and Level. Previously, he served as Director of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Iberia, where he focused on process improvements and technology implementation for customers and employees. Tovar has experience as a venture capitalist specializing in marketplace and eCommerce models, an engineering background, and professional training in strategy, operations, and digital transformation across multiple industries with particular focus on transport and infrastructure.

Operating Partner specializing in customer experience, with 25+ years of leadership experience; manages Airbnb customer support in EMEA and serves as Executive Director for Airbnb Ireland.

Member of Samaipata's investment team in Madrid focused on Southern Europe. Previously worked in strategy at Boston Consulting Group, covering various industries including consumer goods and private equity.

Carolina Martínez-Caro brings over 30 years of private banking experience across American and Swiss institutions, including leadership of Julius Baer Iberia during its first seven years of operations in Spain. She currently serves as a Strategic Senior Advisor at Samaipata and as a board member, with expertise in negotiation, business planning, and family business advisory through coaching and mentoring programs. Martínez-Caro is an active investor in private equity and participates in philanthropic initiatives, while also engaging as a speaker on workplace diversity and work-family balance topics.

Investment Manager on Samaipata's team based in Madrid. She previously worked in strategy consulting at Accenture, then in investments in Berlin at Redstone (VC corporate advisory and multi-stage investing) and Speedinvest (Pre-Seed and Seed investments in marketplaces and consumer).

Operating Partner focused on revenue strategy and scaling, with 15 years of GTM experience including leadership roles at multiple Series A-D SaaS unicorns.

Judit Lerch serves as Operations Assistant and Office Manager at Samaipata, an early-stage venture capital fund managing over $150 million and investing in digital businesses with network effects across Europe. The fund was founded by José del Barrio, former co-founder of Spain's leading food-delivery platform, and Eduardo Díez-Hochleitner, a senior executive and chairman of MásMóvil. Samaipata operates offices in Paris, Madrid, and London.

Operating Partner with over 12 years in product; currently a Principal PM Manager at Microsoft and formerly director of product management at Typeform.

Laura Ryan is Chief People Officer at SoSafe with over 20 years of experience in technology and financial services. She specializes in human resources strategy, organizational design, talent management, and executive coaching. Ryan has worked across multicultural environments on organizational change initiatives and people-related solutions.

Operating Partner and product executive who previously served as SVP of Product & Growth at Prosus/Naspers.

Ligia Sabillón is Global Head of Talent Acquisition for Tech & Product at Docplanner, where she leads hiring across product, engineering, analytics, and design functions. She has previously held talent acquisition roles at Sword Health, Glovo, and King/Activision Blizzard, spanning healthtech, SaaS, marketplace, and gaming sectors. Her background also includes executive search and talent consulting experience across multiple industries.

Lucia Garcia is Head of Brand Marketing and Communications at Samaipata. She holds a master's degree in digital business and hospitality management and brings experience building brands for technology startups. Previously, she spent over three years at Hosco developing community engagement for hospitality professionals, worked at Badi on proptech brand positioning and community strategy, and led branding efforts for the Mobile World Capital's Digital Future Society program supported by Spain's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

Operating Partner with 9 years in French international scale-ups; currently Revenue Growth Director at Qonto and previously at BlaBlaCar.

Matt Turzo is an Operating Partner at Samaipata, where he advises European startups on integrating AI into operational processes and organizational structures. He previously held leadership roles at Lyft, Flare Technologies, Wind Mobility, and Groupon, where he founded and scaled departments including Compliance Operations, Renter Experience, and Partner Management across multiple geographies. His experience spans hiring and team building across 12 countries and multiple languages, with recent work including operational optimization at Overstayer Recording Equipment using AI-assisted automation.

Maurice Whelan is Founder and CEO of Unleash Potential Ltd, an executive coaching firm focused on leadership development and organizational transformation. He has led the organization for over 12 years, delivering tailored coaching solutions to executives navigating complex business environments. Whelan also serves as a Premium Service Provider Partner at Samaipata, where he advises early-stage founders on leadership strategy and growth.

Operating Partner with over 10 years in corporate and consumer PR at high-growth tech companies like Qonto and Spotify; currently Head of Comms at Sorare.

Operating Partner focused on enterprise SaaS and B2B sales engineering; Head of International at Vanta and formerly at Dropbox, Google and Amazon.

Operating Partner specializing in AI strategy and machine learning, with over 30 years of experience guiding early-stage startups from validation to market entry.

Operating Partner and engineer with over two decades of experience; served as Engineering Director at N26.

Operating Partner specializing in operations and international expansion; led Push Doctor, a leading European digital healthcare company.