SERAPHIM - Key Persons
Alessandro is the Junior Programme Manager for the Seraphim Space Accelerator. He runs the delivery of day-to-day activities, he focuses on ensuring the smooth running of our core programme and supporting additional ecosystem events. Alessandro has a background in impact investing, having spent three years as a Venture Capitalist and consultant for large international foundations and corporates. Alessandro also has extensive experience in the managing of grant projects throughout Europe and Africa through his experience as Head of Philanthropy at Augmentum. Alessandro possesses two master's, one in Disruptive Innovation and another in International Business from Hult International Business School. Furthermore, he holds executive education from Harvard and the University of Zurich in Impact Investing.
Job Titles:
- Investment Partner
- Partner
Andre is a Partner at Seraphim Space Manager LLP. Andre joined the business following a career focused on the Space sector. Previously, he worked for almost a decade at Virgin Management, the family office of Sir Richard Branson. Andre co-led the seed investment in One Web in 2015 and was instrumental in investments into Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. During this time, Andre worked hand-in-hand with the boards and C-level teams of each of these three pioneering space businesses, helping shape them into the $billion businesses they are today. Andre has been a fund representative on the boards of a range of SpaceTech companies, including Astroscale and PlanetWatchers.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit, Management
Angela Lane is a member of the Audit, Management Engagement and Remuneration and Nomination Committees and, with effect from 30 June 2022, will succeed Christina McComb as Chair of the Audit Committee. Angela is currently a Non-Executive Director of BlackRock Throgmorton Investment Trust plc as well as Pacific Horizon Investment Trust plc and Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust plc, where she also Chairs the Audit Committee. Angela has decades of experience working with private equity owned companies, investment trusts and as the Chair of audit and remuneration committees. She began her career at the venture capital firm 3i and became a partner of 3i's Growth Capital business, overseeing the UK Growth Capital portfolio. Subsequently, she has held a number of positions as Chair of private equity-backed businesses.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
Ann is a Managing Director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, a venture capital firm she co-founded in 1989. She is a well-known and respected software industry entrepreneur and technology leader. Ann's firm has launched over 160 enterprise software companies and led investments that pioneered successful companies across the enterprise software sector. She served as a director of numerous private and public companies including MuleSoft, Hyperion, Sonatype, The Knot, Liquid Audio, Net Perceptions and Ace Metrix. She also currently serves as a Director of OptiMine. Ann serves on Seraphim Space Manager LLP's Investment Committee as an independent member to advise and address any conflicts of interest.
Job Titles:
- Global Partnerships Lead - Accelerator
Beth leads all partnership activity for Seraphim Space Accelerator globally and Generation Space Accelerator in the US. She drives new partner engagement, manages the Accelerator's government contracts, and ensures current partners are accessing the right Seraphim expertise and world-class startups. Previously, Beth served as US Sector Lead - Defense, Security & Space for the UK's Department for International Trade (DIT) based in Washington, DC. In this role, she led a high-achieving 8-person team across the US, drove millions of dollars in UK exports to the US, developed the UK Government's North American commercial sector strategy, and further honed her fascination for space and entrepreneurship.
Beth holds a Master of Public Policy Degree from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Ave Maria University where she was a 4-year intercollegiate softball player and team captain.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Chairman of UK Finance
Bob Wigley is the Chairman of UK Finance, a Commissioner for Global Britain, and an entrepreneur and investor. He is also Chairman of Bink Ltd, Vesta Global Holdings Ltd and Vizolution Ltd. He is an Honorary Fellow of Cambridge University's Judge Business School, a Visiting Fellow of Oxford University's Said Business School and an Adjunct Professor of the University of Queensland. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and Symphony Environmental plc. He is an advisory board member of Remora Ltd, TheCityUK, Privately SA, VML Ltd, Grant Thornton UK LLP and Cap10 Partners LLP.
Candace has a long and distinguished career as founder/co-founder of Space ventures such as SES ASTRA, SES Global, Loral-Teleport Europe and Europe Online, as well as having played critical roles in developing Space sector leaders, including Iridium and ILS. An experienced venture capitalist and investor, she has been a member of the Strategic Committee of Iris Capital for the past decade and, until recently has served as President of the European Business Angel Network, now President Emeritus. Candace serves and has served on the boards of a number of emerging Space leaders, including NorthStar Earth and Space and Kacific. Candace serves on the Seraphim Space Manager LLP's Investment
Christina McComb has over 25 years' experience of venture capital investment, as a former director of 3i plc and other venture funds. She has also held a number of senior public sector roles, including a non-executive role at the British Business Bank and advising Government on initiatives to support access to finance in UK SMEs. She is currently chair of OneFamily, a leading UK financial mutual and Chair of Standard Life European Private Equity Trust plc. She is also a Trustee of Nesta where she chairs the Trust Investment Committee. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2018 for services to the economy.
Job Titles:
- Chairman & CEO of Voyager Space
- Global Business Leader
Dylan Taylor is a global business leader, commercial astronaut, thought leader and philanthropist. Dylan serves as Chairman & CEO of Voyager Space, a multi-national space exploration firm focused on building the next generation of space infrastructure for NASA and other global space agencies. As an early-stage investor in more than 50 emerging space ventures, including Axiom, Kepler, York, Astrobotic, LeoLabs, Relativity, and Planet, Dylan is considered the most active private space investor globally. Dylan has extensive global business experience as both a board director and CEO in several industries, including advanced electronics, finance and real estate. He previously served as a Director for UMB Bank, a Fortune 500 company based in Kansas City and as a mutual fund director for the Jackson Funds where he oversaw assets of $8B across 130 distinct funds. He has also served in the roles of CEO, President and Board Director for multinational companies like Prudential PLC, Honeywell, Colliers and Jones Lang LaSalle. Dylan was recognized as a Fortune 1000 CEO with P&L responsibility in excess of $3B and operations encompassing 15,000 employees in over 60 countries. In addition, Dylan has participated in 4 IPOs over the course of his career.
Ellie is Accelerator Manager for the US-based Accelerator Generation Space. She designs the programme, manages the end-to-end delivery, and works with both internal and external stakeholders such as industry partners, investors, and mentors to ensure the continuous improvement and growth of the Generation Space programme. In the past, Ellie has had the opportunity to lead the delivery of numerous accelerators across various industries. Most recently she worked at Connected Places Catapult, the UK's innovation agency for transport, cities, and the built environment, where she helped startups to raise venture capital and scale by implementing their solutions within local government and mega projects such as High Speed 2 - Europe's largest ever infrastructure project. Prior to that, she ran innovation initiatives for clients such as BMW and Serco, among others.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner of Serapis LLC
Henrik is the Managing Partner of Serapis LLC, acting as an investor, advisor and board member to various family controlled businesses globally, having previously held significant positions in the financial and banking sectors. For the past two decades, Henrik has served on the board of directors and as a strategic advisor to Iridium Communications Inc, underscoring his access to and intimate knowledge of the New Space economy. He is also a board member of Einstein Industries Ventures, a European consulting and investment platform focused on space-enabled technology solutions. Henrik serves as a member of the Independent Investment Committee of Seraphim Space Venture Fund II LLP. Henrik is an executive director of Philip Breuel Stiftung, a Hamburg based foundation supporting the education of children from deprived backgrounds. He graduated with dual degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and served on the Huntsman Program's advisory board.
Job Titles:
- CIO
- Co - Founder
- Managing Partner
- Co - Founder of Generation Space LLC
James, co-founder and CIO of Seraphim Space Manager LLP and co-founder of Generation Space LLC, Seraphim Space Accelerator and Generation Space Accelerator. He is a prolific venture capital investor in the global SpaceTech domain. James was an early venture capital investor in Arqit, ICEYE, LeoLabs and D-Orbit and led investments in several companies that went public, including Spire Global and AST SpaceMobile. Previously, he worked at YFM Equity Partners and Burlington Consultants, a boutique strategy consultancy that was acquired by Deloitte & Touche. James holds a first-class degree in History from University College London. James has been a fund representative on the boards of a range of global leading SpaceTech companies, including ICEYE, D-Orbit, Ultrasoc, ALL.SPACE (formerly Isotropic Systems) and Satellite Vu.
Kenny is General Counsel at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and has 25 years of legal experience with growth companies and venture capital investors. Previously, Kenny was a partner at MBM Commercial LLP for nearly 15 years, laterally as Head of Corporate. In that role Kenny acted for high growth companies and investors (including Seraphim Space), in relation to all aspects of equity investment, fund formation, business sales and acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring, alongside general corporate advice. Previous roles before MBM included In-house Counsel at Braveheart Investment Group plc, Investment Manager at Scottish Enterprise and Solicitor, Shepherd+ Wedderburn. Kenny is a solicitor and notary public in Scotland and holds an LLB (Hons) and Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Edinburgh.
Job Titles:
- Head of Marketing and Communications
Leah is Head of Marketing and Communications at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and her role encompasses all things brand, PR, Marketing, strategy, communications and events. Previously, Leah was at Episode 1 VC, where she worked as Marketing Manager working alongside the investment team and the portfolio of Early stage companies. Leah is a CIM qualified marketing, communication and event specialist with specific experience working with early-stage start-ups. Leah is passionate about driving effective communication strategy as well as creating and sourcing engaging content to help bring the Seraphim story to life.
Job Titles:
- Investment Vice President
- Vice President at Generation Space LLC
Lewis is Vice President at Generation Space LLC and was previously an analyst at Seraphim Space Manager LLP. Lewis holds a first-class Aeronautics and Astronautics MEng degree from the University of Southampton, specialising in Spacecraft Engineering. Previously, he worked as a Thermal Analyst in the Rotatives department at Rolls-Royce, primarily focusing on the safety aspects of jet engines on Civil Aircraft. He also completed an internship at RBS in the Data and Analytics division. He is an avid Welsh Rugby supporter and a certified snowboard instructor.
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Investment Analyst
Lucas joined Seraphim Space Manager LLP as an Analyst in November 2021, shortly after spending 2 months on the investment team as a Summer Intern. Previously, Lucas worked at Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage. He initially joined through their Engineering Apprenticeship programme, and then followed on to become a Mechanical Design Engineer for Telecommunication Spacecraft Structures. His work primarily concerned structural and propulsion system concessions, but also extended to design projects for Additive Layer Manufacture (ALM) bracketry. In this time, Lucas also completed a part-time degree in Engineering (BEng Hons) from the University of Warwick and secured a first-class result.
Manisha is the Operations Manager at Seraphim Space Manager LLP. She is responsible for Office Management and executing the day-to-day operations of all areas of the business alongside COO Sarah Shackleton. Previously, Manisha was an Executive Assistant, Receptionist and Project Manager at Davidson Kempner European Partners since 2021 and was responsible for executing projects within Finance, DEI, Employee Experience and Facilities, including the opening of a second London office and the introduction of the first library to DK in London. During her time, she led several creative initiatives within the DEI space and helped to promote awareness for the LGBTQ+ community across the firm. Prior to this, Manisha was an EA at Goldman Sachs Inc, working with the growing markets team in the investment banking division.
Manisha holds a first-class honours BSc degree in Business and Management from King's College London, and a first-class honours BA degree from The University of Hong Kong. Her study abroad year was supported and recognised by the British Council, in which she received a scholarship for Academic Excellence.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Co - Founder
- Managing Partner
Mark is the CEO and co-founder of Seraphim, an investment firm exclusively focused on SpaceTech domain globally. Seraphim launched the world's first Space VC fund in 2016. Now operating Seraphim Space Accelerator on three continents, with >$350m raised for the seed stage alumni. Seraphim also operates a space growth fund, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Across these three elements Seraphim has built a portfolio of over 100 SpaceTech startups - the world's most prolific investor in the space domain.
Matt is a recognised thought leader in the geospatial intelligence industry. Currently an Operating Partner at DCVC, supporting their investments, including Space companies Capella and Planet. Matt has been working with Seraphim Space since 2018. Before that, he was CEO of OneWeb until July 2016. In 2006, he founded GeoEye (NASDAQ: GEOY), a leading global provider of satellite and aerial imagery and digital mapping information, which was acquired by Digital Globe in 2013 for $1.3bn. He has served on several private company boards and government and industry advisory commissions. Matt serves on Seraphim Space Manager LLP's Investment Committee as an independent member to advise and address any conflicts of interest.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Investment Principal
Maureen is Principal at Seraphim Space Manager LLP. Maureen joined the business following a successful career in the Space industry. She was COO at Apollo Fusion, a Space start up that was sold for $145m, where she was responsible for business development, manufacturing and complex programmes. She was also Senior Director of Corporate Development at Astra, a rocket launch company listed on NASDAQ. She has a first-class Batchelor Civil and Environmental Engineering (BE) degree from University College Cork and a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from University of Manchester. Maureen is focused on deal origination, deal execution, portfolio management and fund operations in addition to actively supporting the associated accelerator activities.
Job Titles:
- Venture Partner for Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC
Patrick is a Venture Partner for Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC and was the former chair of Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. He was a Director at Virgin from 2001 and developed businesses including Virgin Active and Virgin Trains. His most recent role was senior partner at Virgin Group. He played a key role in brokering the agreement for Virgin to launch a satellite from Cornwall in 2023.
Rafferty is active in the early stage space and autonomy startup ecosystem. Annually, she directs the industry-leading Startup Space Competition at the Satellite Show in Washington DC and mentors hundreds of deep tech startups at accelerators, incubators, venture studios, and US military startup events. She is a NED at Opteran Technologies and an advisor to Xona Space Systems, both Seraphim accelerated and invested companies. Rafferty made a name for herself as an accomplished operator on the executive leadership team at Beats by Dr. Dre with its sale to Apple for $3B. Rafferty serves on the Seraphim Space Venture Fund II LP's Investment Committee as an independent member to advise and address any conflicts of issue.
Job Titles:
- General Partner
- Partner
- Partner in the Seraphim Space Fund
Rob is a partner at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and co-founder of Generation Space LLC, heading up the early stage investments. He is a co-founder of Seraphim Space Accelerator and Generation Space Accelerator, which were launched in 2018 and 2022, respectively, and are now among the world's leading accelerator programmes for SpaceTech start-ups. Previously, Rob was with YFM Equity Partners as an Investment Director. Rob holds a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Glasgow and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Information Technology Systems from the University of Strathclyde. Under Rob's guidance the Seraphim Space Accelerator has graduated 91 SpaceTech start-ups, which have collectively raised $320m in co-investment syndicated from 110 venture capital investors. He is a fund representative on the boards of Xona Space Systems, Altitude Angel and other early stage investments.
Rob Desborough is a Partner in the Seraphim Space Fund and CEO of Seraphim Space Camp Accelerator, now one of the world's leading accelerator programmes for Space Tech start-ups, which he launched in 2018. Rob heads up the Early Stage Investment activity for Seraphim. Rob has over 20 years' technology Venture Capital experience in both investment and operational roles from start-up and university spin-out through to early-stage, growth, development, and IPOs. Prior to Seraphim, Rob was with YFM Equity Partners as an Investment Director. Rob has been a board observer or director for over 35 companies internationally, including the world's leading social listening company Brandwatch. Rob holds a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Glasgow and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Information Technology Systems from the University of Strathclyde.
Job Titles:
- Accelerator Manager
- Senior Accelerator Manager
As Accelerator Manager, Sam is responsible for the development of all startups within Seraphim Space Accelerator and Generation Space Accelerator. This role requires him work closely with a number of investors, mentors and corporate partners to ensure the programmes ongoing success and future growth. Previously, Sam worked within the innovation ecosystem for a number of years, where he developed a strong understanding of venture building and early-stage investment. Sam also worked at L Marks and, most recently at Connected Places Catapult, where he helped shape their new Future of Air Mobility accelerator. Sam completed his undergraduate studies in Business & Management at The University of Buckingham and holds a Masters degree in Management & Entrepreneurship from Cranfield University.
Sarah is the COO at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and Generation Space LLC, and has 25 years of finance experience. Previously, Sarah was a partner at Development Partners International since its inception in 2007. She was responsible for administration of the firm and its funds, including legal, compliance, HR, IT, operations, facilities and ESG and also sat on the investment committee. Sarah has experience as an active board director on private equity fund general partners and investment holding companies. Before joining Development Partners International, Sarah was an Associate Director on the Technology Equity Research team at UBS in London, specialising in the telecommunications equipment sector and covering large-cap European companies, including Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. Sarah holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Accounting from the University of Bristol.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Operations Assistant
Savannah is the Marketing and Operations Assistant at Seraphim Space, working alongside our Head of Marketing on brand strategy, helping to reach new audiences and increase brand awareness. She graduated from the University of Exeter with a first-class honour's degree in Politics. She recently completed the Business and Climate Change: Towards Net Zero emissions course with the University of Cambridge. Savannah actively assists with research for a non-profit organisation ‘Zero Ideas', which is developing new solutions for business leaders' climate action.
Sue Inglis has a wealth of experience from more than 30 years advising listed investment companies and financial institutions. Before embarking on a non-executive career, her executive roles included managing director - Corporate Finance in the Investment Companies teams at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (2012-2018) and Canaccord Genuity (2009-2012). Sue is a qualified lawyer, and was a partner and head of the funds and financial services group at Shepherd & Wedderburn, a leading Scottish law firm. In 1999 she was a founding partner of Intelli Corporate Finance, an advisory boutique firm focusing on the asset management and investment company sectors, which was acquired by Canaccord Genuity in 2009. Sue is currently the chairman of The Bankers Investment Trust PLC, the senior independent director of Baillie Growth US Growth Trust plc and a non-executive director of BMO Managed Portfolio Trust plc and Momentum Multi-Asset Value Trust plc.
Will Whitehorn was formerly a director of Virgin Group and President of Virgin Galactic until 2010. He has since pursued a private equity and non-executive career. He is the President of UKSpace, the trade body that represents the space industry in the UK, Chairman of AAC Clydespace, a listed satellite manufacturing company, Good Energy PLC, Scottish Event Campus Limited and Craneware PLC. He also sits on the board of the Royal Air Force and has recently retired as Deputy Chairman of Stagecoach Group PLC after serving on its board for nine years. Will has been a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society since 2013.