Pierre Strubin

Chairman

Pierre  joined Fongit in June 2000 and was our Director for 13 years. Pierre formerly worked at ABB, IEC and LEM, where he was the general manager for the Component Division. Pierre holds a degree in electrical engineering, has a MA in Finance and a MBA in Management. His expertise is the field of Finance, Administration, Project and General Management. He is a board member of more than ten companies and is the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors at Fongit Seed Invest (FSI).​

Antonio Gambardella

Director

Antonio joined Fongit in 2014. He was previously the founding partner of a venture capital fund investing in technology, with headquarters in Switzerland, Italy and California. During this experience, he managed incubator activities for seed startups. Later, he made direct investments in innovative small-medium companies in Europe, with active roles in management and board of directors. Antonio holds a degree in Economics at Bocconi University in Milan (Italy) and he attended Singularity University in California.

Dr. James H. Miners

Head of Startup and Innovation Programs

James is an international entrepreneur and innovator. He has set-up and managed four technology startups in Cleantech, Nano-materials and Transportation, including High Power Lithium, which was successfully exited to the Dow Chemical Company. Passionate about transforming technology into product, James brings a unique experience of leading value creation and innovation in startups as well as fortune 100 companies. He has 20+ scientific publications and patents and holds a PhD from the University of Warwick and a PED from IMD.

Emmanuel de Watteville

Head of Financing Programs

Emmanuel joined Fongit and the Swiss CTI (now InnoSuisse) as a business coach and financial expert in 2003. He has extensive experience in coaching, creating, managing, developing and financing more than 200 high-tech startups across several sectors, including the medical and information technologies. In 2008, Emmanuel founded BlueOcean Ventures, a VC firm investing in early stage Medtech companies. He is also an expert in M&A and deal structuring and launched BlueOcean Ventures’ STO in 2018. Emmanuel holds a MSc in ICT from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) and an MBA from INSEAD.

Ingeborg Albert

Innovation Manager - Geneus

Ingeborg holds an MSc in Industrial Design Engineering from the Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) with a specialization in innovation management. She has launched and managed new products in a spectrum of industries including FMCG, sports and digital. Ingeborg’s international career spans startups and large organisations. At Geneus, she focuses on initiating life science innovations in a world-class environment.

Caroline Coquerel

Startup Coach

As a startup coach at Fongit and Innosuisse, Caroline specializes in product-market fit, business & brand development, organization and finance. She is also a representative of Switzerland Global Enterprise. With a scientific and business background, and a degree in agronomy & spatial information, Caroline has been working in geographical information systems, optimization of organizations and sustainability in over 10 countries, where she has coached over 50 entrepreneurs.​

Emanuele Cordioli

Office and Events Manager

Emanuele manages the infrastructure and logistics of Fongit space as well as the coordination and organization of internal events. With a background in administration and event management, she helps to create a productive and creative work environment and ensures that our incubator operates to the highest standards.

Dr. Christine Deuschel

Senior Advisor

Christine has more than 25 years of experience in pharma, biotech  and medtech. She hold senior executive positions in start ups and served as VP of the board of Fundation Eclosion and as board members in diagnostic companies such as Biocartis SA, which raised M€ 100  in IPO. She spent 17 years at Debiopharm International SA becoming Senior VP, Project and Portfolio Management. Christine is currently involved in several start ups. She obtained a PhD in Chemistry of the University of Fribourg, followed by postdoctoral fellowship University of California Berkeley, and MBA of EPFL.

Aline Rochat

Administration Manager

Aline manages the administration of Fongit’s incubator and of our incubated startups. She is responsible for: accounting, invoicing, payroll and administration. Previously, she set up and ran her own business for 25 years. She has also managed the administration and accounting for a startup that IPO-ed.

Dr. Evelyne Schmid

Head of Marketing and Communications

Evelyne is an international technology communications specialist. An engineer by training with a PhD from EPFL, she conducted research in the inter-disciplinary field of Biophysical Chemistry for many years. Driven by the need to express technical advances to the international public, she has held communications roles in Europe and Asia, transforming ideas into published scientific papers, articles, events, workshops, and funding. Evelyne heads Fongit’s Operations & Marcom team.

John Elbing

Startup Coach

John has a technical background as a software developer (EPFL) and went back for a financial MBA at Carnegie Mellon when he turned 40. John has launched several startups and he now coaches entrepreneurs, notably in the Lean Startup methodology and Design Thinking, at Standpoint. He also transposes these methods to innovation management for established companies. Leveraging his 20 years of experience in digital projects, he teaches at HEG, Venturelab and the EU Business School and offers strategic digital coaching for SMEs. John is a coach for Innosuisse and Fongit.

Dr. Bolko Hohaus

Startup Coach

Bolko is a data scientist and economist by education. He has more than twenty years of investment experience in leading positions at companies including Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Allianz Global Investors, focussing on cutting edge technologies. Bolko is founder and CEO of HCP, an innovative Swiss asset manager based in the Geneva region. He is also active as business angel and a board member in the Swiss tech business angel club SICTIC. Bolko is a fintech coach for CTI Startup, based at Fongit.

Carolina Mello

Administration Assistant

Carolina provides the administration services for Fongit and our incubated companies. She also manages Fongit’s front desk. After studying in a business school, she joined Fongit in 2017 where she ensures the smooth and efficient running of our incubator.

Dr. Marco Rüedi

Startup Coach

Entrepreneur, Coach and Trainer in the Swiss Start-up ecosystem with 20+ years international experience in strategic and operational roles across LifeSciences Industry and Healthcare Management.

Trisha Singh

Geneus Offices and Events Manager

Trisha’s principal responsibilities are the organisation and management of Geneus internal and external events, taking care of the CBIP community and ensuring the smooth running of the Geneus environment. She has over ten years experience in marketing and events management, gained mainly in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors in the Suisse Romande area.