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 Governance, HR, Administration, Finance, Project and General Management. He has served as a chairman and board member of numerous companies and guided 100+ startups to success.

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 innovator who has made the journey from scientist to startup and now supports fellow entrepreneurs, catalyzing their success. He has set up and managed deeptech startups in cleantech, materials, energy and advanced engineering. Passionate about transforming technology into product, James brings 20+ years experience of leading value creation in startups and multinational companies. James is an Innosuisse Expert and holds a PhD from Warwick University and a PED from IMD. 

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.

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 Life Sciences companies. Emmanuel holds a MSc in ICT from the ETHZ and an MBA from INSEAD.

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. 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 Foundation 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.

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 Life Sciences Industry and Healthcare Management. Marco is an accredited coach by Innosuisse and Platinn

John Elbing

Startup Coach

John has experience in software (MS from EPFL), finance (MBA from Carnegie Mellon) and marketing (digital agencies). He launched two startups and now coaches entrepreneurs for several institutions in the Swiss ecosystem, including Innosuisse. He specialises in Value Proposition & Business Model Design and Marketing Storytelling. John delivers strategic marketing workshops for established companies at Standpoint. He helps people reinvent themselves using Design Thinking with his "Build Your Next Step" course. John also teaches at a number of universities and institutions. 

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.

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 Innosuisse, based at Fongit.

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.​