Supporting visionary early stage startups
This is how we have started: as a partner for entrepreneurs with a vision, a tangible business and who need money to kickstart. Therefore we are investing in mission-aligned, tech-driven, healthy and innovative plant- and cell-based companies.
Supporting visionary early stage startups
This is how we have started: as a partner for entrepreneurs with a vision, a tangible business and who need money to kickstart. Therefore we are investing in mission-aligned, tech-driven, healthy and innovative plant- and cell-based companies.
Roger Lienhard
Founder &
Executive Chairman
Roger Lienhard
Founder &
Executive Chairman
Roger is our Evangelist and the Founder of the Blue Horizon Corporation and the affiliated Blue Horizon International Foundation. His primary objective is to generate synergies between the associated companies to ensure the maximum impact on the major global shift towards a more sustainable food system. He is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and sold several companies within the IT, advertising and online marketing industry.
Björn Witte
Managing Partner
Björn Witte
Managing Partner
Björn is responsible for joint ventures as well as initiatives. He has a track record involving successful restructuring, building, transforming, and ensuring implementation of opportunities in an international environment. He is a C-level and M&A experienced manager and founder of ventures along the food supply chain. Björn has extensive international experience, e.g. building a natural cosmetics and superfood company in German speaking Europe, a fresh fruit supply chain to multi brand retail in India, co-founding the first FCOJ plant in India. His background is business education and eight years in strategy consulting.
Thomas Kindler
Legal Counsel &
Partner
Thomas Kindler
Legal Counsel &
Partner
Thomas is our start-up and transaction specialist. He has over 15 years of hands-on experience in building agriculture, food processing and other start-up ventures. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Bern, Switzerland and a Master's Degree in International Corporate Law from Georgetown University in Washington DC, USA.
Michel Hirschi
CFO & Partner
Michel Hirschi
CFO & Partner
Michel is our CFO with a strong focus on actively developing our initiatives and our organisation. His track record includes extensive international CFO experience particularly in a fast-growing tech company in the alternative energy space. He managed the IPO and developed the company as their CFO for more than a decade. He is very experienced in organisational development, M&A, capital market transactions and restructuring. Michel has massive international business expertise in Asia, Europe and USA. As board member of a European PE-fund he gained vast expertise in multiple industries. He holds a Master’s Degree in Corporate Finance and is Certified Board Member.
Sebastiano Cossia
Castiglioni
Partner
Sebastiano Cossia
Castiglioni
Partner
Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni is an award-winning entrepreneur, investor, activist, and advisor to businesses and governments around the world. An impassioned vegan and animal rights activist, Sebastiano is a global authority on plant-based business and investment; dedicated to disrupting the current food system and to removing animals from the production equation entirely. He has founded, invested in, and advised some of the most well-known and successful organisations in the plant-based space, and is a champion of innovation in food, wine and art. Previously an advisor to Italy’s former Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, Sebastiano currently serves on the advisory boards of Sea Shepherd, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, Animal Equality, Project Coyote, and the board of Animal Outlook. He has just launched the Plant-Based Empowerment Foundation; dedicated to plant-based nutrition and health education projects in Senegal.
Chris Peter
Digital & Chief Of Staff
Chris Peter
Digital & Chief Of Staff
Chris is Chief of staff and our digital media & innovation guru. He has decades of expertise in leading digital business projects and teams and a strong background in project management and product/service development. He is well versed in implementing online strategies (e.g. HNI platform for Art Basel), aggregating traffic and motivating as well as inspiring teams to embrace the digital mindset in order to transform products and services into revenue and assets.
Janna Schubert
Investor Relations
Janna Schubert
Investor Relations
Janna brings over 5 years of experience in Fundraising, Venture Capital, Private Equity and Corporate Finance to her role in Blue Horizon’s Investor Relations Team, after holding positions at EY Transaction Advisory, Lürssen, and most recently Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners. With a long-standing history in animal welfare activism and advocating for plant-based nutrition, Janna joined Blue Horizon to leverage her business skillset and her drive to replace animal-derived products with more sustainable options in global consumer markets. Additional to building a strong network in the global impact investing ecosystem, Janna functions as an advisor to sustainability-driven start-ups, and as a judge at start-up pitch competitions. Janna holds an M.Sc. from HEC Paris, and B.Sc. from European Business School.
Matteo Parenti
Junior Director
Matteo Parenti
Junior Director
Matteo is a Junior Director at Blue Horizon in Zurich. He has a 7 year background in Investment Banking at Rothschild & Co in both Europe and the US. Before joining Blue Horizon, Matteo was a Vice President of M&A in New York where he focused on transactions in the Food & Beverage industry. He is passionate about working with entrepreneurs and impact driven companies to improve the way we eat. Matteo holds an MBA from INSEAD (Fontainebleau and Singapore) and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of St. Gallen (HSG).
Solange Silva
Financial Analyst
Solange Silva
Financial Analyst
Solange is Finance Analyst at our headquarter in Zurich. She has a Bachelor's degree in Economics, specialized in Financial Analysis and in Marketing Management at Lisbon University, and obtained her MBA at IESE Business School. She developed her skills in investments by working six years as executive board member in an Asset Management Company in Lisbon and also working at Blue Horizon Management AG in Zurich.