Our Wisdom Circle

Guillaume Sarkozy is a recognized entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience as a company director and strategic advisor to start-ups and investment funds. He is currently Vice President of Neobrain, a specialist in data analysis for human resources and was for 5 years a director of Alan, a start-up in the field of digital health insurance. He was previously Chairman and CEO of Tissage de Picardie-Rinet, Chairman and CEO of Résalliance Conseil, CEO of Malakoff-Médéric, and a director of Scor, Banque Postale Asset Management and Korian. Guillaume Sarkozy was also Vice-President of Medef in charge of social protection.

Mr Katz is a director of TokTokDoc, a telemedicine company. After starting his professional career in 1987 at the game publisher Microprose, he moved to Asystel in 1988 to work in IT sales. In 1991, he joined Microsoft France, first as a business engineer, then as Regional Director for the Eastern region. In 2003, he co-founded the video surveillance company Technostorage. At the same time, he joined the peripheral manufacturer LaCie (since sold to Western Digital) as an administrator. In 2017, he created a company that coaches managers and invests in startups. He is a graduate of ESIAE.

Mr Dubarry is the founder and CEO of the eponymous watch brand. An entrepreneur at heart, he has successfully founded and run many leading international companies and brands, including the watch brand TechnoMarine, which was sold in 2007. He holds a Master’s degree in law from the University of Aix-Marseille and an MBA from HEC Paris, NYU Stern and the London School of Economics.

Mr Berger is a Director at Mazars Switzerland, where he started the Mergers & Acquisitions activities for French-speaking Switzerland. With over 35 years of experience in finance, he has founded several companies and sits on various boards, including Ginox, Bugnard and Oasys Consultants. From 2001 to 2011, he was CEO of DEFI Gestion, a private equity fund management company. Prior to that, he was CFO of 4M Technologies, a company active in industrial systems for CD and DVD manufacturing. Prior to that, he was CFO and Group Treasurer of Nextrom, a Nokia company, from 1989 to 1998. He is a certified public accountant.

Mr Lauritzson is an entrepreneur and investor in food and health technology companies. Currently based in Stockholm, Sweden, he has an extensive network in the Nordic markets, which is beneficial for companies seeking financing and accelerating their operations in Scandinavia. He holds a Master of Science in Business and Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics

Philippe has over 40 years of experience in the watch and luxury industry. He spent more than 15 years at Cartier and 22 years at Piaget, where he was CEO until 2018. Philippe is now an independent consultant and company director. He is also a member of the Strategic Committee of Pop Europe and Trilobe. He is also Chairman of the EDHEC endowment fund, Vice-Chairman of ORT Switzerland and Trustee of WorldORT. He graduated from EDHEC Grande Ecole in Lille and holds an MBA from Kellog Business School.

Thorsten is an independent investment banker who advises entrepreneurs and their companies on a wide range of equity and debt market issues, as well as on mergers and acquisitions. With 32 years of experience in structuring cross-border transactions, he benefits from an extensive professional network among private equity firms, banks, fintechs, family offices and industrial companies worldwide. After starting his career in investment banking in 1990 with JP Morgan in New York, Frankfurt and London, he joined the Credit Suisse Group in 1996, first in London and then in Zurich. In addition to a degree in economics from the University of Hamburg, he holds an MBA from the University of St. Gallen and a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Virginie is Retail Manager for France of Swiss hearing aid company Sonova. After starting her career in 1997 at Adidas France, holding various marketing positions in the French subsidiary and at the international headquarters, she then worked in two major food groups (Entremont and Kronenbourg). She then joined Luxottica (Essilor-Luxottica) in 2011, as Marketing Director EMEA. She went on to manage European Sales and then as GM of the French subsidiary. From 2018 to 2021, she further developed her experience in omni-channel in the luxury world by joining TOD’S Group as General Manager for Europe. She then moved to Aqualung as General Manager EMEA and Export for the world leader in scuba diving equipment. She is a graduate of the ESCP Business School in Paris.

Jean-François started his career in the ORIS group, the biomedical subsidiary of the CEA (Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique), for which he ended up managing the Industrial Property and Licensing Department. Subsequently, he co-founded Protéus, a biotech company, and was its Managing Director for over 13 years. Jean-François founded StartingBloch, which offers personalised support in the development, management and optimisation of an intellectual property strategy, and is still its President. He is a Doctor of Pharmacy and a graduate of the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI).

Ran is Chief Technical Officer of the B2B investment platform Alpima, which he joined in 2015. Before joining Alpima, Ran served as team commander in an elite technological unit in Israel’s Intelligence Corps, where he developed his expertise in network security applications and data-management products. Previously, he was involved in the development of state-of-the-art software architecture solutions for several start-ups and healthcare institutes in Israel. He holds an M.Sc. in Finance from HEC Paris and a B.Sc. in Mathematics & Economics from Tel-Aviv University.

Eric is a Medical Doctor and entrepreneur, and acts as CEO of Archimed GM. From 2008 to 2011, he was assistant to the head of the department of general internal medicine at the University Hospitals of Geneva. Until 2019, he was Medical and Care Director of Hirslanden Clinique La Colline. He is also Chief Medical Officer of Hintsa Performance and co-founder of the biotech startup Vanarix. In addition to a doctorate in medicine from the University of Geneva, where he is a Privat Docent, he holds a Master’s degree in Epidemiology from the University of Washington in Seattle, as well as a CAS in Health Management from the University of St. Gallen.

Chloé is an ACC ICF certified business coach and marketing expert in the fashion and luxury industry. After spending more than 10 years at Nestlé as a Product Manager and Business Information Specialist, she specialised in training and entrepreneurship. She is a professor of marketing, brand management and business development at the Accademia del Lusso (Milan University of Fashion and Design). She holds a Master’s degree in International Business from EBS Paris – European Business School.

Laurent is Operating Partner and CFO of the business intelligence platform Bloom, and Managing Director of Rewired Ventures, an investment fund focused on eSports and AI/Robotics technologies. He has over 20 years of venture capital experience, including an operational role in companies he has funded, and as a manager of early stage venture capital funds. He holds an Executive MBA in Technology Management from EPFL.

Frédéric is General Director of the HETIC school of web design. After starting his career at the French Football Federation, in charge of digital strategy, he founded Sport24.com in 1998, which he later sold to Le Figaro. In 2005, he became the Director of New Media. In 2012, he became Vice President of the EMEA region at PressReader. In 2018, he joined Challenges to lead the diversification and development of the press group. He holds an engineering degree from EFREI Paris.

Since 2009, Philippe has been the owner of the Chalets des Mosses group, which owns 3 mountain hotels. After starting his career in 2000 as Village Manager at Club Med, he became Regional Operations Director in 2004. In 2007, he joined the hotel chain Magic Life (TUI group) as Operational Director. He is a graduate of the Glion Hotel School.

Oren has been the European OTC sales manager for the diagnostics company Biosynex since 2011. Specialised in M&A from a strategic and operational point of view, he has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare sector. He has held various management, sales and marketing positions in areas such as medical devices, medical diagnostics, surgery and pharmaceuticals. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Health Marketing from the University Pierre et Marie Curie and a Master’s degree in Finance from HEC Paris.

Mr Anidjar has been running JHA Consulting since 2012. He has chosen to put his professional experience at the service of some companies and their founders/managers as an Independent Director or Senior Advisor. During his 35+ year career, he has held senior management positions at SAP, Oracle, Air France, Unisys and KPN. During his career, he has managed strong growth, carried out numerous restructurings, led business model changes and carried out numerous financial operations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. He holds an MBA from the University of Nice.

Since 2014, Marc-Antoine is President of Salomé Participations, active in Private Equity and real estate investments. In addition, he manages capital on behalf of family holdings and charities. After starting his career in 2002 as a Corporate Client Manager at Banque d’Orsay, he founded and managed Sinfoni Finance in 2006, before selling the company in 2014. He holds a law degree from the Robert Schumann University in Strasbourg and a diploma from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris, with a specialisation in finance.

Sandira is since 2016 Managing Partner at Nistana Ventures, a California-based company active in identifying and supporting early stage startups. Prior to that, she was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Angels Forum, one of the oldest business angel syndicates in Silicon Valley. During her career , she has held numerous management positions at companies such as Voxon Photonics and FireChat. She is also an active mentor in incubators such as Katapult, Factory Berlin or Techstars. An entrepreneur at heart, Sandira started her first business when she was still a teenager.

Trained as a business lawyer, Marie-Hélène Rheims has always been passionate about the world of art and creation. She has been involved in the creation and development of luxury brands for nearly 20 years. After 10 years in the Luxury Products Division of L’Oréal, Marie-Hélène took charge of the creation of the Stella McCartney Parfums brand for the Gucci Group. A few years later, she worked on the repositioning and relaunch in the United States, Asia and Europe of the first cosmetics brand launched in the United States in 1927, Erno Laszlo. In London, she participated in the development of the joint venture between LVMH and De Beers for the creation of a new jewellery brand, “De Beers Jewellery”. More recently, in Geneva, within Ralph Lauren, as Marketing Director Europe, she worked on the repositioning and global relaunch of the Polo Jeans brand, which has since become Denim & Supply. In 2011, Marie-Hélène founded her own brand strategy consulting company, RHEIMS Consulting SA. She also teaches the different strategies and steps necessary to create and promote brands and luxury products. She also works as an expert in the field for Swiss Radio Television.

Timothée is Senior Vice President in charge of international development for the Suez Group since 2018. He has 25 years of experience in the environmental, aerospace (Airbus), defence (Airbus Helicopters) and telecommunications (Safran) sectors. He has contributed to the expansion of these international groups in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Africa, as well as in Central Asian countries. Timothée holds a Master’s degree in International Business from EBS Paris – European Business School and completed his business management training at INSEAD and Harvard Business School.

Benoit is the co-founder and CEO of BitcoinPoint.com, a regulated cryptoasset exchange in London. Prior to that, he was Product Manager for a securities lending application at Fidelity Information Service. Previously, he co-founded Connexio, which developed aggregation solutions and bank loyalty programmes. He started his financial career in 2005 in trading at Société Générale, Crédit Agricole CIB, LBBW and Credit Suisse. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (MASS 1) applied to Banking, Finance and Insurance from the University of Paris Dauphine, as well as a Master’s degree in Quantitative Finance from the Bocconi University in Milan.

Youri is Chief International Officer at Jellysmack. He has over 15 years of management experience in the media, content, technology and digital sectors, general business management, international business development and strategic partnership growth. His experience includes almost 10 years at Google, as General Manager of YouTube for Central and Eastern Europe, France, Russia and Israel, as well as being responsible for partnerships and strategy with traditional media in the EMEA region. Youri holds a Master’s degree in International Relations, as well as an MBA from the University of Geneva and an Executive Certificate from the Harvard Business School in Entertainment, Media and Sports.

Pascal is a senior partner at Espace Légal, a law firm specialising in digitalisation. Passionate about law, he has founded and successfully participated in several law firms in Geneva and in the canton of Vaud, including Solutions Avocats, Arc Avocats and AAA Avocats. He holds a Master’s degree in law from the University of Geneva and is a member of the Bar.

Audrey is a seasoned business transformation professional and executive performance coach. With over 20 years of international experience in the financial sector, she has worked in numerous financial institutions in Geneva and London. From 2015 to 2019, she was responsible for Change Management at Banque Edmond de Rothschild. She has numerous certifications in investment consulting, change management and coaching.

Emmanuel is the founder and director of M&A consultant Arkens. He has 25 years of professional experience in the growth and transformation of large, medium and small companies in the electronic payment, sportswear and video games sectors (Atari), as head of mergers and acquisitions (Ingenico), and in operational roles as CFO (Eider), Director of Sales and Vice President of Strategic Alliances, always in an international context. He is a graduate of EM-Lyon.