People

Mark is Seraphim Capital’s Managing Director and has 18 years of venture capital and technology investing experience. He is also on the board of Cavendish Capital. Prior to Seraphim he was at YFM Equity Partners serving on their main board for a number of years and working on the British Smaller Company VCT 1 and 2. He initially trained as an equity analyst and fund manager at Williams de Broe and Brewin Dolphin before moving into venture. He has a Degree in Accounting & Finance, MA in Economics & Finance from the University of Leeds and a range of professional investment qualifications.

James joined Seraphim shortly after its launch in 2006. He has participated in all the investments Seraphim has made to date. Previously he worked at Burlington Consultants, a boutique strategy consultancy that was acquired by Deloitte & Touche. At Burlington / Deloitte, James worked on c.20 private equity transactions, conducting commercial due diligence across a wide range of sectors. He holds a first class degree in History from University College London where he specialised in the history of science and medicine.

Rob Desborough is a Partner at Seraphim Space Fund and CEO of Seraphim Space Camp, now one of the world’s leading accelerator programmes for SpaceTech start-ups, which he launched in 2018. Rob heads up the Seed 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 IPO floats. 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. In his spare time! he looks after 3 dogs, 2 horses and a very young family.

Ms. Johnson has a long and distinguished career as founder/co-founder of such space ventures as SES ASTRA, SES Global, Loral-Teleport Europe, Europe Online, as well as having played critical roles in bringing about space sector leaders including Iridium and ILS. An experienced venture capitalist and investor, Ms. Johnson 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.  Ms. Johnson serves and has served on the boards of a number of emerging space leaders including NorthStar Earth and Space and Kacific.  She is also the founding president of the VATM, the Association of Private Telecom Operators, co-founder of the Global Telecom Women’s Network (GTWN) and co-founder of the Middle East and North Africa Business Angel Network (MBAN) and the African Business Angel Network (ABAN).

Matt O’Connell is a recognised thought leader in the geospatial intelligence industry. Currently a Director of Space Flight Industries the next-generation space company enabling access to space through secondary payloads and redefining global intelligence. From October 2015 to July 2016, he was CEO of OneWeb, a telecom start-up seeking to build a constellation of satellites to provide affordable high-speed Internet access for the world’s unconnected. Prior to joining OneWeb, he was President and CEO of GeoEye. In January, 2013, he concluded the sale of GeoEye to DigitalGlobe for $1.3bn. From 2003 he grew GeoEye from 60 employees producing $9 million of revenue per year to 760 employees producing $360 million (2012). Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, GeoEye was a leading global provider of satellite and aerial imagery and geospatial information products and solutions. GeoEye was publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange and listed on the Russell 3000 index.

Kit is Seraphim Capital’s Chairman and a Managing Partner with over 25 years of early stage investment experience. He is also Founder and Managing Director of the The Summit Group which he grew into a diversified financial group encompassing vendor finance, property investment and services, structured finance, medtech, insurance and fund management – in addition to backing many other early stage businesses. Previously he was with JP Morgan in London and New York. He has an MA in Law and Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.

Paul is a Managing Partner of Seraphim Capital and has 25 years of UK venture capital and private equity experience. He is also Managing Director of Pi Capital and on the boards of three Ventus VCT funds. Prior to joining Pi Capital, Paul spent 19 years at ECI, the London based mid-market buy-out house, where he was Managing Director. During his time at ECI, the firm invested in more than 100 companies, in investments spanning the gamut of start-up, early stage, development capital, buy-ins and buy-outs in UK private companies. Previously he was with Price Waterhouse, where he spent six years, latterly in corporate finance. He is a chartered accountant and holds a BSc in Physics from the University of Surrey.

Anthony has 25 years of early stage angel investment and venturing experience. He is the former Managing Director and founder of Newable Private Investing (previously trading as London Business Angels) which is one of the UK’s longest established and most active angel groups.

He is the former Chairman of the UK Business Angels Association, and President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network.

Josephine brings more than a decade of experience in investment/equity research following the aerospace industry. Her research coverage has included a wide range of small-to-mid cap Defence and Security Technology companies, such as space (DigitalGlobe and GeoEye), drones (AeroVironment) robots (iRobot), and threat detection. She worked most recently at the Benchmark Company, where she established a Washington D.C. office prior to relocating to Paris, France. She began her equity research career covering Global Communications at JP Morgan. Josephine received her MBA from Georgetown University and bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside.

Jeff brings more than a decade of operational and venture capital experience focused around deep technology. Prior to Seraphim Jeff managed strategy at Viasat, a provider of satellite broadband and secure networking systems for defence and commercial markets. Jeff worked across a variety of early stage start-ups including as co-founder and CEO of DeepSee, a next generation augmented and virtual reality optics company. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Jeff led climate tech venture capital investments at DTE Energy Ventures. Jeff holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of work he enjoys digital design, playing rugby, and gardening.

Lewis holds a First-class Aeronautics and Astronautics MEng degree from the University of Southampton, specialising in Spacecraft Engineering. He has 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.

Christiana is Seraphim Capital’s Executive Assistant, and joined the team at the start of 2017. She acquired over 15 years’ experience as a PA and Bookkeeper in the fashion industry before leaving in 2016 to work as an Executive Assistant at Deloitte. During her time at Deloitte, she supported Partners and Directors in the Human Capital and Financial Services departments within the Consulting division. In her spare time she is a keep fit enthusiast, enjoying regular spin and step aerobics classes.

Claudia has been with Seraphim since Mission 1 of the Seraphim Space Camp accelerator and has played a key role in growing the program to where it is today.

During the program, Claudia is instrumental in supporting the startups on their journey; driving their success all while overseeing the accelerator program and by bringing together Seraphim’s close network of leading SpaceTech corporates, investors and mentors. In 2020 Claudia took Seraphim Space Camp virtual, successfully delivering hundreds of hours of content online and expanding the program’s reach internationally.

Outside of the program, Claudia holds a strategic role in further building the Seraphim Space Camp network and discovering new opportunities to expand the program. Her latest achievement is leading in the development and delivery of the new AWS Space Accelerator program.

Prior to joining Seraphim, Claudia was at an early-stage HealthTech startup where, using her project management expertise, led on implementation projects, marketing and sales strategy. Having been on the other side of the table as part of a startup team, Claudia has helped to create programs that brings significant value to the SpaceTech startups that join our ecosystem.

Outside of work Claudia can be found out on the water racing sailing boats, kayaking or paddleboarding. During lockdown she has found a new passion for running and is enjoying working from home, singing loudly with no colleagues to disturb other than Kato the cat.

Janan is our Deputy Programme Manager at Seraphim Space Camp and supports all aspects of the programme. Janan joined for the launch of the Mission 4 programme in 2019 and has since continued working with key stakeholders to develop the accelerator from the pre-programme stages to managing the programme’s delivery. Janan works closely with the startups, ensuring they have the support they need throughout their Seraphim Space Camp journey to succeed, all while facilitating the smooth running of the accelerator and playing a crucial role in managing our showcasing events.

Janan’s background is predominantly within the media industry, where she worked within intense, fast-paced environments. Her career began in a production management role at the BBC and thereafter across multiple productions before joining an independent film service provider. Here she became responsible for varying film projects across London boroughs, including the implementation of strategic and operational activity. Her experience with programmatic formats and complex production management has leant itself incredibly well to the accelerator programme – as well as managing the filming, editing and production of our now virtual events.

It is no surprise that Janan is an avid film fan outside of work and enjoys the creative arts and visiting local exhibitions.

Simran is a new member of the Seraphim Space Camp team and brings three years of experience in delivering events and a degree in English Literature and Creative writing.

Before joining Seraphim Space Camp, Simran was at Anthony Nolan, a blood cancer awareness charity. She ran the engagement events, working with and liaising with the charity’s supporters and the clinicians working within the sector. At Ambition Institute, she helped run the future leaders programme, which supported assistant headteachers reaching headship, a fulfilling experience assisting professionals in accelerating their careers.

Simran is excited to learn more about the SpaceTech sector and use these skills to support the accelerator programme’s delivery whilst working with exciting new SpaceTech startups.

During lockdown, Simran started a new blogging project that has become a passion for her; here she reviews all manner of things focusing on skincare. When she’s not writing a blog post or reading some poetry, you will find her listening to music whilst cuddling her two cats, Pixie and Snowy, who have made lockdown life a lot more enjoyable!

Zainab is a Junior Programme Associate and helps facilitate the content and efficient delivery of the accelerator programme. This involves providing support for start-ups throughout their journey and cooperating with external stakeholders such as our corporate partners and investors.

Zainab holds a degree in BEng (Hons) Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Glasgow. After taking part in many aerospace projects throughout university, she has a dedicated interest in innovative Space technologies. With this passion and her technical expertise, she is starting to build up her knowledge around VC investment into SpaceTech to support our alumni as they continue to raise investment and help with the Seraphim selection process.

Before joining Seraphim Space Camp, Zainab was an analyst at Goldman Sachs, where she was able to add investment and business knowledge to her existing skillset as an aeronautical engineer. This combination of experiences provides a unique perspective to support Space start-ups in their journey to investment readiness.

Outside of her aerospace interests, Zainab enjoys following the latest in Formula One racing and is a keen traveller.

Robin is part of Operations at Seraphim Space Camp and a current finalist DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford working on ceramic-matrix composites for aero-propulsion with Rolls-Royce. Robin facilitates the day-to-day running of the accelerator activities and assists the programme team in managing start-ups / investor / mentor relationships.

Robin graduated with a First-Class Masters of Engineering in Aerospace Materials at Imperial College London where he worked with the CASC and Reaction Engines on the Skylon spacecraft, and has also been a visiting researcher at the MIT. Robin sits on the Oxford Space Observatory (OXSO) Board investigating smart space and is also the co-president of the Oxford University Aeronautical Society having previously hosted leading space figures including the Director-General of ESA and the CEO of the UK Space Agency in panels. Robin’s interests also lie in tech transfer and IP portfolios.

In his (sparse) spare time, Robin is also a professional pole dancer and Olympic pole sports judge, as well as an advocate for LGBTQIA+ communities in STEM (and vice versa).