MEET us

Danijel Višević is a General Partner at World Fund. He is a recognised climate tech thought leader, policy professional and journalist by vocation.

Before co-founding World Fund, he was Director of Communications at Project A Ventures, co-founder of Zetra Project and Krautreporter.

Danijel was also co-responsible for the audio-visual appearance of Angela Merkel for nearly half a decade.

Daria is a Founding Partner at World Fund, Europe's leading climate tech VC. She has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor.

In addition, Daria sits on the boards of trustees of the Max Planck Institute and is the member of the extended board of the German Startup Association. She is the co-founder of the think tank 1E9 Denkfabrik, and has close ties with global tech thought leaders.

Her expertise guides World Fund's investments. She advises as a board member Customcells, IQM, Space Forge, Vaeridion, ecoworks and Planet A Foods.

Tim Schumacher is a General Partner at World Fund. He is a recognised entrepreneur and climate investor.

Alongside founding World Fund, Tim has previously co-founded the world’s largest domain marketplace Sedo.com in 2001 before founding Eyeo - the makers of Adblock Plus.

He has also invested in companies such as Ecosia, gridX, Zolar, Pachama and CarbonCloud and was awarded ‘Best Male Investor’ at the German Startups Association Awards in 2020.

Craig Douglas is a Partner at World Fund. He has been investing in climate tech companies over the past 12 years at World Fund and SET Ventures, one of Europe’s longest-running climate funds.

Craig has pioneered ESG and Impact in the venture community after creating a leading ESG framework in 2012, as well as co-designing a model which links impact to fund performance and compensation, which is now used by over 50 funds.

Craig is also an advisor to the EU Commission on Energy.

Dr. Nadine Geiser is a Principal at World Fund, with extensive experience in venture capital and biotechnology investments. Previously, she was an investor at Redalpine, where she backed companies such as Umiami, Better Dairy, Mushlabs, and Uncommon Bio. She also held roles at M Ventures and the investment bank Vontobel. In addition, Nadine serves on the advisory board of the BioInnovation Institute, part of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

She holds a PhD in Biotechnology from ETH Zurich and completed her Master's and undergraduate studies in Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

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Dr. Mark Windeknecht is a Principal at World Fund. He is also an advisory board member at aedifion and an observer at cylib and IQM.

Mark previously worked for Vito One, where he was responsible for the operational business. There, he invested across the PropTech, ConTech, and EnergyTech verticals.

Mark began his career in academia as a researcher at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), having completed his doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree in Energy and Process Engineering at TUM.

Larissa Skarke is an Investment Manager at World Fund.

Prior to joining World Fund in 2022, Larissa was part of the Global Impact team at private equity giant KKR, having begun her career as a Consultant at McKinsey.

Larissa trained as a lawyer at Bucerius Law School, and also has a postgraduate Master’s in Finance from London Business School.

Jan Schierle is World Fund’s Chief Financial Officer.

Jan previously worked at ALSTIN Capital, where he was Head of Finance. Before entering Venture Capital, Jan spent a decade as a management consultant at KPMG and Horváth & Partners, where he focused on CFO-related transformation projects and Strategic Portfolio Management.

Jan studied Business Administration at the EBS University of Business and Law and has a Master’s degree from EADA Business School, in International Finance.

Morgan Sheil is the Head of Impact at World Fund.

Prior to joining World Fund, Morgan worked at Energy Impact Partners and KKR on sustainable investing, portfolio value creation, and technical and impact diligence. She began her career as an engineer at ExxonMobil. Further, she works on developing and authoring industry-wide impact methodologies and frameworks with Project Frame, the Venture Climate Alliance, and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

Morgan received her MBA from Harvard Business School, a postgraduate degree in sustainability systems engineering from University of Cambridge, and a degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Veronica Fresneau is the Head of Comms at World Fund. She has over 15 years of experience in integrated brand, marcom, and entrepreneurship.

Since 2020, Veronica has been active in the VC space, focusing on regenerative solutions in agrifood energy, and tech industries, and has been collaborating with startups since 2008 as an agency founder or as part of startups teams.

Veronica started her career in comms and marketing at agencies like Weber Shandwick and McCann Worldgroup. She holds a M.S. in Marketing from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics.

Toby Lovett is General Counsel at World Fund.

Originally from the UK, Tobias studied law at the University of Reading, which included a year abroad at the University of Trier, and completed Master’s degrees in Berlin and London. He is admitted as a German-qualified attorney as well as a solicitor in England & Wales.

Before joining World Fund, he was a partner at a leading venture capital law firm in Berlin, during which he spent time on secondment to M Ventures, and prior to that was at an international law firm in London.

Niklas Oettle is a Finance Analyst at World Fund.

Prior to joining World Fund in 2023, Niklas worked at a venture studio and in private equity and launched his own startup during university.

Niklas holds an MSc in Management from ESCP, focusing on entrepreneurship and machine learning. There, he deepened his curiosity about startups and climate change when he wrote his thesis on the challenges' climate tech ventures face during the scaling phase. In his free time, Niklas enjoys exploring Munich's food scene or running in the English Garden.

Robian Neff is Investment Associate at World Fund. Robin's track record includes leading investments in companies such as cylib and Black Semiconductor, the novel chip manufacturer, as well as supporting various other deep and climate tech deals. Prior to joining World Fund, Robin was part of Porsche Ventures, where they invested in several climate tech companies such as 1Komma5°, Bcomp, and our joint portfolio companies, CustomCells and cylib. His professional journey began at Wieland AG, the world's leading provider of semi-finished copper products, and later moved to automotive supplier Berger.

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Nicole Keating is a Impact Analyst at World Fund.

Prior to joining World Fund in 2023, Nicole was part of the social entrepreneurship incubators in the Netherlands having begun her career at Forward Inc and Impact Hub Amsterdam, where she also worked with founders on impact strategy and measurement.

Nicole holds a degree in International Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management, and she took part in an exchange program with the Stockholm School of Economics. Nicole has been a Regeneration Fellow with RegenIntel since 2024 and, most recently, an MSc candidate at Trinity College Dublin in Environmental Sciences.

Ophelie is a Senior Investment Analyst at World Fund. With degrees in Biology, Political Science, and Finance, she blends scientific and financial expertise. She previously worked in climate tech investing at Engie RDE, private equity, and investment banking in London at Morgan Stanely, handling M&A, IPOs, and large-cap transactions in transportation and infrastructure.

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Cara Reuner is an Analyst at World Fund.
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Before joining World Fund - initially as an intern - she worked at SDG Investments and NEXT Generation Invest.
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Cara holds a Master's in Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, complementing her liberal arts and sciences education at the University College Maastricht.

Laura Forero is an Industrial Engineer and Economist with a Master’s degree in Economics, specializing in Public Policy and Climate Solutions from the University of St. Gallen. She combines entrepreneurial experience as co-founder of climate tech startups with professional roles at DHL Consulting, Henkel, and Greenpeace, bringing expertise in fundraising, consulting, and business controlling across Europe and Latin America.

Sebastian is an Investment Research Analyst at World Fund. Prior to joining World Fund, he worked in various engineering roles in automotive, electrification, and carbon negative building materials at companies such as Rivian and Trek Bicycle. Sebastian holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and Earth Sciences from Harvard University and an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge.

Hannah Hedberg is an Executive Assistant at World Fund. Born in Germany and having lived in the United States and South Africa, she brings an international perspective and strong experience in executive support and operations.

Before joining World Fund, Hannah supported senior leadership at tech startups across operations, events, and communications. She holds a BA in Criminal Justice and Communications from The George Washington University and an MSc in Comparative Criminal Justice from Leiden University.

Chloe is Junior Controller at World Fund. She brings experience in finance, fund controlling and auditing from Munich Private Equity, REHAU New Ventures and KPMG. Her passion for climate-tech startups began with early-stage ventures and deepened during her Master’s in International Business and Finance, where she researched a climate-tech startup’s fundraising and scaling journey.

Daniel Valenzuela is a Venture Partner at World Fund.

Prior to joining World Fund as a founding employee, Daniel worked at Actyx as Head of Business Development and KPMG in the Deal Advisory team. Further, he worked on impact assessments with organizations such as the German Aid Agency and Effective Altruism.

By background, Daniel is a published mathematician. He received his postgraduate degree with excellence from the University of Bonn and was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.

Paweł Michalski is a Venture Partner at World Fund and the Co-Founder and CEO of VC Leaders, a platform for venture capital professionals. Prior to this, he co-managed Poland's largest business angel club and held various managerial roles in tech startups. With a strong background in finance from his tenure at PKO Bank Polski, Paweł earned a summa cum laude law degree from the University of Warsaw and also pursued Finance and Accounting at the Warsaw School of Economics.

Christian Kroll is a Venture Partner at World Fund.

Christian is best known as the founder and CEO of Ecosia, the search engine that uses its profits to plant trees. Ecosia is Europe’s largest independently owned search engine, with over 20 million users globally, having planted over 175 million trees globally - across biodiversity hotspots and areas affected by deforestation. Ecosia’s projects span 4 continents, in countries such as the USA, Australia, Spain, Uganda, Tanzania, Brazil and Burkina Faso.

Marianne Abib-Pech is a highly accomplished entrepreneur and founder of an M&A boutique, leveraging her extensive expertise in deep tech investments with nine direct and three fund investments. She previously served as the Global CFO of Shell Aviation, where she managed a $20 billion turnover business before the age of 35. With a track record of successfully closing growth-oriented cross-border deals in Emerging Markets, Marianne is also a recognized author of the FT Guide to Leadership, showcasing her thought leadership in the business world.

Andreas Slettvoll is a Venture Partner at World Fund and the Founder and CEO of the climate technology company CHOOOSE. Before founding CHOOOSE, he was a partner at one of Norway's largest law firms, and served as General Counsel at a major energy company. Slettvoll holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Oslo and a degree in New Venture Creation from the National University of Singapore