MEET us

Danijel Višević is Managing 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 for Project A, one of Europe's most successful VC funds.

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

Daria Saharova is a Founding and Managing Partner at World Fund. She has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor. Daria was awarded ‘Best Female Investor’ at the German Startups Association Awards in 2020.

Daria is also an expert advisor to the European Commission and maintains a close relationship with international tech industry thought leaders as co-founder of the think tank 1E9 Denkfabrik.

She serves the boards of Customcells, IQM, Juicy Marbles, Space Forge and Planet A Foods.

Tim Schumacher is a Managing 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 Founding 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. She has previously worked for M Ventures, Bank Vontobel, and most recently as Principal at Redalpine, a Swiss sector-agnostic venture capital fund where she invested in companies like Umiami, Better Dairy, Mushlabs and Luya. Nadine is a member of the advisory board of the Bioinnovation Institute - Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Nadine has a PhD in Biotechnology from ETH Zurich, having studied her Master's and undergraduate degrees in Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

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.

Stephan Vogel is an Senior Investment Associate at World Fund.

Prior to joining World Fund, Stephan worked as Head of Finance at proptech firm REX, having also previously worked in Investment Banking (M&A) at Goldman Sachs.

Stephan studied Business Management & Economics at UCLA and at the University of Cambridge.

Alexis Caporale is an Investment Advisor at World Fund.

Alexis is a renowned entrepreneur, having founded and exited Bixti, an online marketplace for handcrafters in his early twenties -and 3D printing startup Trimaker, which he remains on the board of. Alexis also co-founded the climate tech investor community, Rising Tide Collective.

Alexis has a background in Chemical Engineering and has been involved in applying technology for climate change mitigation for more than a decade.

Yenilee Ičagić is World Fund’s General Legal Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO).

Yenilee previously worked as a lawyer for Hengeler Mueller in its Frankfurt, Berlin and London office.

Yenilee has studied at Bucerius Law School, Columbia University and Yale Law 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.

Daniel Valenzuela is Head of Impact & Investor Relations 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.

Elsa Sahiti is a Communications Manager at World Fund.

Prior to joining World Fund, Elsa worked at global business advisory firm Finsbury Glover Hering (now FGS Global), working with an array of high-growth startups, as well as a host of DAX 40 firms. She also worked for various tech startups during her studies.

Elsa has a double degree in International Business & Politics from Copenhagen Business School and the CEMS Master in International Management from Bocconi University.

Pia Laguna is a Junior Analyst at World Fund.

Before joining World Fund - initially as an intern - in September 2021, Pia worked in finance & accounting at Kraftling GMbH.

Pia has a degree in Business & Economics from the University of Cologne.

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.