Rob Genieser joins ETF as a Partner
22/02/2010
Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF) today announced the appointment of Robert Genieser as a Partner in the Firm’s London office.
“We are very excited to announce that Rob has agreed to join our team as a Partner of ETF, adding some serious firepower to what is already a heavyweight team” said Henrik Olsen, one of the firm’s founding partners.
“Rob is a seasoned venture capitalist who I have known and worked with for more than a decade. His track record of backing high growth technology companies is among the best and Rob will be a key contributor in helping to develop our existing portfolio of innovative clean technology companies, as well as in sourcing exciting new investments going forward.”
“I have known the ETF team for many years, and I believe that they have created the leading environmentally-focused venture capital firm in Europe” Mr. Genieser commented. “ETF has backed some of the most exciting Cleantech companies that have been launched in Europe to date. My decision to relocate to London stems from my strong belief that European Cleantech companies will be at the forefront of this next technology wave, and they are well positioned to generate superior returns for investors.”
Mr. Genieser joins ETF from Vertex Venture Capital, one of oldest and most prestigious early stage investment funds headquartered out of Asia. For 8 years he led that firm's European operations, where he drove investments in the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany and France. In that capacity he has served on a number of prominent private company boards, including Inside Contactless, Dibcom, Ipanema, and Inxight (acquired by Business Objects) amongst others. Over the past two years Mr. Genieser has been based in New York, where he has had the additional responsibility of overseeing Vertex’s investments in North America.
Prior to Vertex, Mr. Genieser was a Managing Director of JP Morgan's Technology Group, which acquired his predecessor firm Hambrecht & Quist. While at JP Morgan/H&Q, he led investments in Chromatis (acquired by Lucent), Paragon Software (acquired by Openwave) and Wavtrace (acquired by Harris). Additionally, Mr. Genieser assisted dozens of high tech companies on both mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Genieser worked as a consultant for Bain & Company in San Francisco, focusing on the telecommunications industry. He has also worked for Morgan Stanley in both New York and Hong Kong, as a member of the corporate restructuring group. Mr. Genieser received an AB (cum laude) and an MBA from Harvard University.
About Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF):
Environmental Technologies Fund is a £110m venture and growth capital fund with a highly-focused mission: “To support and finance fantastic growth companies whose products and services deliver a significant environmental and economic benefit.” ETF provides entrepreneurs with a top-quality venture capital group in Europe dedicated solely to Cleantech. The team is backed by leading institutional investors and has experience gathered over decades of working in Venture Capital and with environmental companies.
ETF is supported by the European Communities Growth and Employment Initiative, MAP – the ETF Start up Facility.
For further information see www.etf.eu.com or contact
Henrik Olsen:
Email: henrik@etf.eu.com
Phone: +44 (0)7785 576 665
Rob Genieser
Email: rob@etf.eu.com
Phone: +44 (0) 7769 167 271