Team

François's early career included working at the French Ministry of Finance and in corporate functions at Casino, a French food retailer. 

He joined the VC world in 1999 and invested in CDiscount, Allociné, Direct Energie and Xilam Animation, among others. He launched Newfund in 2008 with Patrick Malka.

Favorite quote:
“Honesty is a very expensive gift, don't expect it from cheap people.” Warren Buffett

Inspiring celebrities or characters:
André Citroën, Leo Perutz, Dagny Taggart, Nelson Mandela, Christopher Nolan, Charles de Gaulle, Bertolt Brecht, John Kennedy Toole, Katsushika Hokusai.

Vision:
The Age of Entrepreneurship started 20 years ago, and now is only the beginning. We are entering a world where each individual can be a business hero - but not everybody will. Understanding this new era, and making it work, are among the greatest challenges of this generation.

François is based in Paris and visits the USA regularly.

Patrick started his career as an auditor at Ernst & Young for five years.

He then worked for 15 years as CFO/COO in the entertainment sector, successively at Gaumont, Cryo, and then Xilam Animation.

Favorite quote:

"If you want a nice house, dream about a castle." Stomy Bugsy

Inspiring celebrities or characters:

Prince, Primo Levi,  Barack Obama, Karl Marx.

Vision:

Vision is important. Execution is essential. It’s so hard to cross the Channel with a small boat. Even harder to cross the Atlantic Ocean with a bigger one. Skills of the captain and his team are the main key factor of success.

Patrick is based in Paris.

Ivan started his career as an investment banker for Rothschild & Cie and Close Brothers.

In 2010 he co-founded Zegreenweb, an Internet startup dedicated to environment and sustainable development.

Favorite quote:

"I'm a man of simple tastes. I'm always satisfied with the best." Oscar Wilde

Inspiring celebrities or characters:

Ernest Hemingway, Charles de Gaulle, Warren Buffett, Salvador Dali.

Ivan is based in Paris and visits China once a year.

Henri started his career in investment banking at Natixis. He then moved to the US to pursue a MBA at Stanford, where he founded ModeWalk, acquired in 2014 by Moda Operandi.

Prior to joining NewFund, Henri was an angel investor and VP Strategy at StartX, Stanford’s accelerator, which he co-founded when studying at Stanford.

Favorite quote:
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin

Inspiring celebrities or characters:
Nelson Mandela, Elon Musk, Thom Yorke, Antoine de Saint Exupery, FDR, Naval Ravikant.

Vision for the Future:
"In our hands, with an individual capacity to bring a net positive to it."

Henri lives in Palo Alto and spends half of his time outside of Silicon Valley.

Engineer by training, Anne-Sophie started her career as innovation analyst within Solvay before joining Iabeca, an agro-ecology Research Institute.

Then she joined Bpifrance where she financed through loans and guarantees numerous start-ups in the Paris region.

Anne-Sophie is based in Paris.

Favorite quote :
"In life, nothing is to be feared, everything is to be understood." Marie Curie

Inspiring celebrities or characters:
Simone Veil, Marie Curie, Winston Churchill, Coco Chanel, Rosalind Franklin , Frida Kahlo.

Vision :
The workers will become complementary to the AI. The professions will change and not disappear. We are entering a knowledge and AI economy, with a need for prospective national education. People's lives will be of better quality.

Anne-Sophie is based in Paris.

Augustin started his career in finance in NYC: first as an M&A analyst at Lazard Frères, then as a Private Equity associate at Colony Capital.

Most recently, he started Rescata, a mobile refurbushing company in Mexico, opening 30+ stores in 12 months.

Augustin got his BA at New York University and MBA at London Business School (exchange: Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth). 

Favorite quotes:

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." A. Einstein

Inspiring celebrities or characters:

Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Ray Kurzweill.

Vision:

A world where consumers are placed ahead of shareholders will always benefit shareholders in the long run.

Augustin is based in Paris.

Sarah is Newfund's CFO. She has 15 years of experience as an auditor of management companies and compliance officer at Corevise, a firm which was eventually acquired by RSM. She is specialised in the Asset Management and Private Equity sectors.

She holds a Master's degree in finance from IAE Poitiers.

Favorite quote:

"Even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road." Stephen Hawking, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays (1993)

Inspiring celebrities or characters:

Toni Morrison, Nelson Mandela, Victor Hugo, Paul Auster, Bruce Lee, Les sœurs Williams, Stephen Hawking.

Sarah is based in Paris.