• Venture partner

Jeanne Bolger

Jeanne Bolger

  • Venture partner

Biography

Jeanne has over 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in management roles across R&D, Commercial and Business Development (BD) and Venture Investments.  She spent 11 years in Licensing and Acquisition (L&A), including Global Head of Scientific Licensing for Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical business, and before that as Director in the Business Development group at GlaxoSmithKline.

Jeanne spent nearly 10 years (2012-2022) as Vice President Venture Investment in J&J’s corporate venture fund, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC. During that period, she was based in London, leading investments across Europe in start-up and early stage life science companies in areas of strategic interest to J&J’s business sectors in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, Medical Devices and Consumer.  She represented JJDC on the Board of Directors of over a dozen companies, including Aelix Therapeutics, Asceneuron SA, Aviado Bio, Biocartis, Calypso Biotech, Inivata, Merus, Pulmocide, S-Biomedic, Syndesi, T-Rex.  Dr Bolger also represented JJDC’s LP investments in multiple Venture Capital Funds in UK and Europe as well as representing J&J’s interests in other funding vehicles including incubators and accelerators.

Education

Jeanne received her medical degree from University College Dublin.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Ireland (RAMI).  Dr Bolger has served as the sole pharma industry representative on two Irish government taskforces seeking to enhance the commercialization of IP from Irish academic centres.  She is a visiting lecturer on the MSc Pharmaceutical Medicine at Trinity College Dublin.  Jeanne sits on the Industry Advisory Board of CURAM, the SFI-funded Centre of Excellence charged with designing the next generation of smart medical devices, and on the Advisory Group of the National Health Innovation Hub which focuses on digital innovation in healthcare. She is on the Advisory Board of the Sir Francis Crick Translational Fund (UK), Chair of Board of Directors at Exevir SA (Private, Belgium) and Non-executive Director at Life Healthcare Group Holdings (JSE:LHC).

Why I enjoy working with Seroba?

Having worked over the years with different Seroba team members, I was delighted to join them as Venture Partner upon my retirement from Corporate venture investing. The team is remarkably collegiate and professional in equal measure. There is a strong alignment of mission to bring breakthrough solutions to translation and to market, addressing the unmet needs of patients in the global healthcare environment.

Board Seats (Outside Seroba’s Portfolio)

Jeanne sits on the Translation Advisory Board of the Sir Francis Crick Institute (UK), is Chair of the Board of Directors at Exevir SA (Private, Belgium), Astrivax NV (Private, Belgium), and Sapreme BV (Private, Netherlands) and Non-executive Director at Life Healthcare Group Holdings (JSE:LHC).

  • Accountant

Anita Dipalo

Anita Dipalo

  • Accountant

Biography

Anita is an Accountant at Seroba. She is a Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) since 2020. Prior to joining the Seroba team in January 2022, Anita worked as a Management Accountant for CFO Services. Previously, she worked as an Assistant Accountant for Comans Beverages ltd. and has also worked as an Income Auditor for Kempinski Hotels.

Education

Bachelor of Science Degree from Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, United States.

Why I enjoy working at Seroba?

I am glad to be part of a team of diverse backgrounds and demographics who are focused on giving new innovations in the medtech and biotech fields a chance to succeed. It is a rewarding experience to drive strong financial returns while at the same time providing early stage companies with an opportunity to grow and expand their businesses.

  • CFO
  • Partner

Andrew Duignan

Andrew Duignan

  • CFO
  • Partner

Biography

Andrew Duignan is a Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Seroba. Prior to joining the Seroba team in 2011, Andrew worked as Financial Controller of a large car dealership.  Previously, Andrew was a tax consultant in RSM Farrell Grant Sparks and he has also held positions with AIB Bank of New York and Citco Fund Services.

Education

Honours degree in Accounting & Finance from Dublin City University. Qualified Chartered Accountant, Tax Consultant & Financial Advisor.

Why I enjoy working at Seroba?

Seroba is a small group of talented individuals who combine their experience, skills and personalities to create a wonderfully cohesive and successful team of which I am fortunate to be a part of. Each day with Seroba brings a fresh opportunity to uncover a breakthrough which could revolutionise the healthcare industry and change people’s lives forever.

  • Operations Manager

Ciara Green

Ciara Green

  • Operations Manager

Biography

Ciara Green is the Operations Manager at Seroba. She joined in 2024, bringing extensive experience from her background in Professional Services and B2B commerce. Prior to Seroba, she worked as Office Manager in Merkle Ireland, and as Marketing Executive.

Education

Honours Degree in Contemporary Culture and Society (DCU). Certificate in Project Management (IPM) and English (Maynooth)

Why I joined Seroba?

I chose to work at Seroba as the core values resonated with me. They stand for what they believe in, delivering on unmet needs in the medical market. I enjoy working at Seroba due to its incredible work culture. The community aspect is unmatched, watching everyone have a genuine interest in each other’s workload.

  • Investment Analyst

Sophie Hughes

Sophie Hughes

  • Investment Analyst

Biography

Sophie Hughes is an Investment Analyst at Seroba. She has a background in pharmaceutical research and development, working for GlaxoSmithKline and Cancer Research UK Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories. Prior to joining Seroba in 2023 she completed her DPhil (PhD) in Oncology from the University of Oxford, investigating the interplay between the immune microenvironment and pancreatic cancer. In tandem to the completion of her DPhil, she developed market entry strategies for biotech ventures through the Creative Destruction Lab at the Saïd Business School. 

Education

DPhil (Oncology) from the University of Oxford and a BSc (Hons) in Cancer Biology and Immunology from the University of Bristol.

Why I enjoy Working at Seroba?

I’m delighted to be part of the Seroba team, uniting life science expertise and entrepreneurship to bring innovative new therapeutics and technologies to the market. Seroba’s ethos of collaboration and innovation is reflected in their impressive portfolio, with the potential to revolutionise healthcare. 

  • Investor relations
  • Partner

Maud Lazare

Maud Lazare

  • Investor relations
  • Partner

Biography

Maud Lazare is a Partner with Seroba with responsibility for Investor Relations. She has a background in private equity and asset management.
Prior to joining Seroba in 2023, Maud was a Partner with French life science VC, Truffle Capital, where she was responsible for Investor Relations. Her previous experience was at Massena Partners, a family-office where she also held a role at its Private Markets spin-off, Essling Capital. In addition, Maud has held business development roles in asset management firms such as La Française and Richelieu Finance.

Education

Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI (a Masters in Fundamental Mathematics), Université Paris Dauphine (a Masters in Modelling, Optimisation, Decision and Organisation).

What made you join Seroba?

What attracted me is to continue to serve the VC community, first and foremost the LPs, at the heart of the exciting and innovative Life Science journey. Then, be part of a very collegial team, putting values into practice. Say what you do and do what you say.

  • Partner

Jennifer McMahon

Jennifer McMahon

  • Partner

Biography

Jennifer McMahon is a Partner at Seroba.  Having placed first in her Master’s degree in 2011, Jennifer then joined Seroba’s Investment Team as an Investment Analyst, progressing to Partner in 2022. She has a background in Pharmacology and investment interests in medical devices and therapeutics.
Aside from direct investing, Jennifer is involved in several diversity agendas. From 2019 -2023 Jennifer sat on the Advisory Board for the European healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA).  She was a founding member of the Irish Chapter of Level20 in 2019 and was appointed International Chair of the 13 European chapters in 2021 and subsequently appointed to the Level20 Board of Directors in 2022.  She guest lectures on venture capitalism at University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.  She is also in high demand as a speaker at Investor/Entrepreneur life science partnering conferences across Europe.

Education

Honours degree in Pharmacology from UCD. Master’s degree programme in Biotechnology and Business. Jennifer completed her Diploma in Company Direction (Institute of Directors, UK) in 2019.

Why I enjoy working at Seroba?

I joined Seroba to apply my scientific and commerical training in a real world setting.  I’ve been honoured to be part of several start-up journeys across our porftolio. I continue to be incredibly motivated by the unmet medical needs that patients are faced with and inspired by the many entrepreneurs that work to solve these on a daily basis.

Board seats

Endotronix, Palliare and Deciphex, Shorla Pharma (Board Observer). Previously on the Board of Biosensia prior to its merger with Kypha Diagnostics.

Portfolio Companies Managed by Jennifer

  • Partner

Bruno Montanari

Bruno Montanari

  • Partner

Biography

Bruno Montanari is a Partner at Seroba. He has a background in venture capital and in investment banking, with a focus on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.
Prior to joining the firm in 2017, Bruno was a Partner at Omnes Capital (Paris) in charge of life sciences investments for the venture capital team.  His previous venture capital experience was at Atlas Venture (Paris/London) and CDP Capital (Paris/Montreal).  He started his career in 1999 in London, in the healthcare teams of the investment banking divisions of Deutsche Bank and later Merrill Lynch.  Bruno brings a wealth of experience and network, particularly in continental Europe, where he is based.

Education

PharmD. from the Université René Descartes, Paris V and a Master’s degree in Strategic Management at HEC.

Why I enjoy working at Seroba?

At Seroba, we have a clear match in terms of culture and personalities. I like the ambition to further grow the Company, where each of us bring a different angle on how to constructively play a role in building further its European footprint.

Board Seats

Coave Therapeutics, STORM Therapeutics and Sibylla Biotech and Artica Therapeutics (Board Observer).

Portfolio Companies Managed by Bruno

  • Partner

Alan O’Connell

Alan O’Connell

  • Partner

Biography

Alan O’Connell is a Partner at Seroba. He has a background in product and business development in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Prior to joining the firm in 2003, Alan worked in a variety of product and business development roles at Elan Corporation (Dublin), American Biogenetic Sciences, Inc. (New York), and he also spent time in the Pharmacovigilance section at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (London). His previous venture capital experience was gained at Estée Lauder Investments (New York) and he still sits on the scientific advisory board of the Lauder funded Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.
Alan carried out post-doctoral neuroscience research at University College, Dublin and has published in several scientific journals.

Education

Ph.D. (neuropharmacology) from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a Master’s degree in pharmacology from the University of London.

Why I enjoy working at Seroba?

I’m fortunate to work at Seroba in an industry that helps to improve healthcare standards, allowing people to live better for longer while driving strong investment performance for our investors. Doing well by doing good.

Board Seats

Shorla Pharma and Artica Therapeutics, Complement Therapeutics (Board Observer). Previously on the Boards of Fusion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: FUSN, acquired by AstraZeneca) , Prexton Therapeutics (acquired by Lundbeck), Veryan Medical (acquired by Otsuka Medical) and Xention (exited via pharma partnerships).

Portfolio Companies Managed by Alan

  • Partner

Daniel O’Mahony

Daniel O’Mahony

  • Partner

Biography

Daniel O’Mahony is a Partner at Seroba and brings a wealth of experience in product development, strategic planning, licensing, corporate venturing, intellectual property management and commercialisation.
Daniel was involved in corporate venture at Elan Corporation from 1996-2003. He was an advisor and consultant to Kernel Capital venture capital fund from 2001 and a partner from 2008, focusing on investments in life sciences. He joined Seroba as partner in 2009.
Daniel has held academic appointments at the Genetics Department, Trinity College, Dublin, the Weis Research Centre, Geisinger Clinic, Pennsylvania, USA, and the Department of Medicine & Experimental Therapeutics at University College Dublin. He established Technology Transfer Office at University of Galway, leading to several lucrative licensing deals (2005-2007). He has published in several scientific journals and is co-inventor on numerous patent families.

Education

Ph.D. from the National University of Ireland, Cork and a business degree in technology management from the Smurfit Business School, University College Dublin.

Why I enjoy working at Seroba?

My experience in technology development and corporate venturing at Elan and the TTO at University of Galway ignited a passion to identify and support development of new drugs and medical devices with potential to disrupt the future management of diseases and healthcare. This aligns with our vision at Seroba.

Board Seats

Perfuze, Quanta Dialysis Technologies and Carballo Group Limited. Previously on the boards of Apica Cardiovascular (acquired by Thoratec), Covagen (acquired by Cilag/Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of the Johnson & Johnson Group), Atlantic Therapeutics (acquired by Caldera Medical), Medlumics, Novate Medical (acquired by BTG), PQ Bypass (acquired by Endologix) and Stokes Bio (acquired by Life Technologies).

Portfolio Companies Managed by Daniel

  • Partner

Catello Somma

Catello Somma

  • Partner

Biography

Catello Somma is a Partner at Seroba. He has a background in venture capital and clinical development, with a focus on the biotechnology and medical device industries.
Prior to joining the firm in 2024, Catello was at TVM Capital (Munich), involved across different strategies for both biotech and medtech.
Before starting a career in venture capital, Catello co-founded a Boston VC-baked biotech start-up (exited), developing therapeutics for oncology and autoimmune diseases.
He started his career in 2009 working for different CROs and biotech companies between Italy and Switzerland. Through his previous roles within clinical and corporate development, he is actively contributing with his expertise to driving and supporting new and existing investments across funds and theses.

Education

University of Naples Federico II (summa cum laude),  MBA at POLIMI Graduate School of Management.

Why I enjoy working at Seroba?

Seroba epitomizes commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. Our collective expertise is dedicated not just to achieving financial success but also to making a profound impact on patient care. through the introduction of groundbreaking drugs and devices.

Board Seats

Vico Therapeutics.

Portfolio companies managed by Catello

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