New top management at Swisscom Ventures
As of March 1, Dominique Mégret, founder and head of Swisscom Ventures, is moving to Ecorobotix, where he will assume the position of CEO. Dominique Mégret's successor will be in established hands at Ventures: Stefan Kuentz, Alexander Schläpfer and Pär Lange will take over the co-leadership as Managing Partners.
Dominique Mégret founded Swisscom Ventures in 2007. Since then, it has become an important player in the Swiss start-up scene and the venture capital provider in Switzerland. Swisscom Ventures supports companies on their path over several years, from the early stages to the growth phase, with the aim of ensuring that they develop into sustainably successful companies. Abroad, Swisscom Ventures focuses on new technologies that could help Swiss companies and the economy to grow. At home, Swisscom Ventures supports promising start-ups in order to further advance the digitalization of Switzerland and strengthen the country's innovative power. This has enabled companies such as Sophia Genetics, Ecorobotix and Yokoy to emerge and grow.
Isa Müller-Wegner, Head of Group Strategy & Business Development at Swisscom since June 2023, is delighted about the change in leadership at Swisscom Ventures in two respects: "It's great that Dominique Mégret will be the new CEO of Ecorobotix, in which Swisscom Ventures has invested in recent years. Secondly, I am pleased that we can ensure continuity in the team with Alexander, Pär and Stefan. After all, strong partnerships, trust and good networking in the start-up ecosystem are key success factors at Ventures. All three have been working side by side for years, have access to a large network and have supported companies such as ANYbotics, Kandou and Scandit. They know the challenges, opportunities, trends and companies that are emerging at home and abroad as a result of digitalization and new technology."
Swisscom Ventures focuses on continuity
Swisscom Ventures relies on a team with different professional, cultural and functional backgrounds and is committed to a diverse portfolio. The new management team also brings a variety of expertise to the table.
Before joining Swisscom Ventures in June 2016, Alexander Schläpfer (MSc in Finance) was co-founder and partner at Aster Capital in Paris, the corporate venture platform of Schneider Electric, Alstom and Solvay, where he led investments in renewable energy, industrial IT and IoT. Prior to becoming a VC, he led strategy, M&A, sales and marketing at Alstom's Power Service division and previously held several operational leadership positions at ABB in the Middle East. He was also co-founder and chairman of a robotics start-up at ETH Zurich.
Before Pär Lange (MSc in Physics, MBA INSEAD) co-founded Swisscom Ventures in 2007, he was co-founder and managing director of a Stockholm-based consulting firm focusing on early-stage investments in the ICT sector. Prior to that, he co-founded a mobile operator that successfully obtained a 3G license in Sweden. He started his career in Sweden developing RF and microwave transmission solutions and subsequently worked in sales and marketing for Ericsson in Japan.
Stefan Kuentz (MSc in Computer Science) has been with Swisscom since 2003 and joined Swisscom Ventures in 2011, where he mainly focused on international investments in cloud, SaaS and cybersecurity. At Swisscom, Stefan held various leadership positions including leading the US outpost in Silicon Valley and building new solution units for the B2B business. Before joining Swisscom, Stefan worked at IBM for many years, where he led the IT strategy consulting division as an Associate Partner.
Source: www.swisscom.ch
