Nothing ventured, nothing gained

Massi Ali Ahmadi

Venture Capital

Massi has been working for NRW.BANK and Gründerfonds Ruhr as an Investment Manager for the Digital Economy & Technology unit since 2022. Before joining NRW.BANK as a working student in 2019, he already gained experience during his studies in an M&A boutique as well as at EY and United Internet AG. Massi holds an M.Sc. degree in Management & Economics with a focus on Finance & Accounting from the Ruhr University Bochum and an B.Sc. degree in Economics with a focus on Entrepreneurship from the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.

Managed portfolio companies: Dimate, Saperatec, Black Semiconductor, Gemesys

Dr. Maria Bräutigam

Life Science & Cleantech

Maria has been working for NRW.BANK as an investment manager in the Life Science & Cleantech team since 2023. Her focus is primarily on companies in the fields of therapeutics, diagnostics, and biomedical engineering. Before joining NRW.BANK, she built up a venture capital-financed start-up in the field of immuno-oncology, where she headed the medicinal chemistry department for several years. Prior to that, she worked for various renowned research institutions for several years. Maria is a licensed pharmacist and holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Cologne.

Maximilian Erb

Life Sciences & CleanTech

Max has more than 15 years of experience in the venture capital and technology sector. He focuses primarily on companies in the industrial IT, energy, agriculture and cyber security segments and holds several advisory board mandates. Max has been involved in several successful exits over the last few years. Before joining NRW.BANK, he worked for various companies in the venture capital and technology sector. Max holds a degree in Economics from the University of Cologne.

Managed portfolio companies/funds: Enerthing, ubirch, Direvo Industrial Biotechnology, Novihum Technologies, GreenPocket, SET Ventures

Tim Gudelj

Digital Economy & Technology

During his master's studies at the Mercator School of Management, Tim founded a start-up in the food industry, which he sold in 2015. After his exit, his passion for venture capital was awakened, and he started as an investment manager at NRW.BANK. Starting in 2020, Tim spent the next four years helping to build F-LOG Ventures, a venture capital fund specializing in logistics and supply chains. Tim has been back at NRW.BANK since 2024, where he manages investments in digitalization and technology. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing sports, and rooting for his favorite soccer team, Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Dr. Claas Heise

Venture Capital and Fondsinvestments

With more than 25 years of venture capital experience, Claas has worked, among others, for Deutsche Telekom’s venture capital subsidiary and managed its activities in the USA for several years. Together with a partner, he was also active in the corporate venture capital segment in the USA before joining NRW.BANK in 2008, where he has been heading the venture capital business since then. Claas is originally a physicist and has worked in this field for several years at renowned institutes. Via management activities at Deutsche Telekom and sales and marketing tasks at an enterprise software start-up, in which he had been involved since its foundation, he came to venture capital, the versatility of which has not let him go since. In his free time, he enjoys running along the Rhine with his sons or restoring old electronic devices.

Managed portfolio companies/funds: Innolume, Sirius Seed Fonds Düsseldorf, Rheinland Venture Capital, ELS-Fonds, BLSW-Fonds, Technologiefonds OWL, Earlybird V, neoteq ventures Rheinland

Thorsten Heldt

Digital Economy & Technology

Thorsten has been a Senior Investment Manager at NRW.BANK since 2006, focusing on investments of the Digital Economy & Technology unit. He has accompanied the Gründerfonds Ruhr since its initiation and is authorised signatory (Prokurist) and Deputy Head of the Digital Economy & Technology unit. Thorsten has many years of investment experience in the venture capital scene, has accompanied several successful exits and holds various advisory board mandates at portfolio companies. Before joining NRW.BANK, Thorsten worked for various companies in the venture capital and technology sector. After completing his training as an industrial clerk, Thorsten studied Business Administration in Bochum.

Managed portfolio companies/funds: saperatec, Innolume, Frontastic, Dimate, SeedCapital Dortmund I-III, BLSW-Fonds, Technologiefonds OWL, Creathor IV, eCapital Cybersecurity Fonds

Dr. Marek Kozlowski

Life Science & CleanTech

Marek Kozlowski, PhD MScEng combines 20 years of experience in research, industry and company building across Life Science & Healthcare with a focus on therapeutics, diagnostics and lab tools. Marek is currently a Senior Investment Director at NRW.Venture and a board director at 4TEEN4 Pharmaceuticals, SphingoTec, Abalos Therapeutics, Resolve Biosciences and Emergence Therapeutics (acquired in 2023). Marek is a trained biotechnologist (Warsaw University) and molecular biologist (European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Ludwig Maximilian University).

Managed portfolio companies: Abalos Therapeutics, 4TEEN4 Pharmaceuticals, Emergence Therapeutics, Resolve BioSciences

Philipp Leidig

Life Sciences & CleanTech

Philipp has been working in NRW.BANK’s Venture Capital unit since the beginning of 2016 and has already been involved in the structuring and execution of several financing rounds and exits in the course of his work. He is responsible for companies in the cleantech, medtech and digital health segments as well as for external fund investments. Philipp began his professional career at Siemens AG with an apprenticeship at the head office (industrial clerk, IHK). He then studied Engineering (B. Sc. Bioprocess Technology, M. Sc. Industrial Engineering – Energy Systems) in Munich and in the Ruhr area. 
Before joining NRW.BANK, Philipp gained practical experience in financial controlling, strategic procurement and BI consulting at various companies.
In his free time, Philipp is a passionate basketball player and spends a lot of time with his two children.

Managed portfolio companies/funds: Enerthing, ubirch, Deutsche Arzt AG, Personal Medsystems, Cellink, neoteq ventures Rheinland

Exits: Rigontec, Scienion

Dr. Vera Mehler-de Graaff

Life Science & Cleantech

With her scientific background and previous transaction experience, Vera focuses on life science venture investments at NRW Bank. Prior to her time at NRW.BANK, she was responsible for coparion's life science portfolio, where she conducted company analyses, accompanied several transactions and held corresponding mandates as a member of the advisory board. Vera's academic degrees include a Master of Science in Neuroscience from King's College London and a Ph.D. from University College London in the field of regenerative medicine/stem cell therapy.

Patrick Nesseler

Digital Economy and Technology

Patrick works as an Investment Manager with a focus on Digital Economy and Technology for NRW.BANK since early 2025. From 2020 to 2025 he has already worked as an Investment Manager for the early-stage equity financing division of NRW.BANK, where he managed a portfolio with more than 200 early-stage Start-ups and negotiated and structured more than 15 equity funding rounds. Patrick holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration with a focus on Finance from the University of Cologne as well as a M.Sc. in Financial Economics from Maastricht University. Furthermore, he completed the Certified Private Equity Analyst (CPEA) program in the Venture Capital track from Technical University Munich (TUM).

Dr. Antonia Nörthemann

Digital Economy & Technology

Antonia has been working as an investment manager at NRW.Venture since 2025, focusing on the digital economy and technology. Previously, she was responsible for the win Business Angels Initiative at NRW.BANK—the largest angel network in the DACH region.

She therefore brings extensive experience in supporting and networking start-ups and business angels. Antonia holds a master's degree (M.Sc.) in business administration and a PhD on internationalization of private capital markets from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. She spends her free time kickboxing and is also a big fan of Düsseldorf's food scene.

Portfolio companies: octonomy and Enlyze

Dr. Thomas Raueiser

Life Sciences & CleanTech

Thomas has more than 15 years of investment experience in the venture capital industry. During this time, he has accompanied numerous investments to a successful exit and was appointed to the advisory boards of various portfolio companies. He is Deputy Head of NRW.BANK’s Life Sciences & Cleantech team and authorised signatory (Prokurist) of Gründerfonds Ruhr. Before joining NRW.BANK, he worked for Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse First Boston in corporate investment banking and private wealth management.

Thomas holds a PhD in Equity Syndications from the University of Cologne, a degree in Business Administration from the University of Cologne and a Master’s degree in International Management (CEMS MIM) from Copenhagen Business School and Université de Louvain.

Managed portfolio companies: Abalos Therapeutics, Hemovent, Phenox, Femtos, Occlutech, Novihum Technologies, GreenPocket, Bomedus

Exits: evoxx technologies, O-flexx Technologies

Thorsten Reuter

Digital Economy & Technology & Fondsinvestments

Thorsten is Head of NRW.BANK’s Digital Economy & Technology team. He is also one of the two Managing Directors of Gründerfonds Ruhr.

Previously, he worked for ten years in the USA (Silicon Valley & Los Angeles) and was responsible for investments and partnerships of the Sony Group as Director of the Sony Innovation Fund. During his 20-year career, he has led numerous financings, M&A transactions and business partnerships in Europe and the USA, and has advised a wide range of start-ups in the digital and technology sectors.

Thorsten holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from TU Berlin and a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa).

Managed portfolio companies/funds: aifora, Compeon, Holobuilder, Masterplan, talpasolutions, btov Industrial Technologies, Capnamic Ventures I & II, Cherry Ventures III, Project-A III, Unternehmertum VC Fonds III

Florian Stinauer

Life Sciences & CleanTech

Florian has more than 10 years of experience in the venture capital sector. During this time, he has mainly accompanied companies from the life sciences sector and held corresponding advisory and supervisory board mandates. He has structured numerous financing rounds and successfully led portfolio companies to exit. Before joining NRW.BANK, he was responsible for the venture capital portfolio of Sparkasse KölnBonn. In addition, he has gained experience in commerce and auditing. Florian is a qualified banker and holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Cologne. In his free time, he can be found jogging or playing tennis in Cologne’s green belt.

Managed portfolio companies: Cellink, Personal MedSystems, Hemovent, Bomedus, CEVEC Pharmaceuticals, AyoxxA Biosystems, Algiax Pharmaceuticals, Cryotherapeutics, Femtos, Phenox

Exits: Scienion, CellAct Pharma, Neo New Oncology, Protagen

Jonas Vonnahme

Life Science & Cleantech

Jonas has been working for NRW.BANK in the Venture Capital division since 2024. After training as a chemical laboratory technician, he studied business chemistry with a focus on sustainability and entrepreneurship at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. Before joining NRW.BANK, Jonas worked in various functions for different chemical companies during his studies. In addition, he gained his first experience in a strategy consultancy and joined NRW.BANK in 2024 after successfully completing his master's degree with a focus on venture investments in the life sciences & cleantech sector.