Supporters of unconventional genius.¹

Firat is a Partner at Hummingbird Ventures. His current portfolio includes Armut, Argent, Aspire, Billiontoone, Brigit, Ciceksepeti, Instacarro, Kernal Biologics and Layer.

He previously worked with Frontier Car Group, Gram Games, Peak Games and Merlin prior to their acquisition. He is interested in marketplaces, frontier tech, fintech and gaming.

Previously, he worked at J.P. Morgan at the Emerging Markets Structuring and Solutions group. He received B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Management Science and a Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

Barend is the founder of Hummingbird Ventures (2010) with 15+ years of venture capital experience.

He is involved with Showpad, Deliveroo, Elder and Automata, Pristyn Care and Khatabook.

Previously, he started his career in the US as a financial analyst for SG Cowen in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing on internet and data-networking companies.

Barend holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Louvain, Belgium.

Lukas is the firm’s CFO and General Counsel, overseeing the fund management, portfolio investments and investor relations.

Prior to joining Hummingbird in 2016, Lukas gained experience as a corporate/M&A lawyer working for several venture firms and start-ups, providing all-around assistance in the structuring, setup and governance of VC/PE funds, with a particular focus on financial and transactional work for numerous early and growth stage startups.

Lukas holds a Master’s in Business Administration from New York’s Fordham Gabelli School of Business, as well as a Master of Science in Law (JD) from Ghent University, Belgium.

Nikita joined Hummingbird’s investment team in 2021 from Sandbox & Co. where she evaluated late-stage education, media and gaming investments in Europe and North America.Nikita holds a M.Ed in Technology, Innovation and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Oxford.

Lucas De Four is the Legal Manager at Hummingbird. He used to work as a Finance & Project Lawyer at DLA Piper and Van Bael & Bellis (Belgium) prior to joining Hummingbird. His main focus was to assist clients in complex project finance transactions and acquisition finance.

Lucas holds a Master in Finance from Vlerick Business School (Belgium) and a Master in Business and Company Law from the University of Leuven (Belgium).

Kobe is the Controller at Hummingbird Ventures. Prior to joining Hummingbird, Kobe worked at Johnson & Johnson where he held various finance roles across the pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare and corporate divisions and was based in Belgium, China and UAE.

Kobe is a CFA charterholder and holds a Master in Financial Management from Vlerick Business School (Belgium) as well as a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Leuven (Belgium).

As Finance & Operations Coordinator, Sigrid is responsible for ensuring smooth operations for legal and finance teams and partners.

Prior to joining Hummingbird in 2010, she gained experience in office management, sales and marketing in different fields such as Lightning & Decoration, Dental Healthcare and Implantology, IT & Telecom in a dynamic start-up environment.

Sigrid holds a degree in Psychosocial Therapy.

Akshay leads investments in both emerging markets and global fintech at Hummingbird.

Previously, Akshay worked at Citigroup, where he raised equity capital for large corporations, and at Artivest (acquired), where he helped build and grow a platform that enables retail capital to access alternative investments. During graduate school, Akshay had the opportunity to work with MIT's $25 billion endowment fund.

In his spare time, Akshay records music and writes about founders in his newsletter, 'Amplify'.

He holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT and a BA in Economics with a minor in Ethnomusicology from Franklin & Marshall College.

Pablo leads the biotechnology practice at Hummingbird. Previously, Pablo was an Investment Manager at UKI2S, investing in early stage cell and gene therapy companies, and worked as a Corporate Development Associate at the gene editing company Horizon Discovery. He holds degrees in Neuropharmacology and Biochemical Engineering from University College London and an MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise from the University of Cambridge.

Mickel, who became part of Hummingbird in 2022, used to work as an M&A Consultant specialising in Valuations and Financial Modelling at Eight Advisory and took up finance and risk management roles at AXA.

Mickel is a CFA charterholder and holds a Master of Science in Business Engineering from the University of Leuven (Belgium).

Haya focuses on deep tech ventures, she believes that the most urgent problems hold the biggest opportunities. She joined Hummingbird's investment team after working for six years with entrepreneurs across Europe in the earliest days of their startups.

Haya holds MSc degrees in Physics and Engineering from Mines Paris and ESPCI Paris, and was a research scholar in biophysics at Harvard.

Teal focuses her time on supporting the Talent needs of Hummingbird’s portfolio founders. Prior to joining Hummingbird, Teal worked as a talent consultant in San Francisco and Amsterdam for early-stage startups and VCs across the US and Europe.

Teal graduated from Acadia University (Nova Scotia, Canada) with a dual degree in Sociology and Spanish.

Deborah is an executive assistant at Hummingbird. She has experience in organisations of varying sizes, including Rolex Benelux,  LVMH and previously founded her own sporthorses dealing business.

Deborah holds a Master degree in Business Management from ICHEC Brussels Management School.

Diala joined Hummingbird in 2023 as part of the development team, taking the lead in building internal tools.

Before joining Hummingbird, she spent five years as a senior software developer, working with various US-based startups across fintech, SaaS, and entertainment industries, from pre-seed to Series B stages.

Diala holds a Master's in Computer Science from Bilkent University (Turkey).

Giovanni joined Hummingbird’s investment team in 2023. Prior to join Hummingbird, he was an analyst for Blackstone in London. During his studies, he spent time working at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance in Rome.

Giovanni holds a Master of Science in Finance from the London School of Economics and bachelor’s degree in Economics from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa.

Katherine joined Hummingbird to lead healthcare investments, motivated by her pursuit of the boldest entrepreneurs revolutionizing the industry.

Having studied and then researched Neuroscience at King's College London, she integrates her academic experience with practical expertise gained from driving strategic initiatives at the NHS and consulting positions.

She honed her enthusiasm for early-stage startups during her tenure at re.Mind Capital, a VC fund dedicated to the brain.

Elçin joined Hummingbird's talent team to support the talent needs of Hummingbird's portfolio founders. Prior to joining Hummingbird, Elçin worked as a generalist in executive search and assessment. She developed her interest in early-stage startups while working in talent advisory at a Europe-focused VC.

Elçin holds a BA in Psychology from Boğaziçi University and an MSc in Psychology from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.

Nelli focuses on biotech investments fuelled by her passion to find out-of-the-box thinkers and doers who are revolutionising the bioeconomy.

Prior to joining Hummingbird, she led life sciences venture building programmes at Pioneer Group, coaching early-stage founders on navigating their route to market. She has honed her expertise and enthusiasm over the last five years supporting pharma and biotech executives and entrepreneurs in their commercial strategy.

She holds an MRes in Drug Discovery and Development from Imperial College London and an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.

Patrick focuses on biotech investments at Hummingbird and leads incubations. He’s a big fan of “thoughtfully crazy” people building in bio. He was previously an Associate at Flagship Pioneering where he worked in venture creation to build and originate bioplatform companies. Before Flagship, Patrick completed his Ph.D. in immunology at the University of Pennsylvania, publishing 10+ papers including in Cell, Nature, and Nature Metabolism spanning adipocyte biology, immunology, and gut-brain signaling. Patrick also holds an M.Sc. in immunology from the University of Oxford (with Distinction), and a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. A native Swede, Patrick grew up in Malmö, which prepared him well for Boston winters.

Inne joined us as our Operations Manager after working as a tour manager for various internationally touring artists. With her music industry background, Inne brings a unique mix of skills to Hummingbird.

Inne also holds a Masters degree in Philosophy of Science from VUB.

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