Board of Directors
Andrey Kessel - Amadeus
Andrey Kessel
Andrey joined Amadeus Capital Partners Limited in 2003. Prior to that he gained substantial international operational experience in software and telecommunications sectors at companies as varied as Scala Business Solutions, a multinational business software provider, Nextra, an internet division of Telenor, and PanTel Telecom, a telecom operator. Andrey started his career in Cable & Wireless's subsidiary in Russia.
Andrey has been involved in Amadeus' investments in Openbravo, an open source ERP software company, Solexa, a company developing revolutionary DNA sequencing instruments, Valista, a mobile commerce software provider, Solarflare, a 10Gb Ethernet company, Artimi, a wireless USB company, and Teraview, a terahertz instrumentation company.
He holds an MBA degree from INSEAD and an MSc in Computer Science from the Air-Space Instruments University in Russia.
Steven Coppens - GIMV
Steven Coppens
Steven joined GIMV in 2000 and is involved in several early and later stage technology investments in Europe and US. He is Executive Investment Manager and mainly focuses on Software companies. He currently manages the investments in Openbravo, Aventiv, L&C, TinubuSquare, Gemidis and Human Inference. Previously he was actively involved in Proficient (sold to LivePerson, NSDQ) and Maximiles (IPO Alternext).
He joined GIMV from PricewaterhouseCoopers where he worked as a Consultant. During this period he mainly worked on international SAP implementations. Prior to that, he started his career as a Business Analyst for United Technologies Corporation in Paris. Steven holds a Master in Applied Economics from the University of Leuven and a Master from ESC Montpellier (France).
César Berrozpe - Sodena
César Berrozpe
César began his professional career in 1994 working for global management consultancy Accenture as manager of the Industry and Automotive division. In 2002 he became General Director of a consortium of public administration bodies established to launch a cultural and tourist complex in Catalunya. In 2004 Peralta joined partners to set up a consulting bureau focused on designing and launching crossover projects between private and public sector organizations.
He joined Sodena's projects management team in the middle of 2006.
Manel Sarasa - Openbravo
Manel Sarasa
Manel is leading Openbravo to fulfil its vision and extend the adoption of ERP to all small and midsize enterprises through an innovative open source business model. To this end Manel is responsible for overall strategy, management, international expansion.
Manel comes to Openbravo following seven years with DiamondCluster International where, as a Senior Principal, he led the successful launch of eight businesses in various countries and consulted leading telecom players in the areas of overall strategy, marketing & sales, customer service and overall turnaround programs. Prior to DiamondCluster, Manel worked at Andersen Consulting (now known as Accenture).
Manel has a BS in Engineering and Industrial Organization from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and did his postgraduate studies at London School of Economics.
Josep Mitjà - Openbravo
Josep Mitja
Josep is in charge of Openbravo's operations, leading the partner services capabilities within the firm. In this capacity, he is currently focused on the development of the relationship with partners, with the goal of spreading the usage of Openbravo's platform and enabling a truly differential, sustainable, and profitable business model for partners.
Prior to joining Openbravo, Josep was a principal with DiamondCluster International, where he worked in more than 10 countries across 3 continents advising senior executives in the high tech industry. In the start of his career, he worked for BASF in Germany and Spain.
Josep holds an MBA from IESE in Barcelona, and from MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston. Previously he graduated in Telecommunications Engineering in the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
Josep also serves on the board on the Open Solutions Alliance, an international organization that aims to promote the use of open source in the enterprise and facilitate the interoperability among the leading open solutions.
Advisors
Matt Asay - Alfresco
Matt Asay
Matt Asay has been involved with open source since 1998, and is one of the industry's leading open source business strategists. Asay currently manages sales and business development activities in the Americas for Alfresco as a General Manager and Vice President.
Prior to Alfresco, Asay was an early member of Novell's Linux Business Office. In 2003 Asay founded the Open Source Business Conference, the industry's premier open source strategy event, and has served as an Entreprenuer-in-Residence for Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, focusing on open source investment opportunities. Before Novell, Asay was General Manager at Lineo®, an embedded Linux software startup, where he ran Lineo's Network & Communications business.
Asay earned his Juris Doctorate degree at Stanford Law School, spending two of his three years studying software licensing and innovation, and specifically the GNU General Public License, under Professor Larry Lessig. He also holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK) and Brigham Young University, respectively.