People

Christine Schmitz-Riol is responsible for compliance, administrative management, internal organization and real estate management of Conny & Co. as well as Mountain Partners AG. Before Christine joined Mountain Partners

she was employed with ACG AG as the assistant to the board and TellSell Consulting, as the assistant to the executive management in Frankfurt.

Dr. Felix Exner joined Conny&Co in 2021 and focuses on analyzing and selecting investment opportunities, as well as supporting and managing our portfolio companies. Felix studied law and business in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Madrid, Spain. After graduating with distinction from EBS University, Germany, Felix obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Münster, Germany, where he researched the implications of blockchain-based smart contracts for consumers.

Felix worked at international corporate law firms Linklaters and Skadden in private equity and tax law, before joining blockchain startup iov42 in November 2019.
Felix holds a Bachelor of Laws, a J.D. (First State Examination in Law), and a Master of Arts in Business from EBS University (Wiesbaden, Germany) as well as a Ph.D. in law from University of Münster, Germany.

Philip Behrends co-founded Conny & Co. in early 2019 and focuses on investment management, investment structuring, portfolio management and legal responsibilities. He first joined Mountain Partners in 2013, initially working in International Business Development with a focus on South East Asia. Since 2015, he oversees and manages all investment projects initiated by Dr. Cornelius Boersch and is involved in international fundraising efforts.

At Mountain partners Philip has further been involved in the founding and structuring of several fund projects and investment vehicles as well as the setup of the Mountain Partners office in Japan. He was further involved in the internationalisation of portfolio companies into new markets. Philip holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK.

Alexander Hornung co-founded Conny & Co. in 2019. He developed his passion for entrepreneurship at (the EBS) Law School when he founded his own startup. Prior to joining Mountain Partners 2018, Alex gained experience in international Capital Markets Law with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) and large-scale cross border investing at Silk Road Finance Corporation (Hong Kong, S.A.R.) and Chinastone (Beijing, China).

At Conny & Co. AG, Alex focuses on investments mainly in the Americas and Greater China as well as on the internationalization of portfolio companies into these markets through strategic partnerships. Alex holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Arts in Business for Legal Professionals from European Business School (OestrichWinkel, Germany) as well as a Master in Management and Economics (China Studies) from the Yenching Academy of Peking University (Beijing, China).

Jorge Perez spent over 13 years working for three Fortune 500 companies, building cross-functional teams to achieve maximum operational impact. In his latest role as Commercial Excellence & Execution Director Europe for Novartis, Jorge had the opportunity to work closely with some Biotech companies, which sparked his interest in helping start-ups to reach their true potential.

Jorge joined Conny & Co. in June 2019 and he focuses on selecting, structuring and negotiating investment opportunities, mainly in LATAM and Southern Europe, as well as ensuring the adequate follow-up with investors and founders. Jorge graduated an executive programme in Venture Finance with University of Oxford, holds an Executive MBA from the University of Barcelona and has attended a number of programs in the areas of finance, coaching and marketing excellence.

Codrut has over 20 years of experience in strategy consulting and investment banking, with Roland Berger and Morgan Stanley. He has advised extensively clients in the Tech Media and Telecoms segment across many countries in Europe, and has gained strong exposure to Financial Services and Consumer Goods. Geographically, Codrut has lived and worked in Bucharest, London, Paris, Vienna, Warsaw and has been in Zurich for the last 7 years. During his tenure at Roland Berger, Codrut has managed different office teams (Poland, Romania, Turkey) and sector teams (TMT) and has co-led the entire operations in Central and Eastern Europe (over 300 professionals).

Also at Roland Berger, Codrut has taken an active role in developing the digital eco-system supporting the digital strategy and transformation offerings for the corporate clients. He was thus involved in making partnerships with numerous digital service providers and thereafter deploying their services integrated on the Roland Berger platform.
Over the last years, Codrut has become involved in advising VC firms and startups active in B2B tech verticals on topics related to Strategy, Go-To-Market, product roadmap and cross-border business development.
He joined Conny & Co as a Partner and will be involved in structuring the investment activities of the team.

Codrut studied Economics and Law in university and has an MBA from INSEAD.

Maurits joined Conny & Co. in 2022 and focuses on the assessment and selection of investment opportunities. Next to his activities in the investment team, Maurits assists Dr Cornelius Boersch with strategic projects and his investment activities. In his role at Conny & Co., Maurits has been involved in various investment decisions and the set-up of the Luxembourg fund. He was further involved in the strategic support of a fast-growing Indian portfolio company.
Maurits gained experience in private markets during various roles in venture capital at G Squared,

investment banking at Oddo BHF and when he founded a B2B2C e-commerce startup specialised on wine and gourmet products. Before joining the Conny & Co. team, Maurits supported HNWI with consulting regarding the digitalisation of business operations and contemporary art investments. Maurits holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in International Business and Administration at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University. During his studies at RSM, Maurits was selected to participate in the exclusive two-year Honours Programme of RSM.

Francesco Lanotte joined the investment team of Conny & Co. in 2022. He developed his passion for venture capital investments and entrepreneurship during his past work experiences in Europe and business studies in Italy and in the USA. Prior to joining Mountain Partners, Francesco gained experience in investments in different industries and investment funds’ structures at Partners Group (Zug, Switzerland), before joining Morgan Stanley as an Analyst where he focused on global large-scale investments, macro and risks.

At Conny & Co., Francesco is focusing on analyzing and selecting venture capital investment opportunities, alongside with portfolio management of investments and portfolio companies. Francesco holds a BSc in Finance from University of Padova, with an exchange term at University of Michigan (United States of America) and a MSc in Finance, Business Administration from Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.