Moonfare's strength lies in the diversity and depth of expertise found across all aspects of the business.
Moonfare is led by a team of talented professionals from leading investment and technology companies including KKR, Apax Partners, J.P. Morgan, McKinsey & Company, BCG, NetJets, Cloudflare, Zalando and N26.
Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO
Steffen founded Moonfare in 2016 with the vision to democratize private investing. He runs the company as Chairman and Co-CEO. Steffen is a serial entrepreneur with a strong background in the private equity industry. Before becoming an entrepreneur Steffen served as a Managing Director of private equity at KKR. While at KKR, he was responsible for the firm’s coverage of the German market. Prior to joining KKR, he was co-founder and served as Chief Executive Officer of firstfive AG. He served as Chairman of The Supervisory Board at A.T.U Auto-Teile-Unger Investment GmbH & Co. KG and as a member of the Advisory Board at Versatel, Serbia Broadband and Hertha BSC. Steffen holds a B.A. with high distinction from the University of Mannheim and the Ecole Superieure des Sciences Economiques and a Ph.D. from the University of Trier. He worked as a research assistant at Harvard University where he wrote his master thesis. Steffen lives in Munich with his wife and children.
Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO
Co-CEO and Managing Director
As Co-Chief Executive Officer Lorenz runs Moonfare alongside Founder Steffen Pauls. He was formerly the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, leading research and development, finance, operations, and compliance. Lorenz has extensive product development and operational experience with seed and scale-up tech companies. Before he joined Moonfare he oversaw the development of digital bank N26's product line, and advised early stage and start-up tech companies. He also spent 12 years at McKinsey, six as a partner, advising globally on energy and basic materials companies. Lorenz is a physicist by training and holds a PhD in material science. He and his wife live in Berlin.
Co-CEO and Managing Director
Chief Operating Officer
Magnus runs Private Equity for Moonfare, ensuring that our investors have access to a steady flow of top-tier private equity funds. He brings considerable experience from private equity, both as an investor with Apax Partners, and as an operator in Cole Haan, one of the fund’s portfolio companies. While at Apax Partners, Magnus advised on a number of transactions in the consumer and retail industry. At Cole Haan, a high-end manufacturer and retailer of footwear and leather goods based in New York, Magnus was responsible for building and executing corporate strategy. Prior to joining Apax Partners, Magnus spent several years at J.P. Morgan in London advising on Consumer, Healthcare and Retail transactions. Magnus earned an MSc with a focus in Finance from Stockholm School of Economics and his MBA from Harvard Business School. In his free time Magnus practices his passions of sports, cooking and photography.
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Commercial Officer
Marine is responsible for setting the global direction of all Moonfare’s activities around marketing, direct sales and customer service. She is leading the go-to-market teams to ensure a unique experience for Moonfare’s customers. Before joining Moonfare, Marine served as a Managing Director at the fractional jet ownership provider Flexjet, responsible for the firm's international launch; designing and executing a go-to-market plan which led to the expansion of their renowned fractional jet programme into Europe in 2021. Before Flexjet, she spent fifteen years for the world largest jet democratising company NetJets, a Berkshire Hathaway company, where she attained the role of Executive Director, Head of Sales EMEA and sat on the company executive leadership committee. Her extensive experience in fractionalising private jets aligns closely with Moonfare's client base, customer acquisition strategies, and commercial approach. She has a Masters in International Business, Asian Affairs with English & Chinese Mandarin, from the International Affairs College at Le Havre University.
Chief Commercial Officer
Chief Product and Technology Officer
Marc oversees Moonfare’s digital product, technology platform, security, and data, including the product management, software engineering, platform and infrastructure engineering teams. He has a history of helping scale technologies, and build product teams for notable companies in the tech and e-commerce sectors. As Director of Product at US-based Cloudflare, one of the world's largest online networks, Marc was tasked with building the product management team in Lisbon and leading product teams based in the US and Europe. During his tenure as Head of Product and Engineering (Innovation and Partnerships) for European online fashion and lifestyle platform Zalando, Marc set up a newly formed business unit, driving the group's efforts to connect internal and external business partners to Zalando’s digital platform.
Chief Product and Technology Officer
Chief Investment Officer
Sanjay has 22 years of experience in private equity most of which was investing in funds, co-investments/directs, or secondaries. He has deployed over $3bn in dozens of investments over the course of his career and has generated a top quartile track record. Most recently, he was global head of private equity investing at UBP. Prior to this, he led the US private equity funds platform at a major Canadian pension fund, CDPQ. His experience spanned co-investments/directs, secondaries, GP stakes, etc. Prior to that, he headed US private equity investing at Adveq (now Schroders Capital). Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and an Investment Associate at FLAG Capital (now Aberdeen Private Equity). He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BSc in Economics from George Washington University.
Chief Investment Officer
Our Board of Directors provides expertise honed from decades of steering global businesses and hands-on investing in private equity.
Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO
Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO
Steffen founded Moonfare in 2016 with the vision to democratize private investing. He runs the company as Chairman and Co-CEO. Steffen is a serial entrepreneur with a strong background in the private equity industry. Before becoming an entrepreneur Steffen served as a Managing Director of private equity at KKR. While at KKR, he was responsible for the firm’s coverage of the German market. Prior to joining KKR, he was co-founder and served as Chief Executive Officer of firstfive AG. He served as Chairman of The Supervisory Board at A.T.U Auto-Teile-Unger Investment GmbH & Co. KG and as a member of the Advisory Board at Versatel, Serbia Broadband and Hertha BSC. Steffen holds a B.A. with high distinction from the University of Mannheim and the Ecole Superieure des Sciences Economiques and a Ph.D. from the University of Trier. He worked as a research assistant at Harvard University where he wrote his master thesis. Steffen lives in Munich with his wife and children.
Professor of Financial Management
Professor of Financial Management
Heinrich is a Co-founder of Moonfare and supports Moonfare as a Board Member, strategic advisor and Chairman of Asia. Heinrich is a Professor in the MBA and Executive Programs at IESE Business School and the Chairman of the Munich Campus of IESE. He specializes in entrepreneurial finance, management of wealth and governance of entrepreneurial families. Heinrich is co-author on several publications on private equity. His ongoing research in this field focuses on operational value creation in private equity, impact investing and governance of entrepreneurial families. As a consultant he collaborated with leading families and financial institutions and serves on the board of family controlled foundations. Prior to his academic career, Professor Liechtenstein was engaged in the family-owned Liechtenstein Global Trust (LGT) dealing with ultra high net worth individuals. He also advised families within the Boston Consulting Group and established and sold two successful businesses. Heinrich holds a Ph.D. in Managerial Science and Applied Economics from The Economics School of Vienna, Austria, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from IESE Business School, and a BSc in Business Economics from the University of Graz. Heinrich lives in Barcelona and Munich.
Former CEO of ProSiebenSat.1
Former CEO of ProSiebenSat.1
Thomas supports Moonfare as a Board Member and strategic advisor. Until recently, Thomas served as Chairman of Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of ProSieben Digital Media GmbH, a position he held since 2009. Prior to joining ProSieben, Thomas served as Chief Executive Officer of multiple divisions of Novartis AG including Novartis Pharma AG, Pharmaceuticals at Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., Novartis Nutrition World Wide, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Division. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Torrent Systems, Inc. Thomas worked with Pepsi-Cola in Germany as a Marketing Manager, before becoming Marketing Director and National Sales and Franchise Director. Prior to working for Pepsi-Cola, Thomas served in several positions at Reemstma Germany. He has been a Member of Supervisory Board at Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (also know as Bayer AG), Member of the Supervisory Board at GfK SE, Member of Advisory Board at UBS Oncology Impact Fund, and Director of Cullinan Oncology, LLC. He serves as a member of the advisory boards of Sivantos, a world leading hearing aid company. Previously, Thomas served as an Independent Director of Lonza Group Ltd and Director of Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. Mr. Ebeling holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Hamburg.
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Principal at Fidelity International Strategic Ventures
Principal at Fidelity International Strategic Ventures
Erik Mostenicky stands as a foundational member and Principal of Fidelity International Strategic Ventures. Having been part of the team since its inception in 2018, originally under Eight Roads as the Fintech Strategic Investments team, Erik has played a critical role in steering the company's venture capital initiatives, particularly in the Asset Management and Wealth Management sectors. His strategic investments focus on Series A and B startups, emphasizing disruptive propositions and efficiency plays. Erik has served as a board observer for Moonfare’s advisory board since March 2021 and moved to a board member position in April 2024. Previously, he honed his expertise as a consultant, analyst, and manager across various financial institutions and co-founded a startup. Erik holds an MSc in Technology Entrepreneurship from UCL.
Managing Director, Insight Partners
Managing Director, Insight Partners
Matt joined Insight in 2010 and invests globally in high-growth businesses across fintech, digital commerce, cybersecurity, and healthcare IT. He has served as a member of the Moonfare advisory board since 2021. Matt graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in finance and engineering.
Founder and CEO, LinkValue
Founder and CEO, LinkValue
With over two decades of experience as Chief Compliance Officer across financial sectors—from banking and fund management to Payments and Fintech—her track record is unparalleled. Additionally, Sonja serves as a venture leader in a digital training company and is the founder of Linkvalue, a consulting firm dedicated to empowering businesses for ethical success. Holding an INSEAD Certification for Directors and other notable accreditations, she actively contributes to various directorship associations, serves on boards, and engages in charitable activities promoting learning and education.
Our US Advisory Board brings deep leadership skills and a unique understanding of Moonfare's role in the democratization of private markets.
CEO, Parker Group & Managing Partner Parker Ventures
CEO, Parker Group & Managing Partner Parker Ventures
Polansky co-founded the Parker Foundation in 2010 with acclaimed entrepreneur and philanthropist Sean Parker and currently serves as Executive Director. Prior to joining the Parker Group, Polansky was with Bridgewater and Founders Fund, where he focused on consumer internet and emerging technology. In addition to his work with the Parker Foundation, Polansky is also the Managing Partner at Parker Ventures, CEO of the Parker Group, and a board member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. Polansky is also the co-founder of Avos Capital Management, a privately held investment firm managing tailored portfolios for high net worth individuals and families. He is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.
Partner, Sageview Capital
Partner, Sageview Capital
Dean Nelson joins Moonfare’s Board with over forty years of experience in venture capital, private equity, and consulting. Nelson served as CEO and Founder of KKR Capstone and as a Managing Director of KKR, a global investment firm that manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, and real estate. He is currently a Partner at Sageview Capital, a private investment firm focused on partnering with industry-defining innovators to build enduring software and tech-enabled businesses. He is a member of numerous boards including DISQO, XSELL Technologies, Theatro, Aceable, CallRail, Atmosphere, and 360insights.com.
The Moonfare Investment Team is responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence and curation of funds.
Chief Investment Officer
Chief Investment Officer
Sanjay has 22 years of experience in private equity most of which was investing in funds, co-investments/directs, or secondaries. He has deployed over $3bn in dozens of investments over the course of his career and has generated a top quartile track record. Most recently, he was global head of private equity investing at UBP. Prior to this, he led the US private equity funds platform at a major Canadian pension fund, CDPQ. His experience spanned co-investments/directs, secondaries, GP stakes, etc. Prior to that, he headed US private equity investing at Adveq (now Schroders Capital). Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and an Investment Associate at FLAG Capital (now Aberdeen Private Equity). He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BSc in Economics from George Washington University.
Head of Investments
Head of Investments
Philip is Moonfare’s Head of Investments and oversees the Firm’s day-to-day investment activities. Philip brings over a decade of experience within private markets. Philip most recently worked at StepStone Group in London, one of the leading private markets firms, focusing on fund investments, secondaries and co-investments. Philip was a core member of the European investment team where he helped build out the Firm’s European private equity program and relationships with General Partners and investors. He also represented the Firm on several LP advisory boards. Philip started his career at Hamilton Lane in London, where he covered European private equity investments, having graduated with a degree in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.
Investment Director
Investment Director
Pavel completed his Masters in Business Administration in Geneva in 2012. He completed his Masters in Financial Engineering at the University of Lausanne (HEC) in 2014. In 2014, Pavel joined one of the fastest-growing Swiss Private Banks, Banque Pâris Bertrand, as its number 2 employee in the Private Market division and participated in the set-up of an independent entity, “Hermance Capital Partners”, servicing mid-sized Private Banks with an outsourced Private Markets offering on primary, secondary, and co-investments across Private Equity, Private Real Estate and Private Credit strategies. He was responsible for sourcing and due diligence efforts. He joined Moonfare in 2021 to drive sourcing and due diligence with a focus on Venture Capital, Growth Equity and Real Assets.
