Senior Advisors

Francesco di Valmarana
Vice President & Investment Director for Private Equity, Unigestion

Francesco di Valmarana is a member of the private equity team of Unigestion, a Swiss alternative asset manager, where he is coordinating the secondary investment activites of the group. As both primary and secondary investors in buyout and venture capital funds, Unigestion works with managers to consolidate their investor base while providing access to capital for further funds - avoiding the problem of "dead capital" that can arise from secondary investments.

Francesco was formerly co-founder and General Partner of European venture capital firm DN Capital, responsible for the origination, evaluation and execution of investments in communications infrastructure companies across Europe. Prior to starting DN Capital, he was a Senior Associate at Advent International, focusing on Internet investment opportunities in e-commerce and digital content and distribution. Mr. di Valmarana has worked at the Boston, London, and Tokyo offices of InterMatrix Group, managing consultancy relationships specializing in cross-border business development and market entry strategies for multi-national corporations. Mr. di Valmarana has an MBA from INSEAD and BA cum laude in East Asian Studies from Princeton.

John Fohr
Former Senior Manager, General Dynamics

John is a Venture Advisor with Lux Capital, focusing on investment opportunities in nanotechnology and energy.  Prior to joining Lux, John served as a Senior Project Manager for General Dynamics.  After working in the White House on the China Free Trade agreement, John drafted speeches and worked on economic policy for a number of U.S. presidential candidates.  He has advised foreign governments on the security of their monetary supplies and has published on global petroleum security.  John received his B.A. magna cum laude from Georgetown University, and his J.D. with Honors from University of Wisconsin, where he served as President of the Business and Tax Law Association and Managing Editor of Wisconsin International Law Journal.  John also studied venture capital in China while at the University of Beijing.

Jan Nahum
Chairman & CEO, Petrol Ofisi

Former international president of FIAT, Mr. Nahum is CEO of Turkey's largest gas  distribution company, Petrol Ofisi. Mr. Nahum brings to Petrol Ofisi a wealth of high level engineering and industrial manufacturing experience gained from years spent as the general manager and CEO of Tofas, a large automotive manufacturer, and the director of R&D for Koc Holdings, a Turkish company responsible for approximately 4% of the country's GDP. As CEO of Petrol Ofisi, Mr. Nahum oversees and is responsible for over 3800 service stations, 5000 dealers, and 1000 employees. In an effort to enlarge his company's 35% share of the fuel market and broaden the scope of Petrol's operations, Mr. Nahum has commenced a new initiative to get involved in all energy markets and to extend its global reach.

Born in Ankara, Turkey, Mr. Nahum is a graduate of Robert College. Mr. Nahum holds a degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art. Mr. Nahum is CEO of Hexagon Consulting, a consultancy firm in various fields , with a focus on introducing, incubating, and developing nanotechnology in Turkey.