Illumina Ventures, an independently-managed, healthcare-focused venture firm in a strategic partnership with Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) today announced the addition of four new members to its European team. Arnaud Autret, PhD, MSc, will be Principal and Head of European Operations, William Byrne, PhD, be an Associate – Europe, and Ronan Byrne and Ivan Coulter, PhD, BSc, will serve as Venture Advisors – Europe.
“We are already supporting some great companies in Ireland, France and the UK. The addition of Arnaud, William, Ronan and Ivan to our team will enable us build upon our successes and pursue even more ambitious genomics-focused projects in Europe,” said Nick Naclerio, PhD, Illumina Ventures Founding Partner.
Arnaud brings more than 15 years of financial and investment experience in the life sciences and biopharmaceutical industries, as well as scientific knowledge, to his new position. Before joining the Company, Arnaud was Investment Director in the biotechnology team of M Ventures in Amsterdam, which is the corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA. Previously, he worked as the Senior Associate in the Life Sciences team at Seventure Partners in Paris, as well as a senior financial auditor in the healthcare business unit at KPMG, also in Paris. Arnaud completed his post-doctoral work in oncology at the Trinity College Dublin after receiving his PhD in immunology from the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Arnaud also holds a MSc in finance from ESCP Business School, in Paris. Arnaud is based in Amsterdam.
Before joining Illumina Ventures, William was Head of Biotechnology at NEOM, a futuristic megacity that will be located in Saudi Arabia and rely on renewable energy and new technology for sustainable living. William led the efforts to establish NEOM as a global biotech hub with a focus on precision medicine. Previously, he worked as a consultant in the healthcare and life sciences industries providing clients located in the Middle East and Europe with investment, research, go-to-market and product launch strategies. William earned a PhD in tumor immunology and a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree at University College Cork in Ireland. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from INSEAD in France. William is based in Cork.
As a highly experienced CEO, Ronan has built and led several companies over his career that he later sold to multinational companies. Over the last decade, he has focused his efforts on the commercialization of innovations in the life sciences industry. He was CEO of ClearSight Innovations (Ophthalmic Diagnostic technologies) which sold to an industry leader and is currently the CEO and Co-founder of Pharma Latch in Dublin, which is developing a revolutionary intradermal delivery technology for drugs, vaccines, and a range of immunotherapies; he is also Business Mentor at Enterprise Ireland. Ronan received both a Master of Business Administration degree and a BA in Economics and Politics from University College Dublin.
Ivan is an entrepreneur with experience in translating early-stage innovations into clinical development programs. As a pharmacologist, he understands the importance of aligning molecular pathways with appropriate therapeutics and diagnostics. He is currently Founder and Managing Director of Eden BioPharma Limited in Dublin. Ivan was also Founder and CEO of Sigmoid Pharma Limited, where he focused on the development of an integrated drug delivery platform within the gastrointestinal tract. As a consultant, he has advised academics and entrepreneurs in setting up companies, developing fundable strategies and building multidisciplinary teams. Ivan obtained his MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University in New York and completed his post-doctoral fellowship in developmental biology at the Institut Curie in Paris after receiving a PhD in cancer research and BSc in pharmacology from University College Dublin. He and Ronan are based in Dublin.
“We are committed to supporting new and existing early-stage startups in Europe that are developing innovative clinical diagnostics and life science research tools, as well as therapeutic platforms, digital health initiatives and genomics applications,” said Wouter Meuleman, PhD, Illumina Ventures Partner. “We are excited to have Arnaud, William, Ronan and Ivan join in our efforts.”