Supporters of unconventional genius.¹

Firat is the Managing Partner at Hummingbird Ventures, and started at the firm in 2012.

His active portfolio includes Anima, Aspire, BillionToOne, Brigit, Kernal, Invideo and OneCard. He previously worked with Gram Games, Peak Games, Merlin and Ciceksepeti prior to their acquisition.

Firat initially worked at J.P. Morgan at the Emerging Markets Structuring and Solutions group. He received B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Management Science and a Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

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Barend is the founder of Hummingbird Ventures, Nomads, and Magnificent Grants, with over two decades of venture capital experience.

He is involved with Showpad and Kraken. He previously worked with Deliveroo before its IPO and Frontier Car Group prior to its acquisition.

Barend started his career in the US as a financial analyst for SG Cowen in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing on internet and data-networking companies. He holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Louvain, Belgium.

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Lukas is a Partner at Hummingbird, involved a.o. with Automata and Basecamp Research. Joining in 2016, Lukas structured Hummingbird's operations including fund management, portfolio investments, investor relations and continues to lead the operations team.

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Prior to joining Hummingbird, Lukas acted as corporate/M&A lawyer working for several venture firms and start-ups, providing all-around assistance in the structuring, setup and governance of VC/PE funds, with a particular focus on financial and transactional work for numerous early and growth stage startups.

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Lukas holds a Master’s in Business Administration from New York’s Fordham Gabelli School of Business, as well as a Master of Science in Law (JD) from Ghent University, Belgium.

Mario is the founder of The Generalist, a modern media company focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. He is a Venture Partner at Hummingbird.

Before starting The Generalist, Mario worked as a venture capitalist, startup operator, and, for a brief spell, a cook at a Michelin-starred restaurant where he mostly chopped vegetables.

Nikita joined Hummingbird’s investment team in 2021 from Sandbox & Co. where she evaluated late-stage education, media and gaming investments in Europe and North America.

Nikita holds a M.Ed in Technology, Innovation and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Oxford.

Kobe is the Finance Director at Hummingbird Ventures. Prior to joining Hummingbird, Kobe worked at Johnson & Johnson where he held various finance roles across the pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare and corporate divisions and was based in Belgium, China and UAE.

Kobe is a CFA charterholder and holds a Master in Financial Management from Vlerick Business School (Belgium) as well as a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Leuven (Belgium).

Lucas De Four is the Legal Manager at Hummingbird.

He used to work as a Finance & Project Lawyer at DLA Piper and Van Bael & Bellis (Belgium) prior to joining Hummingbird. His main focus was to assist clients in complex project finance transactions and acquisition finance.

Lucas holds a Master in Finance from Vlerick Business School (Belgium) and a Master in Business and Company Law from the University of Leuven (Belgium).

As Finance & Operations Coordinator, Sigrid is responsible for ensuring smooth operations for legal and finance teams and partners.

Prior to joining Hummingbird in 2010, she gained experience in office management, sales and marketing in different fields such as Lightning & Decoration, Dental Healthcare and Implantology, IT & Telecom in a dynamic start-up environment.

Sigrid holds a degree in Psychosocial Therapy.

Akshay joined the investment team at Hummingbird in 2021.

Previously, Akshay worked at Citigroup, where he raised equity capital for large corporations, and at Artivest (acquired), where he helped build and grow a platform that enables retail capital to access alternative investments. During graduate school, Akshay had the opportunity to work with MIT's $25 billion endowment fund.

In his spare time, Akshay records music and writes about founders in his newsletter, 'Amplify'.

He holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT and a BA in Economics with a minor in Ethnomusicology from Franklin & Marshall College.

Mickel, who became part of Hummingbird in 2022, used to work as an M&A Consultant specialising in Valuations and Financial Modelling at Eight Advisory and took up finance and risk management roles at AXA.

Mickel is a CFA charterholder and holds a Master of Science in Business Engineering from the University of Leuven (Belgium).

Haya focuses on deep tech ventures, she believes that the most urgent problems hold the biggest opportunities. She joined Hummingbird's investment team after working for six years with entrepreneurs across Europe in the earliest days of their startups.

Haya holds MSc degrees in Physics and Engineering from Mines Paris and ESPCI Paris, and was a research scholar in biophysics at Harvard.

Teal focuses her time on supporting the Talent needs of Hummingbird’s portfolio founders. Prior to joining Hummingbird, Teal worked as a talent consultant in San Francisco and Amsterdam for early-stage startups and VCs across the US and Europe.

Teal graduated from Acadia University (Nova Scotia, Canada) with a dual degree in Sociology and Spanish.

Caitlin is the Chief of Staff at Hummingbird Ventures, focusing on operational excellence and strategic execution. She believes that investing in people and understanding what motivates them is fundamental to making operations work effectively over time.

Prior to joining Hummingbird, Caitlin spent nearly a decade at Bridgewater Associates as Chief of Staff, where she worked with senior leadership to define and execute strategic objectives and managed cross-functional teams of 20+ individuals. She previously worked in educational non-profits following her time as a Teach For America corps member.

Caitlin holds a Masters in Human Resources Management from The London School of Economics and a BA in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University, where she was captain of the varsity swim team.

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Deborah is the Office Manager and an Executive Assistant at Hummingbird. She has experience in organisations of varying sizes, including Rolex Benelux,  LVMH and previously founded her own sporthorses dealing business.

Deborah holds a Master degree in Business Management from ICHEC Brussels Management School.

Thomas Delplanque is the Regulatory Director at Hummingbird. He used to work as Consultant for more than thirteen years (Banking and Compliance Consulting) prior to joining Hummingbird. His main focus includes assisting and advising clients in regulatory remediation exercises, implementing new regulations, management of regulatory projects, Compliance Interim Management.

Thomas holds a Master in Management from Antwerp Management School (Belgium) and a Master in Law from the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium).

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Diala joined Hummingbird in 2023 as part of the development team, taking the lead in building internal tools.

Before joining Hummingbird, she spent five years as a senior software developer, working with various US-based startups across fintech, SaaS, and entertainment industries, from pre-seed to Series B stages.

Diala holds a Master's in Computer Science from Bilkent University (Turkey).

Katherine joined Hummingbird to lead healthcare investments, motivated by her pursuit of the boldest entrepreneurs revolutionizing the industry.

Having studied and then researched Neuroscience at King's College London, she integrates her academic experience with practical expertise gained from driving strategic initiatives at the NHS and consulting positions.

She honed her enthusiasm for early-stage startups during her tenure at re.Mind Capital, a VC fund dedicated to the brain.

Elçin joined Hummingbird's talent team to support the talent needs of Hummingbird's portfolio founders. Prior to joining Hummingbird, Elçin worked as a generalist in executive search and assessment. She developed her interest in early-stage startups while working in talent advisory at a Europe-focused VC.

Elçin holds a BA in Psychology from Boğaziçi University and an MSc in Psychology from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.

Patrick focuses on biotech investments at Hummingbird and leads incubations.

He’s a big fan of “thoughtfully crazy” people building in bio. He was previously an Associate at Flagship Pioneering where he worked in venture creation to build and originate bioplatform companies.

Before Flagship, Patrick completed his Ph.D. in immunology at the University of Pennsylvania, publishing 10+ papers including in Cell, Nature, and Nature Metabolism spanning adipocyte biology, immunology, and gut-brain signaling. Patrick also holds an M.Sc. in immunology from the University of Oxford (with Distinction), and a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.

A native Swede, Patrick grew up in Malmö, which prepared him well for Boston winters.

Roxanne is the Compliance Officer at Hummingbird. Prior to joining Hummingbird, she worked as a corporate lawyer in Lebanon. While finishing her final year of university, she worked as a Compliance Analyst for a Lebanese bank.

Roxanne holds an LLM in International Business Law from Ghent University (Belgium) and a Master’s (M1) in Law from LU (Lebanon).

Peter joined in the inaugural cohort of the Analyst Program in 2025 to focus on the most transformative deep tech startups.

Previously, Peter consulted for angels and private equity on the feasibility of emerging climate and energy technologies. Prior to this, he was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Entrepreneur First, and authored a paper on AI modeling of particle physics with a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory.

Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Oxford.

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Aleksandra is the Finance Manager at Hummingbird. Before joining Hummingbird, she worked as Group Finance Associate at Kartesia.

 Aleksandra holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from Higher School of Economics (Moscow) and a Master degree from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.

Konrad became part of Hummingbird’s Analyst Program launch in 2025, focusing on European investments. Before that, he worked at Slush, the Helsinki-based startup conference, where he built relationships with VCs and LPs across the globe.

Originally from Poland, Konrad studied in 4 countries: Poland, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Finland. Outside of work, he’s passionate about sports, whether it’s football, swimming, squash, or padel.

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Francesca joined the Hummingbird investment team in 2025. Prior to this, Francesca was an investor at TA Associates, based in Boston, focused on financial services and fintech.

She started her career in investment banking at Rothschild & Co within the Infrastructure, Power, and Renewables team in New York.

Francesca studied Applied Mathematics at Columbia, graduating Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She loves skiing and running. She is also passionate about wine and really enjoys oil painting.

Marc joined the Hummingbird investment team in 2025.

He has worked at various Aerospace and defence companies as an early employee at both Mach Industries and AMCA. He has also spent time working on the investment side at Dorm Room Fund and Founders Fund.

Marc studied Aerospace Engineering at MIT and was a recipient on the Henry Webb Salisbury Award.