HERAN HealthTech Fund I

Katleen holds a PhD in Chemistry and started her career heading one of the R&D and QA labs of Umicore. She later joined McKinsey, focussing on strategy and M&A. As investment manager and head of the Health&Care department at institutional investor LRM, for 7 years, she knows the world of startups and scale ups in the life science sector inside out.

Herman is an experienced serial entrepreneur who successfully founded and sold 3 spin-offs of the University of Leuven. With the sale of Cartagenia to Agilent, Herman moved to California to lead a Genomics & Clinical Applications division of Agilent. He is the former CEO and current Executive Chair of Biocartis (BCART - EURONEXT), a molecular diagnostics company.

Annie has been a groundbreaking entrepreneur since the beginning of her career. Via strong focus on data and innovation and PE-backed buy-and-build trajectory, she built a large clinical laboratory group, changing the landscape in the world of fertility and data handling along the way. After the acquisition of the laboratory group, she started investing in startups and scale ups in life science and actively driving innovation in healthcare.

Joris is an experienced CFO, formerly active in different sectors such as energy, telecom and pharma. He started his career at EY, to later take up leading financial roles in an energy company and a CMO. As CFO of the family office of Annie Vereecken since 2017, he further broadened his expertise and gained multiple experience in the field of investments.

Raf has a decade of operational experience in the biotech sector and holds an M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Biotechnology and an MBA from Vlerick Business School. Subsequently, he spent more than 5 years at Korys, focusing on life science investments. He was involved with several young innovative companies and served as a strategic advisor for European and US-based investment funds.

Emke joined HERAN Partners in September 2020. As an experienced Office Manager and Executive Assistant she has worked in both the private and public sector. Emke is the administrative backbone of HERAN Partners, she is responsible for events, compliance and supports fund administration. She holds a Bachelor in Communication Management and speaks Dutch, English, French and Spanish.

Geoffrey joined HERAN Partners in January 2021. After gaining experience in the investment management industry at Gimv, he spent 4 years at Valiance Asset Management, a London-based VC firm with a focus on MedTech. He holds a Bachelor and Master in Business Economics (Corporate Finance) from Ghent University, Belgium and an Advanced Master in Finance (Corporate and Investment Banking) from ESCP Europe, France.

Laurens holds a Master in Biomedical Engineering as well as a Master in Medicine (Ghent University). He joined HERAN as an Analyst in October 2023 on the back of his interest in medical innovation as well as bringing to market and addressing major clinical needs. He supports early identification of deal flow opportunities, due diligence, and preparing documentation for the Investment Committee.