Seventure Partners, one of Europe’s leaders in financing innovation, has announced that it has furthered strengthened its Life Sciences team with two new appointments: Professor Denise Kelly joins as an Investment Adviser whilst Oxana Kukhaneva has been appointed Venture Partner.
Ms Kukhaneva joins Seventure from Inventages Venture Capital, where she was Investment Manager of the investment team. Oxana brings more than 12 years of experience in private equity investment in venture and growth in healthcare, nutrition and consumer goods.
Born and raised in Russia, she started her career in project finance and business development, working for a software start-up company. Oxana holds a BA in International Relations and Affairs and a BS in Economics from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations MFA Russia MGIMO, as well as an MA and MBA from the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.
Professor Kelly joins Seventure from the Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, where she was a Professor of Immunology and Microbiology for more than 25 years. In tandem, she held the roles of CEO and CSO at GT Biologics Ltd, a spin-out of the Rowett Institute, from 2008-2015.
Professor Kelly holds a BSc and PhD from the Queen’s University, Belfast, and gained her Emeritus Professorship from the University of Aberdeen. Her significant experience in gut microbiology and immunology brings key expertise to Seventure, where her main focus will be on microbiome investments.
Welcoming Oxana and Denise to the team, Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO of Seventure Partners, said: 'Through our innovative Health for Life Capital, we continue to invest in companies who are working at the cutting edge of food, nutrition, pharma and more broadly human health. To ensure we have the best talent and can make the best, most informed investments, we are expanding our team to reflect the experience and specialist expertise required.'
