Our team
At NJF Capital, we have created, built and sold our own companies. We have a seasoned, international team with a track record of successful venture investing across Europe, the USA and China.
Our team is also supported by in-house specialisms in accountancy, legal and project management, with experience gathered across a range of corporate, venture, Family Office and public/private sector environments.
Nikolajs Smirnovs
Chief Financial Officer
Nikolajs began his career in accountancy practice where he looked after various SME clients. From 2010, Nikolajs worked for private investment groups and family offices providing financial leadership and investment advice.
Nikolajs holds a BSc in Accounting from Bedfordshire University and an MSc in Finance and Investments (Distinction) from CASS business school. He is also a Chartered Management accountant (ACMA, CGMA) and holds an Investment Management Certificate.
Pierre Sapin
Head of Ventures
Pierre started his career as an investment banker specialising in technology at Goldman Sachs in both London and New York in Equity Capital Markets. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Economics and Finance from Paris Dauphine University. He worked for 10 years with Internet entrepreneur, Jean-Christophe Chopin who co-founded E*Trade Europe, then Verisign Europe and BORN. Pierre is co-founder of BORN, the first SaaS PremiumTech company reimagining how professional buyers and brands do business by leveraging technology. He oversaw business and corporate development for 9,000 B2B buyers and 1,600 brands.
Pierre is Head of Ventures for NJF Capital and brings a decade of operational experience to fast-growing companies. In this role, he sources, qualifies and brings value to our existing and future portfolio companies and founders.
Ryan Taylor
General Counsel
Ryan is a UK-qualified solicitor who trained and spent eight years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, leaving as a Senior Associate in the corporate team.
During his career, Ryan has advised a range of multi-national corporates and financial institutions on complex, cross-border M&A deals, joint ventures and other corporate transactions. Ryan also completed secondments to Freshfields’ New York office and in-house to Novartis, Switzerland.
Ryan holds a Law degree from the University of Oxford.
Pilar Prado
Associate
Before joining NJF Capital, Pilar spent over two years at Monitor Deloitte, departing as an analyst in the strategic consulting team having advised companies on a range of strategic subjects across varied industries including FIG and P&S.
Pilar holds a BA in Business administration from Lancaster University and ICADE Business School (Comillas Universidad Pontificia).
Noah Crew-Gee
Investment Analyst
Noah began his career at Analysys Mason, a leading TMT-focused consultancy specialising in transaction support for telecoms assets as well as strategic advisory. In his time as a consultant, he worked on numerous tower and fibre M&A transactions across Europe, MENA, and LATAM. Prior to this he read Physics at the University of Cambridge, graduating with a First.
As an Investment Analyst at NJF Capital, Noah specialises in quantifying investment opportunities from both a financial and fundamentals perspective.
Roy Kurtzbard
Investment Analyst
Roy Kurtzbard brings a scientific mindset to the team with a strong passion for innovation in HealthTech.
Roy holds an MEng in Biomedical Engineering from King’s College London, where he was awarded the Raymond Gosling Prize for achieving the highest overall grade in his cohort.
Most recently, Roy interned at aMoon Fund, a global HealthTech and Life Sciences investment fund, where he worked an intelligence analyst.
James Stephens
Executive Assistant
James previously spent twelve years working across Whitehall and notable roles included Private Secretary to the Minister for London and project / programme management specialist at the then Department for Energy and Climate Change. James holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from Brunel University, London.
James is Executive Assistant to the Founder of NJF Capital and also provides operational management support to the rest of the team across the deal pipeline and the portfolio.