Sebastian’s responsibilities include deal origination, execution and oversight, along with supporting the other members of the M&A team.

Prior to Upliift Sebastian spent 5 years as M&A Director at Jonas Software, a division of Constellation Software Inc., and a year as M&A Director for ClearCourse.

He closed 22 acquisitions over that time and worked on countless others.

Sebastian is from the UK and lives in the Chilterns.

He originally has an accounting background, moving into M&A in 2017, for the excitement that deal making brings.

In his spare time Sebastian enjoys watching Arsenal, playing golf (poorly), karting and spending time with his wife and 3 daughters.

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Darko’s responsibilities include investment origination and execution.

Prior to joining Upliift Darko was part of the investment team at Constellation Software Inc., where he spent three years focusing on European software companies.

He started his career at Ernst & Young for five years, followed by eight years as an investment professional in the private equity industry.

Darko lives in Zagreb, Croatia. He is a CFA charter holder.

In his spare time, Darko enjoys hiking and spending time in nature.

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Chrétien is a seasoned Go-to-Market and M&A professional in the global software industry.

In the capacity as General Manager he launched and scaled a variety of software companies in the BeNeLux as well as the broader European market. Amongst them well-known global software leaders like Informatica, Salesforce and Elastic. Most recently he is also involved with Dutch software start-ups in helping them to scale the business internationally.

Over the past 6 years he spent most of his time as M&A professional with both international software companies (most recent with Exact Software in The Netherlands) as well as PE firms. In this period he has completed over 20 successful acquisitions leveraging his leadership and management experience running and growing successful SaaS businesses.

Living in Amsterdam Chrétien enjoys discovering newly opened restaurants, cooking, playing padel with his (grown up) sons who still can’t beat him. City-trips is another hobby.

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Teresa is Upliift’s Head of Origination and is responsible for driving and maintaining origination focus across the firm. She spends her time identifying, analyzing, and engaging with extraordinary entrepreneurs and management teams in vertical software companies across Europe, with a particular focus on the DACH region.

Teresa has worked in the investment world for over 10 years with responsibilities including the set-up of an origination function at a consumer brand-focused growth capital fund and the lead of an origination team at a mid-market, software-focussed Private Equity fund. Born and raised in Germany, Teresa completed her studies at Maastricht University and Erasmus University Rotterdam before making London her home.

In her spare time, Teresa enjoys capoeira training, dancing, theatre and performance arts, music, long walks with a good (audio)book, and traveling to the remotest corners of the planet.

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Jérémy focuses on investments in France & Spain.

Prior to joining Upliift Jérémy was part of the M&A team at Believe, a French Music-Tech listed company.

He previously spent 7 years working in M&A (advisory and corporate) / investment roles in various tech-related sectors, prior to joining Believe.

Jérémy is originally from Perpignan, France, and now lives in Paris. He is a graduate from SKEMA Business School where he studied Corporate Finance.

Besides French, Jérémy speaks English and Spanish.

In his spare time, Jérémy enjoys exercising, cooking, spending time with his family and learning bass.

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Nicola is an M&A Manager focusing on investments in Italy.

Prior to Upliift, Nicola spent the last year as CFO of RE-Lender, a lending crowdfunding company.

Before this Nicola was at Bain and Company where he focused on working with Banks and Telco firms and in Intesa Sanpaolo in the CIB division as VP in the Coverage and M&A team for Telecom, Media & Technology industry.

He studied at L. Bocconi University in Milan, where he graduated with a Master of Science in Management.

Outside of work, Nicola enjoys CrossFit and kick boxing along with spending time travelling.

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Valentina is as an M&A Manager supporting investment origination and execution.

Prior to joining Upliift, she spent three years at Constellation Software working on a number of transactions within European portfolio.

Valentina started her career working as a sell-side advisor in an M&A boutique.

Valentina lives in Zagreb, Croatia.

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Dora is an M&A Associate at Upliift with a masters degree from the Faculty of Economics & Business in Zagreb. She began her career in EY’s Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) and gained additional experience during her internship at Intercapital. Dora then excelled in management consulting, reaching the role of Senior Consultant in just three years. Passionate about personal development, she balances her career with hobbies like traveling, spending time with loved ones, cooking, baking, and staying active through gym workouts and boxing.

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Ivana is a Research Analyst, her role at Upliift is to identify and analyse European vertical software markets and to empower portfolio companies.
Ivana obtained a master’s degree in finance from the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb. During her studies, she worked as a student assistant at the Department of Finance and the Department of Marketing. She was a recipient of a scholarship for students with outstanding academic achievements and received the Dean’s appreciation for extracurricular activities during her studies. Ivana was a team leader in a student association, where she actively promoted financial literacy among young people. Prior to Upliift, she gained work experience in a voluntary pension fund as a fixed-income analyst.
Ivana enjoys spending quality time with her dog in nature and socializing with friends.

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Andro is a Research Analyst, and as a part of Upliift Portfolio Team, he leverages his analytical skills to conduct market research, identify trends and opportunities in European vertical software markets. His responsibilities include sourcing potential M&A targets, supporting investment due diligence, and providing market intelligence to help Upliift’s portfolio companies grow.
Prior to joining Upliift, Andro has worked as an equity analyst at Croatia Insurance Voluntary Pension Fund, creating valuation models and analyzing company financial reports. He also worked at the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, developing power pricing models and feasibility studies for energy entities. He attended the Business Mathematics and Economics undergraduate program at Zagreb School of Economics and Management.
Outside of work, Andro enjoys spending time with his family and friends, does orienteering, and plays padel as hobbies. He also has a great interest in following global equity markets and asset management.

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Melissa joined Upliift as an Origination Associate to support the company’s strategy in sourcing and nurturing long-term relationships with potential targets.

She began her career in Barcelona in an event organization, developing key skills that paved the way for the next 6 years in Talent Acquisition Management, based in Lisbon. During her experience, she managed both in-house and outsourcing recruitment processes for markets such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Germany. In recent years, she has worked with a focus on the IT & Cybersecurity sector, working with executives to optimize hiring strategies and improve the candidate experience.

She studied Languages, Communication, and Media at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in Milan, and later pursued a Master’s in Event Management at the Universidad Autonoma of Barcelona.

Outside of work, Melissa is a passionate traveler and a food lover. She enjoys relaxing at home with a movie or going out with friends to discover cultural and/or musical events. She loves the sun, the sea, socializing, reading, and learning new languages.

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Candelaria is an Origination Associate on the Originations Team, where she works closely with the Head of Origination and the M&A team to initiate first contacts with owners of promising software companies.

She holds a degree in Psychology and brings a wealth of experience as a Talent Consultant. In that role, she developed strong, long-lasting relationships with both clients and candidates. Her responsibilities included conducting market research to stay up to date with the latest industry trends and engaging decision-makers to understand their key pain points in the talent sector.

Outside of work, Candelaria enjoys working out and has a passion for cooking, often experimenting with new recipes.

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