Your Mission Control

Mark Boggett

CEO & Managing Partner

Mark is a pioneer in SpaceTech investment having co-founded Seraphim Space Manager LLP, Generation Space LLC, Seraphim Space Accelerator and Generation Space Accelerator and launched the Seraphim Space LP fund, UK Space Tech Angels and Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC. Previously, Mark was a director at YFM Equity Partners, the firm behind the high profile British Smaller Companies VCTs 1 & 2. He also worked at Brewin Dolphin and Williams de Broe. He completed his undergraduate degree in Accounting & Finance and Master’s in Economics and Finance from the University of Leeds. Mark has been a fund representative on the boards of a range of global leading SpaceTech companies, including LeoLabs, Spire Global (listed on NYSE), Arqit (listed on NASDAQ) and HawkEye 360.

James Bruegger

CIO & Managing Partner

James, co-founder and CIO of Seraphim Space Manager LLP and co-founder of Generation Space LLC, Seraphim Space Accelerator and Generation Space Accelerator. He is a prolific venture capital investor in the global SpaceTech domain. James was an early venture capital investor in Arqit, ICEYE, LeoLabs and D-Orbit and led investments in several companies that went public, including Spire Global and AST SpaceMobile. Previously, he worked at YFM Equity Partners and Burlington Consultants, a boutique strategy consultancy that was acquired by Deloitte & Touche. James holds a first-class degree in History from University College London. James has been a fund representative on the boards of a range of global leading SpaceTech companies, including ICEYE, D-Orbit, Ultrasoc, ALL.SPACE (formerly Isotropic Systems) and Satellite Vu.

Rob Desborough

Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer Seraphim Space Camp

Rob is a partner at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and co-founder of Generation Space LLC, heading up the early stage investments. He is a co-founder of Seraphim Space Accelerator and Generation Space Accelerator, which were launched in 2018 and 2022, respectively, and are now among the world’s leading accelerator programmes for SpaceTech start-ups. Previously, Rob was with YFM Equity Partners as an Investment Director. Rob holds a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Glasgow and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Information Technology Systems from the University of Strathclyde. Under Rob’s guidance the Seraphim Space Camp Accelerator has graduated 63 SpaceTech start-ups, which have collectively raised $200m in co-investment syndicated from 73 venture capital investors. He is a fund representative on the boards of Xona Space Systems, Altitude Angel and other early stage investments.

Sarah Shackleton

COO

Sarah is the COO at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and Generation Space LLC, and has 25 years of finance experience. Previously, Sarah was a partner at Development Partners International since its inception in 2007. She was responsible for administration of the firm and its funds, including legal, compliance, HR, IT, operations, facilities and ESG and also sat on the investment committee. Sarah has experience as an active board director on private equity fund general partners and investment holding companies. Before joining Development Partners International, Sarah was an Associate Director on the Technology Equity Research team at UBS in London, specialising in the telecommunications equipment sector and covering large-cap European companies, including Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. Sarah holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Accounting from the University of Bristol.

Matt O’Connell

Investment Committee

Matt is a recognised thought leader in the geospatial intelligence industry. Currently an Operating Partner at DCVC, supporting their investments, including Space companies Capella and Planet. Matt has been working with Seraphim Space since 2018. Before that, he was CEO of OneWeb until July 2016. In 2006, he founded GeoEye (NASDAQ: GEOY), a leading global provider of satellite and aerial imagery and digital mapping information, which was acquired by Digital Globe in 2013 for $1.3bn. He has served on several private company boards and government and industry advisory commissions. Matt serves on Seraphim Space Manager LLP’s Investment Committee as an independent member to advise and address any conflicts of interest.

Ann Winblad

Investment Committee

Ann is a Managing Director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, a venture capital firm she co-founded in 1989. She is a well-known and respected software industry entrepreneur and technology leader. Ann’s firm has launched over 160 enterprise software companies and led investments that pioneered successful companies across the enterprise software sector. She served as a director of numerous private and public companies including MuleSoft, Hyperion, Sonatype, The Knot, Liquid Audio, Net Perceptions and Ace Metrix. She also currently serves as a Director of OptiMine. Ann serves on Seraphim Space Manager LLP’s Investment Committee as an independent member to advise and address any conflicts of interest.

Candace Johnson

Partner & Chair of Advisory Board

Candace has a long and distinguished career as founder/co-founder of Space ventures such as SES ASTRA, SES Global, Loral-Teleport Europe and Europe Online, as well as having played critical roles in developing Space sector leaders, including Iridium and ILS. An experienced venture capitalist and investor, she has been a member of the Strategic Committee of Iris Capital for the past decade and, until recently has served as President of the European Business Angel Network, now President Emeritus. Candace serves and has served on the boards of a number of emerging Space leaders, including NorthStar Earth and Space and Kacific. Candace serves on the Seraphim Space Manager LLP’s Investment Committee as an independent member to advise and address any conflicts of interest.

Patrick McCall

Venture Partner

Patrick is a Venture Partner for Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC and was the former chair of Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. He was a Director at Virgin from 2001 and developed businesses including Virgin Active and Virgin Trains. His most recent role was senior partner at Virgin Group. He played a key role in brokering the agreement for Virgin to launch a satellite from Cornwall in 2023.

Bob Wigley

Advisor

Bob Wigley is Chairman of UK Finance, a Commissioner for Global Britain and an entrepreneur and investor. He is also Chairman of Bink Ltd, Vesta Global Holdings Ltd and Vizolution Ltd. He is a Honorary Fellow of Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, a Visiting Fellow of Oxford University’s Said Business School and an Adjunct Professor of the University of Queensland. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and Symphony Environmental plc. He is an advisory board member of Remora Ltd, TheCityUK, Privately SA, VML Ltd, Grant Thornton UK LLP and Cap10 Partners LLP.

Kenny Mumford

General Counsel

Kenny is General Counsel at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and has 25 years of legal experience with growth companies and venture capital investors. Previously, Kenny was a partner at MBM Commercial LLP for nearly 15 years, laterally as Head of Corporate. In that role Kenny acted for high growth companies and investors (including Seraphim Space), in relation to all aspects of equity investment, fund formation, business sales and acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring, alongside general corporate advice. Previous roles before MBM included In-house Counsel at Braveheart Investment Group plc, Investment Manager at Scottish Enterprise and Solicitor, Shepherd+ Wedderburn. Kenny is a solicitor and notary public in Scotland and holds an LLB (Hons) and Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Edinburgh.

Andre Ronsoehr

Investment Principal

Andre is an Investment Principal at Seraphim Space Manager LLP, following a career focussed on the Space sector. Previously, he worked for almost a decade at Virgin Management, the family office of Sir Richard Branson. Andre co-led the seed investment in One Web in 2015 and was instrumental in investments into Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. During this time, Andre worked hand-in-hand with the boards and C-level teams of each of these three pioneering space businesses, helping shape them into the $billion businesses they are today. Andre has been a fund representative on the boards of a range of SpaceTech companies, including Astroscale and PlanetWatchers.

Maureen Haverty

Investment Vice President

Maureen joined Seraphim Space Manager LLP as Vice President following a successful career in the Space industry. She was COO at Apollo Fusion, a Space start up that was sold for $145m, where she was responsible for business development, manufacturing and complex programmes. She was also Senior Director of Corporate Development at Astra, a rocket launch company listed on NASDAQ. She has a first-class Batchelor Civil and Environmental Engineering (BE) degree from University College Cork and a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from University of Manchester. Maureen is focussed on deal origination, deal execution, portfolio management and fund operations in addition to actively supporting the associated accelerator activities.

Leah Martin

Marketing Manager

Leah is Marketing Manager at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and her role encompasses all things brand, PR, Marketing, strategy, and events. Previously, Leah was at Episode 1 VC, where she worked as Marketing Manager working alongside the investment team and the portfolio of Early stage companies. Leah is a CIM qualified marketing, communication and event specialist with specific experience working with early-stage start-ups. Leah is passionate about relationship driven community building as well as creating and sourcing engaging content to help founders bring their stories to life.

Sam Bird

Accelerator Manager

As Accelerator Manager, Sam is responsible for the development of all startups within Seraphim Space Camp. This role requires him work closely with a number of investors, mentors and corporate partners to ensure the programmes ongoing success and future growth.

Prior to joining Seraphim, Sam has worked within the innovation ecosystem for a number of years, where he has developed a strong understanding of venture building and early-stage investment. Sam has previosly worked at L Marks and, most recently at Connected Places Catapult, where he helped shape their new Future of Air Mobility accelerator.

Sam completed his undergraduate studies in Business & Management at The University of Buckingham and holds a Masters degree in Management & Entrepreneurship from Cranfield University.

Ellie Gyaurova

Accelerator Manager - Generation Space

Ellie is Accelerator Manager for the US–based Accelerator Generation Space. She designs the programme, manages the end-to-end delivery, and works with both internal and external stakeholders such as industry partners, investors, and mentors to ensure the continuous improvement and growth of the Generation Space programme.
In the past, Ellie has had the opportunity to lead the delivery of numerous accelerators across various industries. Most recently she worked at Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation agency for transport, cities, and the built environment, where she helped startups to raise venture capital and scale by implementing their solutions within local government and mega projects such as High Speed 2 - Europe’s largest ever infrastructure project. Prior to that, she ran innovation initiatives for clients such as BMW and Serco, among others.

Lewis Jones

Investment Associate

Lewis is an Investment Associate at Generation Space LLC and was previously an analyst at Seraphim Space Manager LLP. Lewis holds a first-class Aeronautics and Astronautics MEng degree from the University of Southampton, specialising in Spacecraft Engineering. Previously, he worked as a Thermal Analyst in the Rotatives department at Rolls-Royce, primarily focusing on the safety aspects of jet engines on Civil Aircraft. He also completed an internship at RBS in the Data and Analytics division. He is an avid Welsh Rugby supporter and a certified snowboard instructor.

Lucas Bishop

Investment Analyst

Lucas joined Seraphim Space Manager LLP as an Analyst in November 2021, shortly after spending 2 months on the investment team as a Summer Intern. Previously, Lucas worked at Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage. He initially joined through their Engineering Apprenticeship programme, and then followed on to become a Mechanical Design Engineer for Telecommunication Spacecraft Structures. His work primarily concerned structural and propulsion system concessions, but also extended to design projects for Additive Layer Manufacture (ALM) bracketry. In this time, Lucas also completed a part-time degree in Engineering (BEng Hons) from the University of Warwick and secured a first-class result.

Trisha Saxena

Investment Analyst

Trisha joined Seraphim Space Manager LLP as an Analyst in November 2021. She holds a Masters in Physics degree from Imperial College London. She worked for two years at HSBC Asset Management as a member of various investment teams including equity research, sales, product specialism, and product development. In addition, Trisha is closely involved in various space-related initiatives, including being on the Organising Board and a judge at the UK Space Design Competition since 2015, which runs national hackathon-style events for high school students to design futuristic space settlements in response to industry-level design briefs. Since 2019 she has been on the Board of Trustees of the Space Science and Engineering Foundation, helping to oversee the running of the charity and other programs which aim to upskill young students in areas such as finance, engineering, and medicine.

Zainab Qasim

Startup and Venture Lead

Zainab is the startup and venture lead for the Seraphim Space Accelerator and Generation Space Accelerator programmes. This involves providing support for start-ups throughout their journey and cooperating with external investors. Zainab holds a degree in BEng (Hons) Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Glasgow. After taking part in many aerospace projects throughout university, she has a dedicated interest in innovative Space technologies. With this passion and her technical expertise, she is starting to build up her knowledge around VC investment into SpaceTech to support our alumni as they continue to raise investment and help with the accelerator selection process. Previously, Zainab was an analyst at Goldman Sachs, where she was able to add investment and business knowledge to her existing skillset as an aeronautical engineer. This combination of experiences provides a unique perspective to support Space start-ups in their journey to investment readiness.

Beth Vaccarezza

Partnerships Manager, Accelerator

Beth leads activity for the Generation Space Accelerator in the Americas, and supports broader Business Development initiatives. Previously, Beth was at the UK’s Department for International (DIT) in which she held several roles, most recently US Sector Lead for Defense, Security & Space based in DC. In this role, she led a high-achieving 8-person team across the US working to enhance UK industry’s positioning as commercial partners of choice in the US. During her 4-year tenure, Beth drove millions of dollars in UK exports to the US, developed the UK Government’s North American commercial strategy for the defense & security and space sectors, and further honed her fascination for the space sector. Beth holds a Master of Public Policy Degree from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor Degree in Economics from Ave Maria University where she was a 4-year intercollegiate softball player and team captain.

Simran Nainani

Programme Associate

Simran is the Programme Associate of the Seraphim Space Accelerator and helps with all the planning and logistics to help ensure that everything goes smoothly for the startups during their time on the programme. Simran has a BA in English Literature and Creative writing and got her start at working in events during her placement year at the University of Surrey. Previously, Simran was at Anthony Nolan, a blood cancer awareness charity. She ran the engagement events, working with and liaising with the charity’s supporters and the clinicians working within the sector. At Ambition Institute, she helped run the Future Leaders programme, which supported assistant headteachers reaching headship, a fulfilling experience assisting professionals in accelerating their careers.