Meet our Team
Sarah Antor
General Partner, Munich
Connie Cocroft
General Partner, New York
Adine Tjeenk Willink
Olly Sauer
General Partner, Munich
General Partner, Amsterdam
Sarah Antor
Sarah’s career at the intersection of banking, law, and tech spans three decades and began in capital markets at SmithBarney (now Morgan Stanley) and later First Union Securities (now Wells Fargo) as a high-yield debt research analyst focused on telecommunications & healthcare technology. In 2003, she joined the Office of SC Governor Mark Sanford as legal advisor on legislation enacting the first Venture Capital Program for the state as a fund of funds structure and steering economic development with the state’s largest trading partner, Bavaria, Germany. Four years later, Sarah accepted a role at a German law firm serving corporate clients in their transatlantic expansion and relocated to Munich. She very quickly found her niche supporting tech startups in the financial services sector (later coined Fintech) with incorporating, fundraising, expanding/relocating or finding potential partnerships and buyers in the U.S. Sarah later served as GC of fintech Payworks leading up to its sale to Visa as well as Head of Regulatory at fintech Hawk AI. In 2018, she was tapped to lead the international investment banking division of Raymond James (NYSE: RFJ) as COO of Europe and CEO of the German subsidiary through the end of 2021. Sarah brings a wealth of experience along the entire lifecycle of a business. She is hyper-focused on helping female founders successfully scale their business across the Atlantic and achieve their chosen strategic exit.
Connie Cocroft
Connie brings 26+ years of investment, operating, and consulting experience. She started her career in M&A, equity research, and venture capital, primarily focused on software/ SaaS. Her venture capital experience spans from Seed to Series C and exit. She brought that investment lens to a $15B software company (CA Technologies). Her roles ranged from M&A to product portfolio management for a $650M R&D budget to establishing the company's first strategy process and office of innovation. While in M&A, she led the process for the company's most successful acquisition and integration. She also led cross-BU strategy and marketing, establishing the company's go-to-market strategy. At CA, she evolved customer insight through data analytics, successfully launching a program that allowed everyone in the company to see what success drivers were effective and in place for each product and customer, all while serving on the board of the company's internal accelerator, and as a leader in the CTO office. Connie expanded her focus to Climate Tech and Healthtech as a venture partner with Trailhead Capital, a first-time VC fund focused on Regenerative Agriculture, and with Earendel Partners, where she helped guide founders of impact-oriented businesses as they evolved their strategies and explored financing options. She currently sits on the board of Morse Group and as a judge at the Harvard Business School new venture competition.
Olly Sauer
Olly brings 14 years of credit risk and direct investment experience across the full spectrum of private equity. Olly started her investing career at Arcadia Partners, focused on social sectors, including healthcare and education. She then moved on to work on the investment team at Adaxia Capital Partners, a €200m private equity fund making mid-market buy-out investments in companies offering products and services enabling improved resource efficiency and a path towards decarbonisation. Olly then went on to build a tremendously successful portfolio of seed and Series A investments focused on female-founded tech companies, with a particular passion for start-ups addressing existential risks to our planet and its inhabitants. Having obtained ample training and experience in risk functions focused on international expansion of SMEs at UK Export Finance and Export Development Canada, Olly possesses strong analytical skills, enabling her to spearhead due diligence on new investment opportunities at Helena Capital.
Adine Tjeenk Willink
Adine brings 12 years of tech sector experience, blending venture capital, entrepreneurship, and digital consulting. As part of the investment team at Fortino Capital, she contributed to managing $800M AUM, with a focus on Seed and Series A investments in B2B SaaS. She also founded and scaled two tech startups, ultimately leading them to exits with strategic players. Adine's extensive network of female founders and operators is key to her role at Helena Capital, where she specializes in "investing before we invest"—identifying and nurturing female-led startups to prepare them for growth and the next funding round. If you run a Seed or Series A funded female- led company, reach out to Adine—she’s here to help you navigate your path to success.