Meet the team
Sarah Antor
Sarah Antor is the founding General Partner of Helena Capital bringing a wealth of experience along the entire lifecycle of a business. She most recently served as General Counsel and Head of Regulatory for the AI-powered anti-money laundering platform, Hawk: AI. She was also General Counsel of the fintech Payworks ahead of its sale to Visa. In 2018, she was tapped to lead the European investment banking division of Raymond James (NYSE: RFJ) as COO Europe and she served as CEO of the German subsidiary through the end of 2021. Sarah’s career at the intersection of banking, law, and tech spans three decades, beginning in capital markets at SmithBarney and First Union Securities as a high-yield debt Research Analyst for telecomm and healthcare. In 2003, she joined the Office of South Carolina’s Governor Mark Sanford as Chief Legal Counsel enacting the state Venture Capital Program as a fund of funds and steering economic development with the state’s largest trading partner, Bavaria, Germany. Four years later, Sarah joined BridgehouseLaw serving SME clients in their transatlantic expansion and relocated to Munich. She soon began supporting founders in the burgeoning fintech scene with incorporating, fundraising, scaling or finding potential partnerships and buyers in the U.S. Sarah holds degrees in economics, organizational behaviour and business from Tulane University, obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law and has been an Adjunct Professor of both Law at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and Business at the EU Business School in Munich. She is hyper-focused on funding the missing middle for climate tech founders – especially female – and helping them successfully scale their business across the Atlantic to achieve their chosen strategic exit.
Adine Tjeenk Willink
Adine is General Partner at Helena Capital and 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.
Rutuja Jagtap
Rutuja is a seasoned investment professional with 13 years of experience across energy and infrastructure in Asia, Europe, and North America. As a General Partner at Helena capital, she leads Series B investments in climate tech, backing high-growth companies driving the energy transition.
Before venture capital, Rutuja was an Investment Banker in New York, advising global clients in the energy transition and climate tech sectors on M&A, capital raising, and strategic transactions. She played a key role in structuring complex deals that accelerated innovation and scaled climate solutions.
Prior to banking, she built a deep foundation in strategy, operations, and supply chain at GE Power & Water, where she managed global procurement, manufacturing, and project execution. Her firsthand experience in scaling industrial technologies and navigating operational complexities provides critical insight for climate tech founders building at scale.
Most recently, Rutuja was an Investment Director at Finance in Motion, a leading impact asset manager overseeing €3.2 billion across nine funds in Latin America, Africa, MENA, and Central and Southeast Europe. She spearheaded energy transition and infrastructure investments while shaping the firm’s private equity strategy across key impact themes.
Rutuja holds a Mechanical Engineering degree and an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler. She was recognized as a Rising Woman in Finance by Markets Media in 2021.
Connie Cocroft
Connie brings more than two decades of investment, operating, and consulting experience. Her investment career includes M&A, equity research, and venture capital, primarily focused on internet, software, and SaaS. Her venture capital experience spans from Seed to exit.
She spent fourteen years in operational roles, primarily at CA Technologies (acquired by Broadcom), a $15B software company, where her responsibilities ranged from M&A, strategy, product portfolio management, operations, office of the CTO, marketing, innovation, and analytics. Connie was also a board member of the company's internal new business accelerator.
Following her experience at CA, Connie shifted her focus to climate and impact. She is a venture partner with Trailhead Capital, a first-time VC fund focused on Regenerative Agriculture, and a founding partner of Earendel Partners, a consulting firm where she helps guide founders of impact-oriented businesses as they evolve their strategies and explore financing options. She also helps investors navigate the complex impact investing space. She also consults with Pinnacle Group a recruiting firm focused on finding investment-focused team members for family offices, endowments and foundations.
Connie currently sits on the board of Morse Group, a music-focused holding company. She is a long-time judge at the Harvard Business School new venture competition. She holds a BA from Williams College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Robin Wood Sailer
Robin Wood Sailer is a venture partner at Helena Capital and the co-founder of Le Labs Group. Previously, she worked at CBS News, Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal | Barron's Group. She has produced award winning programming for digital news, broadcast television, audio, mixed reality and ~100 news making events during her time at Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and Le Labs. She was part of the team that built the original Bloomberg Events division. The business was incubated at Bloomberg Ventures. At the Wall Street Journal, she was part of the team that produced WSJ Tech Live in Laguna and Hong Kong as well as the Future of Everything Festival. At Bloomberg and at the Wall Street Journal, she oversaw the curation of founders and investors who participated in the shark tank inspired startup showcases that were embedded in technology focused conferences. At Dow Jones -- when the pandemic shut down in person events -- her business unit participated in Prehype's accelerator program to launch a virtual event business. She also started and ran the custom and brand events business. Currently she advises founders, investors and executive leaders on storytelling, strategic partnerships and business development. Le Labs' clients and partners have included Fortune 500 companies, founders, investors and non-profits. She is on the board of the New York Financial Writers Association and Sticks and Stones Studio, an arts education program in Oregon.
Joanna Mielcarek
Jo Mielcarek is a private markets distribution strategist with over eight years of experience in business development and fundraising. She has held key roles at Schroders, Picus Capital, and Ventuure, focusing on scaling distribution platforms and investor relations. With expertise in hedge funds, private markets structuring, and venture capital, she has helped managers optimize fundraising strategies. Jo is multilingual and has worked across the UK, EU, and US, democratizing access to private market investments.