Professional and socially engaged… These are the words we use to describe ourselves at Lendahand. We are a diverse team with experience in business, banking, consulting and working in the non-profit sector. Please allow us to introduce ourselves!
Management Team
Our Management consists of three executives who are responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and day to day operations of the company. Our CEO & COO are also both Co-founders who have been with Lendahand since the beginning. Their experience spans across Banking, Corporate Finance, and International Aid & Development, allowing us to be a social enterprise that puts impact first while still pursuing a sustainable and profitable business model.
Koen The
CEO & Co-founderA self-proclaimed “reformed banker,” Koen is a former Executive Director at Goldman Sachs and Assistant VP at Barclays Capital, now putting his extensive financial knowledge and background to work fighting poverty as the CEO of Lendahand. A proud alumnus of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam with a degree in Econometrics and an MBA from Cal Berkeley, Koen has overseen the growth of Lendahand from a small team of 4 employees to a buzzing group of 20. Our CEO is committed to helping Lendahand fulfill its potential as the world’s leading crowdfunding platform for impact investing.
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Peter Stolze
COO & Co-founderThe person making sure Lendahand always keeps impact at the forefront of our focus, Peter is a former Manager of Corporate Strategy at T-Mobile and Manager of Microfinance at Cordaid. He is our COO and is dedicated to helping Lendahand maintain operational excellence throughout his various responsibilities. Proud alumnus of Erasmus University & Radboud University Nijmegen, Peter lives in Rotterdam with his family, where he is an avid footballer and enthusiastic Feyenoord supporter.
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Daniël van Maanen
CFOMaking sure Lendahand’s numbers add up is Daniel. His background ranges from Portfolio Manager at APG Asset Management to CFO of Aircrete Europe, an international technology company in the construction sector. He joined our team in December of 2019 as CFO with the desire to make social impact a central focus of his career. Graduate of the University of Tilburg, Daniel lives in Utrecht, with his family.
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Team
Adriaan Schiphorst
Senior Data OfficerThe data officer who’s always up for a challenge. Adriaan went to the California Institute of Technology to learn about experimental physics and joined Lendahand in 2020. Apart from hosting fun work activities, he spends most of the day puzzling with data, investments, and technology.
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Lily Zhou
Head of MarketingAfter working at Mindshare and Unilever, Lily wanted to use her experience in media and marketing for a cause closer to her heart. In the Growth Team, she does a little bit of everything, taking strategic plans to execution. After earning her Master’s Degree at Erasmus University, she found her home in Rotterdam. As opposed to (almost) everybody else in the office, Lily doesn’t drink coffee, which is a bit ironic considering our office location.
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Lera Ilginisova
Investments Operations OfficerLera is an avid traveler who enjoys exploring new countries, meeting people, and creating precious memories. Her adult-life travel itinerary starts in St. Petersburg, Russia, from where she moved to the United States for almost a decade. After spending 2 years in Nairobi, Kenya, you can now find her playing fetch with her dog Cena in a park in Amsterdam. Lera streamlines the Investment team processes by bringing experience in operations, project management, and data analytics to the table.
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Carolina Arriaga
Marketing Coordinator FranceWith her high spirits and experience with partnerships at former French platform Babyloan, Carolina sure knows how to shake the maracas in the Marketing Team. A Mexican in Paris, she loves to learn about new cultures, personal development, and work for her foundation supporting underpriviledged children in Mexico.
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Jorge Vilar
Operations & Knowledge ManagementAs part of our Catalyst and Knowledge Team, Jorge is responsible for problem-solving in daily activities. He has a heart for solar energy projects and is originally from Portugal. Our only certified Apple Genius, Jorge also used to do comic strips and even short animation videos before working at Lendahand.
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Judith Mathijssen
Impact ManagerJudith is the freelancer who never left. With a background in consultancy for social and financial conclusion and healthcare access in developing countries, she is our guidance in executing our impact framework.
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Steven Kemp
Senior DeveloperSteven would bike passed the Lendahand office in Rotterdam almost daily, without having a clue that it would one day become his place of work. Steven is a musician turned web-developer. When not noodling on his computer or guitars, you're likely to find him cooking for friends, family or just himself.
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Antón Jáuregui
Country Manager SpainWhen Antón founded his own crowdfunding platform for social projects in 2016, his social entrpreneurs’ soul awakened. Now he orients his career to impact finance and focuses on the Spanish market at Lendahand. Antón loves to travel and finds his creative outlet in photography, and making documentaries with his brother.
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Jan Metten Van der Meer
Sr. Software EngineerJan Metten brings many years of experience in software development to Lendahand, 8 of which he worked in the USA. He enjoys nature; especially watching and photographing birds. You can find him doing this while hiking, kayaking or even running. Jan Metten also enjoys making chocolates, yum yum!
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Charles Te
Investment ManagerFrom Paris to Barcelona to… Amsterdam. This Frenchie is going places, on his skateboard. Charles is determined to make an impact wherever he goes. He has studied Finance at ESADE business school in Barcelona. He also comes with some impact investing experience from the Netri Foundation and highly recommends intermittent fasting to engage in deep work.
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Matteo Gilardi
Investment AssociateMatteo started as our intern and is now Investment Associate within the Investments Team. Originally from Italy, he's been hopping around the U.S., Portugal, and Spain before moving to the Netherlands. Matteo loves to surf and promised to face the cold and stormy North Sea soon. Albeit in a thicker wetsuit than usual.
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Willianne van der Weijde
Legal & Compliance OfficerWillianne is as native and local to Rotterdam as can be. As a part of our Legal Team, she works towards her goal to create equal opportunities and inclusion in the impact sector. Before joining Lendahand, Willianne worked at People’s Pension - a micro pension company in Ghana - and SNAP Solutions, where she introduced a savings product to coffee farmers in Rwanda. She loves structure and having everything under control, all of which is possible provided there is coffee.
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Ingrid Murariu
Junior Legal OfficerDrafting investment contracts, loan agreements and more, Ingrid is getting plenty of legal work done at Lendahand. Having sticked around after her studies in Psychology, International and European Union Law, and Crisis and Security Management, she now calls Rotterdam home. Yet the lifelong dream of our Romanian colleague is to one day live in a beach house.
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Lynn Hamerlinck
Content Marketing SpecialistLynn creates content to inspire and inform our investors about Lendahand. She has a background in journalism and communication, has a Flemish accent, and lived in Brazil for two years. When this happy camper is unreachable, she’s probably on the water.
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Clarisse Grosset
Multi-Media DesignerClarisse, our designer, creates all of our visual content. From new web pages to infographics, if you follow Lendahand, you’re likely familiar with her work. This française is a mastermind in making beautiful illustrations out of original ideas. Clarisse moved to the Netherlands especially to work for Lendahand.
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Isabella Kecht
People and Culture ManagerIsabella joined the team as a People & Culture Manager and contributes her entrepreneurship, interpersonal and people management skills to create a great work environment for the whole team. She was born in Ecuador and grew up in the deep south of Germany. A true citizen of the world! Next to all sorts of sports like hiking or gymnastics, theater improv and meditation you might still find her searching for the Dutch mountains… But if you would ask her, moving to the Netherlands was still one of the best decisions of her life!
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Anshul Jindal
Head of InvestmentsLeading the investments team to excellence is Anshul. He brings 14 years of experience in impact investments to the team, having worked at Oikocredit, responsAbility, and Rabobank. His passion for high-impact investments in emerging markets got him to travel to more than 20 countries for work. After being torn between Delhi and Mumbai for his whole life, his family decided to move to the Netherlands in early 2020 to pursue new career opportunities. If you’re looking to connect with this avid networker, you can probably coax him into a game of badminton.
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Manan Modi
Investment ManagerAs a kid, Manan was dedicated to becoming a professional tennis player. That was until he discovered that being an Investment Manager at Lendahand also was an option. So, after spending some time in Georgia (the country), the Indian Manan came to the Netherlands to delight the team with his good humor.
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