
Management

CEO
roland.dominice@symbioticsgroup.com
Prior to co-founding Symbiotics, Roland worked for BlueOrchard Finance as their CFO for three years, as well as for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Geneva in management consulting, for McKesson in San Francisco in corporate finance, and for UBS Switzerland in institutional asset management. He holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute (IHEID) in Geneva and a master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.

COO
yvan.renaud@symbioticsgroup.com
Yvan joined Symbiotics in 2005. Prior to this, he worked for BlueOrchard Finance where he was the chief operations officer. Before this, he was a microfinance consultant in Peru and a small enterprise consultant in Western Africa and worked as a fund accountant at Capital International in Geneva. Yvan holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Geneva and a master’s degree in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics.

CIO
sebastien.duquet@symbioticsgroup.com
From 1995 to 2005, Sébastien worked for Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young as a TAS Senior Director (Transaction Advisory Services). He became CEO of PlaNet Finance in June 2005. He is also a co-founder of FinanCités and Planet Guarantee. From 2009 to end 2015, Sébastien managed PlaNIS that he then merged with ResponsAbility. At responsAbility he was in charge of the debt investments portfolio Eastern Europe, Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia. He was also part of the management committee of ResponsAbility. From 2016 to May 2018, Sébastien joined Oxus as a CEO. Sébastien holds a diploma from the French Business School EDHEC and from the DESCF. He is a teacher at Sciences PO Paris and EDHEC Business School.

Investments
Head of Investments
daniel.schriber@symbioticsgroup.com
Prior to joining Symbiotics in 2006, Daniel worked at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in various management positions in Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, and finally as Deputy Head of Operations for Eastern Europe at ICRC’s Geneva headquarters. Daniel held different positions at Symbiotics, including Regional Manager for Europe and Asia, Head of the Research and Advisory Division and since 2013 as Head of the Investments Division. Daniel holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute (IHEID) in Geneva and an executive MBA in Management and Corporate Finance from the University of Lausanne.

Markets
Head of Markets
vincent.lehner@symbioticsgroup.com
Vincent joined Symbiotics in 2007 first serving as an investment analyst covering Latin America and E. Europe and later for W. Africa. Previously, he worked for Nestlé, as a supply chain and operational project manager in S. America and E. Europe, as a logistician with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supporting operations in Angola, Sudan and Russia and as a business consultant for IBM. Vincent holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Impact
Head of Impact
mariano.larena@symbioticsgroup.com
Since he joined Symbiotics in 2011, Mariano has held various positions at Symbiotics, among them Head of Technical Assistance and Development Finance, and Project Manager of REGMIFA. Mariano has a law degree from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, and is a member of the Madrid Chamber of Lawyers. An experienced banker with over 30 years expertise, he has worked as an independent microfinance and SME consultant, as a regional coordinator for Latin America at ProCredit, and has held various senior manager positions within German and Spanish commercial banks.

Corporate (CFO)
Head of Corporate (CFO)
christophe.favre@symbioticsgroup.com
Formerly, Christophe worked for sixteen years for UBS in Lausanne, Geneva, Zurich and in New York in positions ranging from credit and recovery management, risk management and structured lending to client-facing activities in the Sub-Saharan African market. Christophe holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, a diploma of advanced studies (DAS) in commodity trading from the University of Geneva and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Applied Sciences, Lausanne.

Digital
Head of Digital
john.staehli@symbioticsgroup.com
John Staehli, previously Head of the Marketing & Communication unit, returned to Symbiotics in 2014 after spending five years at HSBC Private Bank as Head of Marketing Switzerland overseeing activities within Europe and the Middle East. Before this he was managing the communications at Symbiotics; an Account Manager at Saatchi & Saatchi; and the Event Manager of Lombard Odier Private Bank. He holds a Visual Communication diploma from the Applied Art School of Geneva and various certifications in the field of digital, marketing and communication.

Risk (CRO)
Head of Risk (CRO)
jerome.savelli@symbioticsgroup.com
Before joining Symbiotics in 2006, Jérôme worked for Deloitte & Touche as a Financial Institutions Auditor and for Société Générale Investment Banking as a Regional Risk Project Manager in Hong Kong. He subsequently worked for three years as the Director of Initiative Development Ghana, a microfinance NGO, delivering credit savings and training services to urban poor in its capital, Accra. Jérôme holds an MBA from the ESSEC Business School in Paris.

Mexico
Mexico
klaus.geyer@symbioticsgroup.com
Klaus has over 25 years of senior management experience in the microfinance industry. Prior to joining Symbiotics in 2018 he held positions as CEO in FINCA Nicaragua and as CEO of ProCredit Bank (Nicaragua). He also served as Director of Regional Management Academies of the ProCredit Group in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Throughout his career, Mr. Geyer has helped to develop savings and deposits, housing improvement loans and subsidy programs as well as other financial services to reach lower-income populations. He holds a master’s in economics from the Freie Universitaet in Berlin, Germany.

South Africa
South Africa
duncan.frayne@symbioticsgroup.com
Prior to joining Symbiotics in March 2015, Duncan was country manager in China for Accion International where he led the launch and management of microfinance operations over the past 6 years. Previously, he worked for several years in commercial and private banking in South Africa and later spent six years in various managerial positions for FINCA International and Accion in Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Nigeria. Duncan holds an MBA and postgraduate certificate in Business Administration from the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University.

Singapore
Singapore
patrick.dhuart@symbioticsgroup.com
Patrick d’Huart has gained field experience on four continents, having started his career consulting a leading microfinance institution in Haiti with IPC, working 9 years as Investment Analyst in Balkans, Caucasus, East Asia and especially in Africa, and currently as regional manager for the Asian markets team at Symbiotics. Patrick has developed strong investment analysis skills and versatility when dealing with a large range of financial institutions in developing and emerging countries. Patrick holds a BSc and MSc of Economics (University of Namur) and a Post Graduate in International Politics (Université Libre de Bruxelles).

United Kingdom
United Kingdom
philipp.jung@symbioticsgroup.com
Philipp is Head of Structuring at Symbiotics UK Limited, where he joined in 2013. Prior to this, he worked for Standard & Poor’s in the structured finance ratings department (CLOs, CDOs, Securitisations, Swaps) and for the European Investment Bank group. Philipp holds a degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen (CH), a degree in International Management from the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS) and a graduate diploma in English law (Hons) from the University of Law.

Netherlands
Netherlands
florian.grohs@symbioticsgroup.com
Florian has over 25 years experience in social finance and banking. He has managed large portfolios of loans and equity investments of up to € 900 million. He’s held top management positions at Oikocredit, a social finance cooperative for 14 years. Florian is passionate about impact investments and microfinance.