The INSEAD Private Equity Club (IPEC) serves as a world-class forum for those interested in all aspects of the private equity industry.
IPEC’s goal is to provide opportunities for its members to learn more about private equity, interact with key industry players, and meet fellow students and alumni with similar interests. With over 1000 INSEAD alumni working in private equity firms worldwide, IPEC’s goal is to support INSEAD’s thought leadership, participation and recognition in the field by assisting an increasing number of INSEAD MBA graduates pursue an exciting career in or related to private equity.
Martin Spirig, MBA’06J
IPEC President
Martin is a partner at Invision, a leading small/mid-cap private equity firm with offices in Switzerland and Germany. His investment interest is in German and Swiss SMEs with market leading positions in their respective fields. He is responsible for Invision’s investments in Kraft & Bauer and Schneider and is a member of the respective boards. Previously, he was also looking after the investments in RSD (divested in 2016), Boost (divested in 2015) and Feintechnik (divested 2014). Prior to Invision, Martin was a consultant at Bain & Company in Singapore with mandates throughout South East Asia, Hong Kong and Australia. His clients were, among others, global private equity firms and Asian sovereign wealth funds. Before Bain, Martin Spirig was an IT project manager at Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund. Martin Spirig holds an MBA from INSEAD, a doctorate of law from University of St. Gallen and he was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley.
Katja Berlinger, MBA’05
IPEC Committee Member
Katja Berlinger specializes in professional board membership services and the management of private equity investments, with a focus on entrepreneurial, strategic and legal aspects. She is a director of several early-stage life science and healthcare companies. She is admitted to the Zürich bar and holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Richard Bissonnet, MBA’81
IPEC Committee Member
Through his privately held company, Richard is an independent M&A and capital raising advisor to European entrepreneurs, as well as a Senior Advisor to Cowen Europe AG, a unit of the New York investment bank. He has board experience with start-ups and funds and has worked with clients throughout Europe and in South and South-East Asia. Previously he was a banker in Canada and a senior executive with Reuters in the UK and in various European countries.
Konstantinos Dermanis, MBA’13J
IPEC Committee Member
Konstantinos is Managing Director of Renovative and has 14 years of experience in Private Equity and Investment Banking with Credit Suisse, EFG Eurobank and Deca Investments having completed circa 50 transactions or investments with a value of EUR 8 billion. He holds a BSc and MSc in Finance from UK universities and an MBA from INSEAD.
Martha Heitmann, MBA’07J
IPEC Committee Member
Martha is a Partner at LGT Capital Partners, responsible for origination, due diligence, execution and monitoring of European secondary transactions. She also chairs the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Prior to joining LGT in 2007, Martha worked in business development for Telephia Inc. and from 2001 to 2003 she was a corporate and investment banking analyst for Bank of America Securities in San Francisco. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from INSEAD. She is fluent in English and Japanese and conversant in German.
Théodore Sarasin, MBA’21J
IPEC Committee Member
Théodore Sarasin is part of the Goods & Products Investment Team at Partners Group in Zug. Prior to that, Theodore had 7 years of consumer goods industry experience in Europe and Asia at Richemont Group and Caran d’Ache where he held positions as Business Development Manager and Regional Sales Manager. He also founded a boutique digital marketing agency in Geneva, Switzerland. Theodore holds a BA from the University of Hong Kong and an MBA from INSEADe.