_Meet our team

Our team brings together decades of experience at the intersection of biotech innovation and capital markets. With active networks spanning the US, Europe, and Latin America, we are uniquely positioned to bridge scientific opportunity with financial and strategic support.

Our relationships with high-net-worth individuals, pharma executives, and cross-border investors allow us to unlock capital and partnerships that fuel scale.

_Francisca Peixoto _Partner

_Leo Figueiredo _Partner

_Ricardo Salomao _Partner

_Ana Duran _Associate

_Pablo Heredia _Analyst

_Pablo Ventós _Jr._Analyst_Intern

_Thiago Figueiredo _Advisor

_Afonso Sá _Back_Office

_Ellie Peixoto _Community_Mngr

_Francisca Peixoto

Francisca has more than 8 years of research experience in R&D in top institutions like Oxford University (UK), Utrecht Medical Centre (The Netherlands) and IRB Barcelona (Spain). She is a Fulbright fellow and holds a Masters from Utrecht University in The Netherlands and a PhD from the University of Barcelona in Spain, both in the fields of Biomedicine.

Her work has yielded her several publications, including 2 first-author publications in the renowned scientific journal CELL. Francisca has also completed an Executive MBA at ESADE Business School.

Prior to founding LifeLink, she worked as Chief Science Officer at WEcubed Partners where she led scientific due diligence of biotech investment opportunities.

“The best part of our job is the opportunity to learn from so many inspiring minds and back their world-changing ideas.”

_Leo Figueiredo

Leo is a Brazilian financial market entrepreneur. As an external advisor, he provides strategic guidance and mentorship to LifeLink’s team.

Leo has an Economics Bachelor degree from FEA/USP, a Law degree from Largo do São Francisco/USP and a post-grad in Business from FGV.

Leo started working in the financial markets in the 1980s and in 1987 he became managing partner of Hedging-Griffo in São Paulo, Brazil. He developed the company’s operational activities, participating in structuring the capital markets and fund management businesses and transforming Hedging-Griffo into a private banking and asset management business. In 2006 the company was sold to Credit Suisse.

Since then Leo has been an active angel investor, has founded the business accelerator Quintessa, has become one of the first social impact accelerators in Brazil, and is currently on the board of Provence Capital, his own investment holding firm.

“An entrepreneur’s company ought to be his/her life project, not simply a way to earn money. A true purpose is one of the main keys for success”

_Ricardo Salomao

Ricardo holds a medical degree (MD) from Centro Universitário Lusíada (UNILUS), Santos, Brazil and specialized in musculoskeletal radiology from Beneficência Portuguesa Hospital (BP) in São Paulo, Brazil.

He worked as a physician and executive at SalomãoZoppi Diagnostics and DASA, the second largest healthcare company in Brazil and since 2017, after finishing his Executive MBA at INSPER.

Ricardo is a General Partner at Green Rock, a family office specialised in healthcare investments in the venture capital, private equity and real estate sectors. Prior to becoming a Partner at LifeLink, he made over 25 investments in the health sector in Brazil and Mexico.

“We believe in building close relationships with entrepreneurs and companies that, through their resilience and spirit, hold the potential to transform our sector.”

_Ana Duran

Ana is a biotechnologist with more than 8 years of R&D experience across various biomedical research fields. She earned her Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Utrecht University (the Netherlands) and a Ph.D. in Regenerative Therapies from Charité University (Germany). Her doctoral research was focused on developing stem cell strategies to regenerate human heart muscle after myocardial infarction, which has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications.

After completing her PhD, Ana transitioned into a role in the biotech industry. She joined a preclinical CRO as a Sales & Account Manager where she engaged with numerous leading pharma and biotech companies. In this capacity, she designed research proposals and assisted companies in obtaining critical data packages to advance their therapies into the clinic.

Driven by a deep interest in biology and a strong belief in its potential to foster healthcare innovation, Ana joined LifeLink Ventures where she leverages her industry experience and scientific knowledge to contribute to due diligence on ongoing projects.

_Pablo Heredia

Pablo holds a Master’s degree in Stem Cells and Regenerative Therapies from King’s College London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Royal Holloway University of London. His academic journey has equipped him with a thorough understanding of the scientific, commercial, and regulatory aspects of cell therapies.

Before joining LifeLink Ventures, Pablo gained practical experience in the venture capital sector through internships at Inveready and Invivo Capital, two reputable Spanish life sciences venture capital firms. As an analyst, he was instrumental in managing deal flow, performing preliminary analysis of investment opportunities at both the scientific and commercial levels, and preparing detailed scientific reviews in specific areas of interest.

In addition to his venture capital experience, Pablo has a strong background in Alzheimer’s research. At the ACE Research Center, he served as a data analyst, investigating the correlation between protein concentrations and the clinical stage and progression of Alzheimer’s patients using R Studio. His work at ACE contributed to a journal publication that providing valuable insights.

Now at LifeLink Ventures, Pablo leverages his background and experience to contribute to our ongoing projects.

_Pablo Ventós

Pablo Ventos holds an MSc in Pharmacology from the University of Oxford and a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science from King’s College London. His academic training provided him with a comprehensive scientific background, particularly in two disease areas he is deeply passionate about; neurological and cardiometabolic disorders.

Before joining LifeLink Ventures, Pablo developed his scientific acumen and hands-on expertise through various laboratory roles. At the Drug Control Centre in London, he detected performance-enhancing drug use in professional athletes through immunoassays and hematological analyses. Additionally, at Liliana Minichiello’s laboratory in Oxford, he contributed to pioneering research on a novel mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

Pablo’s interest in the intersection of science and investment was ignited while attending conferences organized by leaders in the incubator/accelerator space, including Y Combinator and Nucleate. Driven by his curiosity and enthusiasm for the transformative potential of scientific breakthroughs, Pablo joined LifeLink Ventures, where he combines his robust scientific foundation and innovative mindset to actively support deal flow management, scientific due diligence, and commercial activities.

_Thiago Figueiredo

Thiago Figueiredo started his career in wealth management, but quickly changed his focus to sustainability and societal impact before it became mainstream.

As a reflection of this passion, he founded an agribusiness investment boutique. Fast forwarding almost 10 years, this venture is now a B-corporation managing a sustainable forestry project certified by the FSC.

In 2015 Thiago shifted his focus towards biotech-focused Venture Capital, investing for five years on behalf of family offices, including his own family (Provence Capital). Alongside Dr. Francisca Peixoto, at WEcubed Partners, they have built an impactful life sciences portfolio for their clients. Thiago also spent four years as a deep-tech venture capitalist and is a UNICEF NextGen Global principle.

In March 2020 Thiago left his executive role to join as partner and Chief Commercial Officer of 1s1 Energy, a company addressing climate change with new and exciting technology.

To date, Thiago acts as a key advisor to LifeLink Ventures.

_Afonso Sá

Afonso studied Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Algarve.

Before joining LifeLink Ventures, Afonso gained practical experience in IT for macOS and iOS as a senior advisor on the AppleCare project. He has also been handling back office operations in a multimedia & services company since 2015 and in a Pharmacy since 2021. These include HR, Admin and Financial operations.

In addition to his operations experience, Afonso remais an enthusiast about the biotech field and stays and up-to-date with the Pharma industry also through his ongoing work at a Pharmacy.

Now at LifeLink Ventures, Afonso can use his unique background and experience to contribute to the operational back-office needs of the company.

_Ellie Peixoto

Don’t let the tiny paws fool you — Ellie runs a tight (but cheerful) ship as our unofficial Community Manager. When she’s not making her daily rounds to greet every team member with tail wags and charm, she can usually be found napping, snoring like a tiny freight train.

Ellie takes her role seriously: she hates to miss any meeting, and will gladly crash a conference room just to ensure she’s in the loop. Ellie is a firm believer in boosting morale, fostering office friendships, and reminding us to take the occasional stretch (preferably toward the treat jar). Her open-door policy (read: any door she can nudge open with her nose) keeps our workplace friendly, connected, and just a little bit fur-covered — exactly how we like it.