The People Powering the Transformation
At V5 Verde Equity, our team is made up of industry veterans, innovators, and global experts who bring deep experience across technology, investment, agriculture, climate-tech, and sustainable development. Together, we turn vision into execution — at scale.
Kristian Bennetsen
Kristian is a founder-led asset manager with over 19 years of investment experience and a strong track record in food-tech, ag-tech, aquaculture, and biomaterials. He has founded and scaled ventures including Roslin Technologies (UK), Hveiti Ingredients (DK), and JBI Equity (HK, SG, UK).
With deep industry roots in agribusiness, Kristian has partnered with top research institutions such as Wageningen, Aarhus, Stirling, and SLU, leading the commercialisation of cutting-edge ag-tech innovations. He has conducted due diligence on 250+ private companies and built a global network across the food and bioeconomy sectors.
Earlier, Kristian managed $1B in client assets at Emirates NBD Private Banking, and began his career as an equity analyst at Bloomberg in London. He holds an MBA in International Banking and Finance from the University of Birmingham.
Monir Fulayfil
Monir brings over 25 years of institutional investment banking and asset management experience, focused on capital formation and industrial transformation in the Middle East. He has advised and managed portfolios for sovereign wealth funds, regional pension funds, and supra-national institutions, holding senior roles at BNP Paribas, Citi, and ABN AMRO, and overseeing $20B+ in assets.
He led landmark Sharia-compliant transactions with Mubadala, SABIC, and other major government entities, helping shape the region’s financial architecture through two decades of economic transition.
Following his institutional career, Monir launched entrepreneurial ventures and philanthropic initiatives focused on community development and sustainability.
As Chairman of V5EQ, he brings a global institutional network and strategic vision to back market-ready technologies, aligned with the 5th industrial transformation in biotech, food security, and sustainability.
Hanne Risbjerg Sørensen
Seasoned executive with 25+ years bridging green energy, industrial biotech and deep-tech commercialization. Proven track record taking breakthrough technologies from lab-scale to full commercial deployment (TRL1-9), building international growth pipelines, and delivering strong financial and operational performance.
Former VP at Ørsted, leading the Renescience waste-to-energy business with full P&L ownership (~200 MDKK) and 70+ staff across DK and UK. Successfully scaled a first-of-its-kind technology with a 700 MDKK investment, executed international market entry, secured 25+ patents, and delivered +25% EBITDA improvement alongside a complex strategic divestment.
Recognized for hands-on value creation, cross-functional leadership, and navigating high-stakes transformation. Passionate about accelerating sustainable industrial innovation, building high-performance teams, and partnering with founders to scale deep-tech ventures from validation to global impact.
David Hume
Pioneer in macrophage and osteoclast research with impact on infection, inflammation, tissue repair, and cancer.
Former Director, The Roslin Institute (Edinburgh); senior roles at University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience.
35+ years of major funding (NHMRC, MRC, Wellcome, Gates Foundation).
500+ publications, 60+ PhD students, and key contributor to the FANTOM Consortium.
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and UK Academy of Medical Sciences.
Awarded Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to science and education.
Bruce Whitelaw
Pioneered genetic engineering and CRISPR applications in livestock; advanced disease resistance, protein sustainability, and biomedical models.
Led major research programs funded by BBSRC, industry and Gates Foundation; driving international collaborations in animal health and biomedicine.
Served on key advisory panels, including BBSRC Pool of Experts and OIE, and boards of Recombinetics Inc. and Edinburgh Innovations Ltd., and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.
Mentor and academic leader, shaping the next generation of molecular geneticists and biotech innovators.
Erik Bisgaard Madsen
Founder of Bisgaard Facilitate, a strategic advisory firm focused on innovation, partnerships and stakeholder engagement across science, industry, policy.
Former Vice Dean, University of Copenhagen, led major industry partnerships with Novo Nordisk and others; drove IP commercialisation & innovation programs.
Advisor at PPP funding, innovation strategy, and stakeholder engagement.
Past Deputy CEO, Danish Meat Association, overseeing DKK 140M+ budget and international food market access.
Mentor at DTU Entrepreneurship and Copenhagen Fintech, supporting deep-tech and fintech scale-ups.
Chaired and advised pension and agri-food innovation boards, including Food & Bio Cluster Denmark and AgriFoodTure.
Eureka IEP expert (evaluating applications submitted to Eureka network programmes).