Our Team

Raphael Roettgen, CFA FRM, is the founding partner of E2MC Ventures. He lectures on space entrepreneurship and finance at several universities including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), International Space University (ISU) and Nova Business School. He hosts the Space Business Podcast, and is the author of “To Infinity”, an introductory book on space business. Previously, he held senior roles at global investment banks and hedge funds and was also a fintech entrepreneur in Brazil. He holds degrees in finance from Wharton, machine learning from PUC-Rio and space studies from the International Space University, where he also serves as a governing member.

Raghu is an established serial entrepreneur in the technology and satellite space industry. He co-founded Bermuda-based Protostar Limited that owned and operated two GEO satellites sold to Intelsat and SES. He established Australian-based Sirion Global and its successor HeliosWire which was acquired by EchoStar. He was the architect behind Ramaspace, a Luxembourg based company engaged in space mining exploration. Raghu previously held several key management positions with Loral Space & Communications.

Peter is a lawyer and startup entrepreneur who has focused on the pan-Asian and US satellite and communications sectors for over 20 years. He was General Counsel for many satellite operators and hardware integrators including Loral CyberStar, ProtoStar Ltd., Astro Digital (US), and, most recently, Helios Wire, an S-band IOT operator that he co-founded and which was acquired by EchoStar in 2019. Peter also served as a consultant on various space projects for Space Systems/Loral, Telesat Canada, The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, GlobeCast Asia, and Direct Kinetic Solutions. Peter is a graduate of Grinnell College (BA) and The Columbia University School of Law (JD).

Brandon is a former MBA Venture Associate at Moonshots Capital, and holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. He has 10+ years of experience across finance and banking roles at both Fortune 500 companies and startups.

Marianna brings over 5 years of experience in the maritime transportation industry, with expertise in asset management, business development, venture building & investing, and corporate strategy. A graduate of Columbia Business School, NYU, and Harvard University, her diverse academic background and industry expertise position her to drive innovation and strategic growth across sectors. Marianna is passionate about empowering companies to reach their full potential by creating long-term value and driving impactful change.

Jamal Grant is an engineer and entrepreneur with experience across aerospace, consulting, venture capital, and the social impact sector. He began his career at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, working on satellite systems for NASA and the DoD, and later joined Bain & Company’s Private Equity Group, advising on technology and software investments. He has held roles in venture capital at EO Ventures and led entrepreneurial ventures spanning technology and social impact. Jamal holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, along with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Rakhee Khambhati is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with over a decade of experience supporting U.S. government programs. She has led initiatives that bridge the gap between emerging technologies and market adoption, including mentoring startups to secure strategic funding and fostering collaborations between government and industry stakeholders. With a specialty in defense contracting and acquisitions, her previous roles include managing forward-deployed logistics for global maritime operations, supporting major U.S. defense programs of record, and curating programs to advance innovation in the space sector. Rakhee’s work highlights her dedication to enabling ventures that address critical challenges in national security and bolster the defense industrial base. She is currently an Executive MBA Candidate at UCLA Anderson.

Evren Ucok is a top global technology investor, being an anchor investor in over thirty funds. Previously, he was a co-founder and partner of Earlybird Digital East (now Bek Ventures), one of the highest-performing VC funds globally, and a co-founder of Trendyol, one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. Evren has known Raphael for over 30 years.

Dr. Soyeon Yi is South Korea’s first and only astronaut. She was selected as an astronaut in December 2006, out of 36,000 contestants. On April 8, 2008, she launched into space on-board Soyuz TMA-12. During her 11-day mission at the International Space Station (ISS), Dr. Yi completed an aggressive number of experiments contributing to South Korea’s science textbooks and science channel television lectures. Dr. Yi received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering(2001), Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering(2002), and her Ph.D. in BioSystems(2008) from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). In May 2014, Dr. Yi received her MBA with emphasis on Technology and Global Leadership at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Yi has been working with various startups as an engineer and entrepreneur. Currently, Dr. Yi is working with Biotechnology startup, Noul Co., Ltd. as the Managing Director, Business Development and Partnership. Dr. Yi is passionate about nurturing the next generation of leaders in the STEM field.

Sigrid Elschot is a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University and leads the Space Environment and Satellite Systems laboratory. She studies the space environment and its effects on both the Earth and on spacecraft with a focus on the plasma formed from impacts of meteoroids and debris. Prof. Elschot is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and a Department of Energy Early Career Research award. She was selected as a NIAC fellow for her research on impacts on asteroids as well as on for exploring Uranus using CubeSats and has also served on National Academy panels on mitigating near-Earth objects and assessing NASA’s meteoroid and orbital debris programs. Prof. Elschot has co-hosted the National Geographic Channel’s Known Universe series and has appeared in multiple episodes of Nova. Prior to coming to Stanford, Sigrid was a project lead at the Los Alamos National Laboratory developing RF technology for spacecraft to monitor the ground for electromagnetic pulses, and previously at MIT Lincoln Laboratory working in air defense technology and space situational awareness.

Mr. Johnson was preciously Chief Strategy Officer of EchoStar and President of EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C. Before joining EchoStar, Mr. Johnson was at SES World Skies where he served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Satellite Development. Mr. Johnson joined SES GLOBAL after the combination of GE Americom and SES GLOBAL in 2001. Prior to SES GLOBAL, Mr. Johnson worked at GE Capital beginning in 1985 in a variety of executive level roles in Satellite Services, Aviation Services and Transportation & Industrial Financing.

Carolina is a senior biotech executive with more than 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry in the Boston-Cambridge ecosystem. She is the Founder and Principal at Bio Strategy Advisors, a strategic business consulting firm. Previously, she was a Vice President at Genzyme Corporation where she spent 15 years in progressive leadership roles. After that, she was President at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals and then President at Novelion Therapeutics, until their respective exits. Both were commercial-stage, publicly-traded Biotech companies. She currently serves on the boards of several companies as well as the boards of Mass General Hospital and MassBio, among other roles. Carolina has been featured in the Boston Business Journal’s Women Who Lead in the Life Sciences (October 2023), among other recognitions. She holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Lima and a Graduate Degree in Business and Management from Harvard University.

Dr. Karl previously served as CTO of Firehawk Aerospace and as a Subsystem Manager for the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) at NASA, where he supported Orion, the International Space Station, and the Launch Services Program. He is an expert on a range of space subjects, incl. human spaceflight, propulsion, remote sensing, materials, structural mechanics and others. He teaches core aerospace courses at UCF and developed the curriculum for the world’s first Spaceflight Operations degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Guillermo has almost twenty years of experience in New Space, incl. as founder of Space Angels. He was also a co-founder of Ansible (now RBC Signals), a global ground station network for small satcom, and of Blue Marble Exploration, an ocean exploration company.

Kelli is an experienced office manager and has worked as Raphael’s assistant for over ten years.