The second TechCrunch Disrupt Europe will take place from 18-21st October 2014 in London and will see the first outing of the Google Ventures team in Europe. There’s still time to grab a ticket before they sell out.
Earlier this year Google announced it was launching a branch of its venture capital investment arm in London. Google Ventures Europe will have an initial fund of $100 million to invest in “the best ideas from the best European entrepreneurs.” The news is big for the European tech ecosystem.
But although the names associated with it are well known in Europe, we have not yet seen them all together to explain how they will operate this new fund in Europe. But at TechCrunch Disrupt Europe we will see the whole team on stage at once.
The new European branch has five general partners: Eze Vidra, who set up Google Campus in London; serial entrepreneur Tom Hulme; long-time UK angel investor and adviser Peter Read; Avid Larizadeh, the head of the UK arm of code.org and co-founder of Bottica.com. Google Ventures has also brought over MG Siegler.
EZE VIDRA, GENERAL PARTNER
@ediggs
Eze is a general partner at Google Ventures. Previously, Eze was the European head of Google for Entrepreneurs, where he helped forge partnerships to strengthen the European startup ecosystem. He also led Campus London, a collaborative environment for startups created by Google For Entrepreneurs. While at Google, Eze spearheaded strategic commerce partnerships in EMEA, and helped launch Google Shopping, Google Shopping Express, and Google Wallet.
Before joining Google, Eze held product management leadership roles at Shopping.com in Israel, Gerson Lehrman Group in New York, Ask.com in Silicon Valley, and AOL Europe in London, where he was the principal product manager for search in EMEA. In 2003, Eze co-founded a startup in Israel, developing text-input technology for mobile phones. He is the author of two patents on web search and online advertising.
In 2012, Eze founded Techbikers, a not-for-profit cycling community that collaborates with Room to Read to build schools and libraries in India and Nepal. Eze is a trustee of Up Europe and an advisory board member of BBC Worldwide Labs.
Eze received his B.A. in business and IT management cum laude from IDC in Israel and an MBA from London Business School. A native Argentinean raised in Israel, Eze is fluent in Spanish, Hebrew, and English, and lives in London with his family.
TOM HULME, GENERAL PARTNER
@thulme
Tom is a general partner at Google Ventures. Previously, Tom was a design director at IDEO Europe, where he founded OpenIDEO, an open innovation platform that has over 60,000 users from more than 170 countries. Tom also launched OIEngine, an online platform for IDEO clients, including Harvard Business School and the Knight Foundation.
Before IDEO, Tom was managing director of Marcos, a British sports car manufacturer. As a serial entrepreneur, Tom also founded Magnom, a magnetic filter startup. Tom’s filter designs have been widely used in Formula One, Superbikes, JCB loaders, and central heating systems.
Tom has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and has been featured in WIRED UK’s Top 100 Digital Power Brokers list every year since the list has been published. He has also been included in the Evening Standard list of London’s 1000 Most Influential People.
Tom earned a first class bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Bristol, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he received the Baker Scholar Award of high distinction. Tom has also received an honorary doctorate from University Arts London.
AVID LARIZADEH, GENERAL PARTNER
@avidl
Avid is a general partner at Google Ventures. Prior to Google Ventures, Avid co-founded Boticca, a global marketplace for independent brands of fashion accessories.
Avid has been involved in the startup ecosystem as a developer, product manager, founder, investor, and advisor since 1998. Avid started investing at Accel Partners in London in 2006, where she focused on software and Internet investments. She also held product management roles at Tellme Networks, eBay, and Skype, and began programming in college. While at eBay, Avid was granted a patent for her work on a suite of selling tools.
In addition to her role with Google Ventures, Avid is an advisor to Founders4Schools and the Breteau Foundation. She serves on the Harvard Business School European Advisory Board. She also leads Code.org and the Hour of Code in the UK.
Avid earned her B.S. and M.S. in engineering at Stanford University, where she was a Mayfield Fellow. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a Kauffman Fellow. She currently serves on the Harvard Business School European Advisory Board. She speaks French, English, Farsi, and German.
PETER READ, GENERAL PARTNER
@petermread
Peter is a general partner at Google Ventures. Before joining Google Ventures, Peter was the managing director of Entertainment Insights, providing strategy and corporate development advice to media and communications clients.
Peter has been an active angel investor and advisor for more than 15 years in London, Berlin, Stockholm, and the U.S. Prior to Entertainment Insights, he was president of Nielsen Entertainment in Los Angeles. Peter was also a special partner at Vitruvian, director of GP Bullhound, Governor at Beaconsfield High School, and digital advisor to Oxfam, Sport England, and The Roundhouse. He was an associate producer on Rabbit Fever and an (uncredited) actor in Flyin’ Ryan, which both received some of the worst reviews in movie history. Peter received his B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from University of Oxford and his MBA from INSEAD.
MG SIEGLER, GENERAL PARTNER
@parislemon
MG Siegler is a general partner at Google Ventures, where he primarily focuses on seed and early-stage investments. He has been deeply involved in the startup space since 2005, first as a web developer, then as a writer, and most recently as an investor and advisor.
He’s currently spending time in London to help get the Google Ventures Europe organization up and running. He remains active, looking at new investments in the U.S. as well.
Before joining Google Ventures, MG was a founding partner of CrunchFund, an early-stage investment fund. Prior to that, he reported on the startup world as a writer for both TechCrunch and VentureBeat. MG still writes a weekly column for TechCrunch on top of writing on his own sites and from time-to-time doing movie reviews in haiku.
Originally from Ohio, MG graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor before moving out west to work in Hollywood. One day, he will write that killer screenplay.
The Disrupt conference in London kicks off with the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon from 18th to 19th October, followed by two days of on-stage interviews and panels with some of the biggest names in technology.
TechCrunch Disrupt Europe will also bring the Startup Battlefield and Startup Alley to London.
Startup Battlefield competitors pitch their companies live and on stage to innovators, investors and influencers in the tech community. TechCrunch identifies emerging companies to demo and compete for a prize of £30,000 and the coveted Disrupt Cup. Last year Lock8, the London and Berlin-based startup behind the world’s first smart bike lock, was the winner and has gone on to launch its product.
Previous Battlefield competitions have launched companies such as Dropbox, Mint.com, Yammer and Fitbit.
Startup Alley offers another way for early-stage companies to gain exposure with a format that encourages both exhibiting and networking, as well as high visibility. Roughly 200 invited startups make up Startup Alley with companies showcasing on the Monday and Tuesday of the event.
Find all the latest information on the Disrupt Europe website.
Grab a ticket and before they sell out.
To request media accreditation, email tcdisruptlondon [ @ ] balloupr.com