New leaders with a fresh perspective for several startups

Pure Holding, a renowned Swiss cannabis company focusing on research, production, processing & distribution has welcomed Janna Eisenbrandt has joined the leadership team as the new CFO. Janna brings with her a wealth of experience in strategic management and business planning, particularly within innovative and fast-growing industries. She has a proven track record in managing complex financial operations, building scalable processes, and leading teams to success. Her experience spans financial analysis, risk management, and driving growth initiatives, making her a perfect fit for Pure Holding AG as we enter the next phase of our development. Janna will be responsible for overseeing Pure Holding’s financial strategy, supporting its growth initiatives, and enhancing our financial operations as the company continues to lead the European cannabis sector with its ‘Seed to Sale’ approach.

Auterion welcomes Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Robert Rainhart has joined Auterion assuming the position of COO. The Swiss startup provides enterprise and government with an ecosystem of software-defined drones, payloads, and third-party applications within a single, easy-to-use platform based on open-source standards. With over 25 years of expertise in innovative product development and operations leadership, Robert is set to drive the startup’s mission forward as the leading provider of operating systems and apps for drones. He joins Auterion from HawkEye 360, where he most recently served as President and COO, responsible for running business operations and supporting the CEO on strategic initiatives. In his new position, he will work closely with the founder and CEO, Lorenz Meier, to deliver the company’s strategy and streamline operations. Rainhart’s arrival comes at a critical time, as Auterion’s global growth accelerates, and it further cements its leading position in the rapidly expanding drone market.

Unique welcomes Chief Commercial officer
Unique AG, the startup behind Unique FinanceGPT, an AI-driven platform for the financial industry designed to increase productivity by automating manual workload through AI and ChatGPT solutions, has appointed Anshu Kotak as Unique as its Chief Commercial Officer. With over 20 years of experience across enterprise sales, and finance, Anshu has a proven ability to drive transformative growth and cultivate strategic, long-term relationships with C-suite leaders. Anshu spent several years at Goldman Sachs in their Investment Management Division, where she advised top-tier global executives and gained unparalleled insight into the client perspective, making her the ideal leader to drive our sales strategy. Based in London, Anshu will be pivotal in spearheading our international expansion and changing the financial services industry with breakthrough vertical AI.

Nouscom appoints Chief Business Officer (CBO)
The Biotech startup developing off-the-shelf and personalized cancer immunotherapies using proprietary viral vectors with demonstrated high immunogenicity in patients, has appointed Eckhard Niemeier as Chief Business Office to support the company in its growth endeavors. Eckhard has more than 20 years of experience in life sciences corporate development and strategy, having worked at UNION Therapeutics A/S, where he served as CBO and was responsible for all business and corporate development activities, including in- and out-licensing, M&A, and alliance management. His career journey involved several roles including senior positions at companies such as Pieris Pharmaceuticals, where he established strategic deals with major companies including AstraZeneca, Roche/Genentech, Seagen and Servier. Before Pieris, Eckhard worked at Gruenenthal Pharma and MorphoSys, managing licensing and partnerships across all drug development stages.

The return to uniqFEED as COO
uniqFEED, has announced the appointment of Patrick Hastings as its new COO. A seasoned executive in live sports broadcasting and virtual advertising, Hastings steps into his new role at a pivotal time for uniqFEED during a high-growth phase. Patrick Hastings brings over 17 years of experience in live sports broadcasting, including eleven years dedicated to virtual advertising. He has held senior roles across the sports and media industries, most notably as General Manager of Australian-based virtual advertising solutions provider Broadcast Virtual. Hastings has previously been with uniqFEED from 2021 to 2022, leading the EMEA & APAC commercial function, and has been heading the COO function on an interim basis since October 2024. Prior to joining uniqFEED, he ran his own consulting company and advised major international leagues on virtual advertising strategies.

Terra Quantum Chief Business Officer
With Martin Hofmann as Terra Quantum AG’s new Chief Business Officer, the startup has won over a seasoned leader with over 35 years of experience in technology and business innovation, having held leadership roles at Volkswagen, Salesforce, and recently as CTIO at Volta Trucks. His expertise in scaling technology businesses and driving impactful change aligns perfectly with our mission to bring quantum computing to industries worldwide. In his new role, Martin will focus on advancing Terra Quantum AG’s enterprise sales, helping businesses of all sizes leverage quantum technologies to improve optimization and enhance security. Terra Quantum is a full-stack quantum technology company that provides "Quantum as a Service (QaaS) solutions.

Biolytica welcomes new CEO
Stefan Bartosch is the newly appointed CEO at Biolytica, the provider of a health data platform that leverages the power of AI-driven analytics to aggregate, visualize, and analyze an extensive array of health data. Stefan has extensive experience in Healthcare, IT, and Professional Services, where he has championed innovative technology to improve healthcare access and patient outcomes worldwide. With expertise in SaaS solutions and integrated health networks, Stefan is an advocate for personalized, data-driven care. His proven ability to bridge diverse cultures and optimize processes makes him an ideal leader for Biolytica as we empower longer, healthier lives. We’re thrilled about the growth, innovation, and positive impact his leadership will bring.

CDR Life appoints CBO
Sarah Holland, an accomplished biopharmaceutical leader with more than 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry expertise, has joined CDR Life as Chief Business Officer. The startup develops highly targeted T cell engagers (TCEs) for the treatment of solid cancers and autoimmune diseases. Sarah will spearhead CDR-Life’s business development initiatives and commercial strategy, focusing on advancing its innovative M-gager platform to develop T cell engager (TCE) therapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases.

(RAN)
Image: The newly appointed leaders in their respective order, left to right.