Align the team around aquaculture modernisation and durable value creation.
Teamwork by design
V5 / Institutional aquaculture platformA synthesis of experts. One shared mandate.
V5 is a networked organisation: investment professionals, aquaculture operators and technical specialists challenge one another's assumptions and decide with shared purpose.
Evidence before scale · Joint governance · Productive assets
DKGROM
Our leadership model
Collective judgement. Clear accountability.
Leadership at V5 is a relationship between people, evidence and context, not a chain of command.
Specialists are expected to challenge financial assumptions, and financiers to challenge technical assumptions. Consultation strengthens the decision; reserved matters, milestones, reporting and cash controls protect its execution.
Invite loyal dissent before assumptions become capital commitments.
Adapt the leadership approach to the partner, market and moment.
Translate vision into responsibilities, controls, monitoring and consequences.
Board of Directors
The leadership circle.
Six complementary perspectives, presented with equal weight. Formal mandates remain clear; strategy and execution benefit from collective challenge.
Capital formation · Governance
Monir Fulayfil
Co-Founder & Investment Chair
More than 25 years across investment banking and asset management, with senior experience associated with BNP Paribas, Citi and ABN AMRO. Focused on Middle East capital formation, governance and industrial transformation.
Platform strategy · Venture building
Kristian Bennetsen
CEO & Founder
Nineteen-plus years in investment management, diligence and venture building across food-tech, ag-tech, aquaculture and biomaterials. Leads platform strategy, technical validation and partner alignment.
Strategy · Structured finance
Spyridon Papadopoulos
Co-Founder | Chief Strategy OfficerBlue Economy Investments | Europe & Middle East
More than 26 years across capital markets, private equity, asset management and structured finance. Converts technical evidence into financeable real-asset structures built around capital preservation and robust governance.
Biology · Production systems
Andreas Ntatsopoulos
Production General Manager
Marine biologist and senior aquaculture executive with more than 40 years across production, hatcheries and international project delivery, including 14 years in the Middle East and four years in Oman. Former COO of Oman Aquaculture Development Company and a key contributor to Blue Waters Oman.
Finance · Greek execution
Christos Giarlelis
Founding & Managing Partner · Falcon Capital · V5 CFO · Greek Operations
C-level executive with extensive general and financial-management experience. Former Group CFO of Selonda Aquacultures and later Principal at Kefalonia Fisheries, with additional depth across M&A, restructuring, banking and the food industry.
Markets · Value creation
Theodoros Alexakos
Commercial DirectorAquaculture Growth, Market Development & Value Creation
More than 30 years in commercial and business-development leadership across Mediterranean aquaculture, seafood logistics and FMCG, with senior roles at Avramar, Nireus, Andromeda Group, Med Frigo and Coca-Cola HBC. At Nireus, he helped drive sevenfold sales-volume growth and revenue above €200 million, leading teams of up to 43 and exports to more than 40 countries. He also designed value-added seafood programmes targeting approximately €70 million in incremental revenue.
Technical Team
Development, biology and operations around the same table.
V5 connects project development and operating experience with RAS engineering and multi-species capability. Roles, scope and availability are confirmed for each engagement.
Development · Investment readiness
Klaus Lukassen
CEO Development · Therma Blue
More than 40 years in seafood. Development experience associated with Skagen Salmon and Danish Salmon, spanning concept development, engineering coordination and the path to investment readiness.
Large-scale operations · Delivery
Francois Brenta
Managing Director, Operations · Therma Blue
Large-scale commercial aquaculture operator with prior management experience in Middle Eastern shrimp operations producing more than 60,000 tonnes annually.
Genetics · Breeding · Biotechnology
Glen Illing
Aquaculture, Animal Genetics & Biotechnology Expert
International aquaculture executive, entrepreneur and investor with more than 25 years' experience across shrimp genetics, biotechnology and advanced animal production. He has founded, built and led pioneering businesses including SyAqua, Enzootic and Roslin Technologies, and previously held senior leadership positions within leading genetic businesses. Glen combines deep sector expertise with a proven track record in company building, commercial partnerships and identifying high-value opportunities across global aquaculture and life sciences.
RAS operations · Fish biology · Applied research
Arndt von Danwitz
RAS & Aquaculture Expert
Aquaculture specialist with more than 15 years of experience across RAS, fish production, nutrition and applied research. Former Production Manager at Danish Salmon, with extensive hands-on experience in large-scale land-based aquaculture and the biological and technical performance of RAS facilities. His background combines scientific expertise with practical knowledge of fish biology, production systems, water treatment, biosecurity and the assessment of production conditions across aquaculture species.
Advisory Board & Strategic Advisors
Independent challenge, by design.
V5's Advisory Board and strategic advisors strengthen the platform across animal bioscience, genetics, water technology, innovation, policy, capital formation and industrial scale-up. Each person brings an independent perspective to the evidence behind investment and operating decisions.
Independent challenge · Scale-up
Hanne Risbjerg Sørensen
Non-Executive Director
Seasoned executive with more than 25 years bridging green energy, industrial biotech and deep-tech commercialisation. Former Ørsted VP with P&L leadership of Renescience, experienced in scaling first-of-a-kind technologies, international growth and disciplined value creation.
Animal bioscience · Scientific leadership
Professor David Hume AO
Advisory Board Member
Pioneer in macrophage and osteoclast research with impact on infection, inflammation, tissue repair and cancer. Former Director of The Roslin Institute and a senior leader at the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience. His career includes more than 35 years of major research funding, 500+ publications, supervision of 60+ PhD students and a key contribution to the FANTOM Consortium. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to science and education.
Genetics · CRISPR · Animal health
Professor Bruce Whitelaw
Advisory Board Member
Former Director of The Roslin Institute and a pioneer of genetic engineering and CRISPR applications in livestock, advancing disease resistance, protein sustainability and biomedical models. He has led major research programmes funded by BBSRC, industry and the Gates Foundation, and has served on advisory panels and boards including the BBSRC Pool of Experts, OIE, Recombinetics Inc. and Edinburgh Innovations Ltd. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an experienced mentor of molecular geneticists and biotechnology innovators.
Innovation · Partnerships · Policy
Erik Bisgaard Madsen
Advisory Board Member
Founder of Bisgaard Facilitate, focused on innovation, partnerships and stakeholder engagement across science, industry and policy. As former Vice Dean at the University of Copenhagen, he led major industry partnerships and IP commercialisation programmes. He also served as Deputy CEO of the Danish Meat Association, overseeing a budget above DKK 140 million and international food-market access. His advisory work spans public-private funding, deep-tech and fintech mentoring, pension and agri-food innovation boards, and evaluation for Eureka network programmes.
Water technology · Resource efficiency · Strategic reach
Lars Andersson
Strategic Advisor | Water Technology & Sustainable Innovation
Inventor and entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience developing and commercialising innovative technologies across water treatment, resource efficiency and sustainable production systems. Lars combines deep hands-on technical insight with a strong ability to turn unconventional ideas into scalable solutions, bringing V5 valuable expertise in identifying and advancing technologies with significant environmental and commercial potential.
Governance standard
Independent review is not ceremonial. Technical, commercial, insurance, environmental and financial assumptions must be challenged before capital is committed.
Build with V5