Thorben Hett
LP
Thorben Hett is a Portfolio Manager with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), responsible for venture capital fund and direct investments worldwide. He has over ten years of experience in the American and European venture capital ecosystems.
Thorben fell in love with the concept of venture capital during a visit to Stanford University at age 16. He is passionate about the goal of the venture capital industry to enable innovation and growth by supplying driven entrepreneurs with adequate financial resources. Thorben started his venture capital career in the corporate domain to gain operational expertise in addition to venture capital investment experience. He worked with the venture capital units of Sony, Intel and Bertelsmann, investing in technology start-ups across Europe. In 2007, Thorben joined SVB Capital, the investment arm of Silicon Valley Bank, to invest in leading high-technology companies in the U.S., as well as established and emerging venture capital funds worldwide.
He earned a bachelor's degree in management and economics from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland and a master's degree in management from the London School of Economics (LSE) in the U.K.
Thorben found an unusual way to combine two of his greatest passions – tennis and travel – as tennis umpire for professional ATP tournaments and Davis Cup competitions worldwide, including close encounters with his idol Boris Becker and American legends Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.