Mario Gobbo

Mario Gobbo has spent more than three decades in banking and corporate finance. His prowess extends to venture capital, private equity, investment banking, and strategic counseling. He holds a significant position on the Oversight Committee of Cinkarna Celje, a renowned chemicals enterprise from Slovenia. Additionally, he’s a board member of Zavarovalnica Triglav, the foremost Slovene insurance entity focusing on healthcare coverage in Central Europe. He once held the roles of Board Chairman and Audit Committee Head at Helix BioPharma, a biotech establishment in Toronto aiming to pioneer advanced biomolecules for cancer treatments. Professionally, he also served on Lazard Brothers’ board in London as an executive director.

During his tenure as the Managing Director for Health Care Capital Markets and Advisory at Natixis Bleichroeder in New York between 2006 and 2009, Mr. Gobbo played a pivotal role in finalizing transactions for the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, gaining multiple mandates for IPOs and other transactions on NASDAQ. His advisory skills were often sought after by medical device companies. At the International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank dedicated to private investments, he steered a team to outstanding success in equity and loan ventures in biotech, and generic pharma sectors in regions like India, Latin America, China, and Central Europe. Between 1993 to 2001, he was a part of Lazard in London where he pioneered and supervised their Central and Eastern European operations, inclusive of Turkey. Under his guidance, there were significant transactions for pharmaceutical giants like Pliva, Bosnalijek, Lek, and Krka, and notable investments in APDC Biotech fund, now known as VentureEast, and BVCF, a groundbreaking healthcare fund in China. Before his stint with Lazard, he was associated with Swiss Bank Corporation International Ltd. in London, contributing to the Ares Serono IPO, a subsequent acquisition by Merck KgaA. His advisory roles extended to AHF, Ocimum Biosolutions/Genelogic, and CellPraxis.