EPFL-backed Foundation for Technology Innovation has appointed David Kappeler as director and head of investments.
David Kappeler (pictured) has become director and head of investments at Foundation for Technology Innovation (FIT), a public-private partnership providing startup debt financing that counts EPFL as a backer.
FIT’s other backers include the canton government of Vaud, its bank BCV, petrochemicals firm Ineos and financial services group Swissquote.
Established in 1994, it has supplied about CHF40.2m ($40.2m) to date focused on accredited university and institute research from within Vaud as well as seed and series A-stage businesses.
Kappeler was appointed to the FIT roles in August 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been a project manager in the corporate unit of Vaud canton’s office for economic affairs since 2016, helping to allocate economic development funding in its priority sectors, including life sciences, information communication and technology and clean tech.
Kappeler’s work for the canton has incorporated due diligence on potential investees, building links to Europe-based investors in the private sector and fostering the local ecosystem in partnership with financial services firms UBS and Credit Suisse.
He was chief sales and marketing officer for EPFL sports analytics spinout PlayfulVision from 2014 until 2016, a role aligned with his year-long study of sports administration and technology at the university.
Kappeler also spent seven and a half years with UBS’s wealth management unit from 2005, taking on successive roles as project manager, sales manager and business manager before finally becoming an associate director-level wealth manager in late 2012.
