Working for The Rocket Foundation
Should you share our mission and passion, please send us an email with your CV! We offer internships & volunteer opportunities based in Switzerland and remotely.
Our Team
Fabrice d'Erm
Co-Founder and Board Member
Fabrice is a co-founder and board member of The Rocket Foundation. He has spent more than 20 years in the finance industry (London, Paris, Zurich and Geneva) alongside which he dedicates his time and energy to projects which have a positive social and environmental impact.
He has been working with start-ups as an investor, coach and board director for more than 10 years and has supported many philanthropic projects across multiple themes. He also acts as a mentor to several social entrepreneurs.
Fabrice graduated from the University of Paris X Nanterre with a master in finance, has a bachelor from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion (ISG) in Paris and is an INSEAD Alumni. His passions include art, photography, travelling and wine. Fabrice is based with his wife and three children close to Zurich.
Daniel Wyss
Co-founder and chairman
Daniel is a co-founder and chairman of The Rocket Foundation. He is an investment banking professional and has worked in London, Singapore, Australia and Zurich.
Daniel has been active in philanthropy for many years and has been a member of the Lions Club Zurich Rietberg since 2012, serving as President in 2018/2019. Daniel has mentored social entrepreneurs and advised social start-ups on areas including strategy, marketing and finances.
Daniel holds several finance and regulatory diplomas, is an IMD alumni and an active member of the IMD Zurich Alumni Chapter. He is a Lieutenant in the Swiss army. His passions include cycling, skiing, ice-hockey, mountains, food and reading. He is married with two children and lives close to Zurich.
Rebecca Berlinger
CO-FOUNDER and C.O.O
Rebecca is a co-founder and the COO of The Rocket Foundation. She has spent nearly 20 year working in the finance industry in London, New York and Zurich, focused on asset management and private equity. She brings vast experience in finance, operations, compliance and audit enabling us to align The Rocket Foundation processes to industry best practices.
Rebecca has had an active passion for philanthropy since teaching in Africa before she joined the world of finance. Her recent focus has shifted from mainstream finance towards Sustainable Finance and Impact Measurement, with a view to channelling private wealth to accelerate solutions to the environmental and social challenges facing society.
Rebecca is a chartered accountant with an economics degree from the University of Bristol and a CAS in Sustainable Finance from the University of Zurich.Her passions include the mountains, music, skiing and travel. She lives with her husband and four children on the Lake of Zurich.
Chirag Shah
Entrepreneur
Chirag joined The Rocket Foundation as Entrepreneur in Residence in May 2020. He has been a serial entrepreneur and business angel for over 20 years. His ventures have been recognised on UK’s The Sunday Times Tech Track 100, USA’s Inc 5000, and The Best Companies to Work For Awards.
Chirag is also an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD Business School, and is a strong supporter of social entrepreneurship at the school. His company Simfoni is a pioneer in the development of Impact Assessment – an analytical tool designed to help corporates measure the extent of their ‘do goodery’.
Chirag holds a degree in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from INSEAD. He is British Indian and is currently resident in Dubai with his wife and two daughters. He loves skiing, sailing and is a big rugby fan.
Christoph Ehrbar
co-founder and board member
Christoph is a co-founder and board member of The Rocket Foundation. He is the chairman and CEO of the Hess Group overseeing their real estate activities, wine estates in Argentina and numerous other group investments. Christoph and his family have been active in philanthropy for several years supporting numerous projects around the world.
Christoph graduated from the University of applied Science in Zurich and is an IMD Alumni. His passions include spending time with his family, wine, contemporary art, mountains, skiing and tennis. He lives close to Bern with his wife and two children.
Our Advisory Board
Fabrice Leclerc
Over the past 20 years Fabrice has pioneered innovation as a driving force of positive social and environmental evolution. His previous roles include CEO of Haagen Dazs and head of the L’Oreal Prestige Innovation World Lab. He is currently an angel at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and founder of the Vallée Eternelle.
Iain Henderson
Iain has worked in sustainable finance for over 10 years and brings with him vast experience from the impact investing space, from working at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and from his previous role with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). He is a former member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Forests and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network. He is also a Senior Advisor to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Financial Sector Hub.
Iain’s experience helps us to develop innovative solutions to financing, strengthen our project due diligence and deepen the value we bring to our portfolio projects. Iain is currently a managing director at ADM Capital based in Hong Kong.
Natascha Cerny Ehtesham
Natascha has a background in civilian peacebuilding, predominantly in the fields of human rights/democracy/rule of law, conflict prevention/conflict transformation/‘Dealing with the Past’ and has worked for/with civil society organisations as well as multilateral and memory institutions for over 10 years.
Natascha helps us to identify meaningful and impactful projects as well as keep an eye on political and gender sensitivities.
She is currently working for Museum Cerny contemporary circumpolar art.
Nastascha Cerny Ehtesham
Natascha is active in the fields of human rights and civilian peacebuilding, working towards sustainable peace in the regions covered by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Her focuses include strengthening civil society, conflict prevention, conflict transformation and ‘dealing with the past’ (in particular archives and memorialization). Natascha’ helps us to identify meaningful and impactful projects as well as keep an eye on conflict and gender sensitivities. She is currently working for Swisspeace.
Chetan Patel
Chetan is a digital transformation champion focused on ensuring that businesses remain relevant and future-proof in an age of digital disruption. With his experience in business transformation and in implementing emerging technologies, Chetan brings an important angle to our discussions with pipeline and portfolio projects, to help us explore the possibilities to scale, grow and multiply impact further. He is currently the head of business transformation at the UBS Strategic Development Lab.
Nastascha Cerny Ehtesham
Natascha is active in the fields of human rights and civilian peacebuilding, working towards sustainable peace in the regions covered by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Her focuses include strengthening civil society, conflict prevention, conflict transformation and ‘dealing with the past’ (in particular archives and memorialization). Natascha’ helps us to identify meaningful and impactful projects as well as keep an eye on conflict and gender sensitivities. She is currently working for Swisspeace.
Chetan Patel
Chetan is a digital transformation champion focused on ensuring that businesses remain relevant and future-proof in an age of digital disruption. With his experience in business transformation and in implementing emerging technologies, Chetan brings an important angle to our discussions with pipeline and portfolio projects, to help us explore the possibilities to scale, grow and multiply impact further. He is currently the head of business transformation at the UBS Strategic Development Lab.
Fabrice Leclerc
Over the past 20 years Fabrice has pioneered innovation as a driving force of positive social and environmental evolution. His previous roles include CEO of Haagen Dazs and head of the L’Oreal Prestige Innovation World Lab. He is currently an angel at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and founder of the Vallée Eternelle.
Shruti Patel
Shruti has over 20 years’ experience working in the field of development cooperation around the world. She shares The Rocket Foundation’s passion about the role of business in creating development solutions. With her knowledge of the interconnection between food systems, nutrition, and the environment she helps us to identify the right projects that we can work with to make a real difference. Shruti is currently a senior scientist at the NADEL institute in Zurich.
Iain Henderson
Iain has worked in sustainable finance for over 10 years and brings with him vast experience from the impact investing space, from working at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and from his previous role with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). He is a former member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Forests and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network. He is also a Senior Advisor to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Financial Sector Hub.
Iain’s experience helps us to develop innovative solutions to financing, strengthen our project due diligence and deepen the value we bring to our portfolio projects. Iain is currently a managing director at ADM Capital based in Hong Kong.