ViaTalenta Holdings — Est. 2001

Protecting & Enhancing
the Human Condition

A family-led holding committed to impact investment, sustainability and humanitarian engagement across seven global portfolios.

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A message to our friends and colleagues: As we mourn the passing of our beloved matriarch and co-founder, the Family Council has decided to move our family office activities and mission to ViaTalenta Holdings. For all enquiries please write to us at info@viatalenta.com

In Memoriam

In honour of our Co-Founder & Matriarch

If we can make a positive contribution to people around us every day, then we have been successful.

She was the quiet foundation upon which ViaTalenta was built. Her philosophy that the land gives generously when we respect it, that care for others is the highest form of ambition runs through every investment we make, every community we serve, every endeavour we support. We shall carry her forward in everything we do. Her insistence that life be lived with purpose, with generosity, and with an eye always on those who have less is our inheritance, and our promise.

Forever in our hearts  ·  Forever in our work

Our Holdings

Where talent meets purpose

As a family, we have always aspired to create a world where talented individuals can thrive and collaborate to deliver extraordinary results.

Our sustainability focus is broad and ranges from driving environmental sustainability to bringing health care and food security to the underserved. More recently, we have engaged in clean energy, supporting the sustainability mindset of the next generation and providing access to the world of art for those who have no easy way to engage.

Since 2001, our current generations of the family have continued our purpose with a focus on developing impact investments and philanthropic activities. These efforts have led to the establishment of ViaTalenta Holdings and its operating entities — our family office for impact, investments and sustainability.

2001
Year of founding
7
Investment portfolios
4
Countries of operation
CH · CA · LU · DK
Switzerland · Canada · Luxembourg · Denmark

Purpose, Mission & Values

01

Our Purpose

To protect and enhance the human condition.

02

Our Mission

Drive impact and sustainability through investments, philanthropy and personal engagement. Leave a better world for generations to come.

03

Our Definition

Investments that actively engage in promoting human welfare — saving lives, relieving suffering, and maintaining human dignity without prejudice.

Our Values

Our Values

These principles guide every decision, relationship and investment we make. They are not aspirations — they are commitments.

Exigence
We believe that only the best is good enough.
Honour
We carry out our responsibilities to the highest standards of integrity and transparency. What we say is what we do.
Curiosity
We have a passion to explore and understand the world around us.
Humanity
We respect all forms of life and continuously make constructive interventions to improve the quality of life.
Cultivating Talent
We help every individual fulfill their talent and acquire the skills to help create a sustainable future.
Perseverance
We tirelessly pursue our purpose through innovation and imagination.
2025 Letter From Our Family
“Creativity is the literacy of our time — and to find solutions to the challenges we face, we need to draw on as much and as diverse a range of talents as possible.”

In 2020, COVID-19 created turmoil in the world and brought up the fragility of what we have taken for granted. It highlighted everything that divides us — from extreme disparities in food and job security, access to health care and education and civil rights, to the day-to-day life challenges faced by all members of society.

As I write this in 2025, I reflect on the changes over the past five years and notably the recent loss of our co-founding matriarch. I am more and more convinced that the continuous commitment of our family to economic, environmental and social impact is essential to our common futures; that of our family and the planet we inhabit.

Change is inevitable and despite our mourning for those we have lost, we are changing our governance structure and will focus all our efforts on what unites us. We have made changes to our structure as well as our portfolio by adding Technology & Innovation and Defence & Security as pillars alongside our existing five areas of focus.

The future is what we make it. As a family, we shall continue to diversify our portfolios while collaborating, engaging and funding new projects in pursuit of our purpose: “To protect and enhance the human condition”.

— Georgio Pauen

Our Compass

Six fundamental needs

From our travels around the world, we have identified three fundamental needs to protect the human condition: Food, Water and Shelter. To these, we add Education, Work and Energy as fundamental elements to enhance the human condition. These six needs drive our investment strategy and underpin all our collaborations.

Food

Nutrition, food security and sustainable agriculture for all communities.

Water

Access to clean water and sustainable water management solutions.

Shelter

Safe housing and built environments that dignify the human experience.

Education

Cultivating talent and fostering a sustainability mindset across generations.

Work

Meaningful professions and economic opportunity to improve quality of life.

Energy

Clean, accessible energy solutions that protect and sustain our planet.

Investment Strategy

Humanitarian Investments

We strive to deliver exceptional risk-adjusted market returns through investment theses focused on circular, systemic and non-exit driven strategies and engagements in value creation.

All our portfolio entities are supported in their development and collaborations, with access to the Holding's resources, networks, R&D and experts when needed to achieve their potential.

Within the investment spectrum, we focus primarily on sustainable and theme-based opportunities across all asset classes and venture philanthropy as a way to support the growth of new initiatives.

“Investments that actively engage in promoting human welfare and have no prejudice with human suffering on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or national divisions. The goal is to save lives, relieve suffering, and maintain human dignity.”

ViaTalenta's definition of Humanitarian Investments
Investment Portfolios

Seven areas of focus

We invest in entities that not only fit our values and purpose, but deliver social, environmental, humanitarian and financial returns.

Our Investment Lens

Every allocation we make is evaluated through a financial alpha and social alpha lens with no trade-offs. We believe that entities generating genuine positive impact for people and planet are, over the long term, more resilient, more innovative, and more capable of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns.

Financial Alpha
Exceptional risk-adjusted returns through circular, systemic and non-exit driven strategies. We focus on long-term value creation, not short-term extraction.
Social Alpha
Measurable positive outcomes for communities, environments and individuals. We go beyond ESG compliance to demand genuine, verifiable human impact from every entity we support.
Negative Screening
What we will not invest in — under any circumstances
×Tobacco & harmful substances
×Controversial weapons & indiscriminate armaments
×Fossil fuel extraction & coal energy
×Gambling & predatory financial services
×Entities with systemic human rights violations
×Activities causing irreversible environmental harm
×Adult entertainment & exploitative media
×Entities failing basic labour & supply chain standards

Our negative screens are applied prior to any financial analysis. An opportunity that fails our values screen is not considered further, regardless of its financial merits.

01
Energy &
Environment
Geothermal, hydrokinetic and clean energy. Climate mitigation technologies, sustainable products and circular waste solutions.
02
Health Care &
Wellness
Longevity, women's health, nutraceuticals, nutrition and digital therapeutics. Healthcare access for underserved communities.
03
Education
Knowledge transfer, master–apprentice collaborations, crisis management upskilling and next-generation sustainability education.
04
ImpactArt
Art rooted in fundamental human stories and sustainability — curating local works for global audiences and supporting emerging talent.
05
Media &
Entertainment
Creating, designing and producing stories, stages and strategies that shape culture and drive purposeful narratives.
06
Technology &
Innovation
AI and its impact on our mission, digital therapeutics, precision agriculture and sustainable innovation through Turtle Labs and Foundry 42.
07
Defence &
Security
Addressing the humanitarian impacts of armed conflict and global insecurity — focused on protection, resilience and conflict prevention.
An Inside View

The people behind the purpose

ViaTalenta is built on the talent, dedication and shared values of the people who bring our mission to life — from our family council to our collaborators and partners around the world.

Christina-Anne Kyosti
Family Principal & Chairwoman
Giulio Pauen
Family Council Member
Giovanni Pauen
Family Council Member
Gilles T. Lacombe
ImpactArtist
Philippe de Korodi
Collège Champittet & ViaTalenta
Elodie Rojas
Head of Family Relations
Karoliina Valkamo
MyDesign & ViaTalenta Collections
Edgar Mora
ViaTalenta Investments
Régine Clément
CREO Syndicate & ViaTalenta
Wan Jamila Wan Shaiful Bahri
Young ImpactArtist 2018–2023
Fliss Walton
GMP Productions
Elisa Palomino
Fashion Designer & Turtle Labs
Our Journey

A family story, told in milestones

From a grandmother's kitchen philosophy to a global family office for impact — this is how we got here.

2001
The family office is born
The current generation formalises the family's sustainability and impact focus, establishing the foundations of what will become ViaTalenta Holdings and its entities.
2017
ViaTalenta Group Ltd established
The family council establishes a dedicated entity to serve as a front-office for the family office in Switzerland.
2018
ViaTalenta Foundation established
A Swiss foundation is created to house the humanitarian and philanthropic multi-generational engagements in arts, education, sports and climate change.
2019
Turtle Labs and ViaTalenta Americas established
Expansion of innovation activities and geographical reach to accelerate impact.
2020
ViaTalenta Academy and Next Gen Education established
The family council launches a programme dedicated to educating the next generations on climate change and its solutions and a network connecting over 100 impact families.
2020
ImpactArtist programme launched
ImpactArt portfolio is formalised with the announcement of Wan Jamila Wan Shaiful Bahri, a gifted Malaysian artist whose work on plastic sea pollution brings global attention to environmental crisis through art, as Young ImpactArtist.
2025
ViaTalenta Holdings — a new chapter
Following the passing of our beloved co-founding matriarch, the Family Council transitions to ViaTalenta Holdings, adding Technology & Innovation and Defence & Security to its seven investment portfolios, and deepens its commitment to the next generation.
Our Structure

Five operating hubs

Incubation & Innovation

ViaTalenta

Our incubator and innovation hub, fostering early-stage ideas and talent across all focus areas.

Portfolio Management

ViaTalenta Investments

Our portfolio management hub and home to our global operating units: Turtle Labs, Academy and all other entities.

Philanthropy

Grace Foundation

Home to our philanthropic and humanitarian engagements, ensuring mission-driven impact beyond financial returns.

Advisory

ViaTalenta Conseils

Our advisory arm, providing strategic counsel and guidance to portfolio companies, partners and family stakeholders.

Institutional Management

ViaTalenta Europe

Our institutional management hub, overseeing European operations and engagement with institutional investors and partners.

A Letter to Future Generations

For those who come after us

You will inherit a world we tried our best to improve. You will also inherit its imperfections — the problems we could not solve, the compromises we made, the distances we could not close between what we believed and what we achieved.

We did not build this family office to create wealth. We built it to leave something worth inheriting — not just financially, but morally. A way of seeing the world that puts people first, that refuses to separate profit from purpose, that believes creativity is the most powerful tool we have.

The six needs in our Compass — Food, Water, Shelter, Education, Work, Energy — will still be unmet for too many when you read this. We ask you not to be discouraged by the scale of what remains, but energised by the clarity of what matters.

Our grandmother taught us that nothing useful should ever be wasted. We pass that lesson on to you. Your talent is useful. Your time is useful. Your capacity for empathy and imagination is the most useful thing of all.

Protect and enhance the human condition. In whatever form that takes in your time.

The ViaTalenta Family, 2025