The Team
Our team is global with staff based across Europe and North America.
Leadership
Cecilia Qvist is the Head of LEGO Ventures, joining the team in 2021. Cecilia is an experienced leader from technology-driven environments that are undergoing transformational change, with a solid track record of building sustainable businesses that are growing at scale, across multiple territories. At Spotify, Cecilia oversaw the global growth strategy in existing and new territories with a focus on international expansion, product localization and user growth. She was instrumental in scaling the company to a multinational business and today Spotify has more than 345 million users across 170 markets. Additionally, she holds Board seats at Kinnevik – an avid technology venture investor, Trustly – a leader in digital account-to-account payments and CINT – a global software leader in digital insights gathering. Previously Cecilia spent time with Ericsson, Swedbank and NASDAQ OMX.
Managing Director of LEGO Ventures’ Digital Play investment practice globally, and line manager of the EMEA investment team, based in London. Prior to joining LEGO Ventures Rob worked at the LEGO Group as Senior Director in Digital Consumer Engagement and was responsible for developing and growing LEGO Group’s connected digital ecosystem, in particular launching LEGO® Life – a safe social network for kids where they can share their creativity with each other, which reached 8m users in 2018. Before the LEGO Group, Rob worked in marketing at Nintendo of Europe where he launched the Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS in the European market, and also at BBC Studios where he led physical and digital product development and marketing around their consumer products business. He is passionate about the kids’ technology and gaming space and finding new and innovative ways for kids and families to learn through play. He lives in Caversham in the UK with his partner and three young daughters, loves classic Alfa Romeos and retro video games, watching Queens Park Rangers, and going for runs with his dog Bowser.
Head of the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio. Based in Billund but operating globally. Michael is interested in equipping children around the world with the skills and capabilities they need in a rapidly-evolving and technology-mediated world which will allow them to become creative problem solvers and fulfil their potential – both individually and toward society. He joined LEGO Ventures in 2018. Michael has spent the last 15 years working with innovation and kids – ranging from founding an early stage MedTech startup to leading the development of Interactive Playgrounds, and for the last 9 years, working on multiple innovation projects within the LEGO Group. With two wonderful kids, Michael has developed a large back-catalogue of incredibly bad dad-jokes. Michael is as Danish as it gets and has been a loyal brand ambassador of LEGO® toys since the age of two, which shaped his childhood dreams of studying engineering and the desire to work for the LEGO Group; Michael is now living the dream!
Cecilia Qvist is the Head of LEGO Ventures, joining the team in 2021. Cecilia is an experienced leader from technology-driven environments that are undergoing transformational change, with a solid track record of building sustainable businesses that are growing at scale, across multiple territories. At Spotify, Cecilia oversaw the global growth strategy in existing and new territories with a focus on international expansion, product localization and user growth. She was instrumental in scaling the company to a multinational business and today Spotify has more than 345 million users across 170 markets. Additionally, she holds Board seats at Kinnevik – an avid technology venture investor, Trustly – a leader in digital account-to-account payments and CINT – a global software leader in digital insights gathering. Previously Cecilia spent time with Ericsson, Swedbank and NASDAQ OMX.
Managing Director of LEGO Ventures’ Digital Play investment practice globally, and line manager of the EMEA investment team, based in London. Prior to joining LEGO Ventures Rob worked at the LEGO Group as Senior Director in Digital Consumer Engagement and was responsible for developing and growing LEGO Group’s connected digital ecosystem, in particular launching LEGO® Life – a safe social network for kids where they can share their creativity with each other, which reached 8m users in 2018. Before the LEGO Group, Rob worked in marketing at Nintendo of Europe where he launched the Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS in the European market, and also at BBC Studios where he led physical and digital product development and marketing around their consumer products business. He is passionate about the kids’ technology and gaming space and finding new and innovative ways for kids and families to learn through play. He lives in Caversham in the UK with his partner and three young daughters, loves classic Alfa Romeos and retro video games, watching Queens Park Rangers, and going for runs with his dog Bowser.
Head of the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio. Based in Billund but operating globally. Michael is interested in equipping children around the world with the skills and capabilities they need in a rapidly-evolving and technology-mediated world which will allow them to become creative problem solvers and fulfil their potential – both individually and toward society. He joined LEGO Ventures in 2018. Michael has spent the last 15 years working with innovation and kids – ranging from founding an early stage MedTech startup to leading the development of Interactive Playgrounds, and for the last 9 years, working on multiple innovation projects within the LEGO Group. With two wonderful kids, Michael has developed a large back-catalogue of incredibly bad dad-jokes. Michael is as Danish as it gets and has been a loyal brand ambassador of LEGO® toys since the age of two, which shaped his childhood dreams of studying engineering and the desire to work for the LEGO Group; Michael is now living the dream!
Investors
Parin is an Investor with LEGO Ventures covering EMEA, based in London focused on Digital Play investing. Parin is interested in the potential for AI to enable and enhance all kinds of learning through play. On top of this, Parin is very interested in companies looking to improve content through iteration and those looking to harness the creative potential of their communities. Parin joined LEGO Ventures in 2020 and was previously at the AI scale up Babylon Health essentially doing a bit of everything during a period of hypergrowth. Prior to that, Parin spent 5 years working at BofA Merrill Lynch and Execution covering the TMT space. Parin holds an MA from the University of Cambridge, was once a CFA charter holder and is a Reforge alumnus. In his spare time, Parin enjoys drinking nice wine and going on long dog walks.
Parin is an Investor with LEGO Ventures covering EMEA, based in London focused on Digital Play investing. Parin is interested in the potential for AI to enable and enhance all kinds of learning through play. On top of this, Parin is very interested in companies looking to improve content through iteration and those looking to harness the creative potential of their communities. Parin joined LEGO Ventures in 2020 and was previously at the AI scale up Babylon Health essentially doing a bit of everything during a period of hypergrowth. Prior to that, Parin spent 5 years working at BofA Merrill Lynch and Execution covering the TMT space. Parin holds an MA from the University of Cambridge, was once a CFA charter holder and is a Reforge alumnus. In his spare time, Parin enjoys drinking nice wine and going on long dog walks.
Marketing & Value Creation
Head of Value Creation, based in New York City. Eleanor has enjoyed over 10 years of experience working in the Children’s Toy and EdTech space. She is deeply interested in how children engage in creative play and learning, and how this engagement is evolving with new and innovative technology. Prior to joining LEGO Ventures in 2019, Eleanor was on the Executive team at EdTech startup littleBits Electronics as VP of Global Sales, and previously also led International Sales & Business Development at ALEX Toys and ALEX Brands. Eleanor has an MBA from INSEAD and has always been passionate about establishing meaningful and productive business partnerships across strategic, geographic, and cultural boundaries. When not connecting with others around the globe, Eleanor enjoys doing crafty projects, biking around the city, and spending time with her family and friends near the Brooklyn waterfront.
Elspeth is the Senior Marketing Manager for LEGO Ventures based in London, UK. Being an exceptionally curious person herself, she is passionate about innovation and accessible education. Elspeth joined LEGO Ventures in 2019, and previously worked in marketing and communications in the Canadian non-profit sector. She managed donor reporting and communications initiatives at the University of Toronto, worked in marketing at NEXT Canada, an accelerator focused on developing young entrepreneurial talent, and oversaw partnerships at WE, an international education charity. Elspeth received an MBA from the University of Oxford and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia. She’s an avid snowboarder, a PADI-certified Rescue Diver, and a highly-competitive Scrabble player.
Holly is the Marketing Coordinator for LEGO Ventures based in London. Holly is passionate about education; she holds a deep interest in how the ways in which children learn is rapidly changing and is excited about what this means for the classrooms of the future. She joined LEGO Ventures in 2019. Since graduating from University College London with a Bachelor’s degree in History, Holly has worked in the media and marketing sector. The highlights include working in the television industry on programmes such as The Jonathan Ross Show and This Morning carrying out runner, research, and post-production duties (whilst mingling with the celebs!). She then volunteered at The National Trust as a Marketing Assistant at their Kent Portfolio where she promoted events and researched social content. Holly describes herself as curious and super organized, and loves Mexican food, sunny holidays and reading rom-coms!
Jerry is the Executive Assistant based in London. She is interested in what the future of playful learning will look like, and how digital technologies will impact the adults and children of the future. Jerry has wide project management experience having supported executives and teams in companies such as Red Bull and Sky prior to joining LEGO Ventures. She started her career with the LEGO Group in 2016 working in Digital Consumer Engagement, she then joined LEGO Ventures in early 2020. Outside of work, Jerry is a motion freak, having completed 12 marathons, a 100 Mile stage race, the Marathon Des Stables, 3 Peaks Challenge, and cycled twice from London to Paris for charity.
Daniel is the Senior Communications Manager working for KIRKBI A/S, based in Copenhagen Denmark. Please reach out to Daniel for any media inquiries.
Phone: +45 28924183
Email: daniel.vamosi@kirkbi.com
Head of Value Creation, based in New York City. Eleanor has enjoyed over 10 years of experience working in the Children’s Toy and EdTech space. She is deeply interested in how children engage in creative play and learning, and how this engagement is evolving with new and innovative technology. Prior to joining LEGO Ventures in 2019, Eleanor was on the Executive team at EdTech startup littleBits Electronics as VP of Global Sales, and previously also led International Sales & Business Development at ALEX Toys and ALEX Brands. Eleanor has an MBA from INSEAD and has always been passionate about establishing meaningful and productive business partnerships across strategic, geographic, and cultural boundaries. When not connecting with others around the globe, Eleanor enjoys doing crafty projects, biking around the city, and spending time with her family and friends near the Brooklyn waterfront.
Elspeth is the Senior Marketing Manager for LEGO Ventures based in London, UK. Being an exceptionally curious person herself, she is passionate about innovation and accessible education. Elspeth joined LEGO Ventures in 2019, and previously worked in marketing and communications in the Canadian non-profit sector. She managed donor reporting and communications initiatives at the University of Toronto, worked in marketing at NEXT Canada, an accelerator focused on developing young entrepreneurial talent, and oversaw partnerships at WE, an international education charity. Elspeth received an MBA from the University of Oxford and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia. She’s an avid snowboarder, a PADI-certified Rescue Diver, and a highly-competitive Scrabble player.
Holly is the Marketing Coordinator for LEGO Ventures based in London. Holly is passionate about education; she holds a deep interest in how the ways in which children learn is rapidly changing and is excited about what this means for the classrooms of the future. She joined LEGO Ventures in 2019. Since graduating from University College London with a Bachelor’s degree in History, Holly has worked in the media and marketing sector. The highlights include working in the television industry on programmes such as The Jonathan Ross Show and This Morning carrying out runner, research, and post-production duties (whilst mingling with the celebs!). She then volunteered at The National Trust as a Marketing Assistant at their Kent Portfolio where she promoted events and researched social content. Holly describes herself as curious and super organized, and loves Mexican food, sunny holidays and reading rom-coms!
Jerry is the Executive Assistant based in London. She is interested in what the future of playful learning will look like, and how digital technologies will impact the adults and children of the future. Jerry has wide project management experience having supported executives and teams in companies such as Red Bull and Sky prior to joining LEGO Ventures. She started her career with the LEGO Group in 2016 working in Digital Consumer Engagement, she then joined LEGO Ventures in early 2020. Outside of work, Jerry is a motion freak, having completed 12 marathons, a 100 Mile stage race, the Marathon Des Stables, 3 Peaks Challenge, and cycled twice from London to Paris for charity.
Daniel is the Senior Communications Manager working for KIRKBI A/S, based in Copenhagen Denmark. Please reach out to Daniel for any media inquiries.
Phone: +45 28924183
Email: daniel.vamosi@kirkbi.com
Incubation Studio
Program Lead for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based out of Billund. Josephine is curious about new technologies and new ways of learning through play while simultaneously equipping children with skills for the future. She joined LEGO Ventures in 2019 and has been with the LEGO Group since 2013. Previously, Josephine worked as an IT project manager with the LEGO Group after finishing her masters degree in Corporate Communication from Aarhus University in 2015. She started her professional adventure with the LEGO Group alongside her studies after having returned from a semester abroad in Hong Kong.
Sid is the Lead Venture Designer for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. He has over 10 years of experience in designing playful and creative learning experiences. Prior to LEGO Ventures, Sid was a Creative Lead at the LEGO Group, and instrumental in launching LEGO® Education SPIKE Prime, a STEAM and Robotics toolkit, to classrooms around the world. He is passionate about kids’ technology, learning spaces, and finding innovative ways for kids and families to learn through play. Sid began his career designing toys for play and learning at LEGO® Creative Play as design lead for frontend design and innovation. The concepts, ideas and innovation he worked on laid the foundation for much of the LEGO Group’s current experiences with camera technology. And in 2015, the team won Toy of the Year for the tech-enabled product, LEGO® Fusion. He lives in Denmark by the fjords with his wife, who is also a Design Lead at the LEGO Group. Sid and his wife love travel and adventure and are always on the road exploring new cities and countries.
Sabine is the Research & Insights Lead for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. Sabine is responsible for bringing kids, family, and play insights to all of our activities, thereby creating the foundations of knowledge for new venture opportunities. Sabine has a PhD in Entrepreneurship and prior LEGO Ventures, she was part of the LEGO Groups’ biggest research department, Global Insights, driving early-stage innovation projects. Sabine is working deeply with trends and foresight, keeping a keen eye on the big and subtle shifts that influence how kids and families engage in play and creative activities. She is an avid advocate for infusing more unstructured free play and nature play into children’s lives because of the positive impact on their imagination and mental well-being. As a true Austrian, Sabine was born on a pair of skis and loves the rural outdoors including all of its animals, so much so that she dreams of opening an animal shelter one day.
Anders is the Lead Venture Architect for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. He is a true believer in using the Lean Startup Methodology for validating and qualifying new business opportunities. Together with the rest of the Incubation Studio team, Anders works with external entrepreneurs and domain experts to incubate ambitious startups in the field of Play, Learning, and Creativity. Before joining LEGO Ventures in 2020, Anders was the co-founder and CEO of a digital wellbeing startup operating out of San Francisco, California, and Aarhus, Denmark. He has hands-on experience with early-stage business validation, product-market-fit development, fundraising, team development, and all other areas of the early-stage startup discipline. Today he is applying all the learnings from the ups and downs of his entrepreneurial adventures to the Incubation Studio. Throughout his career, Anders worked and lived in Kathmandu, Bangkok and San Francisco. Today he is based in Aarhus with his wife and two daughters. On weekends, you’ll find them riding around the country in a 1980’s Volkswagen van with surfboards on the roof – if the car’s not broken, that is.
Brenda is the Venture Architect for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. She believes in using Trends Foresight, Design Thinking and Behavioural Science to design and ideate human-centred concepts. Passionate and an advocate of Learning through Play, Brenda is excited about the opportunity to explore new digital opportunities for kids and families to be the creative builders of tomorrow.
Prior to joining LEGO Ventures in 2021, Brenda has had a squiggly career in the UK and Germany and most recently worked at GSK’s Incubator, NEXT. She’s freelanced at advertising agencies helping brands to craft their innovation concepts and was the inaugural Innovation Manager at HelloFresh (pre-IPO) having set up their innovation processes, identifying and rolling out multiple launches to expand their portfolio into new channels. Brenda loves hacking furniture (including building LEGO tabletops), yoga and surfing – with a recent relocation to Denmark to join the Incubation Team, winter surf is a whole new challenge.
Isabel Eklund is the Art Director for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund, Denmark. She joined the LEGO Ventures team in 2021. Prior to LEGO Ventures, Isabel was an Application Engineer in LEGO Education, developing LEGO® Education SPIKE Prime. SPIKE Prime is a STEAM solution to classrooms around the world, exploring the development and supporting the engineers of tomorrow. Isabel began her career as a Junior Application Engineer at LEGO in 2019, after graduating from her cand.it (MSc) Information Technology & Product Design. Isabel lives near Billund in Denmark but grew up in Copenhagen. She loves to be creative, whether it is with pen and paper, on a tablet or PC. She loves to discover and read up on new technologies, as well as to try them out. She also has a passion for gaming. Isabel wrote her Master Thesis about how video games have an emotional influence on the players, focusing on the game Read Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Games.
Natalie is the Operations and Program Lead for LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund, Denmark. She joined in March 2021 as maternity cover and is responsible for driving and refining the innovation processes and ensuring day-to-day operations of the Incubation Studio. Prior to LEGO Ventures, Natalie has spent most of her career working with digital project management and general IT management on both the agency and client-side, lastly at the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk. Very intrigued by the dynamics between IT and business, she loves to explore and learn more about digital business models, platforms, and strategy. Having lived in Los Angeles, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, and Copenhagen, she now enjoys life in the suburbs of Jutland, Denmark together with her husband and son. When time allows, Natalie loves to cook Vietnamese food and travel to places that have a combination of nice food and beautiful scenic hikes.
Founder in Residence at LEGO Ventures and based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prior to joining the team, Matthias has a colourful past as Vice President in the 90-year-old Ricola AG in Switzerland, leading the innovation of functional herbal candy, leading the Concept & Design team as Head of Product Design and part of the executive management team in Bang & Olufsen PLAY designing headphones and speakers and co-founding GameAnalytics, the world’s biggest analytics solution for games. Besides work, he has a profound interest in everything tech, product, design, and user experience. He lives in the suburbs of Copenhagen with his wife and two young kids, trying to get out on the gravel bike or running as much as the chaos at home permits.
Program Lead for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based out of Billund. Josephine is curious about new technologies and new ways of learning through play while simultaneously equipping children with skills for the future. She joined LEGO Ventures in 2019 and has been with the LEGO Group since 2013. Previously, Josephine worked as an IT project manager with the LEGO Group after finishing her masters degree in Corporate Communication from Aarhus University in 2015. She started her professional adventure with the LEGO Group alongside her studies after having returned from a semester abroad in Hong Kong.
Sid is the Lead Venture Designer for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. He has over 10 years of experience in designing playful and creative learning experiences. Prior to LEGO Ventures, Sid was a Creative Lead at the LEGO Group, and instrumental in launching LEGO® Education SPIKE Prime, a STEAM and Robotics toolkit, to classrooms around the world. He is passionate about kids’ technology, learning spaces, and finding innovative ways for kids and families to learn through play. Sid began his career designing toys for play and learning at LEGO® Creative Play as design lead for frontend design and innovation. The concepts, ideas and innovation he worked on laid the foundation for much of the LEGO Group’s current experiences with camera technology. And in 2015, the team won Toy of the Year for the tech-enabled product, LEGO® Fusion. He lives in Denmark by the fjords with his wife, who is also a Design Lead at the LEGO Group. Sid and his wife love travel and adventure and are always on the road exploring new cities and countries.
Sabine is the Research & Insights Lead for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. Sabine is responsible for bringing kids, family, and play insights to all of our activities, thereby creating the foundations of knowledge for new venture opportunities. Sabine has a PhD in Entrepreneurship and prior LEGO Ventures, she was part of the LEGO Groups’ biggest research department, Global Insights, driving early-stage innovation projects. Sabine is working deeply with trends and foresight, keeping a keen eye on the big and subtle shifts that influence how kids and families engage in play and creative activities. She is an avid advocate for infusing more unstructured free play and nature play into children’s lives because of the positive impact on their imagination and mental well-being. As a true Austrian, Sabine was born on a pair of skis and loves the rural outdoors including all of its animals, so much so that she dreams of opening an animal shelter one day.
Anders is the Lead Venture Architect for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. He is a true believer in using the Lean Startup Methodology for validating and qualifying new business opportunities. Together with the rest of the Incubation Studio team, Anders works with external entrepreneurs and domain experts to incubate ambitious startups in the field of Play, Learning, and Creativity. Before joining LEGO Ventures in 2020, Anders was the co-founder and CEO of a digital wellbeing startup operating out of San Francisco, California, and Aarhus, Denmark. He has hands-on experience with early-stage business validation, product-market-fit development, fundraising, team development, and all other areas of the early-stage startup discipline. Today he is applying all the learnings from the ups and downs of his entrepreneurial adventures to the Incubation Studio. Throughout his career, Anders worked and lived in Kathmandu, Bangkok and San Francisco. Today he is based in Aarhus with his wife and two daughters. On weekends, you’ll find them riding around the country in a 1980’s Volkswagen van with surfboards on the roof – if the car’s not broken, that is.
Brenda is the Venture Architect for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund. She believes in using Trends Foresight, Design Thinking and Behavioural Science to design and ideate human-centred concepts. Passionate and an advocate of Learning through Play, Brenda is excited about the opportunity to explore new digital opportunities for kids and families to be the creative builders of tomorrow.
Prior to joining LEGO Ventures in 2021, Brenda has had a squiggly career in the UK and Germany and most recently worked at GSK’s Incubator, NEXT. She’s freelanced at advertising agencies helping brands to craft their innovation concepts and was the inaugural Innovation Manager at HelloFresh (pre-IPO) having set up their innovation processes, identifying and rolling out multiple launches to expand their portfolio into new channels. Brenda loves hacking furniture (including building LEGO tabletops), yoga and surfing – with a recent relocation to Denmark to join the Incubation Team, winter surf is a whole new challenge.
Isabel Eklund is the Art Director for the LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund, Denmark. She joined the LEGO Ventures team in 2021. Prior to LEGO Ventures, Isabel was an Application Engineer in LEGO Education, developing LEGO® Education SPIKE Prime. SPIKE Prime is a STEAM solution to classrooms around the world, exploring the development and supporting the engineers of tomorrow. Isabel began her career as a Junior Application Engineer at LEGO in 2019, after graduating from her cand.it (MSc) Information Technology & Product Design. Isabel lives near Billund in Denmark but grew up in Copenhagen. She loves to be creative, whether it is with pen and paper, on a tablet or PC. She loves to discover and read up on new technologies, as well as to try them out. She also has a passion for gaming. Isabel wrote her Master Thesis about how video games have an emotional influence on the players, focusing on the game Read Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Games.
Natalie is the Operations and Program Lead for LEGO Ventures Incubation Studio based in Billund, Denmark. She joined in March 2021 as maternity cover and is responsible for driving and refining the innovation processes and ensuring day-to-day operations of the Incubation Studio. Prior to LEGO Ventures, Natalie has spent most of her career working with digital project management and general IT management on both the agency and client-side, lastly at the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk. Very intrigued by the dynamics between IT and business, she loves to explore and learn more about digital business models, platforms, and strategy. Having lived in Los Angeles, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, and Copenhagen, she now enjoys life in the suburbs of Jutland, Denmark together with her husband and son. When time allows, Natalie loves to cook Vietnamese food and travel to places that have a combination of nice food and beautiful scenic hikes.
Founder in Residence at LEGO Ventures and based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prior to joining the team, Matthias has a colourful past as Vice President in the 90-year-old Ricola AG in Switzerland, leading the innovation of functional herbal candy, leading the Concept & Design team as Head of Product Design and part of the executive management team in Bang & Olufsen PLAY designing headphones and speakers and co-founding GameAnalytics, the world’s biggest analytics solution for games. Besides work, he has a profound interest in everything tech, product, design, and user experience. He lives in the suburbs of Copenhagen with his wife and two young kids, trying to get out on the gravel bike or running as much as the chaos at home permits.
