Non-executive Directors

Gerry Mangan

Gerry Mangan is a non-executive director of Seroba Kernel Limited.  Gerry has over 20 years’ experience in the fund management industry.  He was formerly a Director of New Ireland Investment Managers and a Director of Friends First Asset Management /F&C Ireland.  During his time with Friends First/ F&C he was responsible for managing Friends First portfolio of Irish Venture Capital investments.  Gerry also served as Assistant Chief Executive of Foir Teoranta, the lender of last resort to Irish manufacturing companies during the 1980’s.   He is a graduate of University College Dublin and is a Chartered Accountant.

Seamus O'Hara

Seamus O’Hara is a former Partner with Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Limited and was a co-founder of Seroba BioVentures in 2001.  He currently acts as an adviser to Seroba Kernel Life Sciences and is an Executive Director of the company.  Seamus is also a co-founder and Director of BioConnect Ireland, a networking association for life science professionals.  He is also a Director of Carlow Brewing Ltd.

Prior to entering the venture capital industry, Seamus had extensive experience of technology licensing and commercialisation from Irish universities during a ten year tenure with Enterprise Ireland, an Irish government agency.  Responsibilities during that period included appointments as Commercial Manager at the National Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Centre, at Trinity College Dublin, and Business Development Manager at BioResearch Ireland.   Seamus also has a background in the pharmaceutical industry having previously held a variety of positions in R&D and manufacturing with AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lily. 

Seamus received a BSc in Biotechnology in 1986 and an MSc in Molecular Biology in 1988 from Dublin City University.

Niall Olden

Niall Olden is Founder and Managing Partner of Kernel Capital and a Non Executive Director of Seroba Kernel Limited.  He has held a wide range of non executive directorships across general industry, technology and life science companies.   His current directorships include MP Stor, Straatum Processware, Chip Sensors, Mini Storage Holdings and Intune Networks.

Niall was a member of the 1988 Jefferson Smurfit plc ‘Graduate Program’.  He remained with the firm working in Ireland and the UK, until 1994 when he was appointed General Manager of a ‘Clondalkin Group plc’ company.  In 1997 Niall joined Piercom a venture capital backed software company, where he was Finance Director.  In 1999 he founded Kernel Capital - a firm which, with its partner company Seroba Kernel Life Science Ltd, has in excess of €200m in venture capital funds under management.

Niall has a BComm from the National University of Ireland, Cork and an MSc International Business from Trinity College.  He is also a Chartered Management Accountant.