Milena Nikolova
Founding Principal at Therion Advisers
Milena Nikolova is a start-up advisor and investor, ex- investment banker, philanthropist and adventurer. She lives in Singapore with her husband and three children.
Her career spans investment banking, wealth management, venture capital investing and startup advisory with 20 years worth of experience. She strongly believes in directing capital for impact, and that this is a powerful way to do good while generating financial returns.
In 2015, Milena started as an active angel investor and a startup adviser. Her passion leads her to startups with tech innovation (disruptive fintech, healthtech, edtech, mobility and food waste reduction space) contributing to making the world a more sustainable and better place.
In 2019, she co-founded Therion Advisers which advises on strategy, fundraisng, and business development as well as they directly invest into early stage startups. Her focus is helping entrepreneurs with industry disruptive visions to reach their potential.
Milena is also a Member of the Board and Venture Partner at Aera VC, a visionary venture capital firm focusing on backing radical solutions to reversing climate change. She is also a Venture Partner in Antler, a global early-stage VC that enables the founding of about 200 startups per year. Further, she is an Advisor in Fintech/Insurtech at Plug and Play Tech Center, an innovative platform connecting the world’s best startups to industry-leading corporations.
Prior to that, Milena worked as Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank in London. Advising leading European banks and insurance companies on mergers, acquisitions and IPO transactions totaling over $10bn in deal value, Milena gained much experience. In Singapore, she worked in Wealth Management with ultra high net worth individuals on range of topics, including financial assets allocation, wealth planning or corporate structuring.
Her uniqueness is demonstrated in her commitment to charity. She is a partner at Women on a Mission (WOAM), an organisation leading adventurous expeditions to raise awareness andfunds for women survivors of war or abuse. She also co-founded ReachOut.bg, an NGO aiming to provide long-term assistance to children without parental care.
We are incredibly proud and pleased to have Milena as the judge for the Finance category of our TTI Global Impact Awards.