Robert Lilja is the Founding and Managing Partner of Lilja & Co.
Prior to founding Lilja & Co. in 2004, Bob was a Partner at Lazard London, Frankfurt and Stockholm responsible for Equity Advisory. From 1985 to 1994, he was a Director at Credit Suisse First Boston, London responsible for Nordic coverage.
Bob is a former Chairman of the Audit Committee of Nobel Biocare, a Swiss/Swedish listed medtech company where he served on the board for seven years. He is the author of the book “International Equity Markets – The Art of the Deal” published by Euromoney in 1997.
In 1997, Bob carried out a special assignment for the Chairman of the Wellcome Trust in London.
Bob graduated with a Master's Degree (lic. oec. HSG) in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen in 1982.
Stefanie Berlinger is Managing Partner of Lilja & Co., an independent equity capital markets advisory firm with offices in Zurich, Frankfurt and Paris. She has been a Partner of the firm since 2006 and assumed the role of Managing Partner on 1 January 2026.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co., Stefanie was a Director of Deutsche Bank’s Equity Capital Markets and Institutional Equity Sales teams for eight years. She started her career as an ECM professional at DZ BANK in 1996.
Stefanie is Deputy Chair Woman of DAX listed Brenntag SE, the world’s largest chemical distributor and has been a member of the Audit Committee since 2015.
Stefanie graduated in 1995 with a degree in Business Administration from Technische Hochschule Regensburg and Oxford Brookes University, Oxford (UK).
Dr. Jochen Hennig is a Partner of Lilja & Co.
He has advised on many IPOs and dual track transactions across multiple industry sectors primarily in the DACH region. A particular focus of his experience is with software/ technology, business services and healthcare businesses.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co. at the beginning of 2007, Jochen was with UBS Global Asset Management, Roland Berger, Arthur Andersen and Siemens, gaining experience in asset management, management consulting, and corporate finance.
Jochen holds a doctoral degree from the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and was visiting researcher at the INSEAD Business School. Previously, he studied at the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and at the ESCP Business School in Paris.
Dr. Thomas Schöber is a Partner of Lilja & Co.
He has advised on many IPOs and dual track transactions across multiple industry sectors primarily in the DACH region. A particular focus of his experience is with technology-enabled consumer businesses.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co. in 2005, Thomas was with McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Bank Vontobel and Swisscom, gaining experience in management consulting, corporate finance, private wealth management and corporate development.
Thomas holds a doctoral degree from the University of St.Gallen (HSG). His dissertation analyses a large sample of buyout-backed IPOs. Previously, he studied at the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and at Cornell University.
Lukas Blaimschein is a Director of Lilja & Co.
He has executed a variety of Capital Markets and M&A transactions in Europe across multiple industry sectors, primarily in the DACH region.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co., Lukas was with Gategroup working in the M&A and Investments department, where he was involved in various cross-border M&A transactions. He started his career at Kepler Cheuvreux, gaining experience as Investment Banking Analyst.
Lukas holds a Master in Finance from Durham University and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business from Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien).
Milena Zeloni is the Chief Admin Officer and Team Assistant at Lilja & Co.
She provides support through a wide range of duties, including administrative tasks and research.
Her background is in global supply chain design and operations with over a decade of business administration and leadership experience. Prior to joining Lilja & Co. in 2018, Milena was a member of the management team of UTi Switzerland and Branch Manager at Logwin. She also served as the assistant to the management of Exel Logistics Switzerland from 2001 to 2006.
Milena holds a Swiss Federal Diploma of Higher Education as an Executive Assistant.
Kai Lutrov is a Managing Director of Lilja & Co.
He has advised on many IPOs, dual track exit transactions and different types of secondary transactions across multiple industry sectors in the EMEA region. A particular focus of this experience is with TMT and healthcare businesses.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co. in late 2024, Kai was with Jefferies Group, Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co, Close Brothers Group and a Frankfurt based boutique, gaining experience in Equity Capital Markets, Debt Capital Markets, Equity-Linked transaction, and corporate finance.
Kai graduated with a Master's Degree (MSc) in Finance from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Alexander Thiel is a Vice President of Lilja & Co.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co. in early 2025, Alexander was with Stumpf Capital, Jefferies Group, Deutsche Bank and Sanofi, gaining experience in Investment Management, Equity Research, and corporate finance. He has been top ranked in the Extel investor survey for German mid-caps.
Alexander graduated with a Master's Degree (MSc) in Finance & Accounting from Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien).
Vincent Ackermann is an Analyst at Lilja & Co.
He supports the team on equity capital market transactions. Vincent studied Economics at the graduate level at University of St. Gallen.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co., Vincent was gaining experience in private equity at Ufenau Capital Partners and Obermark, as well as in the technology sector at 8inks, a battery spin-off from ETH Zurich.
Paulina Schuster is an Associate of Lilja & Co.
Prior to joining Lilja & Co. in 2025, Paulina was with Citigroup, working in the M&A department, gaining experience in Equity Capital Markets and corporate finance. She was involved in different M&A transactions and IPOs across multiple industry sectors, primarily in the DACH region.
Paulina graduated with a Master's Degree (MSc) from Justus-Liebig University in Giessen.
Valéry Barrier is a Managing Partner of Lilja & Co.
He joined Lilja & Co. in 2026 bringing 29 years of Investment Banking experience, with a particular focus on Equity Capital Markets transactions across Europe. Over the last ten years, he has personally led and advised clients in France, Benelux and Switzerland on more than 45 IPOs and 200 Equity and Equity-Linked transactions raising in excess of € 175bn. His experience covers both private and public equity capital markets across products.
Prior joining Lilja & Co., Valéry was with Citigroup, where he joined in 2015 and was appointed Head of Equity Capital Markets for Europe, Africa and the Middle East in 2018. Previously, he led Equity Capital Markets for France and Belgium at Credit Suisse First Boston for five years and subsequently held the similar responsibilities at Deutsche Bank for six years. He started his career in 1997 at Chase Manhattan in M&A Advisory and Acquisition Finance and later spent five years with Merill Lynch in Corporate Finance Advisory.
Valéry graduated with a Master in Management and Finance from EDHEC and holds a postgraduate degree in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.