Nicolas van Lierde

Experienced Investment Professional | Venture Capital & Growth | Operating Partner Nicolas is a VC and Growth investor at Aramco Ventures (Wa’ed Ventures), focusing on investments across the GCC and supporting international startups expanding in Saudi Arabia. He moved to Abu Dhabi in 2021 to join ADQ, investing in growth-stage startups and funds across (regional and international). Beyond capital deployment, he actively drove value creation initiatives and supported portfolio companies post-investment. He developed an extensive professional network across the GCC, including fund managers, institutional investors, and family offices. Prior to ADQ, Nicolas was a General Manager at BCG Digital Ventures in London, where he led the launch and development of Corporate Venture Capital initiatives and investments in high-potential startups. He started his career as a financial analyst at ExxonMobil before co-founding / leading two digital startups - Screening Media and VisiYou (now FCR Media) - both successfully acquired and integrated. Since 2017, he serves as a Board advisor and angel investor, supporting entrepreneurs in scaling their businesses. He is also the cofounder of Europe’s largest startup incubator and tech campus in Europe, BeCentral. Nicolas holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Engineering and Business from Solvay Business School, as well as an Executive Master’s degree in Digital Marketing. Expertise: VC & Growth investments, Portfolio Management & Value Creation, Corporate Venturing, Entrepreneurship, New Technologies.