On Monday evening, the Luxembourg Business Angel Network (LBAN) held its Annual General Assembly (AGA); due to the coronavirus crisis, the AGA took place online.
 
On this occasion, LBAN announced its new Board, effective as of Tuesday 17 March 2020, and the Strategy Review for 2020+. Management changes saw Stephan Peters replace Larissa Best as President and Diane Tea and Arnold Spruit replace Stephan Peters as Vice-Presidents.
 
The newly elected board is thus composed of the following:
-Tom Baumert – Director
-Larissa Best – Director
- Damien Cabadi – Director
- Elias Chbeir – Director
- Romain Hoffmann – Director
- Philippe Linster – Treasurer
- Eric Nolen – Director
- Stephan Peters – President
- Arnold Spruit – Vice-President
- Diane Tea – Vice-President & Secretary
 
Larissa Best’s commitment to the association was widely recognised by its members. Under her leadership, LBAN grew to become an active player of the startup ecosystem in Luxembourg and the Greater Region. With 70 individual members, the first corporate member and €6.9 million invested in 2019, the LBAN has contributed its success largely to the dynamism of its community.
 
Stephan Peters, the new President of the association, has been a Board Member of LBAN since 2017 and Vice-President and Secretary since 2019. 
 
The new Board also thanked Fabrice Testa, who will be leaving the Board, for everything he had done to help LBAN over the past few years.
 
Each Board Member has taken the lead of a key activity within LBAN in order to grow and strengthen the organisation further. In collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, the House of Startups and Wildgen Law Firm, LBAN also launched the shareholders’ agreement template that will be accessible to its members.
 
In 2019, members increased the invested capital to €6.9 million, an increase of 25% compared to 2018, across more than 45 projects (up 50%). The average ticket size remained between €50,000 and €100,000. Co-investment opportunities became easier with the launch of a new online investment tool in November. LBAN recognised that there has been a notable increase in the quality of the start-ups looking for investment. This market development has encouraged new angel investors to join the association, which now has 70 members, an increase of 8% compared to 2018.
 
The AGA was also the opportunity to thank LBAN’s partners in the ecosystem, particularly the Chamber of Commerce, which has been an active supporter and promotor of LBAN’s activities for many years. As the LBAN evolves, so do its relationships with the entire European ecosystem. LBAN confirmed that it is proactively working on bringing its cross-border counterparts into closer relationship with its members, so that Luxembourg can be part of the growing dynamism and entrepreneurial enthusiasm that the Greater Region is currently witnessing.
 
Moreover, the AGA introduced Executive Director Sonia Franck who succeeded Cécile Sevrain, Executive Director up to March 2019, and Philip Grother, Executive Director from March to June 2019. According to the association, Sonia Franck hit the ground running by organising the first LBAN Christmas Party as well as several other events and by successfully increasing LBAN’s profile in many publications, resulting in 30% more visitors and 89% more post views on the LBAN website.
 
According to LBAN, its strategy for 2020 aims to continue its successful events, build out its relationships with the ecosystem, expand its member base, facilitate investments into high-quality startups and increase the profile of angel investing across Luxembourg and the Greater Region.