Bold missions become reality with a capable team. SmartCap is run by professionals with investment, legal, risk management, compliance, and supervisory backgrounds.
Sille Pettai and Mari Kuhi make up our management board.
SmartCap’s Supervisory Board has five members: Aare Järvan, Veiko Hintsov, Ahti Kuningas, and Matias Kaila, with Priit Põldoja serving as Chairman.
Thomas Bouvier, Mislav Tolusic, Alan Chelko and Troy A. Weeks are our Investment Committee’s external partners.
Mari Kuhi
Member of the management board, COO
Member of the management board, COO
Mari Kuhi joined SmartCap as head of operations and member of the management board in 2024. She brings extensive experience in the financial sector, having previously served as head of operations and member of the management board at Tuleva, an asset management company for pension funds. She also held the position of CFO at Hepsor AS. Additionally, Mari has significant expertise in financial auditing, gained during her tenure at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Robert Martin
Investment Manager
Investment Manager
Investment Manager Robert Martin joined SmartCap in 2023. Having graduated from Aarhus University, Robert has developed a strong foundation in finance and investment analysis. Prior to joining SmartCap, he worked with private loans at LHV Pank and as an Investment Analyst at a family office.
Kristjan-Mart Piirsalu
Investment Manager
Investment Manager
Kristjan-Mart Piirsalu joined SmartCap as an Investment Manager in 2024. He has a strong background in private equity, having previously been part of the investment team at BaltCap. Kristjan-Mart also has extensive experience in corporate finance while working as an advisor at KPMG. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Tartu.
Marili Merendi
Investment Advisor
Investment Advisor
Marili Merendi, an Investment Advisor, joined SmartCap in 2025. Her prior venture capital experiences are from Karma Ventures focusing on direct investments and a family office Ambient Sound Investments leading fund-of-funds portfolio.
She holds a Master’s degree in Business Economics from University of Amsterdam.
Gioia Pucci
Investment specialist
Investment specialist
Gioia Pucci, an investment specialist, joined SmartCap in 2024, starting as an intern. Currently completing her final year at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga where she has built a solid academic foundation in economics, finance, and investment analysis. Her background also includes valuable experience in deal advisory and financial controlling.
Maido Lillemets
Head of Legal
Head of Legal
Maido Lillemets joined SmartCap as the Head of Legal Department in 2025. He has an in depth knowledge and long term excperience from asset management sector, having previously served as in-house counsel for both pension fund managers as well as PE/VC/Infrastructure fund managers . He holds a Master’s degree in LAW from the University of Tartu.
Eva-Triin Kubpart
Legal Counsel
Legal Counsel
Junior Legal Counsel Eva-Triin joined SmartCap’s team in 2024. Eva has previous experience as a transactional lawyer, having worked at a leading Estonian law firm where she specialized primarily in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate law. Eva is currently obtaining a master’s degree from University of Tartu’s Law Faculty.
Erik Punger
Head of Compliance and Risk
Head of Compliance and Risk
Erik Punger joined SmartCap as the Head of Compliance and Risk in March 2025. He has extensive expertise and long-term experience from the regulated financial company IPF Digital AS, having been responsible for implementing risk management and compliance strategies. Erik holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Tartu and an LL.M in Human Rights from Ruhr University Bochum.
Riin Savi
Chief People, Communication, and Sustainability Officer
Chief People, Communication, and Sustainability Officer
Riin Savi joined SmartCap as Chief People, Communication, and Sustainability Officer in 2025. She has extensive experience in managing organizational change, improving corporate culture, and implementing sustainable practices from public, private and non-profit sectors. She has previously worked at BaltCap as a Head of Organisational Development and Culture, General Manager of Estonian Traders Association and project lead of international R&D projects in the leading Estonian Universities. Riin is a Supervisory Board member of Tallinn University of Technology and Management Board member of Sustainability Estonia. She holds a Master´s degree in Public Policy from University of Konstanz and PhD in Public Administration from TalTech.
Helen Kapp
CFO
CFO
Helen Kapp, CFO, joined SmartCap team in 2023. Helen has a long term experience in financial management, acting as CFO both in public and private sector companies. Prior to joining SmartCap she worked over 10 years as CFO at Foundation KredEx, which dealt with loans and loan guarantees.
Merilin Laager
Project Lead for EU Funding and Procurements
Project Lead for EU Funding and Procurements
Merilin Laager, Project Lead for EU Funding and Procurements, joined SmartCap team in 2021. Merilin has long term experience leading and coordinating public and private sector small- and large-scale projects in the field of infrastructure, culture and tourism.
Ruth Rebase
Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant
Ruth Rebase, Executive Assistant with over ten years of experience working alongside the executive teams of well-known companies like Skype Technologies, Microsoft and Bolt. She is administrative professional, who facilitates all aspects of internal and external communications and supports the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the team.
