Our Team

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. 

Head of Legal & Interim Management Board Member

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.

Chief of Staff

Chief of Staff Maris Prii joined SmartCap in November 2025. She previously served as an Investment Manager at Invest New Zealand and, from 2020 to 2024, led Estonia’s investor relations and foreign direct investment (FDI) activities in the United States at the Estonian Investment Agency (Invest Estonia). Maris brings hands-on experience working with international investors and supporting the growth of ambitious, high-potential companies across different markets. She holds a degree from Tallinn University of Technology.

Investment manager

Karl Järvsalu, investment manager, has worked at SmartCap since 2020. Karl has a broad experience in investment analysis and asset management fields.

He holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Tallinn University of Technology and is a CFA candidate.

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.

Investment Manager

Investment Manager

Investment Manager Kaimo Aljas joined SmartCap in June 2026. He has previous experience in private equity investments and portfolio management. Prior to joining SmartCap, he worked as an Investment Director at United Partners and as an Equity Research Analyst at Swedbank. Kaimo holds a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Technology Management from the University of Tartu.

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.

Deal flow manager

Investment specialist

Gioia Pucci is an Investment Specialist at SmartCap, having joined the team in 2024 as an intern. She holds a degree from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, where she built a strong foundation in economics, finance, and investment analysis. Prior to joining SmartCap full-time, she gained experience in deal advisory and financial controlling.

Lawyer

Lawyer Eva joined SmartCap’s team in 2024. She has previous experience as a transactional lawyer, having worked at a leading Estonian law firm where she specialised primarily in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate law, and dispute resolution. Eva holds a master’s degree from the University of Tartu’s Law Faculty.

Lawyer

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.

Data Analyst

Operations Support Specialist