German investor Klaus Hommels is stepping down as chairman of the €1bn NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), following a rocky two years of operation and allegations of potential conflict of interest.
Former vice chair Fiona Murray will replace Hommels as chair. Hommels, who also leads VC firm Lakestar, isn’t leaving the NIF: he will become the chair of a new geopolitical and strategic advisory council.
The NIF launched its fund in 2023, backed by 24 NATO allies, to find and fund innovative technologies. It invests into deeptech-focused VC funds and startups in areas ranging from defence, robotics and new materials to spacetech.
The board shakeup comes after Hommels faced allegations of a potential conflict of interest with the NIF and Lakestar: the two funds share portfolio companies including German unmanned ground vehicles startup ARX Robotics and spacetech Isar Aerospace.
Lakestar has also been actively fundraising for its own defence fund since earlier this year, touting Hommels’ role as chair of the NIF in its pitch to investors, Sifted previously reported in a wide-ranging investigation into the NIF.
At the time, the NIF told Sifted in a statement that “suggestions that any NIF board members, or NATO and its employees have any undue or improper influence over our investment decisions are not just misleading — they are categorically and demonstrably false.”
Of Hommels’ new appointment, chair Murray said in a statement: “We are deeply grateful to Klaus for the incredible work he has done as chairman. It was always his declared ambition to create an urgently-needed lighthouse for the industry, and the NATO Innovation Fund has become just that.”
The NIF has seen a lot of turnover in its short life. The fund lost four out of its five original partners in roughly the last year; it recently appointed two new partners to refill its ranks.
