This impact trailblazer will fuel Regeneration VC's European expansion

Narina Mnatsakanian was working as Head of Impact Investing at global financial services firm UBS Asset Management until June last year.

Last week, it emerged that she had been recruited by Regeneration VC, the Los Angeles-based impact venture capital firm focused on green technology, financially backed by Hollywood star and philanthropist Leonardo DiCaprio.

In her new role as Chief Impact Officer for the North American venture capital company, Mnatsakanian will remain based in Amsterdam. She is set to formally join the company on February 1st.

"One of the main problems with climate change is that our consumption model is very linear," Mnatsakanian tells Impact Loop. "What I like about Regeneration VC is that they are working with decarbonisation and making retailers more circular."

She says she views the move as "a big opportunity" and is confident she can "make a difference" thanks to a two-decade career in the impact sector.

Before working at UBS, Mnatsakanian was Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing at Van Lanschot Kempen, the oldest independent financial institute in the Netherlands. She is also a Board Member of the Dutch Nature Conservation Society and an advisory board member at both the Dutch private equity firm BB Capital Investments and The Solar Impulse Foundation, which works with renewable energy and clean technologies.

"Truly excited"

Regeneration VC's existing impact portfolio includes companies such as Cruz Foam, which produces a sustainable alternative to Styrofoam, Greyparrot, an AI waste analytics company, and Pangaia, a materials science lab and global lifestyle brand commercializing seaweed-derived fibers and pollution-sequestering inks.

“We are truly excited and honored to welcome impact visionary Narina Mnatsakanian as Partner and Chief Impact Officer of Regeneration VC," said Co-founder and General Partner Michael Smith following the announcement of her appointment last week.

Mnatsakanian says her first priority in the new role is helping the company to review and finalise its own impact policies. She also plans to increase co-operation between Regeneration VC and The Circular Economy Foundation, a Brussels-based non-profit involved with the research and development of circular products and services.

Other core tasks include "getting to know" the VC firm's portofilio companies, and – of course – helping to raise future investments.

Mnatsakanian says Regeneration VC hopes to raise a further €150m by the end of this year or early 2026.

Hasn't yet spoken to Leonardo DiCaprio

The veteran impact leader says she's already met several of her new colleagues, describing them as "a great team". However she hasn't yet spoken to Regeneration VC's most famous advisor, Leonardo DiCaprio.

When Impact Loop asked if she was feeling excited to work with the actor, she replied diplomatically: "I think [Regeneration VC has] an amazing advisor network, and I look forward to meeting all of them – including Leonardo DiCaprio."

Forging links between the EU and North America

Regeneration VC already has close links to the Netherlands, which it views as a core “launch pad” to build bridges between the European and US impact tech scenes.

In April last year, Invest-NL – a Dutch state-backed investment agency focused on accelerating sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship – announced a €5 million investment in Regeneration VC’s Fund II. At the time, Invest-NL described the fund as "aiming to create a bridge between the Netherlands and the US, giving Dutch companies access to American multinationals, capital markets, and local market expertise."