Nicole Junkermann

Nicole Junkermann
Born (1975-04-27) 27 April 1975
Düsseldorf, Germany
Alma materInternational University of Monaco (1998), Harvard Business School (2002)
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • investor
Years active1990s–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2017)​
Children1

Nicole Junkermann, also known as Countess Nicole Brachetti Peretti,[1][2] (born 27 April 1975) is a German entrepreneur and investor with international activities in the sports, healthcare, and technology sectors. She lives in west London.[3]

Junkermann is the founder of NJF Holdings, an international investment company with interests in venture capital, private equity, and real estate.[4]

Early life and education

Nicole Junkermann,[5] born in Düsseldorf, is the only daughter of businessman Heinz Junkermann and his wife Ingrid. Her father Heinz Junkermann, born in 1928 in Frankfurt am Main, owned several companies. He founded a jewellery store (Schmuck-Kassette GmbH), a real estate company (IFG Gesellschaft für Immobilienbesitz) and a private bank for wealthy clients.[6]

He took his daughter with him to business meetings when she was 12 in order to prepare her for her future career.[7] Junkermann grew up in Marbella, Spain[8][9] and studied business administration and management at the International University of Monaco (1998) and Harvard Business School (2002) in the United States.[10]

Career

Early ventures

Junkermann started her career as a model and she later co-founded the online gambling business Winamax in 1998.[9][11]

In 2002 Junkermann as a minority shareholder and the former Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus bought Infront Sports & Media out of the decaying media empire of Leo Kirch.[12] By 2011, the company was owned by a group of private investors, including majority shareholder Jacobs Holding, the Junkermann Group, and Dr. Martin Steinmeyer, with Philippe Blatter, nephew of then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter, serving as chairman and president. The company acquired the rights to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and, in 2011, obtained permission to market the television rights for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups in Asian markets.[13][14] The company was subsequently sold to private equity group Bridgepoint Capital in a transaction valued at approximately $600 million.[15][16]

NJF Holdings and NJF Capital

Shortly after the sale of Infront in 2012, Junkermann founded NJF Holdings. Its venture capital arm, NJF Capital ("Nicole Junkermann Finance Capital"), is registered in the British Virgin Islands and headquartered in London. The fund manages a diversified portfolio with investments across healthcare, biotech, sports, fintech, and deep tech.[17][18]

Three of NJF’s early investments include Songza, Dollar Shave Club, and RelateIQ, which were acquired by Google, Unilever, and Salesforce respectively.[19] Junkermann’s approach in NJF Capital has been to bridge traditional and emerging technologies[20] which has created a portfolio of unicorn companies.[21] Through these investments, she has participated in projects alongside prominent figures such as Google co-founder Eric Schmidt and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Her current stakes include high-profile companies like Revolut, SpaceX, Rippling, and Lendable.[2][9][22][23]

In the healthcare and technology sectors, Junkermann has backed Owkin in 2020, a Paris-based AI startup that uses machine learning for medical and biological research; she serves on its board of directors.[24][25] She has also invested in media companies, including the renowned photo agency Magnum Photos in 2019.[9][26]  She is part of the board of the cybersecurity investment fund created by Pablo Casado in 2024.[27]

Another notable investment is the cybersecurity company Carbyne (formerly Reporty), founded in 2014, which provides technology for streaming emergencies directly to services via an app.[28] Junkermann invested in the company together with Jeffrey Epstein and served on its board of directors alongside former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (who was also the former head of Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate) and the former director of Israel's military intelligence Unit 8200, Pinhas Buchris.[28][29]

Other

Junkermann has been a committee member of the Tate Americas Foundation, an independent charity that supports the work of the Tate Gallery in the United Kingdom, since 2005.[30] Junkermann previously served on the HealthTech Advisory Board of the UK government's Department of Health and Social Care, having been appointed by Matt Hancock, MP in November 2018. The board guides the Secretary of State and government on its mission to transform technology in the National Health Service.[9][31] In sports, Nicole has also served as an advisor to the Italian Olympic Committee.

Junkermann was appointed a trustee of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity as well as the Royal Academy Trust.[11] She was a visiting professor at Lancaster University.[32] She stepped down from or was terminated from these positions following evidence in the Epstein files that she had a long-running correspondence with him.[1][33]

Personal life

In the late 1990s, Junkermann began a relationship with French businessman and Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who was three decades older than her, while he was still married to Margarita Bogdanova.[34] She later had a long-term relationship with aristocrat businessman Count Patrick Graf von Faber-Castell, the son of Honorary Chinese citizen Hubertus Graf von Faber-Castell.[35]

In 2017, she married the aristocrat and one of the richest Italians Count Ferdinando Brachetti Peretti (born 1960), with whom she has a daughter.[9][36][37] Their daughter was baptized in 2019 in the Papal Choir Chapel of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; Sophie Habsburg was the godmother.[38] She lived in Monaco until her marriage, and thereafter in London.[38][39]

In 2020 Junkermann and her husband became the new owners of Los Alburejos, an estate located in Medina-Sidonia, southern Spain.[40]

Junkermann speaks German, English, French, Italian and Spanish languages.[41] As of 2018, she lived in South Kensington, London.[39] She is a fan of the football club Real Madrid.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Perry, Simon (16 February 2026). "Cancer Charity Supported by Kate Middleton and Prince William Faces Epstein Fallout as Trustee Resigns". People. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b "The German countess who advised the NHS and called Epstein 'Mr Wonderful'". The Telegraph. Born in Düsseldorf in 1975, Ms Junkermann, also known as Countess Nicole Brachetti Peretti, is best known as the head of investment firm NJF Capital,
  3. ^ Referente, El (20 April 2020). ""Lo que de verdad hace una inversión buena son los emprendedores, y por eso cuando invierto, invierto en personas"". El Referente (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  4. ^ Rich, Gracia (21 July 2020). "International Investor and Entrepreneur, Nicole Junkermann Sets the Stage Globally for Women In Finance | Formidable Woman Magazine". Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  5. ^ "tbtech". tbtech.co. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  6. ^ "How a German Industrialist Invented Modern Tech — Then Vanished - European Business & Finance Magazine". 30 March 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  7. ^ Raeanne (24 February 2021). "Heinz Junkermann – A Personal Impact". The European Financial Review. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Diese Frauen glauben an junge Gründerinnen und Gründer". www.handelsblatt.com. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Askari, Emma Roig (29 April 2019). "Nicole Junkermann: así es la mecenas de la agencia Magnum". Vanity Fair (in European Spanish). Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Nicole Junkermann". Wellfound. Archived from the original on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  11. ^ a b "The German countess who advised the NHS and called Epstein 'Mr Wonderful'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Chinesische Dalian Wanda will Schweizer Infront wieder verkaufen". 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  13. ^ Cushnan, David (27 October 2011). "Infront secures key Fifa rights sales contract". SportsPro. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Infront Signs 2006 FIFA World Cup Agreement With Dentsu For New Media Rights". Sportcal. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  15. ^ Long, Michael (2 September 2011). "Bridgepoint buys out Infront Sports & Media". SportsPro. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Bridgepoint buys Swiss sports rights company". The Telegraph (UK).
  17. ^ Barratt, Bianca. "How Young Businesses Can Safeguard Their Future According To A Successful Investor". Forbes. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  18. ^ "Nicole Jukermann:"China va a salir beneficiada de esta crisis"". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 12 April 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  19. ^ "Handelsblatt". www.handelsblatt.com. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  20. ^ Junkermann, Nicole (7 February 2025). "Will AI change how you watch the Super Bowl?". City AM. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  21. ^ Arelle, Vanessa (19 May 2018). "Nicole Junkermann, la emprendedora que debes conocer". Vogue (in Mexican Spanish).
  22. ^ "Epsteins deutsche Vertraute: Sie schrieben sich manchmal minütlich". t-online (in German). 5 February 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  23. ^ Filippetti, Simone (1 October 2022). "Randi Zuckerberg lancia a Londra la start up Hug, fucina di creativi". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  24. ^ admin (23 January 2018). "OWKIN Closes $11-Million Financing for AI in Drug Development". Drug Development and Delivery. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  25. ^ Brors, Peter; Maisch, Michael (23 June 2020). "Nicole Junkermann: „Die Krise trennt gute von schlechten Unternehmen"". www.handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  26. ^ "Owkin, ein KI-Biotech-Unicorn, bringt seine innovative KI nach Deutschland, Österreich und in die Schweiz". www.pharma-zeitung.de. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  27. ^ Rodríguez, Carlos (8 January 2025). "El fondo de Pablo Casado y el sobrino de Ana Botín levanta 150 millones, el máximo previsto". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  28. ^ a b Çam, Deniz. "To Fight Coronavirus, This City Is Asking 911 Callers To Agree To Self Surveillance". Forbes. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  29. ^ "The Ties That Bind: Ehud Barak's Business Network". Archived from the original on 27 November 2025.
  30. ^ "Committees | TATE AMERICAS FOUNDATION". tateamericas.org. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  31. ^ "Health technology expert panel meets for the first time". GOV.UK. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  32. ^ "Lancaster University appoints Nicole Junkermann Visiting Professor in Practice". Lancaster University. 3 September 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  33. ^ Malik, Erin (11 February 2026). "Lancaster University visiting professor named 3,475 in the Epstein files leaves position".
  34. ^ "Una disputa familiar amenaza la estabilidad de uno de los mayores operadores de commodities del mundo". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  35. ^ "Patrick Graf von Faber-Castell: Seine schöne Ex angelt sich einen Milliardär". Bunte (in German). 3 April 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  36. ^ Filippetti, Simone (14 July 2021). "«L'Italia è piena di talenti, ma quello che manca sono i capitali e un ecosistema»". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian).
  37. ^ "Nicole Junkermann: Die Düsseldorfer Millionärin heiratet einen italienischen Milliardär". Bunte (in German). 30 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  38. ^ a b "Battesimo in Vaticano per la piccola Vita, figlia di Ferdinando e Nicole Brachetti Peretti". www.ilmattino.it (in Italian). 20 March 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  39. ^ a b Peter Brors (27 November 2018). "„KI kann verstörend wirken" – Investorin Junkermann über Fluch und Segen Künstlicher Intelligenz". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  40. ^ P, F. (13 June 2020). "Ferdinando Brachetti y Nicole Junkermann, los nuevos propietarios de Los Alburejos". Diario de Jerez.
  41. ^ "Diese Frauen glauben an junge Gründerinnen und Gründer". www.handelsblatt.com. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.