Aram Karakas

Aram has a background in life sciences and has been working with European technology companies since 2016. His experience spans deal origination, investor coverage, transaction execution, and portfolio management. Before joining Gilion, he spent seven years with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in London and Frankfurt, where he played a pivotal role in launching the SVB Frankfurt office in 2018, growing the loan book to $1 billion in commitments over the first few years.

Throughout his professional career, Aram has worked with numerous management teams across all life stages, from VC-backed startups to PE-backed buy-and-build platforms. He has led credit investments in diverse sectors including travel-tech, health-tech, hardware, AI/IoT, prop-tech, ed-tech, and e-commerce, with a particular focus on B2B SaaS.

Aram is motivated by a deep appreciation for the hard work and dedication of entrepreneurs, having started a D2C company himself. He feels particularly fortunate to support founders across Europe in building impactful companies. In his work he emphasizes trust, pragmatic approaches, and direct communication, which he believes are crucial for successful partnerships.