We bring together an experienced and multinational team of finance, communication and business professionals. Each of our senior managers has close to or over 30 years of career experience with global banking and marketing organisations, as well as local SME experience. Symfonie was founded in 2011 by its principal, Michael Sonenshine and has a track record of success managing fixed income investments and helping startup and early stage companies develop and prosper.
Experience includes advising ministries, corporates and NGOs in a wide variety of areas, including debt and equity financing, business and sales processes and marketing communication.
How we work
We begin by understanding the unique needs of our clients. We look at their assets and strengths and then at the liabilities and risks they face. Investment solutions we recommend must be first and foremost appropriate for the client. This means assessing not only the basic benefits of the investment, but also who that investment fits within the client’s overall portfolio, risk tolerance and investment horizon.
At Symfonie Capital, SymVest and SymCredit we’ve implemented a disciplined investment process that incorporates fundamental, bottom up research. We base our investment decisions in large part on research. We evaluate proposed investments with comprehensive due diligence. We monitor each investment continually. Market related investments in securities are evaluated based on their relative value, fundamental factors and overall macro-economic conditions. Private investments in startups or peer to peer loans are evaluated based on financial progress of the particular company. When it comes to angel investments and P2B loans we believe there is no substitute for being actively engage in the business, and knowing the entrepreneur well.
At Symfonie Consulting we look at each client’s overall business needs and circumstances. We look for opportunities to assist our clients to grow their revenues and sales and we find solutions to help our clients operate more efficiently and generate cost savings. We are public policy specialists and work with our clients to face the challenges of changing laws and regulations. Our work with government ministries often brings us to the forefront of those changes.
Our team
Michael Sonenshine, CFA
Founding Partner, Principal
Michael Sonenshine is responsible for the development of the Group’s business. He is the architect driving the establishment of a Peer to Peer lending platform in Central Europe, under the SymCredit brand. He also leads the Investment Committee for the Symfonie Angel Venture Fund and the Symfonie Lending Fund.
Michael Sonenshine is the Founding Partner of the Symfonie Capital, LLC and the Investment Principal primarily responsible for managing credit products focusing on Global High Yield markets both in Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Before founding Symfonie Michael Sonenshine was Investment Principal at MT Thaler Investment Management. He was responsible for selection of investments in credit instruments, both performing as well as distressed. Prior to joining MT Thaler he held senior credit research positions at Credit Suisse First Boston and ING Bank. He was ranked among the top analysts in Institutional Investor, EuroMoney and Credit Magazine. Prior to his work as a high yield analyst Michael Sonenshine was General Manager of ING Investment Management, Czech Republic. Under his leadership, ING Investment Management managed approximately US$250 mn and launched three Luxembourg domiciled, Czech Koruna denominated investment funds. These funds were the first of their kind in the Czech market and outperformed their benchmarks. Prior to working for ING investment management, Michael Sonenshine was senior Equity analyst at ING Barings focused on Russia and Central Europe. Sonenshine earned his CFA designation in 1999. He holds an MBA from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester, where he specialised in Finance and Public Policy. He also holds a B.A. in History from Tufts University.
Paul Kucera
Senior Consulting Associate
Symfonie’s Partner responsible for business development, marketing and communication, Paul Kucera has been active on CEE markets since arriving from Australia in the early 90s.
A recognized expert, he has a wealth of legacy and start-up communication experience. Having been involved in a host of new projects as well as having worked for numerous corporations and brands, he understands intimately both the needs of today’s owner/visionaries as well as top managers.
His prior experience includes work in advertising, marketing and public relations / public affairs. Sector experience includes: defense, telco, public sector, FMCG, petrochemical, mining, industry, pharma, finance, banking and NGOs. He was Board Member of the Czech PR agency association (APRA) on several occasions as well as an ICCO (global PR agency association) executive board member in 2002-2004 and co-authored the current internationally accepted Stockholm PR Charter.
Věra Netušilová
Senior Consulting Associate
Symfonie’s Partner co-responsible for business development, marketing and communication, Věra Netušilová assists SymVest targeted investments with marketing and communication and mentoring.
After 17 years in management roles at Generali and ING Bank, Věra decided to go her own way, utilizing experience from HR, business, fintech and finance in the corporate and startup scenes under her own consulting brand. She have been assisting companies and startups to manage their challenges for close to 10 years, helping founders to manage their companies in a creative manner and engage their colleagues to build sustainable brands. Věra’s passion for numbers, data and structures is combined with a passion for fashion and art, having founded startups EFA+JOBS and CREATiWO and helping other women to “dare to become” via mentoring.
Henry Kolowrat
Senior Consulting Associate
Experienced CFO / CEO, expert in building and motivating high performance teams, delegating roles and responsibilities to develop a talented workforce that can achieve collective goals and priorities. Key strengths include understanding industry and company drivers to take a comprehensive view of a commercial aktivity.
At Symfonie he works with clients to optimize their commercial strategies and business processes. With Vera Netusilova he is heading up Symfonie’s CEE SME interim manager business. Prior experience includes:
• 2020 – now Symfonie Group – SymCredit, SymVest, Symfonie Consulting
• 2013 – now Zebrafast: Founder and CEO then CFO
• 2018 – 2020 Deloitte Central Europe: Senior Manager – Business Development
• 2009 – 2012 Fabory CEE: CEO
• 1999 – 2009 Wolseley CEE: Various to CFO and Interim Regional Financial Director
David MacKinnon
Senior Consulting Associate
David is an accomplished life sciences & information technology executive, entrepreneur and recognized leader in sales, marketing and business development.
An experienced leader and strategic thinker David has successfully led industry-recognized sales & marketing teams, both in the multi-national corporate setting and the high growth new venture life sciences and health information technology (HIT) sector. Hailing from Canada, David is our point person for operations and client business in North America, assisting with EU companies wanting to enter this market and vice versa. David is committed to collaboration and developing value-based relationships. Whether it be internally involving staff and colleagues or working with partners and clients, teamwork is always the focus, having partnered with competitors, academic institutions, professional associations and others across Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan.
Zuzana Cinařová
Client Services and Operations Manager
Zuzana Cinařová oversees all client administrative and operational issues for Symfonie monitoring and improving the integrity and efficiency of all operational processes. She also manages day-to-day operational tasks and works on the development and continuous improvement of process flows and related operational tools.
Zuzana started at CQK Holding in administrative operations and has also taught Spanish at a language school. She also speaks English apart from her native Czech.
Peter McGregor
Board Level Advisor
Mr McGregor has over twenty years of banking operations experience. Prior to joining Symfonie, Mr McGregor was Chief Operations Officer on assignment at Banco Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, where he oversaw the implementation of banking and risk management IT systems, policies and procedures. Prior to that he served as Chief Operating Officer at MT Thaler Investment Management, where he organized reporting and management information systems for a hedge fund with operations in Central and Eastern Europe. Prior to that he spent the previous fourteen years with ING, providing operations and project management to ING installations in Central Europe and Monaco. Among his projects, he set up the bank in Monaco to offer Wealth Management, and managed the project to centralise the Central European wholesale banking operations. Prior to that, he was head of Private Banking for the Geneva branch of ABN AMRO, where he set up systems to improve customer focus and facilitate introduction of new products. He has a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and a D.Phil in Computer Science from Oxford University, England.
