Lenna Koszarny
Founding Partner and CEO, Investment Committee Member
Lenna Koszarny is Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Capital, the leading private equity firm in Ukraine with over $1.6B in assets under management, backed by 40+ institutional investors with a capital base exceeding $700B. Under her leadership, Horizon Capital has raised over $800M for investment in Ukraine in 6 years, including raising $350M for the first and largest fund since the full-fledged invasion which backs visionary Ukrainian entrepreneurs with capital now, not when the war is over. With the closing in September 2024 of a $1.5B investment for the acquisition and further capital expansion of Ukraine-based telecom players Datagroup-Volia and Lifecell by French telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel through his investment vehicle, NJJ Capital, Lenna Koszarny is credited with supporting the attraction of $1.85B in investment for Ukraine at this time. In February 2022, Horizon Capital was honored as 2021 Firm of the Year for Central and Eastern Europe by Private Equity International.
Ms. Koszarny’s leadership has been recognized nationally and internationally, including first in the Business Category for Ukrainska Pravda’s “Top 100 Power Women Leaders” in March 2024 and in November 2023 in its «Top 100 Leaders of Ukraine During Wartime», and her inclusion in Forbes Ukraine’s “Top 50 Women Leaders Leading Ukraine to Victory” in May 2023. She is dedicated to promoting gender equality in private equity, in a $12T industry where only 15% are senior women, inspiring greater engagement of women in private equity and investing. Under Ms. Koszarny’s leadership, HCGF IV is the first 2X Flagship Fund in Central and Eastern Europe promoting gender-smart investing, 1 of circa 10 in total, and 1 of only 2 globally that are led by a woman Founding Partner & CEO. She is an elected Member of the Mid-Market Platform Council of Invest Europe, the voice of the European private equity industry; a Member of the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), bringing together 600+ senior women leaders in private equity with over $3T AUM; a Founding Member of the all-female Ukraine House Davos Organizing Committee, and in July 2022, was recognized in Private Equity International’s 2022 Women of Influence in Private Markets list. She is also Executive Vice-President of Ukraine Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF, formerly Western NIS Enterprise Fund), a $285M US-government backed fund; Chair of the Board of Directors, American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, whose members have invested over $50B in Ukraine; a Member of the Board of the Ukrainian Startup Fund launched by the Government of Ukraine; a Member of the Supervisory Board of Ukrainian Leadership Academy; a Member of the Advisory Board of the Ukrainian World Congress, and, served as the first Vice-Chair of the Advisory Council of Kyiv-Mohyla Business School.
On August 24, 2020, the 29th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Ms. Koszarny with an Order of Merit for Service to Ukraine, third level, for her contribution to the country’s economy and investment climate. She is also a recipient of a Commemorative Medal issued on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Independence by the President of Ukraine. In May 2024, she was awarded the 2024 Tryzub Leadership Award by The Myhal Family Foundation, in partnership with The Shevchenko Foundation. Born in London, Ontario, Ms. Koszarny is a CPA and a 1991 HBA graduate of the Ivey Business School in Canada. She has been residing and working in Kyiv, Ukraine for over 30 years.