About us
Who is behind vlot?
We started as team of two-founders to re-invent the life insurance journey …
… And we are now a passionate bunch of ambitious, multicultural, like-minded insurance industry professionals, tech cracks and entrepreneurs who are passionate about creating technical solutions to help individuals make informed financial decisions.
Team
Dr. Jonas Bösch
CTO
Jonas has more than 10 years of experience in leading technical teams and over 20 years in software development. In his previous role as a head of development/operations of a major Swiss retail bank, he successfully introduced DevOps & Agile, reduced costs with automation, integrated start-up solutions into core banking systems and automated Avaloq development and cloud infrastructure. Jonas holds a PhD in Computer Science with a focus on Big Data and is a seasoned Software Architect and DevOps/automation specialist – greatly enjoying solving technical problems and helping others navigate complexity.
Fun fact: Jonas lives on a farm with llamas and alpacas.
Michael Dritsas
CEO
Michael has over 12 years of experience in the insurance industry. Most recently he was responsible for the global life product & innovation portfolio at Allianz SE in Munich. Previously, Michael successfully built up and led product development and fund management teams for a top tier Swiss insurer and has a proven track record in international management, business development, strategy, marketing and innovation in the insurance sector. A macroeconomist by training, he started his career in economic research in banking. Michael is fluent in 5 languages.
Fun fact: Michael used to be a Drum & Bass DJ and loves tinkering with old cars.
Sandro Matter
Co-founder
Sandro spent most of his professional career in business management as well as strategy and business development roles for one of the leading global universal banks. When seeking personal life risk coverage advice for his family, he got referred to insurance consultant Daniel - with whom Sandro eventually launched vlot in 2017. Sandro holds a Master of Arts degree in Banking and Finance and is a former Swiss vice champion in road-ultra-cycling category team of two (together with Daniel).
Fun fact: Sandro never ever would have imagined to launch a start-up venture with his insurance advisor.
Daniel Schmidheiny
Co-founder
As the owner of an insurance broker company in Switzerland, Daniel has gained extensive knowledge in the area of corporate and private insurance advisory and solutions. He offered consulting services to mortgage brokers, trustees and large SMI-quoted corporates. This has led to a deep understanding of social security systems and group benefit structures, which was one of the drivers to found vlot. Daniel is a former Swiss vice champion in road ultra-cycling category team of two (together with Sandro).
Fun fact: After launching vlot, Daniel quickly realized that defending his European Champion title in 24-hours non-stop mountain biking was not in reach anymore.
Nastasia Müller
Project Manager
Originally from the marketing and advertising industry, Nastasia extended her career at a Swiss insurance company as a digital project manager in HR. Thanks to an internal change of perspective in Group IT Architecture, she discovered joy in technical project management between IT and business. Nastasia completed her academic career with a MBA in international business administration and law and went for a dual master degree to Cambridge. She comes from an international family, native in 5 countries. In her free time Nastasia enjoys hiking in nature, playing squash and volunteering at LEO Club Limmattal.
Fun fact: Nastasia never wanted to work in the financial sector, but preferred to become a veterinarian, which is of course more difficult when you can’t stand any blood.
Simona Giacomini
UI/UX Designer
Her relationship with design began during her childhood, finding herself with colored pencils and sheets of paper that her brother was no longer using. Her studies, first in illustration and then in visual communication, allowed her to start a career as a freelancer. During those years, unfortunately, her only colleague did not contribute to the success of projects or provide comprehensive feedback on her work, probably because a cat is different from what one would call an ideal colleague. So, she has decided to embark on a new path and began working for companies where she has finally had direct interactions with human colleagues.
Fun fact: Recently, she has decided to take horseback riding lessons so that if her career as a designer does not go well, she can switch careers and become an equestrian.
Guillem Arrieta
BI / Data Analyst
Guillem has 3 years of experience in Data Science. He comes from an engineering background and has been living, studying, and working in multiple countries – i.e., Switzerland (ETHz), Italy (PoliMi), The Netherlands (Windesheim), and Spain (UPC). Guillem is currently fluent in 4 languages.
Fun fact: Despite Guillem being from Barcelona, he has probably been on more mountain peaks and alpine lakes in Switzerland than the average Swiss citizen.
Benjamin Rudolf von Rohr
Tech Lead
Benjamin has 8 years of experience in software engineering. After studying computer science, he worked as a front-end developer at a Swiss bank. Benjamin evolved into a full-stack developer and most recently took on pipeline tasks. Benjamin holds a bachelor degree in computer science.
Fun fact: At the age of 16, Benjamin was photographed for an advertising campaign and since then has been driving through Switzerland on several trucks belonging to a small logistics company.
Linus Vettiger
Software Engineer
Linus has 7 years of experience in software engineering. After his apprenticeship at a large Swiss pharmaceutical company, he worked at the same company as a web developer. In the meantime, he completed his bachelor’s degree in computer science at the FHNW while working in parallel. He worked on his bachelor’s thesis in collaboration with vlot.
Fun fact: After winning the SwissSkills Championship in 2017, Linus was not allowed to participate in the WorldSkills in 2019 because he was less than half a month too old.
Lucien Zimmermann
Software Engineer
Lucien has 5 years of experience in software engineering. After completing his apprenticeship at a Swiss insurance company, he continued to work there as a web- and mobile engineer. He is currently part-time studying computer science at OST. After work, Lucien enjoys long rides on his gravel-bike, as well as playing on his guitar or fighting fires as a volunteer firefighter.
Fun fact: Just before starting at vlot, Lucien wanted to travel by train for just a couple of days. After a few weeks of spontaneous travel, he ended up in Africa!
Alex Drake
Software Engineer
Coming from a diverse background of full-stack web applications, medical devices, and nuclear accelerator control systems, Alex has a wide overview of the state of affairs in the tech world. These days he is particularly fond of functional programming and Nix, for which he organizes international events in Zürich.
Fun fact: Alex is convinced computers and technology in general were a terrible mistake, but nonetheless works with them in the hopes of making them less bad.
Joshua Villing
Software Engineer
Joshua has 8 years of experience in software engineering. He started his career as a full stack engineer at an IT company building software for cantonal administrations. He then moved into consulting and worked primarily on projects in the federal environment. During this time he gained further experience as a fullstack engineer and designing software systems. Joshua holds a Bachelor in Computer Science from FHNW.
Fun fact: Joshua’s absolute favorite animal is the platypus. But he hasn’t seen one in real life yet.
Great people we
work with
Every great company starts with a great network of supporters. We appreciate these partners, associations, and their continued support.Member of:
Supported by:
Alumni of:
