Roman and Jelmer met in 2007 when they studied abroad in Hong Kong. From early on they noticed they shared similar values and soon spent much of their spare time together travelling, studying and discussing a wide range of topics. As the start of this project, they together summited Mount Kilimanjaro in August 2009, Mount Elbrus in Russia in August 2010 and Mount Aconcagua in Argentina in March 2011. Roman and Jelmer just climbed Mount McKinley / Denali in Alaska in June 2012. 

Roman Lentz has always been entrepreneurial in spirit. At a young age he founded the student union at his university and he has recently realized his ambition to start up his own yogurt company in London, UK. He worked at Boston Consulting Group as a consultant and as management associate to the CEO of multinational Heidelberg Cement. Roman currently is a Master of Public Policy student at Harvard Kennedy School. In his free time, Roman loves rowing, running, swimming and biking. Having just completed his 12th marathon, he still dreams of beating the 3 hour mark.

Jelmer Ikink has shown a personal interest for microfinance from a young age. He led the set up of a microfinance initiative in the Netherlands with support of a Dutch NGO, where he had been in contact with Mr. Muhammad Yunus and the Dutch Crown Princess Máxima Zorreguieta. Also, he has worked several years in China investing in companies that are operative in the clean technology sector in the country’s poorest regions. Jelmer last worked for McKinsey & Company, is currently studying negotiations at the Fletcher School and the Harvard Law School, and enjoys taking adventurous trips (e.g. husky-sledding in northern Canada and running a marathon on the Great Wall in China). The 7 Summits, like his other passions in life, combine mental and physical challenges and represent another goal he is dedicated to complete.