Xavier Niel is a Co-Founder of Kima Ventures. He serves as Board Member at Eir Telecom. He is the Founder and serves as Chief Strategy Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at Iliad. He is also a Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Mediawan. He serves on the Board of Iliad. He serves as an Executive at Atlas Investissement. He is a self-taught entrepreneur and has been active in the data communications, Internet and telecommunications industry since the late 1980s. He has also been the inspiration behind the group's major strategic developments, including its current rollout of the 4G mobile network in France and its mobile offerings which were launched on January 10, 2012. In parallel, for many years he has invested considerably in web start-ups. In March 2010 he set up his own investment fund, Kima Ventures, one of the world's most active early-stage investors, which invests in 50 to 100 start-ups a year throughout the world. He has also invested in the telecommunications sector for many years in a personal capacity through NJJ Holding.