Partner – GP Bullhound

Alexis has broad experience across the technology industry and has led successful M&A transactions in sectors including software, IT services, telecoms, internet and digital media.

Prior to joining GP Bullhound, Alexis was Director of corporate development at Experian where he was responsible for deal origination and execution for the EMEA region. He previously spent more than 10 years working in the technology sector and held international Corporate Development roles at HP Enterprise Services and EDS, where he worked on numerous acquisitions and divestments across Europe.

Alexis holds a BSc Joint Hons. in International Management and Modern Languages from the University of Bath and an MBA from Imperial College Business School.

Partner - GP Bullhound

Alon is a Partner at GP Bullhound’s growth fund, responsible for originating investment opportunities and handling portfolio companies globally.

Prior to GP Bullhound, Alon worked at Silver Lake Partners, Atomico and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Alon graduated from the London School of Economics with a First Class Honours.

Partner – EQT

Carolina joined EQT Partners in June 2020, based in London, where she is a part of the Growth team that partners with growth stage companies and management teams.

Prior to EQT, Carolina was a Partner at Softbank Vision Fund, where she invested in Growth stage companies globally, and prior to that, Carolina invested at Series A and B as a Partner at Atomico. Some of her recent investments include Behavox, Gympass, Hinge Health, Rekki, Ontruck, Memphis Meats and Farmdrop. 

Previously, Carolina has worked as Head of Ops to a now defunct gifting e-commerce start-up, as an investor at Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and within Consumer/Retail Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch in New York.

Carolina has a Bachelor of Science degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. She is originally from Brazil.

Charlie Muirhead - Founder & CEO - CogX

Charlie Muirhead is the CEO and Co-Founder of CogX, which brings together Global Leaders, the Technology Industry and the Public at scale to help discuss and address the biggest transformational opportunities of our time. He has spent 20 years building innovative, data-driven technology businesses and investment networks.

Charlie founded Orchestream in 1996 aged 21, and took it to a £1 billion market cap Nasdaq IPO just four years later, before being acquired by Oracle. He has set up a total of eight startups across telecoms, IT outsourcing, live and on-demand video production, influencer and social media marketing, and now research and market intelligence – resulting in 3 IPOs and 2 trade sales.

Charlie was recognised by TIME, named the European Technology Forum’s Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in March 2004, and selected twice as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer

Partner - Orrick

Chris Grew, a partner in Orrick’s London office, is a member of the Technology Companies Group, which advises high growth technology companies and venture capital firms. Chris joined Orrick in 2008.

Chris advises technology companies in venture capital transactions, public offerings and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He regularly advises high technology (particularly Internet and computer software and hardware) companies with respect to their international business operations and transactions, as well as investment banks, venture capital firms and other financial intermediaries that serve technology companies

Partner – Endeit Capital

Edwin is Partner at Endeit Capital, a venture capitalist with offices in Amsterdam and Hamburg. Late investments include BUX (Amsterdam), Chronext (Zurich, Blis (UK) and TourRadar (Vienna).

Prior to joining Endeit, Edwin was at Cyrte Investments, a family office of John de Mol, co-founder of Endemol. Edwin’s background is in New Media, Private Equity and M&A.

He studied aviation economics and holds a Masters Degree in Financial Economics and Business Administration but showed real perspiration by running the Athens marathon, 2500 years after Greek soldier Pheidippides was sent for a message. Edwin is director of the LOEY foundation, a Dutch initiative to stimulate Entrepreneurship.

Co-Founder of Astanor Ventures

George Coelho is Co-Founder of Astanor Ventures, an investment manager specialized in FoodTech venture finance. Previously he was Chairman of Octo Telematics, Ltd. Coelho also co-founded the European arm of Benchmark Capital, now known as Balderton Capital, a leading venture capital firm. Before Benchmark, he was a founder of Intel Capital, the strategic venture capital arm of Intel Corporation.

George has wide investment experience ranging from early-stage start-ups to public companies and has been involved in more than 100 investments worldwide. Sample transactions where he has been an early investor include: Broadcom and Citrix (US), PCCW (China), Trend Micro (Japan) and Betfair, LoveFilm and ZOPA (UK). Coelho has successfully brought companies to flotation on stock exchanges throughout the world, which today represent over $100 Billion in market capitalization.

George holds a B.S. from The American University and an MBA from The George Washington University. He has been a Trustee of The George Washington University (2008-2016) and was on the Council of the School of Business and The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. Currently he is on the Board of Human Rights Watch and The American Air Museum in Britain. He is also a lifetime Fellow of the RSA. In 2011 he was awarded the Polish State medal, Pro Memoria.

Co -Founder and Managing Partner - Calibre One

James manages the firm’s activities in the EMEA region, based in London. With over 20 years of experience, his major focus has been on recruiting at Board and C-level for businesses headquartered in Europe. He works closely with the private equity community and is a trusted advisor to a number of funds.

He has also managed a vast number of leadership assignments for US companies across the EMEA region. Outside of work he is an active angel investor in tech companies, a parent to twin boys and an avid sports enthusiast (anything, but especially golf and rugby).

Managing Partner - Ventech

Jean Bourcereau joined Ventech in 2000. As a General Partner, he has spent two decades helping management teams scale B2B businesses from pre-revenue to market-defining.

An engineer with a global background in Telecommunications (AT&T Bell Labs, Telecom Argentina), Semiconductors, and IP Networks (Altran Group), Jean has facilitated successful exits for Altitude Télécoms (ILD), Arteris (QCOM), Ateme (ATEME), Ekinops (EKI), Musiwave (MSFT), Muzicall (RNWK), Wengo (VIV) and Withings (NOK).

Jean is based in Paris and holds an engineering degree with a major in Physics from Ecole Polytechnique and Télécom Paris.

Chief Investment Officer – Beringea

Karen is Chief Investment Officer at Beringea, responsible for making new investments and working with portfolio companies through to exit. Her investments include Watchfinder, Thread, Fnatic, Monica Vinader, and MatsSoft amongst others.

Karen was previously with the Boston Consulting Group and ran the Watch division of Swiss Army. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and a BSBA from Boston University.

Managing Partner, IQ Capital

Kerry co-founded IQ Capital in 2006 and is one of the UK’s most experienced VC investors with over 20 years deep-tech venture capital experience. She joined Venture Technologies in 1998, investing in the first wave of UK deep-tech companies and has focussed on deep tech early-stage technology over her five funds which invest from seed to £30m to portfolio outperformers.

Kerry specialises in GTM, Strategic Marketing, Competitive Intelligence and heads up IQ’s cybersecurity, supervisory and reg tech, big data and neuro-tech portfolio. She sits on several boards and has conducted several exits and IPOs.

She is known as a contributor to best practice in venture capital, from ESG and a 2018 in-depth study on Investment Committee best practice and decision making across Private Equity and Venture Capital. She is the Chair of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), a Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge (Judge Business School) and Board Advisor to All Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship.

Kerstin Cooley is Managing Partner of Brightly Ventures, a Stockholm-based seed investor focused on Nordic technology companies. Before launching Brightly, she co-founded and led the Nordic early stage investment firm MOOR, where she oversaw all the firm’s investments, and served as a board member at Acast, Attach, Buildsafe, FirstVet, Mitigram and Universal Avenue. Prior to her VC career, Kerstin worked on SEB investment teams in Sweden and the U.S., investing in start-up hedge funds and developing and selling alternative investment products for institutional clients. With 20 years of experience in the financial and IT industries, she started her career at Silicon Valley based Echelon, which was listed at Nasdaq in 1998. In the late 1990's, Kerstin co-founded global integrated communications agency Cognito and spent eight years in leading positions at financial software company, Trema, in diverse positions ranging from M&A transactions to heading the company’s US operations. Kerstin holds a Masters from Umeå School of Business and Economics.

Co-Founder and Managing Partner – GP Bullhound

Manish Madhvani is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound. Manish has executed M&A and capital raising transactions since 1997, involving some of the best known global internet, software and media companies, including: Spotify, King.com, Believe Digital, WPP, Wipro, Fjord, Hearst Corporation, Accenture, Newscorp and Experian.

Manish who was selected as one of the top 40 dealmakers globally by M&A Advisor, started his career at Barclays Capital’s Private Equity team. He has advised the Treasury on Entrepreneurship and graduated from Southampton University with an LLB in Law / MA in Marketing.

Manish is a regular speaker on Bloomberg and CNBC and is currently an Ambassador for London Technology Week. He was recognised as one of the leading Entrepreneurs in the UK by the Sunday Times / Maserati 100

Michael Kalfayan - TCV

Mike is a Partner in TCV’s London office and has been with the firm for 8 years. He splits his time between SaaS, fin tech and consumer technology. His current investments include Revolut, Redis, Qonto, Trade Republic, Believe (Euronext Paris: BLV), Miro, Mambu, FlixMobility, SuperVista, Sportradar (Nasdaq: SRAD).

Actress, filmmaker

As an actress, Mika has worked on a diverse range of creative projects including the BAFTA-winning Falling Apart, Film London’s Balcony which won the Crystal Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival and BFI nominated Dictynna Hood’s Us Among the Stones in 2019. In 2021 Mika played in BBC’s Showtrial. Mika’s directorial debut Rain Stops Play, won the Silver Remi for best comedy at Houston World Film Festival and has been nominated at BAFTA qualifying Underwire Festival and CBFF. She was named as Best International Director for her second short film Breach at Portland Comedy Festival, which premiered at BAFTA qualifying BUFF in November 2021.

When not working as an actress or making films, Mika hosts The Happy Vagina podcast which empowers women through inspirational content that both educates and entertains, as seen on Fabulous Magazines ‘graph of greatness’ was Marie Claire’s 2020 ‘next must listen’. In response to the success of the podcast, The Happy Vagina book will be published by Harper Collins in May 2022. 

As a Women’s health activist, Mika is also co-founder of the Lady Garden Foundation, one of the world’s leading Gynaecological charities, and co-chair of the Ginsburg Women’s Health Board, an independent advisory board supporting better diagnosis in Women’s health. 

In 2021 Mika was Harpers Bazaar’s Female Visionaries and one of You Magazines’ Women of the Year. 

British Actor

Nicholas Pinnock has been seen across theatre, television and film for over 30 years. In 2022, he will be seen in Django, an English-language reimagining of Sergio Corbucci’s classic 1966 Western, as the lead role of John Ellis.

In the fall of 2020, he returned as the lead in the ABC/Sky series, “For Life” (produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson). The first season premiered in March 2020 to rave reviews and stellar ratings. Pinnock was named producer on “For Life” for season two in addition to appearing in the lead role of Aaron Wallace. In 2019 he was seen in the Netflix drama, “Criminal” (co-starring David Tennant) and on the big screen in the films “The Last Tree” and “Dark Encounter.” That same year, Pinnock announced Silver Milk Productions, a London based entity, that focuses on creating thought provoking and fresh content across television, film and documentaries. 

 Previously, he could be seen in the sci-fi thriller “Counterpart” on STARZ alongside a stellar cast of J.K. Simmons, Olivia Williams, and Harry Lloyd and on Netflix in the fan favourite TV show, season one of “Top Boy” and seasons one and two of “Marcella.”

A seasoned theatre actor, in 2018 Pinnock delivered an outstanding performance in “Ear for Eye” at the Royal Court in London. In 2016, Pinnock starred in History Channel’s four-part series “Barbarians Rising” playing the role of ‘Hannibal,” and as the male lead in ITV 1’s (and Netflix’) crime drama “Marcella,” alongside Anna Friel, Laura Carmichael, and Sinead Cusack in the eight-part drama. For that, he reprised his role in 2017 for the second series. 

In 2016 Pinnock was seen returning to the stage for his second round in “The Royale.” Pinnock reprised the role of ‘Jay Jackson,’ after a successful run at the Bush Theatre. That same year, Pinnock was seen in the television miniseries “Guerilla,” also starring Idris Elba, Freida Pinto, Denise Gough, Babou Ceesay, Rory Kinnear and Daniel Mays. He was also seen in the role of Frank Sutter in Sky’s much acclaimed “Fortitude” with Stanley Tucci and as Bishop Mick Hunter in ITV’s “Midwinter of the Spirit” and in the film “VS.”

Over the years, Pinnock has been seen in a number of projects including “Ice Cream Girls,” “Dalziel & Pascoe,” “Kingdom of the Blind”, with Clive Owen and “Diamonds,” with James Purefoy. Additional theatre works include “As You Like It” at Staffordshire Castle at the Staffordshire Shakespeare Festival, followed by working with directors such as Kathy Burke and writer Debbie Tucker Green, in Hampstead Theatre’s production of “Born Bad,” “San Diego” at the Tron in Glasgow and “Topdog/Underdog” at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre. He was also featured in The Times Magazine’s Olivier Awards portfolio alongside Ralph Fiennes, Andrew Scott, and James McAvoy.

General Partner – Partech

Omri Benayoun is General Partner at Partech, responsible for the Growth fund. He joined in May 2014.

He currently sits on the boards of Brandwatch, EcoVadis, NA-KD, Evaneos, Rohlik and UrbanSportsClub.

Before joining Partech, Omri had senior executive positions at worldwide retail leader Casino Group: he joined the executive committee in 2010 as EVP Corporate Planning and Strategy and in 2012, he was promoted to Deputy CEO at Cdiscount.com, the #3 eCommerce player in Europe and #1 in France. Omri also worked for Dassault Systemes, where he led Corporate development department for the worldwide leader in Product Lifecycle Management software from 2007 to 2010. He started his career, from 2002 to 2007, as a high-level civil servant at the Ministry of Economy, where he implemented government programs for start-ups and SMEs.

Omri holds a Master’s Degree in Sciences from the Ecole Polytechnique summa cum laude and is an alumnus of the post graduate Corps des Mines program.

General Partner – HV Capital

Rainer has been a member of the HV Capital team since 2008. He was responsible for the firm‘s investments in Zalando (IPO 2014), Quandoo (sold to Recruit in 2015), Stylight (sold to Pro7 in 2016), HelloFresh (IPO 2017), Home24 (IPO 2018) and brands4friends (sold to eBay in 2010) and led investments in Scalable Capital, finn.auto, Dance, Outfittery, Alasco and many others.

Before coming to HV, Rainer played an entrepreneurial role as Head of Business Development at 123people.com. The business was sold successfully to Pages Jaunes in 2010. Prior to that, Rainer worked for five years in the venture capital field at 3i and Siemens Acceleration. Rainer started his career in a tech role at Siemens in 2000.

Rainer studied Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich and received his MBA at INSEAD, graduating both with honors. He is a family guy, loves the outdoors and endurance sports, participated in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii and many other events.

Head of Wealth and Asset Management UK - Berenberg

Richard is the Head of Wealth and Asset Management UK having joined Berenberg in June 2011 from Schroders Private Banking.

He is the Founder of Impact Ventures UK, a social enterprise investment fund, Chairman of the Arts and Culture Impact Fund and Co-Founder of Re-Generate Trust. He is a Director of the Montpelier Foundation and the Guy Foundation Family Trust and sits on the advisory boards of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Big Society Capital.

He holds a BSc in Mathematics from Sussex University and is Chartered Accountant (ACA) and PCIAM (Distinction) qualified. He was awarded Impact Investor of the Year at the 2020 Digital Agenda Awards.

Partner – Connect Ventures

Rory is a Partner at Connect Ventures, a thesis-led venture capital firm based in London and investing across Europe. Connect leads seed investments in purpose-led founders, obsessed with solving hard problems at scale, by creating products and companies that people love. Rory is passionate about technology, entrepreneurship and leadership development, and has spent the majority of his career working in start-ups and venture capital. Prior to Connect he was a partner at MMC Ventures and a co-founding partner at BGF Ventures. He’s invested at seed, series A and series B stage, in both B2B and consumer software companies. He now spends most of his learning and investing in fintech

Managing Director – CVC

Sebastian joined CVC in 2012 and is a member of the CVC Telecommunications, Media & Technology team and CVC Growth Partners.

Prior to joining CVC, he worked for Francisco Partners and UBS Investment Bank.

Sebastian studied at Boston College and the University of Glasgow, where he graduated with a first class MA in Business and Management. Prior to University, Sebastian served in the German military.

Partner – Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Kim Stacey is a leading American cross-border technology lawyer, strategic business advisor, and a co-founding partner of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's London office. Leveraging her unique experience as a trusted advisor to high-growth U.S., UK, and other European companies and as an in-house advisor at a fast-paced U.S. technology company, she uses her legal insight, business acumen, professional network, and industry expertise to resolve problems before they arise. She has a particular focus on supporting companies with their fundraising, corporate reorganization, and commercial expansion.

Director - BFI Festivals

Tricia Tuttle continues her role as Director of BFI Festivals for the fifth year. She was appointed the position following her role as Artistic Director of the 62nd Edition of the BFI London Film Festival in 2018 and five successful years as Deputy Head of Festivals at BFI, including BFI Flare and BFI London Film Festival.

Moving from North Carolina in 1997 to complete a joint MA at BFI and Birkbeck, University of London in Film and TV Studies, Tricia’s passion for film has seen her work as a programmer, lecturer, writer and journalist. Her career has spanned a five year tenure at BAFTA, starting in 2008 and with her appointment as Film Programme Manager in 2011; programming the BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (the pre-cursor to BFI Flare) and as Event Producer at London’s The Script Factory. Tuttle has been instrumental in evolving BFI Festivals, continuing to expand audience reach year on year and introducing impactful initiatives such UK-wide cinema venue partnerships, digital screenings, LFF For Free and also BFI Flare’s FiveFilms4Freedom, in partnership with the British Council. 

Managing Director – Eurazeo Growth

Zoé is a Managing Director at Eurazeo Growth; she is based in Berlin and heads the firm’s growth equity investments with a focus on the DACH region. Before joining Eurazeo Growth, Zoé invested globally in technology-driven companies at pre-IPO stage. Prior to that, Zoé was a Senior Investment Manager at Axel Springer, Europe's largest digital publishing house, where she led several growth investments in a joint venture with General Atlantic, focusing on marketplaces, as well as in adtech and traveltech, including Yad2 and @Leisure. Zoé started her career at Blackstone, first out of Paris and then based in New York City, advising on M&A, restructuring and IPOs with a focus on Energy and Consumer.

She is currently serving on the boards of Adjust and Sophia Genetics.

Zoé graduated with a MSc in International Management from ESCP Europe and a degree in Economics from Freie Universität Berlin.