2023 Judges
GP judges 2023
LP judges 2023
David Menton
Managing Partner
Synova
David co-founded Synova in 2007.
He has over 20 years of experience investing in and advising European high growth companies and was recognised in the prestigious Dow Jones ’40 under 40 Rising Stars in Private Equity’. He leads the Financial Services and FinTech sector team at Synova, working closely with founders and leaders to support their growth ambitions. David currently serves on the boards of AllClear Insurance, JMG Group, DM Financial & 3173,
He also serves as a trustee of Level20, as well as a leading anti-racism charity, and is a founding sponsor of 10,000 Black Interns.
Daniel Ahlstrand
Partner
Verdane
During the past 12 years Daniel has invested in growth stage digital companies in northern Europe. Daniel currently serves as a Partner at Verdane focusing primarily on digital consumer businesses, past and current investments include Boozt, Hobbii, Swappie and HYMA
Ashley Broomberg
Managing Partner
Mobeus Equity Partners
Ashley was one of the Founder Partners who set up small-cap buyout specialist Mobeus following a management buyout from Matrix Group in 2012. He has led the raising of two institutional funds and completed a secondary buyout of the institutional business as part of the sale of Mobeus's VCT business in 2022. He leads fundraising and investor relations for Mobeus; and chairs Investment Committee for Mobeus V.
Mark Williams
Senior Partner
Inflexion Private Equity
Mark is a Partner responsible for all aspects of sourcing, delivering and managing investment opportunities across the business services, information and education markets. Mark has led numerous deals including the buyouts of THE, Chambers, Reed & Mackay, Kynetec, Alcumus and CTC Aviation Group, as well as the minority investments in Phenna and Medivet.
Prior to joining Inflexion, Mark covered a range of investing strategies at Sovereign Capital Partners and Bank of America Capital Partners Europe. He began his career in corporate finance at Close Brothers. He has experience across the business services, education and healthcare sectors and also has particular experience in working with international growth companies.
Claire Madden
Managing Partner
Connection Capital
Claire is Managing Partner of Connection Capital, a private client investment business specialising in alternative investments. Claire’s career began at 3i having graduated in Banking & International Finance from Loughborough University. She co-founded a private client investment business which she sold out of in 2009 before co-founding Connection Capital in 2010. Connection Capital was established by a team who share the same aim: to give its private clients access to alternative investments which are available to the institutional market but often closed to private investors. The firm’s innovative syndicated model pools its clients’ capital on a deal by deal or fund by fund basis meaning investors can build a bespoke portfolio over time. Due to the nature of Connection Capital’s business, Claire has experience of sitting on both sides of the private markets fence: as part of the investment committee overseeing Connection Capital’s own-led private equity deals and also as an LP investor in other firms’ funds.
Bal Johal
co-CEO
MML Capital
Bal is co-CEO and owner of MML Capital Partners. MML is a multi-strategy private equity and infrastructure platform with offices in London, New York, Paris and Dublin. The business runs 4 strategies including Partnership Capital, Enterprise, Ireland Growth Capital and Value-Added Infrastructure. Before MML Bal had a successful career at 3i plc starting his career at Accenture post graduation.
Joakim Andreasson
Managing Director
Nordic Capital
Joakim Andreasson is a Managing Director in the Industrial & Business Services team at Nordic Capital and based in Stockholm, Sweden.
He has spent close to 15 years at Nordic Capital and previously worked in Private Equity and M&A in London. He is currently active in three Nordic Capital portfolio companies: Cary Group, Autocirc and Consilium.
Aidan Robson
Partner
Endless
Aidan Robson is one of the Founding Partners of Endless LLP which invests funds into Mid-Market Companies across the UK and Europe. Endless is currently investing its fifth fund and has c£1.5billion under management, sourced from 6 of the Top 10 Universities globally, some of the world’s largest Charitable and Research Foundations and Family Offices of leading global entrepreneurs. Their support has been secured through emphasising not only financial returns but also job creation and market leading ESG standards.
Endless invests in companies with clear potential for value development who find themselves in complex (special) situations requiring an investment in time, skill, and capital. Today, Endless owns businesses with a combined revenue of c£3billion employing over 24,000 people.
Ben Slatter
Partner
Rutland Partners
Ben has been a Partner at special situations investor Rutland since 2008. He has led or been involved in a number of Rutland's current and past investments including Armitage Pet Care, Total Rail Solutions, Gardman, Cedo, BAYV, Pulse Home Products, H&T Group, NoteMachine and The Music Group. Ben began his career at Arthur Andersen where he gained his ACA, followed by time in the Andersen Corporate Finance team. Ben has a BA in Economics from the University of Exeter.
James Livingston
Partner
Foresight
James Livingston is a Partner at Foresight Group – the leading listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager.
James is based in Foresight’s London office and works within its private equity division. Prior to Foresight, James worked at Deloitte. He holds a MA in Natural Sciences and Management Studies from Cambridge University, as well as the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting.
Foresight’s private equity division has supported SMEs for close to four decades through various economic cycles. The team partners with SMEs, across all sectors, providing investments of up to £10 million.
Carl Nauckhoff
Senior Principal & Head of Investor Relations
Investindustrial
Carl Nauckhoff joined Investindustrial in 2009, and he is the Head of Investor Relations. He previously worked with the firm during the raising of Investindustrial III in 2005. From 2007, he was a partner and managing director at Garrison Investment Group, a $2.5 billion special opportunity investment firm in New York. Prior to working at Garrison, Mr. Nauckhoff was a director and partner with MVision Private Equity Advisers, an international private placement agent in London and New York. He began his career in the merger and acquisitions group of Lehman Brothers in London.
Imogen Richards
Partner, Global Head of Investment Structuring and Strategy
Pantheon
Imogen is a Partner and Global Head of Pantheon’s Investment Structuring and Strategy Team, part of the Investment Team in London, where she has responsibility for investment transaction execution, portfolio strategy, and treasury & fund management teams. Imogen spent the early part of her career doing direct investments in the small/growth space and then nearly 10 years making secondaries investments, and has 20 years of experience in the Private Equity industry. She holds a MA in natural sciences from Cambridge University.
Anne Fossemalle
Director - Equity Funds
EBRD
Anne Fossemalle has been the Director in charge of Funds’ investments at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) since 2009. She has over 25 years of private equity experience and holds numerous LPAC seats with major fund managers within the EBRD’s countries of operations. Anne also represents EBRD and its countries of operations in major industry bodies: as Member of the Board of Directors and Past Chair of Invest Europe, the European private equity association and the world’s largest association of capital providers; as former Member of the Board of Directors of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), the global association for institutional investors; and as CEE & CIS Council Chair Director for the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA), formerly EMPEA. Anne joined the EBRD in 1993 from Natixis in Paris, and has worked in a number of capacities prior to heading the Funds’ investment team, notably leading EBRD’s debt and direct equity investments into financial institutions. Anne holds Masters degrees from Stanford University, Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts (France) and Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (France). She was selected as one of ten Women of Influence in Private Equity by Private Equity International in 2022
Merrick McKay
Head of Europe - Private Equity
abrdn
Merrick is responsible for abrdn’s European private equity business, with around €8bn AuM, encompassing primary fund commitments, secondary fund investments and co-investment activities undertaken by a team of 60, including 25 investment professionals. Merrick has over 30 years’ experience in the European private equity industry.
Previous roles include: Head of European Investments in Macquarie’s Private Markets division; and 13 years as a Partner of Primary Capital (where he was responsible for leading, originating and managing numerous private equity investments in the UK).
Merrick is a regular speaker at private equity conferences, and is a member of Invest Europe’s Limited Partner Council.