Search Funds
Alexander Wijs | Orangeland Capital
Alexander Wijs is an investment professional with a background in private equity and investment banking. He holds a Master’s in Finance from ESADE and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the Rotterdam School of Management. His career includes roles at Morgan Stanley and Freshstream Investment Partners, where he focused on middle-market transactions and business development, gaining significant international experience.
Gonzalo San Martín | Azmar Capital
Gonzalo holds a Dual Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Law from IE University. He has developed his career at Banco Santander within the Corporate and Investment Banking division, starting in London and later moving to Madrid. Gonzalo has significant expertise in leading large syndicated financing transactions, with experience coordinating processes that often exceeded €5bn. He played a key role in the €8.9bn acquisition facility for Porsche Holding’s acquisition of Porsche AG in relation to its €75bn IPO and the €8.3bn Bridge to Cash facility for the take-private of Atlantia.
Hugo Azpiau| Azmar Capital
Hugo holds a Dual Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Law from IE University. Hugo had his first contact with the search fund model as an analyst in a Spanish Search Fund. Afterward, he joined Alantra as an M&A Analyst, before moving to Formentor Capital, a Private Equity firm investing in mid-sized companies in the Iberian region. Following this, Hugo joined Metric Capital, a pan-European Private Capital fund, where he provided a wide range of capital solutions to mid-sized companies and served as a Board Member of Storemore Spain.
Pablo Delclaux | Third Square Capital
Pablo has over 12 years of experience in management consulting, financial modeling, and M&A processes. During his professional career, Pablo has participated in a large number of M&A and operational restructuring projects, analyzing a wide variety of industries and types of companies. He has also worked as an advisor for Private Equity funds (in the United States and Europe), evaluating and identifying acquisition opportunities and managing the entire due diligence process. Pablo has advised Private Equity and corporate clients in M&A transactions for a combined deal value exceeding $3.5 billion.
Sandjiv Chanemougame | Exicap Capital
Sandjiv grew up in India, and he attended the French International School. He was admitted to the Grenoble Institute of Technology to study electronic engineering. This is where he learned to code. The engineering training gave Sandjiv his structured way of thinking and data-driven approach to resolving problems. Sandjiv has had several experiences as a founder of companies. Specifically, he launched one in the manufacturing industry, another dedicated to importing products from other countries to France (So´Sacs), and the last one in the food industry. This last company was halted by COVID-19, and Sandjiv took the opportunity to study for an MBA at IE University. After this, he worked as COO at Tiendeo, conducting various transformational change programs to improve employee productivity. When ShopFully purchased the company, he was promoted to a marketing director position in charge of the go-to-market strategy. More than one year later, he decided it was time to come back to entrepreneurship, but in a new form: entrepreneurship through acquisition.
Clemente di Napoli | Visconti Capital
Clemente di Napoli holds a Law degree from Università degli Studi Roma TRE. With over 16 years of experience as a jurist, entrepreneur, and investor, he spent more than seven years at SCP Kiejman & Marembert, specializing in corporate and financial litigation, gaining expertise in managing shareholder and commercial disputes. He then co-founded Visconti Holding, a Private Equity Practice, serving as General Counsel and Managing Director. Additionally, he served as Deputy CEO of Pasta Sirio, driving the company’s strong performance.
Carlo Luigi Fontana | Visconti Capital
Carlo Luigi Fontana holds a master’s degree in Economics from Luiss Guido Carli University and a postgraduate degree in Finance and Economics from Columbia Business School. He’s worked for top consultant companies worldwide, focusing on the M&A and Private Equity industry, ranging from Bain & Company to McKinsey, and has worked from different locations such as Italy, Paris, and London. He was a Co-founder of Visconti Holding, a Private Equity Practice, serving as Managing Director as well as Chairman of the Board.
Stefano Cattapan | Castellum Equity Partners
Stefano graduated from Bocconi University, where he earned a BSc in Economics and Finance. He has 13 years of professional experience as an investment banker at Citi, developed for more than a decade in London (UK) and most recently in Milan (Italy), having worked as a strategic advisor to global companies and institutions, boards of directors, senior executives and institutional investors. In his journey at Citi he reached the Director level and worked in different teams serving a large number of clients in various sectors.
Juan Pérez Iglesias | Polsso Capital
Juan is a professional with a memorable track record in investment banking and investment funds, with over 20 years of experience in both industries. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from CUNEF, he started his investment banking career at J.P. Morgan in the M&A team. In 2019, Juan joined Tresmares Capital, a new Spanish fund for which he was responsible for credit investment in Spanish SMEs. He has decided to redirect his professional career to the search fund model.
Luis Díez | Triare Capital
Luis holds an MSc in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Luis began his career as a strategy consultant. After 4 years on the advisory side, Luis pursued a full-time MBA at IESE Business School. During the MBA, Luis gained experience in the buy side by working at Miura Partners (a mid-market PE fund). After the MBA, he moved back to Madrid to join Verisure, where he held different roles with increased responsibility across marketing and commercial functions. Finally, since 2022, Luis has joined the project of two senior executives and has been trying to acquire small businesses in a specific niche industry. Although he had no luck closing the deal, this has given him the necessary skills to be a successful searcher.
Przemek Widacki | Odyssey Partners
Przemek finished his initial higher education with two Master’s degrees, in General Engineering in France and Financial Management in Poland, followed by an MBA in China. He speaks English & Polish and can understand and be understood to some extent in French & German. After working for an engineering consulting firm in France, he decided to change his path to strategy and finance. Przemek started in strategy at BCG Poland, until he moved to Germany to work at Arvos Group as vice president of M&A. Subsequently, he worked for a PE fund and then returned to BCG, but this time in Switzerland.
Francesco Revel-Sillamoni | Solferino Capital
Graduated from ESCP Europe MiM and Wharton MBA, he has extensive experience in investment banking, having worked in Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley. During both experiences, he worked on M&A and debt transactions across Europe in the TMT sector. After this, he developed his career in Private Equities such as Apax Partners or Ardian, where he was Managing Director until he decided to follow the path of entrepreneurship through the search fund model.
Jaime Amoribieta | Wild Lynx Capital
Jaime has a degree in Economics and Business Administration from CUNEF. He accumulated 7 years of experience at Alantra (formerly N+1). In his most recent role (over the past 4 years), Jaime served as a Vice President in the Active Funds division, overseeing two funds: QMC and EQMC. Prior to Active Funds, Jaime spent 3 years in Alantra’s Equity Research team in a similar capacity, where he worked in the sell-side. His coverage spanned Hotels, Real Estate, Insurance, and Small Caps sectors.
Rodolfo Vélez | Wild Lynx Capital
Rodolfo Vélez pursued a double degree in Industrial Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña and Ecole Centrale Paris. He continued his academic journey by completing his Master’s Thesis at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Rodolfo Vélez’s professional journey is marked by a remarkable blend of experiences, from strategic consulting (BCG for more than 2 years) to entrepreneurial ventures and leadership roles, culminating in his role as a co-founder and Principal at WildLynx Capital.
Pierre-Emmanuel Drochon | Sailly Transmission
Pierre-Emmanuel journey is marked by resilience and determination. From co-founding a successful inter-school sports association during his engineering studies at ESTP Paris to obtaining Master’s from HEC Entrepreneurs and a Financial and Tax Engineering EMs from ESCP Paris, his path has been diverse. Despite the challenges faced with the startup Quadreex Solar Factory, Pierre´s entrepreneurial spirit remained undeterred. His decision to join JCB Signalisation as an engineer and later as its General Manager led to the company’s remarkable turnaround in just five years. Today, Pierre is ready for the next chapter.
Armine Gstrein | Sailly Transmission
Armine is a graduate of Art et Métiers and Essec in Paris, and he honed his skills at McKinsey & Company in Paris. During his tenure at McKinsey, Armine primarily engaged in two types of projects: PEPI Projects, which encompassed comprehensive work for private equity funds, including due diligence for small to large-cap companies, and large transformations and manufacturing site optimization, where Armine played a pivotal role in significant transformations. Subsequently, as an entrepreneur at Vertical, Armine refined his complex sales skills, successfully pitching pilot projects to executives from renowned companies like ESSILOR, Lisi, and Sulo. This hands-on approach has equipped Armine with a holistic understanding of business operations, from high-level strategy to ground-level execution.
Jorge Giménez | Libertum Capital
Jorge Giménez Arribas is a Co-Founder of Libertum Capital and holds a degree in Business Administration from ICADE. While still studying for his degree, he started working for UBS London in the M&A department; among his responsibilities as an investment banking associate, he was in charge of managing and executing projects on mergers, acquisitions, equity, and debt financing for European companies. Ultimately, he spent more than two years in Kartesia, a private investment firm focused on investing in Spanish mid-market companies across the capital structure, where he became a senior investment associate.
Juan Bolívar | Libertum Capital
Juan Bolívar is a Co-Founder of Libertum Capital and holds a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Carlos III. He got his first job at Jaguar-Land Rover Spain, where he performed as a financial analyst for over a year until he switched to Namencis Capital, a Search Fund where he got the opportunity to see the whole search process and also operate the acquired business, becoming managing director and getting to work hand-to-hand with the group´s CEO in a wide range of activities that would include both management and expansion projects.
Duco Salomons | SaloMonte Investment
Duco Salomons is a law graduate from the University of Utrecht with a minor in economics. He studied for a master’s degree in Finance and Law at the Duisenberg School of Finance and holds an MBA from IESE. During his professional career, Duco has been working for a number of prestigious entities where he has acquired a deep knowledge of the M&A industry, of which can be highlighted his more than four years of experience in M&A at ING, which would get him to be group M&A lead at Valcom, a Dutch Private Equity. He has a proven track record in sourcing, identifying, and evaluating merger and acquisition opportunities and is now seeking his next professional challenge. Thus, he launched SaloMonte Investment, a search fund located in the Netherlands.
Marc Giné | Terra Firma Capital
Marc Giné is the founder and CEO of Terra Firma Capital. He holds a BBA and a Master’s from ESADE, as well as an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He started his professional career by working for Garrigues, a leading law firm where he worked as a Tax Advisor. His experience in a top firm like Garrigues made him turn to a more familiar business, and thus, he joined Roca Junyent Family Office, where he executed ten investments in VC, PE, and RE, among others, and advised portfolio companies on a regular basis. In 2013, he joined Samsung, where he developed his career, working in his latest position on the most critical business issues with top Samsung Group executives across the globe being in charge of a strategy team of c. 100 professionals sitting under the Chairman’s office. Now, he is looking for new challenges, and Terra Firma Capital is the perfect vehicle to pursue them.
Albert Palomar | Oportuna Capital
Albert Palomar is the partner behind Oportuna Capital. He holds a degree in Economics by Universidad Pompeu Fabra (2010-2014), and he has recently graduated with an MBA from IESE (2022). He has worked for the ECB as a research analyst, developing stress tests for the EU banking system. In 2016, he started a position at Amazon as a business intelligence analyst, where he spent four years and became an operations analyst. In Apr-22 he joined Bain & Company as a strategy consultant until Jul-23.
Craig McNally | Desert Horizon Capital
Craig McNally, Co-Principal of Desert Horizon, is an MBA by IESE Business School (2020-2022) and has developed most of his professional career in Fidelity Investments, embracing a wide spectrum of functions that included investment planning, customer service, sales and management. During his time at Fidelity, not only did he acquire strong financial knowledge, but he also got to work hand-to-hand with small business owners who taught him the personal side of a company purchase. After more than 5 years in Fidelity, he raised funds from Elon Musk´s Foundation and founded Bisorra, a company specialized in sustainable agriculture where he would be directly responsible for the sales strategy, procuring company assets, and establishing partnerships.
Kamran Cheema | Desert Horizon Capital
Kamran, Co-Principal of Desert Horizon, holds a B.A. in Political Science and an MBA from the IESE Business School in Barcelona, where he performed as Vice President and first-year director of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Club. His professional path has led him to found three different and successful companies, starting while still enrolled as a student. He developed a premium-oriented social network with a classmate, which earned him the opportunity to work with multinationals like Rolex. After graduating from college, he launched Gran Trunk, an upscale fast-casual eatery located in Washington D.C. that gained first-place rankings on review apps and made him responsible for a staff of up to 50 people. Ultimately, he expanded the business to China and became the first American under 30 to establish a multinational restaurant brand. In 2018, Kamran leveraged his relationships with East Asia and founded Manhattan Design, a provider of décor and design consulting that works with five-start hotels and resorts.
Joel Vicient | IziSoft Capital
Joel Vicient is a tech entrepreneur who has launched IziSoft Capital. He is a computer engineer who completed an Executive Program at Stanford University and a Management Program at ESADE. He started his career in 2002 as a software developer, and shortly after, he served as a CTO in a hotel software company. It wasn´t until 2009 that he decided to leverage the experience acquired in managing small businesses, and he founded Captio, a SaaS mobile expense solution in Europe that would end up working with big companies such as KPMG, PwC or Telefónica, before selling it to Emburse in 2018. In 2023, he launched his search fund, IziSoft Capital, to buy and optimize a software company, applying the lessons learned throughout his life.
Madhur Singhal | Origo Capital
Madhur Singhal, Principal of Origo Capital, holds a degree from Macquarie University in Economics and Laws, and an MBA from INSEAD. He is a people-oriented person who is resilient, dependable and genuinely motivated to support the growth of his team. Professional and committed manager with 20+ years of global operating experience in partnerships, sales, operations, and strategy across investment banks (CBA, UBS), early and growth stage tech companies (Direct Money, OYO), and well-known global MNCs (Visa). Moreover, he has been a seed investor in multiple venture-backed tech companies.
Carlo S. Arroyo | Four-Factor Capital
Carlo S. Arroyo, founder and CEO of Four Factor Capital, has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Management in Tecnológico de Monterrey. He was born in Mexico, and before moving to the US, he managed to refloat a 16-store business during the 2008 crisis. His journey in North America has led him to important companies with high-responsibility roles, including four years as a manager in financial consulting at PwC and more than two years as a project leader at BCG.
Patrick El Hajj | Anchora Transmission
Patrick El Hajj, founder and CEO of Anchora Transmission, holds a Civil Engineering from the Lebanese University and got his Engineer´s Degree at Ecole Centrale de Nantes. He studied an MBA at HEC Paris, graduating with honors (top 5% GPA). He developed his professional career mainly in PWC in France and Germany, where he got to be a senior associate. In Jun-23 he decided to launch his search fund, Anchora Transmission.
Alessandro Conti | Star First Capital
Alessandro Conti, founder and CEO of Star First Capital, holds a Management Engineering degree from Politecnico di Milano, where he graduated with 110/110 Cum Laude. He started his professional career by working for Bain & Co. After this work experience, he studied for an MBA at MIT, which led him to raise more than $250k and founded a software company where he was CEO. Ultimately, he joined IBM in Corporate Strategy & Development, where he worked for almost three years.
Julius Hansen | Drechsel & Hansen
Julius, Co-Principal of Drechsel & Hansen, holds an MSc in Management & Finance from the ESCP Business School. He also started his career in Rocket Internet as a global venture developer, where he led the operations scale-up of Foodpanda in Vietnam, growing the operations team from three to 80 people. Julius later joined Accenture as a senior project lead, working on multiple large-cap digital transformation projects. In 2018, he founded his venture builder, Pacemakers Digital Ventures, which helped traditional SMEs and corporates implement new digital business models. The company was sold to a leading consultancy firm from Hamburg in 2021.
Moritz Drechsel | Drechsel & Hansen
Moritz, Co-Principal of Drechsel & Hansen, holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Entrepreneurship from the Technical University of Munich. He began his career at Rocket Internet as a venture builder, where he was responsible for the roll-out of Helping, one of the fastest-growing ventures at the time. Moritz then managed sales and service teams in the semiconductor industry before becoming an investment manager at Grünwald Equity. In 2019, he founded Kingsleague, the largest online platform for casual competitive e-sports in Germany, which he exited successfully in 2022.
Thomas Dreyfus | Relevia
Thomas holds an MBA from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, which laid the foundation for his rich and diverse career path. His ultimate goal has always been to become a General Manager and business owner, acquiring a unique set of skills and experience across various business environments. As a pragmatic individual, he values learning and results over comfortable linear career advancement opportunities. Throughout his career, Thomas has worked for three French companies, including two SMEs that grew through ambitious strategies in niche markets. His experience in growing SMEs is a key strength in developing target companies. Additionally, Thomas has been involved in several entrepreneurship projects in Mexico and France.
Carlo Pajusco | Sunrise Capital
Carlo began his career in London working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in Fixed Income Sales and Trading. He then helped build the derivatives franchise in Southern Europe from scratch at RBC Capital Markets. Carlo later received a Master’s in Finance from London Business School. He returned to Italy to pursue his long-term dream of becoming an entrepreneur, leading the turnaround of a small business in Ho.Re.Ca. He has also held various managerial positions in the fintech industry, advising and investing in tech startups. He played a crucial role in launching October.eu in Italy, which became the leading P2P lending platform for SMEs in Europe. Later, he served as Commercial Director and Head of the core business of Facile.it.
Rafaël Dufour | Relais Du Dirigeant
Rafaël holds an MSc degree in Industrial Engineering from the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon (INSA) and an MBA from IESE Business School. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) Charterholder. He has 11 years of international experience in purchasing, sales, business development, strategy and general management in manufacturing and consumer goods industries in France, Spain, Morocco, China and Australia. Over the last eight years, he has built a track record in managing crisis situations and organic growth strategies in medium-sized private companies (20 million euros to 90 million euros revenue), both as General Manager and Director of Strategy and Business Development. French married with aspirations to be an entrepreneur by acquisition.
Sina Fattahi | Roxbi Capital
Sina Fattahi, Principal of Roxbi Capital, holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. His passion for becoming a world-class leader led him to pursue an MBA education and subsequently discover the search funds model, which resonated with his goals. He is an experienced engineering and operations professional with a demonstrated track record of success in his nine-year career. Having worked at Rolls-Royce, Sina has developed strong leadership skills that have enabled him to achieve significant organizational objectives. Sina is now pursuing his dream of becoming a world-class leader through his UK-based traditional search funds.
Sam Batran | Forás Capital
Sam Batran is the Principal of Forás Capital. He holds a Bachelor´s Degree in International Relations from Brown University and a Master´s Degree in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge. Sam´s education and early work experience have equipped him with the skills necessary for strategy formation. He has worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company, where he worked with a diverse set of clients in the public and private sectors. He has also served as CEO of a real estate development and investment company. Moreover, he has developed his entrepreneurial spirit by founding two companies related to e-commerce and digital media services.
Vagn Knudsen | KG Capital
Vagn holds an MBA from the HEC Paris and an MSc from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has had an outstanding career so far, working in a wide variety of areas. In the early stages of his career, he worked in investment banking. He subsequently assumed the role of CEO at Laserteck and later co-founded Linio Group, the fastest-growing e-commerce company in Colombia. More recently, Vagn has served as CEO at various companies and served as Project Director at Playtomic.
Javier López | Phoenix Rise Capital
Degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Argentina, a Master’s in Finance from the University of Torcuato Di Tella, and an MBA from IE. Practical professional with nine years of work experience in Investment Banking, Equity Research, and Private Equity in multinationals such as IBM, BA Advisors, or Crisil.
Francisco Sáenz | Phoenix Rise Capital
Building Engineer from the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, equivalent to a Master’s degree in Building Pathology from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and an MBA from IE. Professional with twelve years of work experience in Sports Journalism, Venture Capital, and Operations Director.
Amir Nooriala | Aurias
Amir Nooriala has a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from the University of Nottingham. He has 15 years of expertise running IT services in-house and managing IT MSPs, being Managing Director at Cantor Fitzgerald and Director at Barclays. He has been the COO and CSO of OakNorth Bank, being a key person in transforming the bank into the first profitable digital bank in Europe, and COO of Callsign, where he helped to scale the revenue 10x.
Daniel Cardenas-Clark | Aurias
Daniel holds an MBA from the IE Business School and a bachelor’s in business administration from the Royal Holloway, at the University of London. Daniel has served as an Investment Director at Triple Point Venture Capital Fund and as a Principal at Notion Capital. He has invested and sat on the boards of 20 companies.
Chaid Neme | JC Partners
Graduated from CESA University in Business Administration and Management, Master in Real Estate Development and MBA from IE. Professional with more than 8 years of experience in consulting, corporate governance structuring, and financial advisory. He has led projects in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Colombia, mainly in corporate and family business strategies.
Juan Pablo Ocampo | JC Partners
Bachelor in Business Administration and Management from CESA University in Bogotá. Investment banker with more than six years of experience in middle market M&A transactions in various industries (GBS Finance). He has led projects in Spain, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador focused on the purchase and sale of companies.
Zorion Ugalde | Lemnos Capital
Industrial Engineer from the University of Navarra, and holds an Executive MBA from IESE Business School. Industrial experience of more than 14 years in Tenneco as Programme Manager, Project Manager, and Programme Engineer involved in leadership and team management functions with representatives from multiple departments from different EMEA locations, generating a total turnover of more than €2500M mainly through a customer-centric approach in a leading American multinational automotive company.
Jorge Larrea | Lemnos Capital
Degree in Business Administration and Management from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, a Master’s in Accounting from the Universidad Pontificia ICADE-ICAI, and an MBA from the IESE Business School. Professional with more than 10 years of experience in Strategy and Finance with in-depth knowledge of mergers and acquisitions processes, the definition of strategic plans, and cost reduction projects in multinationals such as KPMG, Iberdrola, and Ferrovial. Analytical profile with more than 20 companies analysed in depth. Experience in managing strategic projects and leading the entry into new sectors, reporting directly to the Executive Committee.
Víctor Ruz | Agripina Capital
Víctor holds a degree in Technical Engineering and an Executive MBA from London Business School. Professional engineer with 17 years of experience in design engineering and innovation as a strategic product design consultant, dedicated to innovation and technology integration. Former McLaren F1 engineer and has experience in multinationals such as Repsol.
Albert Jané | AJS Capital
Albert Jané is the founder and managing partner of AJS Capital. Albert has developed his professional career in Spain and Switzerland. He has led and managed global supply chains and multidisciplinary teams for multinationals, such as General Electric and Alstom, and worked for a Private Equity fund. Albert Jané holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and an Executive MBA from IESE Business School.
Mar Raposo | ARETÊ Management & Capital Partners
Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Coruña, equivalent to a Master’s Degree in Engineering, top 2% with Extraordinary Award and an Executive MBA from the IESE Business School. Professional consultant with international experience in operation and management in medium-sized companies and in business consultancy in the global firm Kearney.
José de la Campa | Third Square Capital
José began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 23 by acquiring and later selling an industrial laundry service company to the market leader. Later, as the Head of Operations at Tacombi, he has led strategic initiatives, including the operational expansion into seven markets and the institutionalization of processes in preparation for a future IPO. Key achievements include revamping financial labor models, innovating supply chains to achieve a 1% gross margin savings, optimizing operational expenses for a 7% reduction, and streamlining processes, resulting in $5.3 million in savings.