Vala Capital, the entrepreneurial venture capital company, has strengthened its investment and operations teams with three new appointments as it gears up to multiply its product range and distribution capabilities.
Jasper Smith, founder of Vala Capital, says: “As we continue to grow our business model with an expanding emphasis on sustainable ventures, I feel more excited about the business than ever. We have hired six new joiners since June – it feels like a great time to build the business.”
Dylan Jones
Dylan Jones joins Vala Capital in the role of Chief Commercial Officer responsible for oversight of the commercial operation of the company including the development and operation of new and existing funds, broadening commercial and distribution relationships – and the development of new opportunities to help grow Vala.
Dylan has spent more than 20 years in a wide range of leadership roles involved in deal making, business-building, and strategy – most recently at Ingenious Group, where was a group board member. He was also managing director of Ingenious’ corporate development function, responsible for strategy, corporate and product development and building new business lines across the firm’s commercial activities.
Max Middleton
Max has overall responsibility for the forthcoming Vala Sustainable Growth EIS Fund together with supporting equity transactions across all Vala funds. He joins from Ingenious Group, where he was investment manager for the Ingenious Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service, leading on sourcing, evaluation, negotiation and execution of deals in the ‘infra-tech’ arena. Previous to Ingenious, Max worked as an associate at EMV Capital (formerly EcoMachines Ventures), a specialist VC focused on high-growth opportunities in hardware, industrial high-tech and resource efficiency. A CFA charter-holder with an MSc from LSE, Max has a BA from Vassar College in New York.
Debbie Mahanta
Debbie joins the Vala Business Development team to create and develop relationships with professional advisers and intermediaries across the UK. A qualified financial planner (DipPFS) with more than 20 years’ financial services experience, Debbie garnered cross-
border planning experience from her time in Switzerland before moving into sales management and strategic business development roles for UBS, St. James’s Place Wealth Management, Guinness Asset Management and Tilney Financial Planning.