Active Partners

Janice Cargo joined the firm in 2015 when it was four and leverages operational and investment experience across apparel, consumer products and restaurants as a hands-on board member advising founders.

Nick Evans is a cycling-focused investor and operator who backs early-stage, premium, design-led enthusiast brands across cycling, travel, and lifestyle—notably Rapha and Evans Cycles, and served as Rapha chairman.

Spencer Skinner, who co-founded the firm in 2004 and remains Managing Partner, brings founder-operator continuity and hands-on governance as chair of portfolio companies like Soho House, LEON and Honest Burgers.

Tom Profumo leads an early-stage fund and serves as main entry point for founders raising first institutional capital, focusing on consumer, marketplaces, education and healthcare with a mission-led stewardship approach.

Billy Fox is an early-stage consumer investor specializing in brand-driven, community-focused, category-defining companies, bringing rare operational experience scaling a Congo Brazzaville logistics business from 50 to 150 employees.

Chloe Grounds joined Active Partners' early-stage investment team in June 2026, working on origination and deal execution with a focus on wellness, hospitality, live entertainment, and fashion and beauty. Before Active, she spent two and a half years at Bain & Company in Sydney advising consumer, financial services, and private equity clients, then worked at Farfetch as Commercial Manager, Pricing. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney.

Claire McMonigle is an assistant to Spencer and Tom in Active Partners' Senior Investment Team and also manages the office. Before joining Active, she worked for 10 years as an assistant at Pitcher Partners in Melbourne, Australia, and spent time living and travelling abroad, including in Canada and across North and South America. She started her career as a trainee receptionist at a small accounting firm.

Clare Gilmartin is an Advisor at Active Partners, where she supports the early-stage team in evaluating investments and advising portfolio companies. She began her career at Unilever and Boston Consulting Group before spending over ten years at eBay in strategy and operations roles, including responsibility for the UK and Greater Europe. In 2013 she became CEO of Trainline, leading its international expansion and its 2019 IPO on the LSE Main Market. She studied at University College Dublin.

Courtney Sawatzke is a member of Active Partners' early-stage investment team, which she joined full-time in June 2023 after an internship with the origination team and completing her MBA at London Business School. She previously worked in New York City as a consultant at Accenture Strategy, advising multinational consumer businesses on pricing strategy, organizational design, and marketing analytics. She focuses on consumer businesses, with interests in sustainability and healthy, affordable products for a mass market.

Helena Dye works on the Finance & Operations team at Active Partners, supporting fund operations, investor processes, and portfolio reporting. She previously worked in fund administration across VC, PE, private credit and real estate funds, and earlier in client accounting at HML supporting a property management portfolio. She studied Accounting and Finance at SOAS University of London, French and Portuguese at University College London, and is completing the ACCA qualification.

James Gregory is an Investor Relations Associate at Active Partners, where he supports the firm's fundraising, works with LPs, and helps source new investment opportunities. Before joining in 2025, he spent two years running The Collaboration Club, a networking business he founded to connect startups through introductions, referrals and advisory work, and he began his career at telecoms company Swish Fibre.

Jasper Smith is the Finance Director at Active Partners and an ACCA-qualified accountant with more than 12 years of experience in financial services across finance, operations and compliance in the UK and Europe. He previously worked at alternative investment firm Pygmalion Capital, handling finance, operations and regulatory compliance for the firm and its funds, and earlier at fund administrator Langham Hall, where he worked in fund accounting and administration before helping establish a regulatory hosting solutions business.

Tom Curling is an Operating Partner at Active who supports portfolio companies through board roles and brings over a decade of leadership experience in high-growth consumer businesses. He spent seven years in corporate finance before serving as CFO and later Managing Director of a private equity-backed retail bakery, which grew to a 50-site brand. He previously worked at Active portfolio company TravelLocal, trained as an accountant at Deloitte, and founded a ski business early in his career.