Business Venture Partners

Stephen Burdock is a Director at BVP with more than 15 years of experience in financial services. He works on equity and debt investments and has led transactions across renewables, technology, mobility, and consumer goods and services, spanning project financing and Seed to Series rounds. He works closely with founders and holds board representative roles at several companies he has invested in.

Stephen Mason joined BVP as an Investment Partner in 2021 after more than 30 years at Bank of Ireland, where his roles included Regional Manager for Dublin and Cork, Managing Director of Consumer Banking Ireland & UK, and Head of Group Customer Operations. His background spans operations, product development, business and consumer banking, finance, internal audit, and human resources. He holds an MSc in Management Practice.

David Gavagan has more than 30 years of experience in venture and development capital. He co-founded and served as Managing Director of Hibernia Capital Partners Limited, a €75m venture capital fund, and was previously a director of DCC plc. He currently serves as a director of several other companies.

David Smeed has more than 25 years of experience in finance and works as a regulated QFA serving high-net-worth clients in Ireland and abroad. He serves as a non-executive director and investment committee member at BVP, and has previously worked in the hedge fund sector in London and Singapore. He is also a board director and finance committee member at Sarcoma Cancer Ireland.

John is an Investment Executive at BVP, involved across the investment process including sourcing, due diligence, transaction structuring, and portfolio support. Before BVP he worked at Mediolanum International Funds across fixed income and equity research, and later at KKR's alternative credit platform. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin and an MSc in Finance from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Kevin Murphy is the Financial Controller at BVP, a role he took on in 2023. He previously completed a training contract with Deloitte Ireland, qualifying as an ACA with experience in auditing, financial reporting, and compliance, before moving to Crowe UK where he worked with limited and AIM-listed companies.

Marie Nolan is the Client Relations & Communications Manager at BVP, where she has worked for five years. She has contributed to the 'Irish VC' podcast, managing, producing, and hosting interviews in the series. Before joining BVP, she worked in the wealth management and pensions sector, and she holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin (UCD) and is a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA).

Niamh Sterling co-founded Interact, an Irish facilities management company, and H2O Solutions, a water management firm, both acquired by Bidvest in 2021. She previously served on the board of engineering firm LeoLynch and spent over five years at Furthr as a senior business consultant, handling deal origination for the Halo Business Angel Network and Furthr VC. She is a Central Bank Approved PCF-2B Non-Executive Director and currently works part-time as Entrepreneur in Residence at Dogpatch Labs.

Ross Kearney is an Investment Executive at BVP focused on lending and financial analysis to support SMEs. He previously worked on the Funding Team at Wayflyer, providing working capital solutions to eCommerce and wholesale businesses. He holds a BEng in Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering from Dublin City University and an MSc in Financial Data Science from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Stephen Tully is Head of Finance at BVP, with 14 years of experience across the asset management and venture capital sectors. He is an ACCA qualified accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). His work covers financial strategy and operations, financial planning, risk management, regulatory compliance, portfolio monitoring, and investor relations.

Tom Hernandez is a Financial Analyst Intern at BVP, supporting investment and operational activities across the firm's portfolio, with a focus on investment due diligence and M&A. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce at University College Dublin.