White Star Capital

Henry Davis is a General Partner at White Star Capital with experience as a VC, operator, and founder across consumer and B2B companies. He was previously CEO of Sakara, a digital wellness business, co-founded Chord Commerce (a data infrastructure company for agentic commerce, in which White Star is an investor), and served as President, COO, and CFO of the DTC beauty brand Glossier. Earlier he was a venture capitalist at Index Ventures and worked in investment banking at Citi; he holds a degree in Modern History from Oxford and an MBA from Stanford.

Jean-Francois Marcoux is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at White Star Capital. Before the firm, he co-founded Ludia, a mobile game publisher that scaled internationally and was sold to FremantleMedia. At White Star, he has focused on enterprise software investments.

Patrick Recasens Morente serves as General Partner and General Counsel at White Star Capital. Born in Canada to Spanish parents, he has lived and worked across Canada, France, the U.A.E., England, and various countries in Africa.

Christophe Bourque is a General Partner at White Star Capital. He previously served as CFO of Averna Technologies, an industrial technology company that scaled to nine-figure revenue and exited, and before that was a Principal at late-stage venture firm Tandem Expansion, where he invested in software, digital media, and digital consumer companies. He began his career in investment banking at BMO Capital Markets advising TMT clients and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.

Cristina Ventura is General Partner and Chief Catalyst Officer at White Star Capital. Before joining the firm, she worked for over twenty years across the luxury, consumer, and tech industries at companies including LVMH, Gucci, Prada, Apple HK & China, and Lane Crawford Joyce Group, focusing on strategic planning, international expansion, and global growth. For the past decade she has invested in and advised startups and scale-ups through VenturaXVentures, with a focus on consumer tech, sustainability, blockchain, and education.

Eddie Lee is a General Partner at White Star Capital. He began his career at JPMorgan in the Private Equity Group and later took on an internal strategy role for its Big Data & Business Intelligence Group, and previously served in the Republic of Korea Army. He double majored in Information Systems and Advertising at Syracuse University and earned an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Eric Martineau-Fortin founded White Star Capital in 2007. Before that, he co-founded a transatlantic M&A advisory firm focused on media and technology in New York and Paris, which is now part of the Mediobanca Group. Earlier in his career, he worked as a TMT investment banker at BofA Merrill Lynch in New York and London and at ABN AMRO in Amsterdam, London and Paris.

Matthieu Lattes is a General Partner at White Star Capital. Before joining the firm, he worked for over ten years as an investment banker at JPMorgan, BNP Paribas and Rothschild across London, New York and Paris, co-founded a tech-focused M&A boutique advising on fundraising and exits, and co-founded Isograd.com, a French software company offering computer-skills certification. He has been an active angel investor in France and the US and holds a Master's degree in Business Strategy and Corporate Finance from HEC Paris.

Sep Alavi is a General Partner at White Star Capital, which he joined in 2017. He previously co-founded Residence Ventures, an early-stage seed fund, and Icon Partners, a blockchain consulting firm, and began his career in 2002 in capital markets, where he spent over 12 years. He holds a Bachelor's degree in finance from Concordia University in Montreal.

Tony Corbin joined White Star Capital after seventeen years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he provided audit and advisory services to alternative investment funds and helped new venture capital funds launch and set up their operations. He has a background in Computer Science along with accountancy qualifications.

Cameron Coombes is a Partner at White Star Capital. He previously worked at Clearsight Advisors, a technology-focused investment bank in Washington DC concentrating on M&A, and later joined the Corporate M&A and Venture Capital team at Consensys, a software company supporting the Ethereum ecosystem. He holds a finance degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Elisa Steccaglia is a Senior Principal at White Star Capital. She previously invested in software and technology companies from pre-seed through Series A at XAnge, and began her career at Omnes Capital investing in renewable energy and infrastructure, including work on the IPO of Neoen. She graduated with honors from Bocconi University in Milan and speaks Italian, French, English, and Spanish.

Marcus Burch is a Principal at White Star Capital. He was previously a Principal at Novator, where he worked on venture and growth-stage investments across the UK and Europe, taking part in over 20 transactions from Series A to pre-IPO. Before that, he spent four years in investment banking at J.P. Morgan in London covering European Industrials, and he holds a degree in Physics & Philosophy from the University of Oxford.

Sanjay Zimmermann is a General Partner at White Star Capital, which he joined in 2017. He previously worked in investment banking at Rothschild & Co in London on cross-border M&A with the TMT team, and earlier produced a video interview series featuring entrepreneurs. Based in Toronto, he focuses on Canadian and Southeast Asia opportunities for the fund and has worked on over 25 investments across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Alejandro Licona began his career on the fixed income desk at Fidelity before moving to the firm's quantitative strategies team. He now works on the digital asset side at White Star Capital. He also founded a hot sauce company that he later automated using an AI agent.

Arjun Mehra is an Associate at White Star Capital based in Austin, Texas. He studied Economics and Finance at The Ohio State University and previously spent over two years working in M&A and private capital raising at a boutique technology investment bank focused on digital asset companies, where he advised clients on blockchain, cryptocurrency, and emerging financial technologies.

Bérénice Moustial is a Vice President at White Star Capital. She previously worked in private equity at Tikehau Capital, focusing on climate tech and energy transition, and held roles in strategic M&A at Natixis and as a sovereign advisory analyst at Global Sovereign Advisory. She holds a dual master's degree from Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University, and a BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Warwick University.

Blanche Ajarrista is a Partner at White Star Capital based in London. She previously worked at Eight Roads, a global venture capital fund and asset manager, where she focused on early-stage fintech investments and portfolio support, and before that at Ardian's Fund of Funds team in London. She holds a Masters in Finance from IE Business School in Madrid and a bachelor's in Economics from McGill University in Montreal.

Friederike Keitlinghaus is a Vice President at White Star Capital. Before joining the firm, she was a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Berlin, where she worked on sustainability, tech-related projects, and private equity clients. She holds a master's degree in Finance & Accounting from the London School of Economics and a BSc in Business Administration and a BA in Philosophy from Erasmus University Rotterdam, and focuses on supporting entrepreneurs in Germany and across Europe.

Katrina Rowe is the Legal & Fund Administration Manager at White Star Capital. She has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry across jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands and the BVI. Originally from the North-East of England, she is now based in Guernsey.

Manon Saldmann is an Analyst at White Star Capital. She previously worked in private equity at Novacap within its Industries division, and earlier interned at an AI-for-fashion startup in Paris (part of the LVMH program at Station F) and participated in a student-run VC in France. She holds a Master's in Finance and a Bachelor's in Management and Finance, both from Paris Dauphine PSL University.

Matthew He is an Associate at White Star Capital. He previously spent four years at Brightspark Ventures covering early-stage investments across Canada, and before that led the inaugural pre-seed fund at Front Row Ventures in Montreal, backing 11 founders as their first-cheque investor. He holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and Microbiology & Immunology from McGill University.

Mohamed el Kalash is a Vice President at White Star Capital. He previously worked as a director at Julius Baer, a Swiss private banking group, and before that in the investment team at Stanhope Capital London, where he was part of the private equity funds department. Earlier in his career he was an analyst in Oracle's budget and finance department, and he holds a bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in finance from the American University in Cairo.

Nicki Mughal is Chief of Staff & People Operations Officer at White Star Capital, with more than 15 years of experience supporting C-suite executives. She previously co-founded a creative business and worked as an anxiety recovery coach/counsellor, and has lived in Vancouver and Sydney.

Before joining White Star Capital, Panagiota Drepaniotis was Vice President of Corporate Operations at Freshly, a meal delivery company acquired by Nestlé, where she was a founding team member who built and scaled corporate operations to over 2,000 employees. Earlier, she led brand strategy and international production at Jordan Taylor, handled operations and reporting at Gourmet Boutique, and started her career in retail roles at Macy's and Brooks Brothers. She also runs her own clothing brand.

Scott Sebire is Finance Director at White Star Capital, with over 10 years of experience in the fund industry across both open and closed-ended funds spanning real estate, debt, equities, venture capital, and private equity. In his role he oversees the financial reporting process and coordinates with service providers. He is a member of the ACCA and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments, and holds a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science.

Tom Solleveld is Director of Communications and Marketing at White Star Capital. Before joining the firm, he worked as a communications consultant for venture capital firms, startups, and public technology companies in Europe and North America, and previously worked in communications and marketing at the London-based fintech WorldRemit. He holds a History BA from the University of Nottingham and an MSc in Science and Technology Studies from the University of Edinburgh.

Usamah Khan is Vice President and Head of Data & Technology at White Star Capital, based in Toronto. He trained as an engineer at McGill University and holds an MBA and a Masters in Analytics. Before joining White Star, he worked in data-centric, product-focused roles, starting as a Data Analyst at early-stage startups and later as a Data Scientist at a tech and design firm.

Yannick Folla studied Entrepreneurship at HEC Montréal and began his career at White Star Capital as an analyst. He has since led product and technology initiatives as CEO of Oamo, was an early team member at Figment where he ran its API and Developer Tools business, and co-founded 0x Society, an NFT gallery focused on digital art. He currently serves as Head of AI and Automation at White Star Capital, building AI-enabled tools and automations for portfolio companies and fund operations.