EQUISTONE PARTNERS EUROPE - Key Persons

Alexander Dokters

Job Titles:

Director
Director / Zurich

Prior to joining Equistone, Alexander was a Director at IK Partners. Previously, he also worked at Gilde Buy Out Partners (now Rivean Capital) and gained further professional experience at McKinsey amongst others. Alexander holds a Masters degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Mannheim.

Andi Tomkinson

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner / / Manchester

Andi joined Equistone in 2012 from PwC, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant and subsequently worked in the Corporate Finance department for eight years. He has advised on private equity and private company transactions across a wide range of sectors. Andi has worked on Equistone's investments in AFI-Uplift, Concept Life Sciences, Easynet and PD&MS and is currently a Non-Executive Director on the boards of NES Fircroft, Nexus, Nylacast, WHP Telecoms and Willerby. Andi graduated from Leeds University with a degree in Accounting and Finance.

Andreas Hadjiyannis

Job Titles:

Finance Manager
Finance Manager / London

Andreas joined Equistone in 2018 from EY in South Africa, where he was based for three years, including a secondment in New York, while he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Andreas graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa with a degree in Finance and Accountancy.

Andrew Backen

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner / London

Andrew joined Equistone in 2009 from PwC Corporate Finance. Prior to this, he was with Lexicon Partners (now Evercore). He has a particular focus on the Financial Services and Support Services sectors. He currently sits on the board of Small World and has worked on investments including A-Plan, Apogee, NES Fircroft, FirstAssist, Cabot Financial and The Compleat Food Group. Andrew graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Chemical Engineering.

Annette Ractliffe

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant / London

Annette joined Equistone in 2012 from Iveagh Ltd, the Guinness family office. She began her career on the trading floor at Deutsche Bank and also spent seven years within the Investment Banking Division of Lehman Brothers. She holds a BA in Modern Languages and is fluent in German and Italian.

Arabella Gamble

Job Titles:

Marketing and Design Executive / London

Arabella joined Equistone in 2020 after relocating to London from Bristol, where she spent two years working in the marketing team at Rowan Dartington, a wealth management company. Arabella graduated from the University of the West of England with a degree in Interior Architecture.

Arnaud Thomas

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner / Paris

Arnaud Thomas joined Equistone in 1998 from PWC where he gained three years of experience as an auditor and then as a senior auditor in Transaction Services in banking and financial services. Arnaud has worked on a number of transactions including the spin-off from Alstom of Converteam, a leader in motors and generators that convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, the buyout of Linxis Group, a leader in specialised equipment solutions for food and health industries and the buyout of Mademoiselle Desserts a leading manufacturer of frozen industrial pastry in Europe. He is currently a member of the Supervisory Boards of Camusat, Sateco and Vertbaudet. Arnaud is a business school graduate from Emlyon with specialisation in financial control and corporate finance.

Barbara Hand - CMO

Job Titles:

Marketing Director
Marketing Director / London

Barbara joined Equistone in 2012 from Cognetas (now Motion Equity Partners) where she worked for six years as design manager. Previously she has held in-house graphic design roles at Marsh and Reuters. As well as working to develop and maintain the Equistone brand across online and offline media, Barbara supports Investor Relations and European marketing activities across the business.

Caroline Pinton - Chief Investment Officer

Job Titles:

Investment Director
Investment Director / Paris

Caroline joined Equistone in 2019. Previously, she spent four years in Messier Maris & Associés, a Paris-based M&A boutique. She has been involved in several M&A and restructuring transactions for investment funds and corporate clients in the real estate, energy, retail and telecommunications sectors. She is currently a member of the Supervisory Board of GSCM Groupe Caroline is a graduate of Emlyon Business School.

Charlie Short

Job Titles:

Fund Finance Associate / / London

Charlie joined Equistone in 2023 from InfraRed Capital Partners, where he worked as a Fund Accountant on their unlisted infrastructure funds. Previously, he was a Finance Analyst at Pine Walk Capital Limited. Charlie qualified as an Accountant during his time at InfraRed and has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Cardiff University.

Chris Candfield

Job Titles:

Director
Director / / London

Chris joined Equistone in 2012 from Rothschild, where he worked in both the Healthcare M&A and Financial Restructuring teams at Rothschild. Chris focuses on the Support Services sector and sits on the boards of adm and Ligentia. He has worked on other transactions including Gaucho and Easynet, Inspired Thinking Group, OneOcean and Talon. Chris graduated from Warwick University with a degree in German and Business.

Christiian Marriott

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner / / Head of Investor Relations / / London

Christiian joined Equistone in 2007 from MML Capital and prior to that began his private equity career with Campbell Lutyens. He is responsible for fundraising and leading the IR programme for current and potential investors. Having been involved in the closing of Equistone's third fund in 2007, he has subsequently led the fundraising for Equistone's last three vehicles: Fund IV (closed at 1.5bn in 2013), Fund V (closed at 2bn in 2015), Fund VI (closed at 2.8bn in 2018) and Equistone Reinvestment Fund (closed at 150m in 2021). He currently serves as a member of the Investor Relations Advisory Group of the BVCA.

Christine Johnstone

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant / London

Christine joined Equistone in 2015 from KKR where she worked as an executive assistant in its real estate department. Previously, Christine has worked at DTZ and F&C Reit Asset Management since relocating to London from Zimbabwe in 2006.

Christoph Wüstemeyer - Chief Investment Officer

Job Titles:

Investment Director
Investment Director / / Munich

Christoph Wuestemeyer joined Equistone in August 2020. Prior to this, he gained several years of experience in private equity at The Carlyle Group and a mid-market private equity fund focused on medical and industrial technology companies, and in consulting with Bain & Company. Christoph holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In addition, he graduated from RWTH Aachen University with Bachelor's degrees in Business Administration and Industrial Engineering.

David Zahnd

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner / / Zurich

Diane Vignalou

Job Titles:

Manager

Dominic Geer

Job Titles:

Senior Partner
Senior Partner / London

Dominic joined Equistone in 1998 from BZW Corporate Finance. He has experience of a variety of private equity transactions, including MBO's, MBI's and equity release. He is a member of Equistone's Management Board and the European Investment Committee. Dominic has worked on a number of transactions including the buyout of A-Plan, a personal lines insurance broker, the 370m buyout of Global Blue, a provider of travel-related payment services and the buyout of Cabot Financial, a leading debt purchase business. He is currently a Non-Executive Director on the boards of BFT Mastclimbing, CH&CO, Small World and WEALTH at Work. He graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Dr Marc Arens

Job Titles:

Senior Partner
Country Head of the DACH - NL
Senior Partner / / Country Head DACH / NL / / Munich

Marc Arens joined Equistone in February 2006. In June 2021, Marc became Country Head of the DACH-NL region and as such member of Equistone's Management Board and the European Investment Committee. Prior to joining Equistone he worked as a consultant with the management consultancy TCW and during this time he completed his PhD in Economics. Marc also worked as a Corporate Developer with Heyde AG, a leading German software integration company. He holds a Master's in Business Administration.

Edouard Fillon

Job Titles:

Director
Director / Paris

Edouard joined Equistone in 2017 from Roland Berger, where he spent four years as a consultant in Paris. He has worked on due diligence for private equity funds as well as post-acquisition issues and operational projects, while gaining knowledge of various sectors including retail, consumer goods, transportation, telecom and financial services. He is currently a member of the Supervisory Boards of Courir, Dugas and Vertbaudet. Edouard is a graduate of ESSEC Business School.

Edward Baker - Chief Investment Officer

Job Titles:

Investment Director
Investment Director / London

Edward joined Equistone in 2018 from MML Capital Partners where he worked on and led a number of minority and majority investments across a broad range of sectors including education, contract catering, retail, property and IT. Prior to this he spent six years at KPMG, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant whilst specialising in the financial services sector and financial due diligence. Currently, Edward is a Non-Executive Director on the boards of CH&CO and Nylacast. Edward graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in Pharmacology.

Evelyn Boatin

Job Titles:

Operations Assistant
Operations Assistant / / London

Evelyn joined Equistone in 2022 having graduated from the University of Essex with a degree in Accounting and Finance.

Finn Jankowiak

Job Titles:

Analyst
Analyst / Munich

Prior to joining, Finn completed an internship at Equistone in 2021. He gained additional experience interning at Perella Weinberg Partners, Bridgepoint, and Fremman Capital.

Florent Rostaing

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner / Paris

Florent joined Equistone in 2015 from Bain & Company, where he spent five years as a consultant in Paris and Dubai. He has worked on due diligence for private equity funds as well as post-acquisition issues, while gaining knowledge of various sectors including manufacturing, retail, telecom and financial services. Florent is a graduate of Ecole Centrale Paris and the National University of Singapore.

Grégoire Ch tillon

Job Titles:

Senior Partner
Senior Partner / Paris

Grégoire Ch tillon joined Equistone in 2004. He is a member of Equistone's Management Board and the European Investment Committee. Prior to joining Equistone, he gained experience in strategy consulting at LEK Consulting in Paris where he worked mostly for private equity funds. Grégoire has been actively involved in many successful transactions at Equistone across varied industries, including Bruneau, Charles & Alice, Converteam, Fives and Meilleurtaux. He is currently a member of the Supervisory Boards of Accès Industrie, Gardengate, Novares, Sicame and Vulcain Ingénierie. He is an engineering graduate from École Centrale Paris and has an MSc in Accounting & Finance from the London School of Economics & Political Science.

Grégoire Schlumberger

Guillaume Jacqueau

Job Titles:

Managing Partner / / Country Head

With Equistone, Guillaume has been involved on a number of transactions including Averys, Bretèche, Bruneau, Charles & Alice, Converteam, Finaxy, Fives, Mademoiselle Dessert, Meilleurtaux, Spie Batignolles, La Toulousaine, Unither and Webhelp. He is currently a member of the Supervisory Boards of Accès Industrie, Camusat, Compin, Courir, Karavel-Promovacances & Fram, Novares, Safic-Alcan and Sicame. Guillaume is an economics, business and finance graduate from ESSEC and holds a Masters in Finance from Dauphine University.

Hubert van Wolfswinkel

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner / / Amsterdam & Munich

Hubert van Wolfswinkel joined Equistone in 2019. Prior to joining Equistone he was a Director at Montagu Private Equity, based in London and Amsterdam. Previously, Hubert gained professional experience with Bain Capital Private Equity and McKinsey & Company. He holds a Master's degree in Economics.

Ilona Voigt

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant / Munich

Ina Wieland

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant / Munich

Jessica Clavette

Job Titles:

ESG Manager, UK / London

Josh Aalbers

Job Titles:

Investment Manager / Amsterdam

Julie Lorin

Job Titles:

Partner / Paris

Jérémy Mathis - Chief Investment Officer

Job Titles:

Investment Director
Investment Director / Paris

Jeremy joined Equistone in 2018. Previously, he spent five years in the Investment Banking divisions of Goldman Sachs and Rothschild. Jeremy has been involved in several M&A and financing transactions for investment funds and corporate clients in the industrial, energy, retail and healthcare sectors. He is currently a member of the Supervisory Boards of Gardengate and GSCM Groupe.