BRIDGES FUND MANAGEMENT - Key Persons

Aaron Vagarwal

Job Titles:

Corporate Accountant
Corporate Accountant Read

Aaron supports the finance team by working alongside the corporate and fund accountants. Aaron graduated from the University of Plymouth where he achieved a 1st class (Hons) in BA Accounting and Finance and is ACCA qualified.

Abigail Williams

Job Titles:

Financial Controller
Partner
Partner & Financial Controller Read

Abigail is a Partner, acting as Financial Controller for the business. Abigail is ACCA qualified. Prior to Bridges she worked at Tullett Prebon as a Management Accountant.

Adam Amijee

Job Titles:

Investment Manager, Property Funds
Investment Manager, Property Funds Read

Adam joined the Bridges property team in 2023 and works on the underwriting and execution of new investment opportunities and analysis of the existing portfolio. Prior to joining Bridges, Adam worked at Welltower Inc. (US Healthcare REIT) between 2018 and 2023 where he was a leading member of the UK investments team responsible for the growth and asset management of their £4bn UK senior housing portfolio. Between 2013 and 2018 he worked in the acquisitions team at Clearbell Capital (real estate private equity fund) and was focused on value-add/opportunistic real estate investments across a range of commercial sectors. Adam holds a BA in Industrial Economics from Nottingham University and an MSc in Real Estate from Bayes Business School.

Andrew Levitt

Job Titles:

Partner, Outcomes Funds
Partner, Outcomes Funds Read

Andrew works in the Social Outcomes Contracts team. He is a Director of Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership, GM Homes Partnership, Homelessness Support, the Single Homeless Prevention Service, and is a Trustee of West London Zone. Prior to Bridges, Andrew was Managing Director of a social enterprise "Baobab" in Madagascar, and a non-exec board member of two other financial inclusion social enterprises, in Senegal and China.

Antony Ross

Job Titles:

Senior Advisor
Senior Advisor Read

Antony Ross is a Senior Advisor at Bridges, having founded Bridges' activities in Social Outcomes Contracts as well as establishing Bridges Evergreen Holdings. He chairs the Investment Committee for these strategies and is also a Trustee for the Bridges Impact Foundation. Antony has over 20 years of private equity and venture capital investment experience in a wide range of businesses, from early-stage development opportunities to later-stage management buy-outs. He joined 3i in 1988 and led a number of successful MBO investments before managing 3i's Newcastle office in 1995. He then managed 3i's Cambridge office before leading 3i's healthcare team, which invested in medical technology and biotechnology businesses across Europe. Antony lectures on social enterprise and financing entrepreneurial business at London Business School. He was a founder Director of the North East-based seed fund NorthStar Ventures, and is now a Trustee of the NorthStar Foundation; he was previously a director of two other early stage technology spin-out funds. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Bristol University and has an MBA from London Business School. Antony was awarded an OBE for services to social enterprise and social investment in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Asa David

Job Titles:

Fund Controller
Fund Controller Read

Asa joined Bridges in 2021 and works on our Private Equity and Outcomes funds. Asa is ACA qualified, having previously worked for Deloitte London in the Investment Management and Private Equity audit department. He holds a BSc in Physics from the University of Bath.

Barbara Storch

Job Titles:

Director, Bridges Impact Foundation
Director, Bridges Impact Foundation Read
Is Director of the Bridges Impact Foundation

Barbara is Director of the Bridges Impact Foundation. She is responsible for developing and directing strategy for the deployment of the funds of the Foundation. Prior, she was Portfolio Director and then Director of Strategy and Impact for over six years at Impetus-Private Equity Foundation. She was responsible for leading the investment team and designing the organisation's impact and performance management strategy. Barbara has over 20 years of experience in strategy consulting and corporate finance. She was a partner at Monitor Group, advising international corporates on strategy and M&A, and serving as operating officer of the M&A advisory subsidiary. She worked as a consultant for the CEO and Board of CARE International UK, advising on strategic and organisational topics. Barbara holds a law degree from Freiburg University, Germany, and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School. She is a trustee of DHL Foundation and ThinkForward.

Ben Webb

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant Read
Executive Assistant to Michele Giddens

Ben is executive assistant to Michele Giddens, co-CEO, and Maggie Loo. Before joining Bridges, he worked for Anthony Nolan, Chugai and the Nuffield Foundation. He has a BA from Bristol University and an MA from Goldsmiths.

Brian Trelstad

Job Titles:

Partner
Partner Read

Brian is a Partner at Bridges in the U.S. Sustainable Growth Fund, a director of the Bridges Impact Foundation in the U.S., and a leader of our impact advisory activities. Brian has nearly 20 years of impact investing experience, having written the business plan for Acumen in 2000 and served until 2012 as the Chief Investment Officer, where he oversaw $55m of investments into companies that were delivering health, water, energy, and agriculture services to economic base of the pyramid in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. As CIO, he was a member of Acumen's management team and helped build out the network of country operations that worked closely with the entrepreneurs. Brian was also a co-founding board member of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and was one of the principal architects of impact management software tool, Pulse, and the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS). Prior to Acumen Fund, Brian worked as a health care consultant at McKinsey & Company, was a lead environmental staff person at the Corporation for National Service, and has been involved in starting and advising a range of non-profit and for-profit start-ups. Brian has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business, and an MA in City & Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley. He also teaches social entrepreneurship to at Harvard Business School. Brian was the first impact investor to go through the Kauffman Fellows Program of the Center for Venture Education, and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

Celia Harrison

Job Titles:

Director, Property Funds
Director, Property Funds Read
Investment Director for Bridges' Property Funds

Celia is an Investment Director for Bridges' Property Funds, where she leads on investment opportunities and analysis of the existing portfolio, with a particular focus on the living and healthcare sectors. Through her role within our proprietary real estate businesses Birchgrove and Renaiss Health, she has a strong understanding of operational real estate. Prior to joining Bridges, Celia was the sole analyst working for a London-based family office whose portfolio focused on development and investment opportunities in London and across the South East. She has also had exposure to variety of deals across Europe, and gained experience working for a number of private equity and pension fund clients during her time at Duff & Phelps. Celia holds a BA in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge.

Chris Gibson

Job Titles:

Portfolio Director
Portfolio Director, Private Equity
Portfolio Director, Private Equity Read

Chris is a Portfolio Director in the Private Equity team and focuses on partnering with purpose driven management teams to grow businesses through the early growth stage. He enjoys the challenge of scaling early-stage businesses and is highly motivated by the Bridges investment approach to deliver positive impact without compromising on investment returns. Prior to joining Bridges, Chris spent 9 years as a Director at the Flowerdale Group overseeing the private equity portfolio, initially based in Hong Kong and then in London. He was also CFO of their largest portfolio business, a US based paper crafting brand, which he helped relaunch, scale globally and then successfully exit. Chris has worked with management teams in the US and across APAC, and he has diverse experience including consumer goods, ecommerce, manufacturing, global supply chains and scaling consumer communities. Chris qualified as a Charted Accountant with KPMG in South Africa after studying Finance & Accounting at the University of Cape Town.

Edouard Pessans

Job Titles:

Associate, Private Equity
Investment Associate

Edouard is an Investment Associate in our Sustainable Growth Funds team, where he works on assessing new investment opportunities, alongside developing companies in our existing portfolio.

Elizabeth Burgess

Job Titles:

Head of the Growth Business
Partner, U.S. Sustainable Growth Fund
Partner, U.S. Sustainable Growth Fund Read

Elizabeth Burgess is a Partner and Head of the Growth Business investment strategy, where she leads on fund strategy, origination, investment and portfolio management. Elizabeth has approximately 30 years of experience in private equity and leveraged transactions across a wide range of industries and markets. Previous to Bridges, she was a Founding Senior Partner at Altus Capital Partners, a lower middle market buyout firm focused on investing in North American industrial companies poised for growth. Elizabeth led and supported a myriad of successful investments across two dedicated funds and directed the completion of strategic initiatives identified for these companies while serving as Chairman or Director on their Boards. Prior to Altus (and its predecessor fund Max Capital), Elizabeth sourced and structured leveraged loans in a wide array of industries within Bank of America, GE Capital and The Chase Manhattan Bank, where she began her career. Most of these transactions focused on growing and expanding lower middle market companies in the U.S. Elizabeth earned a BA from S.U.N.Y. Plattsburgh with a concentration in international business and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Elpida Florou

Job Titles:

Sustainability Associate
Sustainability Associate Read

Elpida is a Sustainability Associate in Bridges' Property Team, where she manages, measures and works to improve social and environmental impact across all our property investments' lifecycles. Among other responsibilities, she ensures data and progress transparency, works closely with relevant stakeholders on achieving ESG targets, and manages climate and transition risks. Elpida's primary focus is on ensuring that buildings provide healthy environments for both occupants and the surrounding nature. Prior to joining Bridges, Elpida worked in abrdn's Real Estate ESG team, where she worked on implementing energy efficiency measures, setting carbon reduction pathways, assessing assets' physical climate risks, and reporting to investor and industry standards. Elpida studied Economics at the University of Edinburgh, where she concentrated on game theory and the economics of the environment.

Emma Moberly

Job Titles:

Manager, Private Equity

Emma joined Bridges in 2022 and is a Manager in our Private Equity team, where she works on due diligence of new investment opportunities and value creation within the portfolio. Previously, Emma worked in the strategy team at the Wellcome Trust and at L.E.K., where she supported clients on commercial due diligence and strategy projects. Emma has a 1 st class degree in History from Oxford University and an MBA with distinction from London Business School.

Emma Thorne

Job Titles:

Partner, Private Equity
Partner, Private Equity Read

Emma is a Partner in the Private Equity team and leads Bridges' Inclusive Growth strategy, which focuses exclusively on social impact-driven, UK-based businesses. Emma is passionate about partnering with high-growth, purpose-led companies to help them scale up their operations and impact. Since joining Bridges in 2015, Emma has led five investments for Bridges, two of which have now been successfully exited: Impact Food Group and Vegetarian Express. Prior to joining Bridges in 2015 Emma spent ten years working with entrepreneurial growth businesses: as a member of the investment team at Phoenix Equity Partners, with a start-up in Hong Kong, and at Deloitte as a strategy consultant. She joined Bridges due to its differentiated outcomes-led investment strategy, and is passionate about the opportunity to deliver sustainable growth and investment returns aligned with measurable and positive impact. Emma studied Modern History at Oxford University.

Fabienne Olivier

Job Titles:

Analyst
Associate, Property Funds
Associate, Property Funds Read

Fabienne is an Analyst in our Property team, where she works on new real estate investment opportunities and analysis of the existing portfolio. Prior to joining Bridges, Fabienne worked at CBRE in the Hotels Team, focusing on the acquisition and disposal of hotels across the UK. Fabienne started her career working in an advisory firm, specialising in capital markets and valuation across multiple real estate sectors. Fabienne holds a BA (Hons) in Business and Geography from the University of Exeter and an MSc in Real Estate from the University of Reading.

Fenglin Zhao

Job Titles:

Director
Director in Bridges' Client & Strategy Development
Director, Client & Strategy Development Read

Fenglin Zhao is a Director in Bridges' Client & Strategy Development team. She is responsible for developing and overseeing Bridges' relationships with its institutional investor clients, alongside the development of existing and new strategies.

Francisco Gallardo

Job Titles:

Analyst in Bridges' Property
Analyst, Property Funds
Analyst, Property Funds Read

Francisco is an Analyst in Bridges' Property team, where he is involved in the underwriting, execution and investment life cycle of new opportunities, as well as the asset management of the existing portfolio. Prior to joining Bridges, Francisco worked as an Investment Analyst at Zenzic Capital, structuring private debt solutions for real assets in the UK and across Europe. He also served as an Analyst at Atrato Partners, an alternative asset management firm, where he worked across both the renewables and real estate teams. Francisco holds a BSc in Business Management from the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya and a BSc in Financial Economics from Birkbeck, University of London.

Freddie Sexton

Job Titles:

Associate, Property Funds
Associate, Property Funds Read
Member of Our Property Team

Freddie is a member of our Property team. He works across the underwriting and execution of new investments opportunities as well as the asset management of the existing portfolio. Prior to Bridges, Freddie spent two years working as an Analyst within the asset management team at Henderson Park where he gained multisector and pan-European real estate experience. Freddie also spent 2.5 years as a Senior Analyst at Quadrant REA where he was involved in the asset management of a portfolio of CRE loans deployed throughout the UK and Ireland. Freddie graduated with academic honours from Colgate University in New York, USA.

Gus Dodson

Job Titles:

Manager, Client & Strategy Development
Manager, Client & Strategy Development Read
Member of the Client & Strategy Development

Gus is a member of the Client & Strategy Development team, where he works on investor relations, strategic business initiatives, and fundraising across the Bridges platform. Gus joined from Aon, where he was part of the Corporate Development team responsible for originating and executing M&A and divestitures in-house for Aon's EMEA and APAC business. Before this, he started his career with Aon Securities, where he worked on M&A advisory and capital raising projects for corporate and private equity clients in the insurance sector. Gus holds a MA (Hons) in History from Edinburgh University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Henry Elborne

Job Titles:

Associate, Client & Strategy Development
Associate, Client & Strategy Development Read

Henry is a member of the Client & Strategy Development team, where he works on investor relations, strategic business initiatives, and fundraising across the Bridges platform. Henry joined from Pantheon, where he was part of the Investor Relations team responsible for supporting existing client relationships and business development activities across a number of private markets strategies with predominant focus on DACH. Before this, he started his career with IG Group, where he worked as a derivatives trader across both retail & institutional investors in Germany, Austria & Switzerland. Henry holds a BA in German and Italian from the University of Bristol.

Henry Jones

Job Titles:

Partner & Head of Value Creation
Partner & Head of Value Creation Read

Henry is Partner and Head of Value Creation at Bridges, where he works closely with our investment professionals, impact specialists and portfolio management teams to optimise the commercial and impact performance of our portfolio companies. An experienced business leader and operator, Henry has over 25 years of experience in disruptive services and technology companies. His previous roles include leading the US West Coast operation and global tech practice at Axiom, a tech-enabled legal services company, during a three-year period when the business tripled in size. He also headed up EMEA and International Growth at Aconex, an Australian construction tech business, where he led the acquisition and integration of its biggest European competitor, ahead of Aconex's $1.1bn sale to Oracle. Henry was most recently the CEO of Togetherall, an online mental health support community, where he led a rebuild of the leadership team and technology platform, and a full rebrand, before overseeing a launch in the US and a successful growth capital raise. He is also a Non Executive Director at Sensat, an infrastructure data visualisation platform.

Henry Pepper

Job Titles:

Partner, Property Funds
Partner, Property Funds Read

Henry joined the Bridges property team in 2019, bringing with him 17 years' experience in the industry. Prior to Bridges, Henry worked at LondonMetric Property plc from 2008-2019 where he worked in the investment team, where he took a lead role in transacting over 100 properties across the residential, retail, office and industrial/logistics sectors with an aggregate value in excess of £3bn. Between 2003-2008, he was Associate Partner in the London investment team of Drivers Jonas. He is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and has a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Northumbria University and an MA in Property Valuation and Law from City University.

Hina Khan

Job Titles:

Corporate Controller
Corporate Controller Read

Hina joined Bridges' finance team in 2023. As Corporate Controller, she is responsible for preparing our reporting pack and consolidated accounts. Prior to Bridges, she worked as Head of Finance in private equity Real Estate company, Round Hill Capital. Hina is ACCA-qualified and holds a MSc in Finance from Bayes Business School.

Ivan Rodriguez

Job Titles:

Sustainability Director for Our Property
Sustainability Director, Property Funds
Sustainability Director, Property Funds Read

Ivan is the Sustainability Director for our Property portfolio. In this role he works to maximise the sustainability and impact of our property portfolio investments. He also supports asset management activities throughout the whole property cycle, from acquisition, to asset improvement and exit. Ivan has over 20 years' experience in the property industry with a proven track record of developing sustainability strategies and adding value to a wide range of properties and assets. He previously worked as Head of Sustainability and Technical Director at AECOM (formerly URS), were he was instrumental in the delivery of highly sustainable properties in the UK and overseas. Ivan has a MEng in Industrial Engineering from the University of Valladolid and an MBA from Imperial College London.

Iveta Grazule

Job Titles:

Manager
Solicitor
Manager, Solicitor Read

Iveta joined Bridges in January 2020 and works in the in-house legal team. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Law in London, and qualified as a solicitor in 2018. Iveta works closely with internal teams providing support on fundraising, legal regulatory and compliance, and assists with a variety of commercial and corporate matters.

Jake Shilston

Job Titles:

Investment Manager for Bridges' Property Funds
Investment Manager, Property Funds
Investment Manager, Property Funds Read

Jake is an Investment Manager for Bridges' Property Funds and works on investment opportunities and analysis of the existing portfolio, with a particular focus on the Industrial and Logistics sector. Prior to Bridges, Jake worked for Indurent in the Development team and has delivered over 1.4m sq. ft. of industrial and logistics development. He worked closely on Indurent's Forward Funding activity and Acquisition Pipeline for Indurent's shareholder Blackstone. He has been involved in transactions exceeding £750m of value and in aggregate delivered over £1bn of value for the business. He is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and has a BSc in Planning and Property Development from Nottingham Trent University.

James Taylor - CCO

Job Titles:

Head of Communications
Head of Communications Read

James leads on Bridges' communications strategy, including marketing and media relations. After starting his career at a high-growth start-up, he subsequently spent eight years as a financial journalist, most recently as senior editor of Private Equity International and Private Funds Management (part of the PEI Media group), where he was named Alternatives Journalist of the Year at the 2014 State Street Institutional Press Awards. Before joining PEI, he also worked at Management Today, a UK business magazine, and Financial News, now part of the Dow Jones Group. James has a MA in Classics from Oxford University.

Jerome Lee

Job Titles:

Assistant
Assistant Fund Accountant, Private Equity & Outcomes
Assistant Fund Accountant, Private Equity & Outcomes Read

Jerome is an Assistant Fund Accountant supporting the Fund Accounting team's work on Private Equity and Outcomes investments. Jerome graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with an upper second-class honours studying Finance & Economics. He is currently studying towards the ACCA qualification.

Joshua Langridge

Job Titles:

Associate, Property Funds
Associate, Property Funds Read
Member of Our Property Team
Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Joshua is a member of our Property team. He is involved in the underwriting, execution and investment life cycle of new investments, as well as the analysis of the existing portfolio. Prior to Bridges, Joshua worked at ALMCOR, focusing on opportunistic industrial and logistics investments across both the UK and Europe. He previously worked on the origination and execution of investments within the acquisitions team at Sage Housing, a for-profit provider of affordable homes owned by Blackstone. Joshua started his career working in a consultancy specialising in capital markets, valuation and asset management across multiple real estate sectors. Joshua is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature from Newcastle University and an MSc in Real Estate from Henley Business School, University of Reading.

Judit Fritz

Job Titles:

Private Equity
Team Assistant

Judit is a team assistant providing support to the Growth Business investment team. Prior to Bridges, she worked as an executive assistant, supporting the CEO and the wider team of a Hungarian company. Besides working at Bridges, Judit is also a professional basketball player, currently playing in the UK, after a few years spent playing in the USA, Italy and France. She holds a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from Cardiff Met University.