Team
The Vitruvian Partners team is comprised of seasoned professionals with diverse private equity experience. With an investment track record dating back to the early 1990’s, we have successfully invested throughout multiple market cycles and in a variety of industries. We have served on the boards of over 30 public and private companies.
Ian Riley
Ian is a Managing Partner and Founder of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to founding Vitruvian, Ian spent 8 years at BC Partners where he was a Senior Partner.
Ian has 16 years experience in private equity during which time he led successful investments in companies operating in Europe and the US. He has expertise in a number of industries including leisure, media, consumer products and business services.
Ian began his private equity career with Schroder Ventures (now Permira). Prior to this he worked in corporate finance at J Henry Schroder Wagg. He has an MEng from Cambridge University and an MBA (with distinction) from INSEAD.
Michael Risman
Mike is a Managing Partner and Founder of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to founding Vitruvian, Mike spent 10 years at Apax Partners where he was a Global Equity Partner and head of Apax’s Information Technology Investment Team in Europe.
Mike’s 14 year track record includes both leveraged transactions and growth investments in a variety of industries throughout Europe including technology, business services, financial services and telecoms.
Prior to joining Apax, Mike worked for Cap Gemini as a strategy consultant and Jaguar Cars as an engineer. He has an MA from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Toby Wyles
Toby is a Managing Partner and Founder of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to founding Vitruvian, Toby spent 13 years at Apax Partners where he was a Global Equity Partner and Co-Head of Apax’s European Leveraged Transactions Group.
Toby’s 18 year track record in private equity includes numerous successful transactions throughout Europe and the US. These investments have been in a variety of industries including media, business services, financial services, leisure and retail. He currently represents Vitruvian on the board of Tinopolis Group and Callcredit Information Group.
Prior to his career in private equity, Toby held positions with Morgan Stanley International, LEK Consulting and Hoare Govett. He has a BA from Cambridge University and an MBA (with distinction) from Harvard Business School.
Stephen Byrne
Stephen is a Partner of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to joining the founding team, he worked at General Atlantic in Europe and the US. During his 4 years at General Atlantic he participated in a number of transactions in the technology and financial services sectors. His track record at Vitruvian includes the fund’s investment in Callcredit Information Group.
Stephen also has 5 years investment banking experience with Goldman Sachs. He has a BA from Trinity College, Dublin.
Mark Harford
Mark is a Partner, COO and Founder of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to Vitruvian, Mark was a Partner and CFO at Bridgepoint.
In addition to his operating and financial responsibilities at Bridgepoint, Mark played a major role in business development initiatives and also served as a director on investee company boards. His responsibilites at Vitruvian span all operational aspects of the firm and the fund, and investor relations.
Prior to joining Bridgepoint, Mark held positions with Brainspark plc, Bass plc, and Cap Gemini as a strategy consultant. He has a BA from Durham University and an MBA from INSEAD.
Erik Larsson
Erik Larsson is a Partner of Vitruvian Partners having joined the firm at the start of 2009. He is responsible for the firm’s activities in the Nordic region.
Prior to Vitruvian, Erik was a Deputy Director at Industri Kapital based in Stockholm. He has 13 years of private equity experience in the Nordic countries, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. His track record includes investments in a range of sectors including Telecoms, Consumer Products and Manufacturing.
Erik has an Msc in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of Cologne and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
David Nahama
David is a Partner and Founder of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to Vitruvian, David was a Venture Partner at Apax Partners. He has 8 years experience in private equity investing with particular focus on the technology and telecoms sectors.
David also has extensive operational experience having co-founded GoIndustry plc, where he was instrumental in developing the company into a global market leader in industrial equipment auctioneering. He currently represents Vitruvian on the board of Callcredit Information Group.
David has also held positions at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Kellogg Business School.
Torsten Winkler
Torsten is a Partner of Vitruvian Partners having joined the firm in 2009. He is responsible for the firm’s activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Prior to joining Vitruvian Partners, Torsten was a Director at Providence Equity Partners, based in London. He has 10 years experience in private equity and his track record includes a number of transactions in the telecoms and media sectors in Germany, Denmark and the Benelux region. Prior to Providence, Torsten spent 2 years at Morgan Stanley in corporate finance.
Torsten has an Msc in Engineering Economic Systems and Operations Research and a dual BSc in Financial Mathematics and Industrial Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe.
Ben Johnson
Ben is a Principal of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to joining the founding team, he was with Cinven where he participated in a number of transactions in the leisure, consumer, travel technology and media sectors. He currently represents Vitruvian on the board of Tinopolis Group.
Prior to Cinven he was at Goldman Sachs where he worked in corporate finance, leveraged finance and private equity. Ben has an MA from Oxford University.
Philip Russmeyer
Philip is a Principal of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to joining the founding team, he was with Goldman Sachs Capital Partners where he focused on investment opportunities in the business services, healthcare, media, retail and industrial sectors.
Prior to Goldman Sachs, Philip was with Morgan Stanley where he worked in the Energy & Utilities, M&A and UK investment banking teams, and with Royal Dutch Shell in corporate strategy. He has an MA from Cambridge University and an MBA (with high distinction) from Harvard Business School.
Jussi Wuoristo
Jussi is a Principal of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to joining the founding team, he was with General Atlantic in London where he focused on investment opportunities in financial and business services, gaming and new media.
Prior to General Atlantic, Jussi was with Deutsche Bank in global corporate finance in London and also worked for the derivatives exchange Eurex in Frankfurt. He has a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in International Business and Finance from Helsinki School of Economics.
Leonard Clemens
Leonard is a Vice President of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to joining the founding team, he was with BC Partners’ Hamburg Office. At BC Leonard focused on German investments in a variety of industries. His track record at Vitruvian includes the acquisition of Tinopolis plc.
Prior to BC, Leonard was with Bain & Company where he worked on strategy projects based throughout Northern Europe. Leonard has a Masters degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Thomas Studd
Thomas is a Vice President of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to joining the firm in 2009, Thomas worked for NPJ Asset Management, a global equity long-short hedge fund where he was responsible for a portfolio of investments focused primarily on the UK.
Previously Thomas was with McKinsey & Co in London where he worked on a number of projects in the telecoms, retail and healthcare sectors.
Thomas has a Masters degree in Physics from Oxford University and an MBA (with Distinction) from INSEAD.
Steffen Verbist
Steffen is a Vice President of Vitruvian Partners. Prior to joining the firm in 2008, Steffen worked for McKinsey & Co. in Europe, Africa and the Middle East on a number of projects in Media, Logistics and Natural Resources. Previously he was Founder and CEO of VST Webdesign, a software development company based in Belgium. His track record at Vitruvian includes the fund's investment in Callcredit Information Group.
Steffen has a Master’s Degree in System Engineering from the Technical University of Delft; a Master’s Degree in Economic Sciences from Erasmus University of Rotterdam; and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.