WHO WE ARE
A unique blend of finance, impact and industry experience.
MEET THE TEAM
JAMES HUGHES
Founder & Managing Partner
James has over 25 years of asset management leadership experience with proven track record of developing new investment businesses on a global basis across public and private markets.
As CEO and CIO of Vedra Partners, James also acted as a Managing Partner & Chair of the Investment Committee for an energy transition fund. Previous roles include CIO, Board Director and Advisor for firms such as HSBC, Natixis, Aberdeen Standard Investments and Gottex.
IAN McDONALD
Partner & Chief Investment Officer
Ian is Chief Investment Officer of the Canopy Catalyst Fund. With over 30 years of investment experience, he has a strong track record of managing investment teams across multiple asset classes, including roles as CIO at Arden Asset Management and Head of Client Solutions at Aberdeen.
Prior to Aether, Ian built and led the Impact & ESG programme at HyCap, where he was also a member of the Investment Committee. He began his career at Cambridge Associates and also worked at Morgan Stanley.
VLADIMIR SAVIC, CFA
Senior Investment Principal
Vlad has over 20 years’ experience in private equity, growth equity and structured finance, with a strong focus on the circular economy, sustainable agriculture, food, and packaging.
Vlad was previously a senior investor at a sustainable food and agriculture fund. Prior to that he spent 10 years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where he executed over 50 equity and debt transactions totalling over €1bn. Most recently, he has gained direct entrepreneurial experience as co-founder of successful sustainable food start-up.
MARIE PEUGEOT
Senior Investment Analyst
Marie has a background in private equity and impact investing. As an Investment Analyst in the PE growth space, Marie worked on deal sourcing and due diligence, as well as helping early-stage businesses raise funding.
Her areas of focus have included industrial supply chains and advising companies on impact and sustainability.
MIKKO RUUSKA
Operating Partner • Agrifibres
Mikko is an engineer and biomaterials ecosystem expert with over 20 years of pulp and paper industry experience.
He has expertise in industrial engineering and sustainability, scaling biomaterial processing technologies, and supply chain integration. Mikko has also advised and consulted to a broad range of NGOs, investment funds and corporates in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
TIM RONIGER
CFO
Tim has +30 years global financial services experience across a variety of domains, including private equity, hedge funds and investment banking. He is the CFO of Vedra Partners and formerly CFO of Gottex Fund Management, having listed on the Zurich Stock Exchange with $16bn of AUM.
Prior to Gottex, he held roles in investment banking with Merrill Lynch in London and Zurich. Tim started his career with EY where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
CECILIA BOYD
Legal Counsel
Cecilia has two decades of legal experience and over a decade of compliance experience. She has been Head of Legal & Compliance at Vedra Partners since 2016 and before that held a similar role at Gottex Fund Management.
Cecilia began her career at Linklaters and then moved to Bingham McCutchen (now Akin Gump) in their corporate team working on M&As, as well as fund listings.
BOARD MEMBERS
ANDREW McCAFFREY
Chair Of Board Of Directors
(Non- Executive)
Andrew has +30 years experience in financial markets and investment management. Most recently he was CIO at Fidelity International. Prior to this, he spent 8 years at Aberdeen Standard Investments in a range of senior roles including Global Head of Strategic Client Investments and Global Head of Alternatives.
Andrew's previous roles include BlueCrest Capital Management, where he was one of the founders of the Alignment Investors division as well as CEO of Attica Alternative Investments and a MD at UBS.
JOACHIM GOTTSCHALK
Director
(Non-Executive)
Joachim is Chairman of Vedra Partners and Strategic Advisor to Aether Capital Partners. He has +50 years trading and investment experience and was previously the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Gottex Group.
CHRIS FORD
Director
(Non-Executive)
Chris is a seasoned business leader with over 30 years experience in the global asset management and advice industry. He was previously CEO of Willis Towers Watson’s (WTW) investment advice and asset management business including private markets. Prior to becoming CEO, Chris led the establishment and growth of WTW’s asset management business from start-up to full scale.
ADVISORS
CAMPBELL FLEMING
Advisor
Board Observer
Campbell is currently Chairman of the ethical and impact investing platform The Big Exchange and the Deputy Chair of the investment firm Ruffer LLP. He trained as a barrister in Australia before joining the investment management industry in London in 1997.
Campbell's previous roles include Global Head of Distribution at Aberdeen Standard Investments as well as CEO for EMEA at Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
HUGH YOUNG
Advisor
Board Observer
Hugh is a seasoned investment manager who established Aberdeen Asset Management in Asia in 1992. He went on to lead the business as it expanded to over 500 people across 10 offices and achieved AuM growth from $200m to $120bn.
Hugh is a leading Asian Equity specialist, and a strong builder and leader of high-performing investment teams and a pioneer of enhanced corporate governance and ESG.
HARALD WALKATE
Impact Advisor
Co-Founding Partner, Route 17
Harald is a specialist in sustainable finance and blended finance. He is a co-founder of advisory firm Route 17, Senior Advisor on Blended Finance at London School of Economics (LSE) and member of the ESG Advisory Committee at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Harald was previously Head of ESG at Natixis Investment Managers and at Aegon Asset Management.
OUR MISSION
We are here to
accelerate the transition to a more sustainable world by fusing purpose
with profit.