Our Team

Entrepreneur and blockchain enthusiast, Philippe Rodriguez has been passionate about emerging technologies for the last 25 years. He co-founded Avolta Partners in 2013 with Patrick and Arthur.

Prior to Avolta Partners, Philippe created Mixcommerce, a leader in e-commerce delegation solutions for brands, sold to LaPoste Group in 2012. He also co-founded the Electronic Business Group (EBG) in 1998.

Philippe is very active in European networks dedicated to blockchain and cryptocurrency. Since 2014, he is the president of the organization Bitcoin France. He is the author of a reference work on blockchain and crypto-money : “La Révolution Blockchain” published in 2017 by Dunod.

Philippe started his carrier as an engineer in Microsoft where he worked as Startup & VC Community Lead and then as Director of the Server & Tools Business unit. Philippe graduated from EISTI and holds an MBA from ESCP Europe.

Internet pioneer and public figure in the digital eco-system in France, Patrick has also been a serial-entrepreneur for 30 years. He has founded more than 20 startups and backed 30 others as business angel in the digital eco-system.

Prior to Avolta Partners, Patrick founded 24h00, a leading agency specialised in digital communication and social marketing, sold to Webedia in 2012. He was also Vice-President of France Digital during the last 4 years, and was one of the leaders of the “Pigeons” protest.

Self-taught man, he had many others lives as publisher of art books (Love Me Tender), press publisher (Photo-Revue, CD-Media, Internet-Reporter) and internet pioneer in France (ImagiNet, ROL Régie-On-line, Le WebMarchand).

Entrepreneur, process and data addict, Arthur co-founded Avolta Partners in 2013 with Philippe and Patrick.

Alongside to his activities in Avolta Partners, Arthur has had several entrepreneurship experiences (L’Oriento restaurants in Brussels, la Gazelle d’Or pastries in Paris and La Plantation pepper farm in Cambodia).

Prior to Avolta Partners, Arthur worked at BNPP CIB as an M&A Analyst in the SmallCap team. Arthur holds a Master in Finance from ESCP Europe.

Serial entrepreneur pioneer in the French high-tech industry, deeply involved in the Digital and growth companies Ecosystem. He joined Avolta Partners as a Senior Partner in 2016.

After a career as sound engineer in a recording studio, he wrote a dozen of books on personal computers in the 80’s, starting era for the computer industry. He co- founded Avanquest in 1984, which became under his leadership one of the leading software company in Europe.

He was also a founding member and President of the Croissance Plus association, Vice-President of the National Digital Council, President of the Software Publishers Committee and creator of the “Top 250 publishers” and “5000 Startups” initiatives at Syntec Numerique.

Investment banker, active business Angel, Blockchain and crypto-currencies specialist, Philippe joined Avolta Partners in 2017 as Senior Partner.

Born and raised in the US and Canada, Phil attended Carleton University, then the ESCP. He worked in Investment Banking for over 25 years in London, Singapore and Paris. He ran Global Equity and Derivatives Flow sales for BNP Paribas and he was Managing Director of Equity markets at Merrill Lynch.

More recently, he was CEO of Alternativa a Fintech SME Exchange (MTF) and he was a founding member of the European Crowdfunding Network. He is involved in Blockchain and more specifically crypto-currencies. He has been an active business Angel with various Tech companies such as Vistaprint (US), Attenda (UK), DigitalKeys (FR) or Pepins (SW).

IT expert and VC specialist with a great trackrecord in helping companies to scale, David joined Avolta Partners as a Senior Partner for Southern Europe in  2015 and is based in Portugal.

After a Master’s in Social and Economic Administration and a Masters in Political Science, David Laurent began his business career at a communications/incentive agency. In 1997, he entered the IT market, where he got his first experience selling IT services and projects at Sitinfo. Later in 1998, he joined the ITS Group to organise and take responsibility for the Group’s sales and marketing management.

In 2007, David Laurent joined Grant & Partners as managing director. His experience in communications and IT provided a new impetus (both operational and financial) to the fund.

Albin has a world full of experience with startups development and financing rounds, among 3 successful experiences with iBazar Group (acquired by eBay in 2003), French ISP LibertySurf (acquired by Alice and Free)  and Musiwave (acquired by Microsoft in 2008).

He settled in London in 2013 and is now President of Digital Stubborn Ltd, while working on his own entrepreneurial projects. Albin acquired the iconic French media brand TÊTU in June 2018, for which he led a first investment round with a collective of French Tech Entrepreneurs and Investors. Acting as President of TÊTU Ventures, he is currently transitioning the brand from print to a digital media platform.

Albin is also the co-founder of FrenchConnect London, a by invitation Club of London based French Tech Entrepreneur & Investors. He is the co-founder & President of the London FrenchTech Hub labeled by French government in 2016. He has been appointed as Foreign Trade Advisor by the French Prime Minister in 2017.

Engineer, interested in data mining & statistical thinking, Pascal joined Avolta Partners in 2013 at Analyst position and became Associate in 2015. He worked on more than 40 A/B Series and M&A transactions in the Tech industry.

Prior to Avolta Partners, Pascal worked at SG as a financial auditor. He also co-founded a life science startup backed in A Series by Seventure in 2015.

Pascal graduated from EISTI in Computer Sciences and GEM Business School in Corporate Finance.

Jeremy joined Avolta Partners in 2018 as Head of our Advisory practice.

Jeremy began his career in 2005 at SGCIB as an M&A analyst, then joined Barclays Capital in the Coverage team (M&A + Debt advisory). He quit the bank in 2011 to co-found a start-up specialized in geo-located coupons app. In 2014, he was appointed COO at SmartAngels, a leading European crowdequity company, supervising +60 funding rounds for start-ups and SMEs.

Jeremy graduated from a Master degree in Economics and Finance from HEC.

Entrepreneur in the fashion industry, Eve joined Avolta Partners in 2013 as Business Developer. Eve is leading start-ups sourcing in France & Europe. Since 2017, she is also in charge of all Avolta operational processes in France and abroad.

Eve started her carreer in TV and radio production. She also worked for 10 years as an entrepreneur in the fashion industry as head of collection.

Eve graduated from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Art.

Legal expert, passionate about start-ups and finance, Baptiste joined in September 2015 as an Analyst. Baptiste has worked on more than 20 Series A/B and M&A transactions including Cityscoot, JulieDesk, MinuitUne and Crédit.fr.

Baptiste was previously M&A Analyst at ARFILIA holding and Junior Digital Consultant at E-Bridges in Shanghai.

Baptiste holds a Law degree from the University of Assas and graduated from the EM Lyon Business School in Corporate Finance.

Engineer and deep-tech enthuthiast, Claire joined Avolta Partners as Analyst in January 2016. Claire has worked on more than 10 Series A/B and M&A transactions including Cityscoot, MinuitUne, C-Radar and Patatam.

Claire was previously researcher at the fluid dynamics lab of UCSB, IT consultant at Areva and aerospatial R&D engineer at Airbus Group.

Claire graduated from ENSEIRB in both Engineering and Mathematics, and also from the EM Lyon Business School in Corporate Finance.

Engineer and crypto enthusiast, Jean joined Avolta Partners in January 2018 as an Analyst, working on both fundraising and M&A transactions.

Jean was previously Operations Manager at FinChatBot, a South-African fintech start-up devloping AI-powered chatbots for the financial industry. Prior to that, Jean was a Ventures Analyst in a tech incubator and accelerator based in Cape Town.

Jean graduated from CentraleSupélec and holds a Master Degree from the Imperial College London in energy and finance.

Tech-savvy and passionate about innovative and disruptive models, Augustin joined Avolta Partners in April 2018 as Financial Analyst to work on both fundraisings and M&A transactions.

Augustin previously contributed to the launch of two foodtech startups in Australia with a strong focus on business development and operational efficiency: Foodora (Rocket Internet) and Quandoo (Recruit Japan).

Augustin graduated from EM Lyon Business School and holds a Degree in Business Auditing and Finance from the University of Oslo.

Entrepreneur & data-driven, Alexis cofounded a mobile gaming development studio in Paris prior to joining Avolta. The studio specialized in real-time games and  he managed to raise €300k to develop complex mid-core games.

Alexis graduated from GEM Busines Shool in Management and also holds an Msc in Finance with a major in Corporate Finance.

Start-up & Tech enthusiast.

Prior to joining Avolta Partners, Thomas had several operational experiences in start-ups and worked hand-in-hand with CEOs on development strategies and fund raisings.

Thomas graduated from ESSCA in entrepreneurship and holds a Master Degree from ESSEC Business School in Strategy and Finance.

Engineer & Innovation seeker.

Prior to joining Avolta Partners, Thomas had several experiences in corporate finance as an ECM analyst at BNP Paribas and an M&A analyst at DSA Corporate Finance. Previously, Thomas worked closely with entrepreneurs at Viva Technology and a Junior-Entrepreneur in Centrale Lille.

Thomas holds a double degree in both engineering from Centrale Lille  and Risk & Finance from EDHEC Business School.

Ed-tech passionate & data-cruncher.

Sofyan was previously a Credit Analyst at Bpifrance, where he deepened his knowledge of the start-up environment and developed his skills in Corporate Finance. Prior to that, Sofyan was treasurer and project manager of his Junior Enterprise, Skema Conseil, in which he helped young entrepreneurs start their own businesses. Sofyan is currently a student at Skema Business School and will study in China in 2019.

Passionate about deep-tech, Hugo joined Avolta Partners in september 2018 to strengthen the data team of Avolta.io.

Hugo was previously assistant fund manager at Amundi, Europe’s leading asset management company where he sharpened his financial skills. Hugo holds a master degree in Corporate Financial Management from ESSCA School of Management.

Fascinated by entrepreneurs seeking to capture value by delivering disruption that cuts across industries.

Axel joined Avolta Partners in 2018 from Tandem Capital Advisors, a top-tier Belgian boutique investment bank, where he has been involved in M&A transactions and other strategic and financial advisory assignments, mainly in the energy, infrastructure, and food & beverage sectors. He has also worked at PwC in the International Tax & Transfer Pricing team, and at Innovity, a Belgian management consulting firm, where he advised clients on internationalization strategy and innovation financing topics.

Passionate about technology, Axel contributed to the expansion of Uber in the Benelux as an Operations & Logistics Coordinator where he focused on Driver growth, experience, and analytics. A Belgian national, Axel holds a BSc in Economics & Management from the UCLouvain, as well as a joint MSc in Corporate Finance from both the UCLouvain (Louvain School of Management) and KU Leuven.