John spent 20 years at European Investment Fund as the Director of Investments and is recognised in Luxembourg as the “Godfather of Venture Capital”. Prior to his engagement in the world of VC, he spent 20 years at European Investment Bank.
Throughout his career he invested in over 400 GP’s and met representatives of many more looking to raise money.
John has held Board Director positions, most of them as Chair, on over a dozen legal structures involving Venture Capital or Private Equity products.
Until 2022 Ian Prideaux was Chief Investment Officer for the Family Investment Office of the Grosvenor Estate, which supports the private interests of the family of The Duke of Westminster and associated family trusts.
In this role Ian was deploying money in assets other than real estate, with a view to diversification over a long-term time horizon. The investment portfolio includes principally public equities and fixed income, private equity and venture, hedge funds, absolute return instruments and cash. All assets are run by third party managers, Ian’s job being to put forward an asset allocation plan and select the appropriate managers for the different parts of that plan.
Calista relies on experts to assist us with important support functions that include “Talent / Leadership / Human Resources”, “IT / Data / Cybersecurity" and "Tax consulting".