Catapult Ventures has appointed Kevin D’Silva as a Venture Partner with its GM&C Life Sciences Fund.
D’Silva, who becomes the Fund’s third Venture Partner, will assess investment opportunities and work with the Fund’s smaller investments to help companies successfully grow, with a particular focus on medical devices.
Speaking on the new appointment, Catapult CEO Nick Wright, says: “I am delighted to welcome Kevin to Catapult as a Venture Partner specialising in medical devices and related technologies. Kevin has been known to Catapult for many years and was Chairman of two of Catapult’s recent life science exits. His skills and experience add significant gravitas to our specialist life science team in Alderley Park.”
D’Silva, says: “I am delighted to be joining Catapult Ventures and the GM&C Life Sciences Fund. I’ve been very impressed by the Fund’s deal flow and am already working closely on an exciting investment opportunity. The team at Catapult are good people to work with and their recent track record is very impressive.”
Kevin has held a number of non-executive and Chairman positions, including Monica Healthcare, which generated a 3.5x cash return for Catapult, and Crystallon, which generated a 5.2x cash return. He is also a Director and former Chairman of both Surface Transforms plc (AIM listed) and Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging Ltd.
Kevin was a founding director of international diagnostic company Ferraris Group plc, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and he created Salusinvest in 2006 to invest in a number of EU and US life science businesses. Kevin is also a former Director of Acuity VCT 3 and Octopus VCT 1.
The GM&C Life Sciences Fund is a specialist seed and early stage venture capital fund targeting life sciences businesses with a presence in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire & Warrington region. The Fund was launched with a first close of around GBP31 million in October 2015 and has invested in 16 companies to date, with a number of deals in progress. It is actively seeking high-potential innovative life sciences companies in which to invest.
