Meet The Team

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FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER

Oliver Thomas

Oliver is responsible for investment strategy and portfolio development. Oliver formed Expedition Growth Capital in 2020, raising a software specialist growth equity fund with the backing of some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, investors and charitable endowments. Oliver began his growth equity career as a senior investment professional at Summit Partners, where he spent 6 years in the firm’s London office. He subsequently joined HgCapital as a founding member of the Mercury Fund. He currently serves with his Expedition colleagues on the boards of Ringover, Lempire, Omilia, Batch, and Oktopost.

In 2014 Oliver co-founded Grafton Capital, where he led over €100m of investments, five of which have been realised to date- including the sale of Softomotive to Microsoft in May 2020; and the sale of BOARD International to Nordic Capital in February 2019.

Oliver is originally from Wales, and now lives with his wife and three daughters in Winchester. Given the chance, he also enjoys skiing or watching Wales play rugby. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he studied Economics & Management; and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a long standing trustee at education charity Future Frontiers.

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INVESTMENT DIRECTOR

Charles Covell

Charles is an Investment Director at Expedition Growth Capital, and was part of the founding team in 2020. Charles’ responsibilities include investment origination, execution and oversight. Charles sourced and led Expedition’s investment in Oktopost, where he serves as Expedition’s lead board director.

Prior to Expedition Charles was part of the investment team at Grafton Capital. Charles spent 3 years at Morgan Stanley, and subsequently joined KKR where he was an investment professional for 3 years prior to joining Grafton Capital.

Charles is originally from Chicago, Illinois, and now lives in London, England. He is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, where he studied Economics.

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INVESTMENT DIRECTOR

Alba Topallaj

Alba joined Expedition Growth Capital in 2022 as an Investment Director. Her responsibilities include investment origination, execution and oversight. Prior to Expedition, Alba was part of the software investment team at Accel-KKR. Previously, Alba worked for Providence Equity, Advent International and Towerbrook, focussing on software, consumer and industrials sectors in Europe and the US. Alba is originally from New York City and moved to London in 2014. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Finance and International Studies as part of the Huntsman Program.

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INVESTMENT MANAGER

David Olsson

David is an Investment Manager at Expedition Growth Capital, and was part of the founding team in 2020. David’s responsibilities include investment origination, execution and oversight. David sourced and led Expedition’s investment in Storykit, where he serves as board director. David was also instrumental in Expedition’s investments at Ringover and Lempire and serves as a board observer at both companies.

Prior to Expedition David was part of the investment team at Grafton Capital. David began his career as a business development and strategy analyst at Amazon. He subsequently spent 3 years working on strategy and commercial diligence engagements at Kaiser Associates, prior to joining Grafton Capital.

David is originally from Malmo, Sweden, and now lives in London, England. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics, where he studied Economics and Economic History.

In his spare time, David enjoys football, both playing and (frustratedly) watching Manchester United, tennis, skiing, traveling, as well as trying to push his cooking skills to a slightly less amateurish level.

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INVESTMENT ASSOCIATE

Tom Denford

Tom is an Investment Associate at Expedition Growth Capital, and was part of the founding team in 2020. Tom’s responsibilities include investment origination and thematic research. He also oversees the development and maintenance of Expedition’s proprietary sourcing platform. Tom led the origination of our investment in Ringover and Batch, where he led our investment diligence and serves as a board observer.

Prior to Expedition Tom was part of the investment team at Grafton Capital. Tom lives in London, England. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics, where he studied Economic History.

Outside of work, Tom enjoys running and practicing his (rusty) French.

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Chief Financial and Operating Officer

Shuli Levy

Shuli joined Expedition Growth Capital in 2021 and is responsible for finance and operations. Shuli leads Expedition’s engagement with portfolio company finance teams and manages investor reporting. Shuli brings more than 20 years of professional experience to her role at Expedition, and was previously Head of Operations at Electra Private Equity PLC, where she was part of a team that returned more than £2bn of capital to investors during her tenure.

Shuli began her career with 14 years at PwC, first as an auditor, then after qualifying as a chartered accountant, specialising in corporate taxes and transparency. Shuli holds a BSc in Business, Mathematics and Statistics from the London School of Economics and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants in England and Wales.

Shuli loves London’s vibrant theatre scene and getting outdoors with her family and friends.

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FINANCE MANAGER

Kgala Nazo

Kgala is the Finance Manager at Expedition Growth Capital, having joined in 2022. In addition to managing company’s finances, she works with the investment team to report on investment performance and valuation. Originally from South Africa, Kgala is a Chartered Accountant with more than 13 years of experience, with a background in external audit and development finance. She is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds an accounting degree from the University of Cape Town. She has a particular interest in and experience working with high growth companies. Kgala lives with family in London. She enjoys travelling, taking walks to discover any hidden gems travel destinations may hold, and working on her yoga practice.

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Operating Advisors

Expedition benefits from a network of experienced operating advisors who appreciate the quality and scarcity of the companies we invest in and seek to add value where they can. These advisors are a mix of US and European executives with direct experience of building some of the world’s most valuable software companies.rn

rnThese advisors, several of whom are investors in our funds, respect that we are minority investors and that each company we engage with has its own unique opportunities and challenges. Accordingly, operating advisors are engaged as part of a consultative process with founders.rn

rnWhere there is a shared sense of the opportunity for collaboration, these advisors join Expedition on the board of directors, making significant strategic contributions as non-executive directors.

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