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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INVESTMENT ASSOCIATE

Julia Kleber

Julia has joined Expedition in 2022 as an Associate. Her responsibilities include investment origination, thematic research and the execution of investment opportunities. Julia holds a M.S in International Management from Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics and Getúlio Vargas Foundation.

Prior to Expedition Julia was part of the investment team at Five Elms Capital. As one of the first members of the European team, she helped establish the firm’s European presence. She focused on investment origination and execution in Europe and with a focus on the DACH region. Prior to Five Elms Capital she was part of the team at Capnamic Ventures, a German early-stage Venture Capital firm.

Julia is originally from Mannheim, Germany, and now lives in Lisbon, Portugal. She holds a M.S in International Management from Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics and Getúlio Vargas Foundation.

In her spare time, Julia likes traveling, cycling, yoga and enjoying the natural beauty of Portugal. Despite the cold water temperatures, she has still not given up on trying to improve her surfing skills.

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INVESTMENT ANALYST

Joshua Newman

Josh is an Investment Analyst at Expedition Growth Capital. He joined the team as an intern in June 2021 before transitioning into his current role in May 2022. His role involves sourcing, maintaining Expedition’s outreach workflows and thematic research, with a particular focus on healthcare, life sciences and biotechnology.

Prior to joining Expedition, Josh was a postdoctoral research scientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, where he conducted research into self-propagating proteins using a transparent, microscopic worm species as a model for neurodegenerative disease. Before this, he earned a PhD in molecular neurobiology from the University of Cambridge and a BA in Cells and Systems Biology from the University of Oxford, majoring in neuroscience and minoring in immunology.

Outside of work, Josh is an amateur lepidopterist, a keen creative writer and volunteers as a Special Constable with the Metropolitan Police Force.

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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. Shuli is a trustee of Allia – a charity which helps small businesses achieve their impact aims.

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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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Office Assistant

Kate Sarvina

Kate works with the Operations Team to ensure our office runs smoothly for the team and is a welcoming environment for guests. She supports Expedition on people, compliance, IT and website matters.

Previously, Kate supervised a team for a Mayfair property management company; co-ordinating office activities and training the staff to provide customer service excellence.

Originally from Estonia, Kate holds both a bachelor and masters degree in Law from the University of Portsmouth. Before this she graduated from the School of Arts in Tallinn and still enjoys watercolour painting and landscape art, as well as powerlifting!

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Portfolio Performance Director and Expedition Holdings Co-CEO

Alex Myers

Alex is the Portfolio Performance Director at Expedition Growth Capital alongside his role as a founder and Co-CEO of Expedition Holdings.

Prior to Expedition, Alex spent the last 6 years as a member of executive teams leading organic and inorganic strategy, product, and transformation at various $50m – $2bn EV European B2B software / software enabled services companies backed by HG, Apax, KKR, and EQT. Recent experience includes co-leading pre-and-post acquisition operational planning and execution for Exact Software and building out the product function at capital markets data leader, RIMES.

Before this Alex was at McKinsey and Company where he focused on working with Private Equity firms on strategy and strategy implementation projects for their portfolio companies. He studied at INSEAD MBA school and Oxford University, where he graduated with an MPhysPhil in Physics and Philosophy.

Outside of work, Alex enjoys cycling and sailing along with spending time with his wife and two young children.

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Expedition Holdings Co-CEO

Michael Hammerström

Michael is a co-founder of Expedition Holdings.

Prior to this, he spent 8 years in various roles and portfolios at Constellation Software, where he led a team of investment and business development professionals based out of Europe and oversaw all aspects of the M&A process, from deal sourcing to transaction management. He started his career in Corporate Finance & Transaction Advisory Services and is a graduate of the ISCTE Business School in Lisbon, where he studied Finance.

Outside of work, Michael mostly spends time outdoors with family & friends or enjoys the preparation for his next triathlon race.

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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.

These 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.

Where 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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