The Apposite Capital Team
All members of Apposite’s investment team are dedicated healthcare specialists, combining complementary operational, financial and technical skills, which we believe is essential to add value to our portfolio companies.
Apposite’s team is backed by outstanding advisers from around the world, who offer many decades of valuable experience to the areas we work in.
David Porter - Managing Partner
David has over 30 years of experience in private equity and investment banking. He has in-depth experience investing in, and advising on, a wide range of companies. Prior to co-founding Apposite in 2006, David worked on a number of large LBOs with Nomura's Principal Finance Group, including Angel Train Contracts and Married Quarters Estate (now Annington Homes). He then founded and headed Nomura International's healthcare investment and corporate finance groups where he generated consistently high Life Sciences returns. He has been CEO of a number of companies, including an authorised bank. David is very involved in the UK healthcare industry, having served as a member of the UK government’s Health Reform Group looking at reforms to the provision of healthcare to NHS patients and was Chairman of the Audit Committee and Board Member of the UK BioIndustry Association for four years. David has a degree in Chemistry from Oxford University.
Steve Adkin - Partner
Steve is responsible for Apposite's Healthcare Services investments. A founding member of Apposite, Steve was previously co-head of healthcare corporate finance at Nomura International, where he led a wide range of M&A deals and financings for emerging healthcare companies between 1998 and 2005. Prior to this, he was a consultant at ZS Associates, a leading pharmaceutical consultancy firm, where he worked with most of the world's leading groups on a range of sales and marketing projects across Europe and the US. Before joining ZS Associates, he worked as an analyst in the aerospace industry. Steve has a masters degree in Engineering, Economics and Management from Oxford University.
Dr Allan Marchington - Partner
Allan is in charge of Apposite's Life Sciences investments. A founding member at Apposite, Allan is a proven entrepreneur and executive in the pharmaceuticals sector and currently sits on the Board of the UK BioIndustry Association. Previously, Allan was at Abingworth Management, where he made strategic changes to several of their portfolio companies. Allan joined Abingworth in 2003, from Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge Mass., where as a member of the senior management team, he was responsible for Millennium's European activities and all of the company's technology investments. Prior to Millennium, he was a principal founder and CEO of Cambridge Combinatorial, a combinatorial chemistry company that was acquired by Millennium for a substantial multiple of invested capital. Before setting up Cambridge Combinatorial, Allan worked for seven years in a range of therapeutic areas at Pfizer, Sandwich. He has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Liverpool.
Dr Chris Hollowood - Partner
Chris joined Apposite in 2007 and is working with the Life Sciences investments. He started his investment career as a fund manager with Neptune Management, with responsibility for Healthcare sector investments, before moving into Healthcare focused venture capital and corporate advisory at Bioscience Managers. He attained his first degree in Natural Sciences, specialising in Chemistry, and a PhD in Organic Chemistry, both from Cambridge University. Between his first and second degree, Chris worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a medicinal chemist at GlaxoWellcome (GlaxoSmithKline) and Pfizer.
Sam Gray - Partner
Sam joined in 2007 and is engaged in Apposite's Healthcare Services investments. He has been involved in deal-making in the healthcare sector since 2000 when he joined Deutsche Bank's mergers and acquisitions practice, working with a number of multinational clients on corporate divestitures and acquisitions, including public takeovers and leveraged buy-outs. Sam then joined the Business Development team at Belgian pharmaceutical company, UCB, where he worked on global product licensing and M&A, including UCB's $2.7bn acquisition of the UK public biotech company, Celltech. Sam has a first degree in Natural Sciences and a masters degree in Chemistry from Cambridge University, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Dr Eric Shiozaki - Associate Director, North America
Eric joined Apposite in 2009 and he is based in San Francisco, CA, USA. He has been involved in numerous aspects of the healthcare industry throughout his career and is based in San Francisco, CA, USA. He was most recently with Burrill & Company, a life sciences venture capital firm where he helped make and manage new investments. Prior to joining Burrill, Eric worked in technology transfer at the University of California, Los Angeles where he managed a portfolio of healthcare technologies. While at UCLA, he also conducted post-doctoral research as a Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society Fellow. Eric received a BA in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University.
Dr Nanna Lüneborg - Associate
Nanna joined Apposite in December 2008. Previously Nanna worked for Cancer Research UK, first as a research manager and subsequently in research evaluation and business intelligence. Nanna attained her first degree at Oxford University, where she read Physiology and Psychology, and has a PhD in Neuroscience from UCL. Prior to joining Apposite, she completed her MBA at Judge Business School, Cambridge University, where she focussed on healthcare and finance.
Valerie Auffray – Investor Relations Manager
Valerie is responsible for the firm's marketing, fundraising and investor relations activities. Before joining Apposite Capital in 2008, she spent over seven years providing PR and IR consultancy to biotech and healthcare companies. Valerie was most recently an Associate Director at Citigate Dewe Rogerson, a leading international communications consultancy firm where she worked with a number of biotech companies across Europe at all stages of development. In particular, she advised clients on financial transactions, including private fundraisings, IPOs and M&A, as well as crisis communications. Valerie holds a masters degree in Business and a first degree in Biology.
Julie-Anne Hughes - Business Manager
Julie-Anne is responsible for financial management, operations and administration. She previously worked in the investment and merchant banking divisions of Nomura International. During her time at Nomura, Julie-Anne was responsible for the operational support of the Nomura International corporate finance, equity capital markets and private equity groups, including the operational set up and ongoing support of the life science venture capital fund, Phase 4 Ventures. Prior to that, she worked for London law firm, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.