Hg strengthens executive team

4 minute read

Partner promotions and appointments across Hg support the continued growth and evolution of the firm, reinforcing Hg as one of the most active software investors globally

London, United Kingdom; Munich, Germany and New York, USA. 12 April 2022 Hg, the leading software and services investor, today announces the recent appointment of four new Partners, a CFO and Head of Talent to the firm.

Hg is promoting three colleagues to Partner: Chris Fielding (London), Hector Guinness (New York) and Benedikt Joeris (Munich). Both Hector and Benedikt joined the firm a decade ago as Associates and their promotions to Partner follows years of sustained contribution to Hg funds. Chris joined the firm in the last year as a Director and is to focus on Mercury fund investment opportunities in the coming years. In addition, Alexandre Flavier recently joined as a Partner, with a primary focus on software and tech-enabled services investments in France.

These appointments continue to strengthen Hg’s executive team and support the future ambitions of the firm. Today Hg has nearly 300 employees comprising 160 investment and portfolio management professionals, further reinforcing Hg as the largest technology investment team in Europe and one of the most active technology investors globally1.

Philip Marshall has also recently joined Hg as Group CFO. Phil will work across Hg and its holdings in more than 40 software and services businesses. Phil was previously CFO and Board member at Avast plc with prior financial and operational experience at Exova, WoodMac and GE.

Additionally, Kerry Heaton has joined Hg as Head of Talent from HSBC, where she was formerly their Global Head of Executive Talent, after spending 15 years at the company. Kerry will focus on deepening Hg’s approach to the recruitment and development of world class investing talent.

Hg has also made several additional promotions within the firm, representing a further evolution of some of Hg’s rising, diverse talent within the broader organisation.

Matthew Brockman, Managing Partner at Hg: “Hg has scaled significantly over the past five years, growing from $15bn funds under management to over $40 billion today. We have continually invested in our business through this period; strengthening several functions and significantly growing our teams to reinforce our position as one of the most active technology investors in the world. Our plans for the next five years are similarly ambitious and we’re delighted to recognise those individuals whose commitment and performance has stood out over recent years, whilst also bringing in the very best talent to support future growth.”

Chris Fielding first joined Hg as a Director, with more than 15 years’ private equity experience. Christopher focuses on Governance, Risk & Compliance software businesses, particularly the EHS space, and has already taken a leading role on key Hg investments in a short period of time at the firm.

Alexandre Flavier joins Hg as a Partner, focusing on software and tech-enabled services investments, with a primary focus on France. Alex previously spent the last 12 years investing in tech and financial services at Goldman Sachs.

Hector Guinness is based in Hg’s New York office and focuses on software investments within the legal, compliance and healthcare sectors. Hector first joined Hg as an Associate in 2012 – a founding member of Hg’s Mercury team – and quickly became instrumental to some of Hg’s most successful investments across legal and healthcare tech.

Benedikt Joeris joined as an Associate and has been with Hg for over 10 years. He is based in Hg’s Munich office and is responsible for the Mercury fund in the DACH region. Over his time at Hg he has been involved in 15 platform investments as well as numerous add-on acquisitions. He currently serves on the board of six portfolio companies.

Phil Marshall joins Hg as Group CFO. Phil brings significant operational finance expertise having worked for nearly twenty years in CEO and CFO roles at GE, in Europe and US, followed by a decade of private equity and software experience; most recently as CFO of Avast Group plc and previous CFO roles at Wood Mackenzie and Exova.

Kerry Heaton has joined Hg in a newly created role – Head of Talent, and will lead on the recruitment and development of world class talent. She will also lead on D&I, building on the approach that secured Hg’s win as ‘Diversity and Inclusion Leader of the Year – GP Upper Mid-Market’ in Real Deals 2021 D&I awards.  

Hg media contact

Tom Eckersley

Tom.Eckersley@hgcapital.com

+44 208 148 5401

Azadeh Varzi and Samantha Chiene (Brunswick)

hg@brunswickgroup.com

+44 207 404 5959

About Hg

Hg is a platform for software and services champions, focused on backing businesses that change how we all do business. Deep technology expertise, complemented by vertical application specialisation and dedicated operational support, provides a compelling proposition to management teams looking to scale their businesses.

Hg has funds under management of over $40 billion, with an investment team of over 160 professionals, including a portfolio team of almost 50 operators, providing practical support to help our businesses to realise their growth ambitions. Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg has a portfolio of over 40 software and technology businesses, worth over $100 billion aggregate enterprise value, with over 55,000 employees globally, growing at over 20% per year.

Visit www.hgcapital.com for more information and sign up to the Hg Newsletter to stay up to date with Hg and portfolio news.

1 Pitchbook 2021 Annual Interactive Global League Tables

Photo by Shahadat Rahman on Unsplash

Share this article