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Rupert Ashe (ACA)

CEO, D5 Capital

Rupert Ashe is Founder and CEO of D5 Capital. A corporate financier and serial entrepreneur, Rupert has started and sold several businesses as a principal, as well as advising on over 100 transactions including company sales, acquisitions, IPOs and private placements. His areas of specialist knowledge cover ecommerce, Fintech, Healthcare, Marketing Services (including MarTech and AdTech), Media, SaaS and Sports. Rupert qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte before working in corporate finance. He entered the media industry in the 1990s with the co-founding of Focus Communications, a financial public relations and investor relations consultancy, which he subsequently sold to Grey Global Group (now part of WPP) in 1998. Since 2001 he has sold numerous private companies and has raised over £200m of capital for companies operating in the media, marketing & technology sectors in UK, Europe and Israel.

 
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David Tabizel

Co-founder, D5 Capital

David is one of the world’s leading TMT analysts and entrepreneurs. David jointly founded Durlacher plc, a technology & telecommunications investment bank that achieved a market capitalisation in excess of $3 billion. In 1995, with Mike Lynch, he co-founded and financed Autonomy Corporation. The company was eventually sold to Hewlett Packard for $11 billion. In 2000, he floated 365 Corporation plc on the LSE and it achieved a peak stock market valuation of approximately $1 billion. 365 Corporation was de-merged and 365 Media was sold to BSkyB PLC. David also developed and funded Demon Internet, the UK's first leading consumer Internet service provider, which was sold to Thus PLC (the Telecoms group) for $100 million.

 
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Marcus Watson

Senior Advisor, D5 Capital
Co-founder & CEO Adoreum Partners

Marcus, an experienced corporate adviser, entrepreneur and investor and also he is the co-founder of four recruitment companies in London, New York and Atlanta. Marcus began his career in private banking and wealth management, initially in sales and marketing and later as an investment analyst, at private merchant bank Duncan Lawrie. He moved to Sigma Technology Management where he invested in the TMT sector; became founding Director of Sales & Marketing of Home House; and then co-founded Edison Interactive Group, the owner of TV production company Done & Dusted, online broadcasting network Swtich2 and sports e-commerce site Kitbag. Marcus founded Adoreum Partners, the premier networking club with Rob Hersov in March 2009. D5 Capital and Adoreum partner on major funding assignments in Europe and USA.

 
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Phil Hodari

Strategic Advisor, D5 Capital

Born and raised in Manchester, Phil is founder and CEO of The Pilot Group which provides technologies to make businesses smarter, safer and more carbon efficient. Phil is also a driving force behind The Educate-North Awards (www.educatenorth.co.uk) which showcases and celebrates the world class achievements of the North’s university, higher and further education sectors and now has two spin-out competitions The University Entrepreneurs Grant for students with bright ideas and The University Entrepreneurs Challenge for early-stage firms. He also works with charities related to business, including the Manchester Tech Trust (www.manchestertechtrust.com).