George Whitehead

Partner

2020

ACF Investors manage the Angel Cofund and the Delta Fund with £100m under management and a portfolio of over 100 companies. We work alongside syndicates of sector smart business angels backing high potential company’s across the UK.

Chairman

2011 - 2020

ACF Investors is one of the most active Venture Capital funds in the UK and makes initial equity investments of between £100K and £1M in SME's alongside syndicates of business angels. see www.ACFinvestors.com for details

Chairman and Advisory Board Member

2020

The Clean Growth Fund is a £100 million fund investing in the UKs most promising early stage, clean growth ventures. CGF invests in UK companies with commercially viable solutions and global potential that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or improve resource efficiency across power, transport, industry, buildings, waste and water. www.cleangrowthfund.com

Venture Partner Manager

2011 - 2020

At Octopus Ventures we look for unusually talented teams intent on building businesses that can scale explosively to create, transform or dominate an industry. In recent years we have been fortunate to back the founding teams of over 50 companies across Europe including Zoopla Property Group, Secret Escapes, SwiftKey and graze.com. We can invest from £250,000 to £25 million in a first round of funding and will look to follow in subsequent rounds. We are proud to be known as one of the most entrepreneur friendly investors in Europe and a significant part of our portfolio consists of referrals from existing teams we work with or serial entrepreneurs who we have previously backed. Octopus Ventures is part of the Octopus group. Octopus is a fast-growing UK fund management business with leading positions in several specialist sectors including property finance, healthcare, energy and smaller company investing. Founded in 2000, Octopus manages more than £5.5 billion of funds on behalf of 50,000 investors. My particular focus includes working with our Venture Partners to add value to our growing portfolio. The Octopus Venture Partners, now number in excess of 100 business leaders and entrepreneurs. The Venture Partners coinvest with Octopus and it is a unique and invaluable resource for our companies to draw upon.

Cofounder / Founding Chairman

2017 - 2019

The Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA) represents ten of the largest venture capital trust managers in the UK, which make up 75% of the VCT industry, equivalent to £3 billion.

Director

2006 - 2011

Business Development Director

2005 - 2011

Business Development Director for £50million fund responsible for strategic development and investor relations. I led investments and support in to Seedcamp, Springbaoard, Design London, the European Microelectronics Academy and numerous other fund / company acceleration programmes. I was also the creator of one of the largest mentor networks in the UK and was responsible for the business support and acceleration programme for a portfolio of over 40 technology companies.

Technology Transfer Manager

2003 - 2005

I help set up a biotechnology incubator and managed an ICT incubator in Canada on behalf of the University of Toronto. As a technology transfer manager within the University I led a number of high profile economic development initiatives ranging from authoring a ‘Commercialisation Handbook’ (now used by over 20 Universities across Canada) to setting up a vast pan-Northern Ontario investment network.

Investment Manager

1998 - 2003

My career began as an investment manager for Oxford Innovation where I built up what has become one of the most successful business angel networks in Europe (www.oion.co.uk and www.tvin.co.uk). As a senior consultant within Oxford Innovation I developed ‘investment readiness’ programs and was involved in numerous projects working with Government and commercial organisations to help solve the funding, management and skills issues facing companies caught in the equity gap.