Eyal Malinger, Maria Wagner, and Vanessa Evanson-Goddard promoted to Partner
Beringea, the transatlantic venture capital firm, has announced the promotion of Eyal Malinger, Maria Wagner, and Vanessa Evanson-Goddard to Partner. These promotions build on a highly active year for the firm, which invested more than $80m in 2021 from its funds in the U.K. and the U.S.
The three newly appointed Partners will join a leadership team focused on Beringea’s continued expansion. As well as shaping investment strategy and fundraising, the Partners will support work with Beringea’s portfolio of more than 60 early-stage companies across the U.K., U.S., and Europe, and they will help to lead a growing team of investors, functional specialists, and finance and operations staff. Beringea today has a team of more than 30 across its offices in London and Detroit, with more than $750m under management.
Eyal Malinger and Maria Wagner, who have both been key members of Beringea’s investment committee for more than five years, will build on their successful track-record at Beringea of sourcing deals across the U.K., strengthening the firm’s coverage of emerging industries and technologies – including SaaS, e-commerce, marketplaces, data, and AI – as well as working with portfolio companies through to exit.
Since joining in 2015, Maria has expanded Beringea’s operational and commercial expertise. She previously worked at McKinsey and Goldman Sachs in New York, Virgin Group in London, and she was also the UK MD of Birchbox, a leading beauty subscription and e-commerce business. Maria has since led deals and sits on the boards of several e-commerce and SaaS companies, including Dealroom, Learnerbly, AccessPay, Arctic Shores and My 1st Years. Maria has also played a key role in Beringea’s leadership of ESG_VC, an initiative to drive ESG performance across the VC industry.
Eyal Malinger joined Beringea in 2016, and he has since strengthened the firm’s expertise in SaaS, artificial intelligence, and deeptech, building on his own experience as a software engineer. Eyal has previously worked at McKinsey and Oaktree Capital. Eyal today sits on the boards of portfolio companies including SaaS businesses such as Zoovu and CreativeX, retail and consumer businesses such as Papier and MPB, and deeptech companies such as ASTERRA.
Vanessa Evanson-Goddard’s role as Partner and General Counsel will include overseeing legal, compliance, finance, and operations in Beringea’s U.K. office. Vanessa joined the firm in 2019, bringing more than 15 years’ experience in both private practice and in-house roles at firms including Reed Smith LLP and Breed Reply, a specialist tech fund. As well as advising Beringea’s leadership on legal and regulatory issues, Vanessa has played a key role in Beringea’s fundraising activities in the U.K., supporting portfolio companies, and launching the ProVen Estate Planning Service.
Maria Wagner, Partner, commented: “When I first began building my career in venture capital more than a decade ago, there were relatively few female role models in the industry. It is fantastic to be joining a partnership committed to enabling greater diversity and inclusion throughout Beringea, at a time when women are playing a fundamental role in the growth of European venture capital. I hope to play my part in mentoring the next generation of female founders and investors through this role.”
Eyal Malinger, Partner, commented: “Europe’s venture industry has matured and grown dramatically since 2012, when you could count its unicorns on one (or two) hands, and they were largely clustered around London. Ten years on, start-ups are booming throughout the U.K. and Europe, creating vast opportunities for investment, job creation, and economic growth. I look forward to contributing to Beringea’s role in backing the next decade of remarkable entrepreneurs driving this change.”
Vanessa Evanson-Goddard, Partner and General Counsel, commented: “Over the past five years, Beringea has scaled substantially, increasing its funds under management, launching new products, and expanding its team. I look forward to helping to steer the business as it navigates this growth journey, and as it strengthens the operational infrastructure that will underpin its next chapter of success.”
