Our Team

Co-founded the Company in January 2003 and developed the methodology and process that is at the heart of its investment strategies. Previously served as Senior Strategy and Finance Consultant with Corporate Value Associates, the international strategy consulting firm, where he advised corporations including Cogema, Britannic Assurance, Carrefour, Pechiney (Alcan) and Lafarge. He subsequently took part as an investor in the successful turnaround of MEGA Intl., a spin-off of Capgemini based in Boston, Massachusetts, where he had the opportunity to study the investment principles of Warren E. Buffett, George Soros, James B. Rogers and the analytical framework of Professor Michael Porter (Harvard University). Giuseppe graduated with top marks from Bocconi University in Milan and HEC in Paris.

Co-founded the Company in January 2003. Prior to that, Marco served as Senior Manager with Corporate Value Associates where he developed an extensive experience in different industries and countries being based in London, Paris and Milan. With specific expertise in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, Marco advised clients including Barclays, Federal Express, Valéo, la Poste, Lafarge, Gruppo Poste Italiane and Ferrovie dello Stato in their strategic decisions. He was in charge of global transportation and logistics practice and held overall responsibility for business development in the Italian market. Previous to joining Corporate Value Associates, Marco served as an auditor for KPMG in Paris. Marco Sormani graduated, summa cum laude, from Bocconi University in Milan, HEC in Paris and is an alumnus of NYU Stern School of Business.

David has responsibility over company activities and operations. David has worked at Varenne Capital Partners since its inception and was instrumental in developing the processes, systems and procedures that implement the Varenne methodology today. More than ten years of experience within the company, firstly as Compliance Officer, then as Director of Operations, finally as Analyst and Portfolio Manager in the Merger Arbitrage team, have provided David with an in-depth knowledge of Varenne Capital Partners and all key aspects of the asset management business. David is a graduate from the Sorbonne University and holds two Master Degrees in Finance from the Paris Panthéon-Assas University.

Laurent is the Head of Trading Execution. He has more than 20 years of international experience in the Financial Markets in both London and Paris. Previous to joining Varenne Capital Partners, Laurent held similar positions at Société Générale in London, and ADI (Alternative Derivative Investments) in Paris, where he was in charge of liaising with Prime Brokers, Brokers and Administrators for long/short and multi-strategy funds with assets under management exceeding 3 billion Euros. Previous to that, he has been a trader on London’s Liffe for 10 years. Laurent holds a Degree in Economics from the Paris Panthéon-Assas University.

Aliénor Cazelles is an Execution Trader in the trading execution team after working as an analyst / fund manager with the «merger arbitrage » team for over 3 years. Before joining Varenne Capital, Aliénor started her professional career at G&G Private Finance in Monaco. Aliénor holds a master’s degree in financial engineering from the Paris Panthéon-Assas University as well as a bachelors in Market Finance from the business school EDHEC in Nice. She also studied Economics at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.

Giacomo has overall responsibility over one of the directional frameworks and is lead analyst for the Tail Risk Hedging strategy. Upon joining Varenne in 2010, he was key to the development of the Merger Arbitrage, Dealing of Insiders and directional frameworks. After completing a term at CASS Business School in London, Giacomo obtained a Master degree in Corporate Finance and Financial Markets (summa cum laude) and, before rejoining the team in 2016, a Master in International Affairs at LUISS University, Rome, where he also served as an assistant professor.

Joachim is in charge of advanced Behavior QuantamentaL (BQL) basket design and financial analysis within one of the directional teams. Prior to joining Varenne Capital Partners in Paris, Joachim served within the Goldman Sachs Oil & Gas and Capital Goods equity research teams in London. Joachim Hermann is a graduate of the prestigious ESSEC business school and is a CFA charterholder.

Mustapha is Senior Analyst in charge of the origination process. After a one-year internship, he joined Varenne Capital Partners in 2011 and has helped develop tools for screening new investment opportunities. Mustapha holds a Master  degree in Portfolio Management from the Gustave Eiffel Institute of Corporate Administration. He also studied at the Sherbrooke University in Canada.

Nicolas is Senior Analyst within one of the directional strategies. Prior to joining Varenne, Nicolas worked as a US Equity Analyst at Comgest and at Natixis in the OTC Derivatives Operations. Nicolas holds a Master Grande École in Asset Management from IÉSEG and a bachelor degree in Finance and Foreign Affairs from Universidad Externado de Colombia and is a CFA charterholder.

Bertrand has overall responsibility over the Special Situations strategy. Upon arriving in 2010, he contributed actively to rolling out the Merger Arbitrage framework while developing the company’s information system, particularly the behavioural databases, fundamental screening, scoring systems, and financial analysis tools. Bertrand holds a Master degree in Financial Engineering and in Banking & Finance from the Paris Panthéon-Assas University, from which he graduated with top marks and is a CFA charterholder.

Michael is Senior Analyst for the Merger Arbitrage strategy. Prior to joining Varenne, Michael served as a hedge fund analyst in London at Amundi, specialized in event driven and long/short equity strategies. Michael holds a Master in Financial Markets and Risk Management from the Audencia Business school, and is a CFA charterholder.

Victoria is part of the Long Equity team where she specializes in business analysis. She graduated with a Starred First from the University of Cambridge, and spent a semester at Sciences Po in Paris. Prior to joining Varenne, Victoria acquired professional experience at Linklaters LLP in London and S&P Global in Paris.

Julien Dailly began his career at Varenne Capital in its Graduate Program in 2017. He subsequently continued his career working in M&A during which he participated in operations in the Healthcare, Retail and Fintech sectors. Julien returned to Varenne in 2022, joining its Merger Arbitrage team as an Analyst. Julien holds a Master’s in Banking and Finance as well as a Master's degree in Financial and Banking Techniques from the Paris Panthéon-Assas University.

Florian is part of the Long Equity team where he performs business analysis. Prior to joining Varenne, Florian served as an Emerging Markets Equity Analyst and Portfolio Manager at LGM Investments, and previously at Alquity, both in London. Florian holds a MSc in Management from ESSEC Business School, with a major in Financial Markets.

Etienne joined Varenne as an analyst in 2022 after completing Varenne’s graduate program. Prior to joining the team, Etienne worked at Morgan Stanley in Paris and Charles River Associates in Brussels. Etienne holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a Master Grande Ecole from ESSEC.

Gianluca is based in London and is a Senior Investment Advisor with a focus on Macroeconomics and Tail Risk Hedging, bringing over 20 years of experience to Varenne Capital. For well over a decade, he reinforced his expertise while managing his own Tail Risk quantitative asset management firm, QW Capital LLP. Gianluca started his career in 1997 as an FX & Quant Analyst at JP Morgan, followed by two years as Quant Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Schroders, and eight years at Morgan Stanley as Executive Director for Fixed Income Derivatives. 

Gianluca is a regular speaker for several financial news channels, and over the years has often shared his findings and analysis on Tail Risks with Central Banks and International Monetary Institutions. Gianluca holds a MSc in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan, and a MSc in Econometrics & Economics from Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. He is a guest lecturer for many post-graduate degree courses, including Oxford Said Business School, Imperial College London, and University Federico II and IPE in Napoli.

Thierry Goudin joined Varenne Capital as Managing Director, Business Development. He brings to the company over 25 years’ experience in the asset management industry. Thierry started his career at Banque Paribas in the Management Control department before joining Société Générale Asset Management where he held various positions such as head of the performance analysis team, diversified manager, head of the diversified management team before becoming head of product marketing for the SGAM group. In 2008, he joined Groupama AM as Marketing Director and became Development Director in 2015. In this capacity, he oversees all the sales, marketing and customer service teams of the management company. Thierry holds a Masters in Finance from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion (ISG).

Franck is a Director, Business Development. Franck brings to the Company over 15 years of experience in the asset management industry. Previous to joining the Company, he held overall responsibility for defining and executing the business development strategy at Cholet Dupont Asset Management. Before that, he served as Director of Business Development for ACOFI Gestion and ECOFI Investment (Group Crédit Coopératif) where he was appointed to the Executive Board of the Bank. Mr. Hervé started his career at Mutuelles du Mans Assurances before participating in the construction of the Financial Services for Group Carrefour. Franck is a graduate from the ISCT, Group European Business School, in Paris.

François is a Director, Business Development. Formerly Deputy Head of Global Sales at Société Générale Asset Management (“SGAM”), François brings to Varenne Capital Partners a track record of success of more than 20 years and supports the business development team by focusing specifically on international markets. He is based in London where he serves as a partner at Lancea Partners.

David is a Director, Business Development in charge of the French wealth management advisors. Prior to joining Varenne Capital Partners, David gained a significant experience in the financial markets while serving as an analyst for Euroland Finance, the French brokerage firm, and Société Générale Asset Management (“SGAM”). David holds a Master degree in Finance from the ESG business school.

Quentin Richard is responsible for developing partner relationships. Prior to joining Varenne Capital, Quentin began his career as an analyst dedicated to UHNW clients at UBS Bank in France. He holds a Master's degree in Finance and a Bachelor's degree in Asset Management from EDHEC Business School in Nice. Quentin also studied at the Faculty of Economics at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Isabelle is in charge of the Operational Marketing. Prior to joining Varenne Capital Partners, Isabelle served for more than 15 years in similar positions for Richelieu Finance, CPR AM, Financière de l’Echiquier and Banque Privée 1818. Isabelle holds a Degree in Law from Nanterre University and a Master degree in "Secretery-General / Office Manager" from HEAD of Paris.

Lewis Meredith Smith joined Varenne Capital in October 2018, as Manager, Investor Relations. Before joining Varenne Capital, Lewis managed a Smart beta and a Statistical Arbitrage fund at Finaltis. Previously he worked at Calyon where he also managed arbitrage portfolios as a proprietary trader covering convertibles bonds, stocks and derivatives. Lewis started his career on the MATIF with Bank of America as a market maker. Lewis holds a Bsc in Economics with Statistics from the University of Bristol and is a CFA charterholder.

Jonathan joined the Investor Relations team in 2021. Prior to Varenne, Jon was Portfolio Manager, Public Assets for a Canadian Institutional Investor and previously worked at a Multi-Family Office where he specialized in Asset Allocation and Manager Selection, with a focus on Alternatives. Jon holds a MSc In Financial Economics from HEC Montréal and is both a CAIA and CFA charterholder. Jon also passed the Certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Institute.

Sarah is responsible for Compliance and Internal control. Sarah brings to the company over 15 years of experience in control functions in asset management. Prior to joining Varenne Capital Partners, Sarah held the same position at Ossiam, quantitative asset manager, affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers.  Previously, she was Senior Manager at Deloitte & Associés in the asset management division. Sarah is an engineer from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) and holds a Master's degree in Audit from HEC.

Laurent is Head of Risk Management. Laurent brings over 15 years of experience acquired in the derivatives industry as a quantitative risk analyst. Formerly head of the quantitative risk studies at Exane Derivatives, he also held different positions in major institutions like Barclays Capital and Citibank, both on the trading floor and in the risk department. Laurent holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Claude Bernard University in Lyon.

Dorian contributes to developing and maintaining Varenne Capital’s proprietary information systems. Prior to joining Varenne, Dorian worked for BPCE as a business intelligence analyst and Crédit Mutuel as a lead developer on the TARGET project. Dorian holds a degree in image processing and computer science from the engineering school of Télécom Saint Etienne where he graduated with the academic excellence award.

Gabrielle contributes to developing and maintaining Varenne Capital’s proprietary information systems. Prior to joining Varenne, Gabrielle worked as a Full-Stack Developer at Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). Gabrielle holds an engineering master’s degree with a specialization in Software Engineering from Institut supérieur d'électronique de Paris (ISEP) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering from Bells University in Nigeria.

Clément is Data Engineer and contributes to developing and maintaining Varenne Capital’s proprietary information systems. Prior to joining Varenne and while studying, Clément was a self-employed entrepreneur. Clément graduated as an engineer from ECE Paris with a specialization in Finance & Quantitative Engineering. Clément also holds the AMF certificate.

Morgan Le Guyader is Head of Operations and Middle Office activities at Varenne Capital Partners. Morgan brings extensive Middle Office experience on both operational and organizational levels and in project management. Prior to joining Varenne Capital, he worked at Pro Capital Belgium and then at Rothschild AM as a Middle Officer before becoming Head of Organizational Projects and IT. Morgan has a Master’s in Financial Markets from Université Lumière Lyon 2.

Gad is responsible for IT infrastructure and support. He brings over 15 years’ experience to Varenne Capital, was responsible for major accounts within IT services companies before setting up his own company. He has worked with Varenne Capital since 2016, first as an IT consultant and now as a full-time employee since 2022. Gad holds a Systems & Networks engineering degree from EPSI.

Tawfik Rida is a middle officer at Varenne Capital. Tawfiq started his career as a fund valuation officer at la Société Général Securities Services. He then pursued his career as operational support at AEP and then at Rothschild & Co Asset Management. Tawfik holds a degree in economics and management from the Paris X University Nanterre and a master’s degree in market finance, specialised in capital markets, from  the  Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers.

Anthony Pourreau is a middle officer at Varenne Capital Partners. Anthony started his career as an assistant portfolio manager at BNP Wealth Management in Geneva. He then gained experience as a performance analyst at BNP Securities Services and as a middle officer at Lyxor Asset Management. Anthony holds a DUT in Computer Science from the University of Le Havre and a master's degree in Asset Management and Risk Control from the IAE of Caen.