Steve spent 13 years as CEO of FTSE 250 group AO World, the owner of AO.com, and was previously CFO of Phones4U. Steve has significant expertise in scaling businesses, having overseen the rapid growth at both AO World and Phones4U.

As Praetura Ventures’ non-executive chairman, Steve continues to contribute to our success and wider vision to be the VC of choice for early-stage businesses.

Colin has worked for the world’s biggest tech companies, including Apple, Intel and NCR. At Apple’s Cupertino HQ, he led the company’s Consumer Retail business with direct responsibility for a >$10B P&L. He has also held COO and Country CEO for Apple in Tokyo and Seoul.

Now based in Lancashire, Colin advises many of our portfolio companies in his role as an Operational Partner, taking what he’s learnt in his expansive career to inspire new founders.

Catherine has more than 25 years’ experience across multiple sectors, including banking and health. Now a non-executive director for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, her background includes investment banking roles for Credit Suisse and Barclays and senior strategy and change roles at The Co-operative Bank.

Catherine’s experience and network is invaluable to our portfolio companies, which she supports through her role as an Operational Partner.

Mark is the vice chairman of OSTC, a global derivatives trading and education company he co-founded with 450 employees in five countries. As vice chairman for the company, Mark champions robust governance, long-term goals and collective excellence at OSTC.

These qualities and Mark’s wealth of experience remain invaluable to his work as an Operational Partner for our portfolio.

Dominic is the co-founder and ex-COO of Social Chain, a leading marketing company he helped grow to a $200m turnover business with clients ranging Amazon to the BBC and Coca-Cola. During his tenure, Dominic oversaw the company’s IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Since leaving Social Chain, Dominic has been an avid supporter of Northern businesses and entrepreneurs and continues to mentor our portfolio companies as an Operational Partner.

Andy was the CTO of leading Manchester software business ANS Group Plc, where he led the technology team until the company’s sale to Inflexion Private Equity for in excess of £200m. As CTO, Andy was responsible for technical strategy across cloud computing, data analytics, application development and managed services.

Founded in 1996, ANS’s 270 team members specialise in supporting their clients with their digital transformation journeys.

Helen was previously Chief Human Resources Officer for Dr. Martens. As part of the leadership team, she was instrumental in the development of Dr. Martens, taking the brand from family ownership to a sale to the private equity firm Permira, which later culminated in a £3.7bn IPO in 2021.

Helen was also instrumental in restructuring the executive team including recruiting the CEO, CFO and three Regional Presidents, in addition to being the company’s Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

Paul is the co-founder of MPP Global and was CEO for 20 years until its acquisition by AIM-listed Aptitude Software in October 2021. MPP Global is the award-winning international provider of the cloud-based subscription management and billing SaaS platform eSuite. MPP’s clients include Sky, NBC Universal and L’Equipe. 

At exit, MPP Global had grown to over 100 employees plus offshore development teams and £9m ARR.