Stockholm-based Ark Kapital, a Swedish growth platform for tech, announced on Wednesday, November 22, that John McCormick, former co-head of the alternative asset management Blackstone, joins the company as a new strategic investor.
John McCormick: A personal investor and advisor
John McCormick is an experienced personal investor and advisor.
Until recently, he served as the Global Group Head of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (“BAAM”), which is the hedge fund division of The Blackstone Group with assets under management of $82B (approximately €75B).
During his tenure, he led the division to achieve record financial results for Blackstone shareholders and delivered strong investment performance for institutional clients.
Over the course of his 17-year career at BAAM, McCormick led numerous functions within the organisation, including global strategy, product development, global business development and client service, and GP stakes and seeding.
McCormick was a member of all BAAM investment committees and Blackstone’s firm-wide Operating Committee.
He is credited with launching Blackstone’s data science initiative and helping to establish Blackstone as a leader in democratized alternatives.
“Ark Kapital has pioneered the development of a new asset class tailored for technology companies, employing constantly updated and forward-looking data as the bedrock for crafting innovative loans that pave the path to profitability,” says John McCormick, former co-head of Blackstone and new investor in Ark Kapital.
“In stark contrast to the early iterations of RBFs (Revenue-Based Financing), which primarily fixated on singular data dimensions such as cash flow, ArK’s pioneering approach is more like 3D, and thereby setting a new standard for the industry,” adds McCormick.
ArK Kapital: What you need to know
ArK Kapital is a data-driven precision finance company that helps startups grow smarter through long-term loans, maintaining control for founders and reducing risk for investors.
The firm’s aim is to break down financial barriers and empower entrepreneurship by building the “best financing solutions” for tech businesses.
ArK’s product offering is available in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Germany.
The fintech firm was founded in 2021 by serial entrepreneur Oliver Hildebrandt (CEO), veteran banker Axel Bruzelius (COO), and Spotify’s ex-VP of Analytics and former EQT Ventures partner Henrik Landgren (CPTO).
Ark Kapital is by LocalGlobe, Creandum, and seven unicorn founders and Swedish banking veteran:
- Annika Falkengren, formerlySwiss banking group Lombard Odier and Swedish bank SEB
- Hjalmar Winbladh of Epidemic Sound and founding partner of EQT Ventures
- Jacob De Geer of IZettle
- Timo Soininen of Small Giant Games
- Ilkka Paananen of Supercell
- Sebastian Knutsson of King
- Riccardo Zacconi of King
- Steve Anavi of Qonto
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/former-blackstone-co-head-john-mccormick-joins-ark-kapital/
