Impact X Capital partners appoints John Adebiyi as chair

Impact X, Europe’s leading venture capital firm focused on underrepresented innovators, has announced the appointment of renowned British M&A lawyer John Adebiyi as its new Chair, effective January 2025. Adebiyi, who has a distinguished career spanning 28 years at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP, brings extensive experience in multi-billion-dollar transactions with some of the world’s largest brands.

Adebiyi's journey with Impact X began earlier this year when he joined as a Founding Member and later became an Investment Committee member in June. His appointment follows the tenure of Ric Lewis, who has served as the firm’s Chair since its inception. Lewis will transition to the role of Chair Emeritus, continuing to contribute his expertise to the organisation.

Eric Collins, Co-Founder and CEO of Impact X, expressed enthusiasm about Adebiyi's appointment, stating, “After an extensive search, we are beyond excited to have uncovered such an extraordinary talent. With decades of experience, John Adebiyi has been at the epicentre of many big deals and he is the ideal new Chair for us at a crucial moment in Impact X’s growth journey.”

Collins also paid tribute to Ric Lewis, highlighting his invaluable contributions: “There is no way to overstate Ric’s singular and invaluable contributions. He has helped the Impact X franchise achieve escape velocity and move from infancy to an effectively functioning entity through six years of sophisticated guidance.”

Commenting on his new role, Adebiyi said, “This is more of a calling than a job, and I’m thrilled to be taking on this new challenge. From the moment I became aware of Impact X, I was struck by the values I share with this company – the idea of making a sustainable impact, or as Eric and our CIO Paula Groves refer to it, compounding impact. By investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs and startups, we get differentiated deal flow that injects both capital and unique value-add while taking advantage of significant return on investment from under-tapped potential, which benefits everyone.”

Adebiyi expressed his excitement about collaborating with Collins and the stellar team at Impact X, acknowledging the significant shoes he has to fill as he transitions into this leadership role.

Headquartered in London, Impact X targets Seed, Seed Extension, and Series A investments in diverse entrepreneurs across the UK and Europe. The firm aims to be the investment leader in its category, with a goal of investing £1 billion to positively impact one billion lives.

Since its inception in 2018, Impact X has successfully deployed capital from two funds and has been an early backer of insurance technology unicorn Marshmallow. Other notable investments include LA-based fintech Bump, Sweden’s sustainability firm Cetasol, British gaming studio Good Gate Media, and Quantum Dice, a British random-number-generating security solution.

Impact X’s Global I fund counts major investors like Bank of America, the Visa Foundation, Guy's and St Thomas' Foundation, and technology and venture capital investor Atomico among its supporters. The firm's founding members also include notable figures like Ursula Burns, the former CEO of Xerox, and Sir Lenny Henry, actor and comedian.

As Adebiyi prepares to take the helm, the future looks promising for Impact X as it continues its mission to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs and drive meaningful change in the venture capital landscape.