EverEdge Global announces appointment of CIO, Francis Milner

EverEdge Global today announced the appointment of Francis Milner as Chief Investment Officer (CIO). The appointment comes on the back of the launch of the company’s new investment arm, EverEdge Capital, which Francis will spearhead.

Paul Adams, CEO of EverEdge Global, said “Francis brings a wealth of experience to the role of Chief Investment Officer, EverEdge Capital. He has a successful track record in origination, diligence, execution, turnaround, and divestment of complex investment transactions, as well as in leading and executing deep change and intensive care projects for challenging portfolio companies. We look forward to having Francis on the team and to leveraging his business acumen, experience and networks.”

An experienced investment banker and special situation private equity investor, Francis will be responsible for deploying capital via a proprietary investment approach that is designed to accelerate the commercialization and monetization of intangible assets.

Commenting on his appointment, Francis said, “Intangible assets are a key driver of value and growth within an organization. However, intangible assets are typically absent, mispriced or under-valued on balance sheets. This has created a market vacuum whereby this asset class is largely ignored by traditional investment funds and significant intangible asset value remains unrealized or unknown.

“As Chief Investment Officer of EverEdge Capital, my focus will be on assisting intangible asset rich companies to realize and capture value. Either by investing in opportunities around a specific intangible asset (such as a brand, trade secret, patent or data); or by investing in established operating businesses where we can use our expertise to fast-track the monetization of embedded intangible asset value. Given the opportunity that exists in this area, I’m excited to get my feet under the desk and start executing against our strategy.”

Francis brings a depth and breadth of international experience and contacts to this role, having lived and worked in New Zealand, Japan, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. He has successfully completed transactions worth US$7.1bn+ in deal value, including Intangible Asset transactions such as the sale of Eastman Kodak’s OLED IP (patent) assets (organic light emitting diode) to LG Corporation (Korea).

Before to joining EverEdge, Francis was based in Geneva, Switzerland where he was Managing Partner at Valtegra, a special situation fund which acquires and invests in mature but underperforming mid-market industrial businesses and assets.

Prior to this, he held senior investment banking roles at Nomura and SMBC Nikko (Sumitomo-Mistui Bank), where he has successfully advised global companies on complex cross-border M&A including notable public and private transactions.

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