The Aspirity Team
Experienced specialist team of professionals designed to make high conviction investment decisions and support portfolio companies achieve their full potential. The Aspirity team is amplified further by an established community of ‘Innovators and Leaders’ positioning Aspirity at the leading edge of an evolving landscape.
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MANAGING PARTNER
Joseph O’Mara is the founder and Managing Partner of Aspirity Partners. He brings over two decades of successful investment experience in Europe and the US. Prior to founding Aspirity, Joe spent 14 years at Vitruvian Partners from 2010, and previously worked at Friedman Fleischer & Lowe (FFL) and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners / Credit Suisse.
Joseph holds a Bachelor of Commerce and an M.Sc. in Finance from the National University of Ireland (Galway and Cork, respectively).
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PARTNER
Ralph Choufani is a co-founding Partner of Aspirity, with two decades of ETS and FTS expertise cultivated across the European ecosystem. Prior to co-founding Aspirity, Ralph spent 10 years at Abry Partners from 2015 where he was a Partner focused on European investments for all Abry funds, and previously worked as a Managing Director at Arma Partners and EIT (part of Dubai Holdings) a European-focused TMT private equity firm.
Ralph received an MBA from INSEAD, and both a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and a Master of Computer Engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
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DIRECTOR
Filippo Damiani brings close to 15 years of experience across private equity and investment banking. Before joining Aspirity Partners, he was a Director at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, where he led direct investments across EMEA. Earlier in his career, he worked in investment banking at J.P. Morgan.
Filippo holds an M.Sc. in Finance from the London School of Economics, and a BSc in Economics and Finance from Bocconi University.
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VICE PRESIDENT
Martin Florea brings nearly a decade of investment experience to Aspirity Partners. Martin began his career at Cevian Capital, where he worked on pan-European activist investments, and latterly at Hellman & Friedman, focusing on private equity investments in Europe. Most recently, he co-founded and led VALOREO, in the ecommerce enablement sector.
Martin holds a B.Sc. in Economics from Goethe University and an M.Phil in Finance from the University of Cambridge.
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CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Patrick Watson is Chief Financial Officer at Aspirity Partners, bringing over 18 years of experience across private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure funds. He has held CFO roles at Anthemis Group, Leon Capital, and 8C Capital, with a strong focus on compliance, reporting, and operational leadership.
Patrick is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and holds a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Cambridge.
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RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT OFFICER
Shahrazad joins Aspirity as Responsible Investment Officer, leading the firm’s ESG integration, portfolio engagement, and GP-level initiatives. With over a decade in financial services, she brings a track record in responsible investment and ESG integration across PE and VC funds, with a focus on enterprise technology, fintech, and digital infrastructure, through roles at Vitruvian Partners and Admaius Capital Partners.
Shaz is a Chartered Actuary and Quantic EMBA holder with a BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Warwick.
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DIRECTOR
Alan Leclair brings over 15 years of experience in financial institutions investment banking at Evercore and Morgan Stanley. He has advised on some of the largest and most exciting transactions in the European FTS market over the last decade.
Alan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Accounting from the University of Limerick, Ireland.
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SENIOR EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Harriet Cook is Senior Executive Assistant at Aspirity Partners, bringing 15 years of experience in high-level administrative and operational support. Prior to joining Aspirity, she worked at Amazon, partnering with C-suite leaders.
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VICE PRESIDENT
Ina Mile is a Vice President at Aspirity Partners. She joins the firm from Providence Equity Partners, where she focused on European investment opportunities. Prior to Providence, Ina began her career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley.
Ina holds a BSc in Economics & Finance from Bocconi University and an M.Sc. in Financial Economics from Said Business School, University of Oxford.
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VICE PRESIDENT
Kemal Dincer has close to a decade of investing, operational, and entrepreneurial experience. Kemal began his career at McKinsey & Company, advising insurance, financial services, and private equity clients across the US and Europe. Subsequently, Kemal was an investor at Hg in the Genesis fund, focused on European market opportunities. Most recently, Kemal was a Founding Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Heritage, a $3 billion AUM multi-family office and fund-of-funds.
Kemal holds an MBA from The Wharton School in Philadelphia, USA and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA.
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VICE PRESIDENT
Nicolai Stubkjaer is a Vice President at Aspirity Partners. He joins the firm from General Atlantic, where he focused on investments in the Technology sector. Before General Atlantic, Nicolai was a Private Equity Associate at TPG Capital and prior to that, an Investment Banking Analyst at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Communications Group.
Nicolai holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Copenhagen and an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of Oxford.
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EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Ewelina Kozak is an Executive Assistant at Aspirity Partners, bringing 7 years of experience in high-level administrative and operational support. Prior to joining Aspirity, she worked at Simon & Schuster, supporting the CEO and Board of Directors.
Aspirity Innovators
Aspirity Innovators are globally recognised founders and entrepreneurs who have disrupted industries and built category-defining businesses. They provide deep thematic insight, extend Aspirity's organic network and support deal origination and evaluation.
Aspirity Innovators’ key areas of expertise include:
Wealth tech
Modern payments
Cloud migration
Cybersecurity
Virtual infrastructure
Global wealth & alternatives
Embedded IoT
Communications
Aspirity Leaders
Aspirity Leaders are senior executives with proven track records in scaling businesses, entering new markets, and driving operational excellence.
Aspirity Leaders support portfolio companies with:
Technology Scaling
Building robust, scalable technology platforms
Internationalisation
Expanding across borders, especially transatlantic
Cybersecurity & Risk
Enhancing resilience, compliance, and governance
GTM & Hyperscaling
Driving customer acquisition and revenue growth
Financial Controls
Strengthening reporting, budgeting, and capital structure