Palamon co-founder joins Impetus

Impetus Trust has added Louis Elson, the co-founder of European mid-market firm Palamon Capital Partners, to its board of trustees.

London-based Impetus, which was created in 2003, was one of the earliest proponents of the venture philanthropy model. It provides both funding and expertise to charities over a defined period of time, so that once the charities exit Impetus’ “portfolio” they have a larger, more sustainable funding base in place. Impetus also focuses on measuring the social impact of its investments.

Elson – formerly a partner at Warburg Pincus – set up Palamon in 1999 with Warburg colleague Michael Hoffman. The firm now has €1.1 billion in funds under management and is currently investing from its second vehicle.

Alongside his new role as an Impetus trustee, Elson serves on the boards of a number of charitable organisations, including the development board of The Prince’s Trust.

He is the eighth member of Impetus’ board, which is currently chaired by venture capital industry veteran and venture philanthropy pioneer Stephen Dawson. Other board members include Andy Hinton, co-founder of Ailsa3 Ventures, and former Travelex chief executive Ian Meakins.