“…it’s extremely rewarding to really experience the full tech ecosystem in one place”

Joined Arma Partners in 2017. Previously, Charles co-founded two technology start-ups and was part of the team at the Valence Group, a chemicals-focused investment bank and Capital SCF, a technology M&A boutique. Charles holds an MBA from HEC Paris and a BCom from McGill University in Canada. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Background

My background in M&A previously covered industrials and chemicals at a boutique similar to Arma and what I really enjoyed about that experience was that we would be regularly competing against the big banks. What was really important to succeed was having that truly differentiated sector expertise in addition to M&A skills and when I made the switch to Tech I really wanted to find the best platform in Europe and through research and speaking to people it became clear that Arma was the place to be. It hasn’t disappointed in the sense that you get to work with all kinds of clients from fast growing start-ups, mainstream PE owned businesses to billion plus companies and I have had the exposure to working through that whole gamut. No two projects are the same and I think it’s extremely rewarding to really experience the full tech ecosystem in one place.

Culture

In terms of culture it’s a nice size. You’re not one of thousands but equally it’s not too small. We’re essentially the biggest TMT team in Europe and you can really build the camaraderie with colleagues. Here there’s a full class of VPs and Directors, a large class of Associates and an even larger class of Analysts. I think having that melting pot of people all enthusiastic and passionate about tech in one environment is an exciting place to be given where the industry is heading. Digital Economy touches everything and so within tech I still have that exposure to other sectors such as retail, healthcare, industrials and it’s great to have such variety and put my prior experience in a different sector into context.

International

What we do is very international as Tech by nature is a very global industry. I’ve been in situations where we’ve had to do a roadshow in California and New York as well as all over Europe. You get great exposure to the client, there’s a lot of trust put in you at every level and it’s ingrained in the culture to be very client-centric and have the kind of impact that you don’t necessarily get at big banks.