Vanessa Russell | Chief Financial Officer
Vanessa brings significant Private Equity experience to ACF from a blend of over 7 years experience in Mergers and Acquisitions and 4 years as a Finance Director in the Leisure industry.
Vanessa was previously a senior member of Grant Thornton’s corporate finance team where she completed several high profile private equity backed deals. She worked on transactions in a variety of sectors including Leisure, Media and Entertainment and Support Services. She has significant experience in buy-side transactions, private equity and debt fundraising, disposals and strategic advice.
Vanessa’s career also includes working at a UK private equity house and she was the Finance Director at Siblu, a leisure business which owns and operates holiday parks in France. She has an excellent understanding of the commercial complexities and successes involved in business growth strategies, having been part of a team that led the company in a buy-out transaction and refinanced the business 2 years later to introduce a private equity investor to support the acquisition of 4 new parks.
Outside work, Vanessa enjoys looking after her 3 children, being a school Governor and attending yoga.
Vanessa has a B.S. degree in Geography from Bristol University and trained at KPMG.