Partner

Finance (Venture/PE/M&A), Corporate Strategy, Digital Transformation, Manufacturing Automation (Operational Excellence)

Get in touch

For further advice please contact us for a free consultation.

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+44 (0)3330 143 401 info@gunnercooke.com

Partner

Finance (Venture/PE/M&A), Corporate Strategy, Digital Transformation, Manufacturing Automation (Operational Excellence)

Expertise

For more than 25 years, Peter has been a strategic advisor to senior and C-suite executives at numerous startup, SME, and Fortune 1000 firms. He often serves as an interim Executive Director/CxO, or on their governance/advisory boards as a non-executive director (NED), bringing deep experience and insight in business formation, scaling, transformation, and governance. Peter is frequently sought by clients to negotiate deals, navigate through critical operational, financial, or competitive challenges, sort priorities, and to seek optimal and humane outcomes that balance opportunity with responsible management of risk.

Peter also advises PE/VC/Angel investors on portfolio vetting, selection, M&A, governance, turnaround, and risk management strategy. As an active participant in the early-stage startup ecosystem, he has mentored hundreds of founders and has himself founded or co-launched several product and services startups in the financial services software, social applications, location-based apps, personal security and other arenas. Peter is also an independent angel investor affiliated with Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, US Angels, Keiretsu Forum, and more.

A technologist from a very early age, he architected and led development of groundbreaking systems for Fortune 500 companies, from the world’s largest document imaging system, to high-volume and customer management systems, institutional portfolio management, and the insurance industry’s first Internet e-commerce platform. In addition to technology, he has extensive expertise in professional services, technical marketing, business strategy, contracts and negotiations, operations and corporate governance

Since 2001, Peter has operated as an “ICVC”, bringing both Intellectual Capital (strategic advice, founder mentoring, operational executive strength) and access to capital (angel/PE investments, fundraising, M&A advisory) to companies in a wide range of markets.

Peter Advises

  • Startups, SMEs, Global Enterprises
  • Fintech – Founder/CEO, CTO, CSO, board member
  • CoreTech/DeepTech – SaaS platforms, AI/NLP
  • Venture Capital/PE/M&A – fund founders, fund LPs/GPs, scale-ups
  • Corporate Finance – Turnarounds, M&A, Exits, Valuations, Diligence, Governance, Pivots
  • Manufacturing/Industry 4.0/5.0 – Automation, Digital Transformation
  • eCommerce marketplaces
  • Insurance – CIO (IT), corporate strategy,
  • Food & Beverage, Foodtech – growth strategy, funding

Experience Highlights

  • Independent Angel/VC Investor & Advisor
  • Charles Schwab & Co. (brokerage)
  • Conversus Group / Act 5 Ventures (Advisory, Venture Capital)
  • Argo Group (insurance)
  • InsureZone (insureTech/Marketplaces)
  • Wells Fargo (banking)
  • Boeing (Manufacturing Automation/Digital Transformation)
  • Mellon Capital Management (now BNY Mellon)
  • Apple Computer – Speech recognition / NLP. advanced echnology research labs
  • Hewlett-Packard Labs – Advanced networking and graphics research labs
  • In Situ Drinks (beverages)

Career History

Previous firms

  • Member / Angel Investor / Fund LP at Keiretsu Forum / Keiretsu Capital (2011-Present)
  • General Partner at Seed Milestone Management Co LLC (2020-Present)
  • Founder, Managing Partner at Act 5 Ventures LLC (2016-Present)

Memberships

  •  National Venture Capital Association (US)

 Education

  • Stanford University, Palo Alto CA, United States
  • The Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury MA, United States

Other

  • Business-related articles on LinkedIn, and Substack

Get in touch

For further advice please contact us for a free consultation.

-
+44 (0)3330 143 401 info@gunnercooke.com