Paul Buckley
CEO & Managing Partner
Paul is FIRSTavenue’s CEO and Managing Partner. Paul founded FIRSTavenue in 2006, bringing over 18 years of expertise in advising GPs within the private funds market. His stewardship has positioned FIRSTavenue as a pioneer in various sectors including private infrastructure, private credit, real estate debt, and energy transition. Prior to founding FIRSTavenue, Paul dedicated his career from 1987 to 2006 to the European capital markets, primarily at Credit Suisse First Boston in London. Throughout this tenure, he covered investors and led coverage groups across all regions of Europe.
Alex Chaplin
Partner, Co-Head of European Investor Coverage
Alex is a Partner in the London office and focuses on LP coverage in Europe and GP Origination in Private Equity. He was formerly a senior member of the Global Fund Advisory Platform at PwC, and a Principal at BerchWood Partners. Alex started his placement career at MVision Private Equity Advisors. He attended the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and holds a first-class degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Bristol.
Nick Chronias
Partner, Head of Capital Solutions
Nick is a Partner and Head of Capital Solutions and has been raising private capital for funds and direct investments for ten years. Prior to FIRSTavenue, he held similar roles as an independent fundraising adviser and as head of research at Helix Associates. Nick has a post graduate degree in Finance from London Business School.
Grant Davis
Partner, Head of Americas Origination
Grant is a Partner and is Head of North American Origination. He was previously the Managing Partner of Infra-Energy Capital Advisors and a Managing Director with Tenaska Capital Management. Grant headed the Private Placement and Energy Groups at New York Life Investment Management and earlier in his career held positions with GE Capital and Manufacturers Hanover. He has a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from the Amos Tuck Graduate School at Dartmouth.
Rachel Guan
Partner, Head of Greater China & Southeast Asia
Rachel is a Partner and Head of Greater China and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining FIRSTavenue, Rachel led the offshore marketing and investor relations function at Pinpoint Asset Management. Prior to Pinpoint, Rachel worked for China International Capital Corporation in Hong Kong and Beijing for cross-border investment mandates. Rachel received an MBA from Northeastern University, and a BBA with double majors in Finance / Economics and a minor in Mathematics from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Further, Rachel is a CFA® charterholder.
John Linger
Partner, Head of Americas
John is a Partner, Head of the Americas and has been raising capital for private equity funds for over 25 years. Prior to joining FIRSTavenue, John was a Managing Director with Prospect Avenue Partners, a boutique placement firm focused on real assets. Earlier, John worked as the head of business development at Square Mile Capital, Cherokee Investment Partners, and Lehman Brothers’ Real Estate Private Equity Group. John began his capital formation tenure at Benedetto Gartland & Greene and was a co-founding Partner of Atlantic Pacific Capital. He has a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Clive Norton
Partner
Clive is a Partner and focuses on Private Equity origination. Clive was formerly a Managing Director at Helix Associates and Co-Head of the Fund of Funds Group at Goldman Sachs covering Europe and Asia. Prior to Goldman Sachs Clive worked in the Private Equity Group at Merrill Lynch.
Hendrik van Rahden
Partner, Co-Head of European Investor Coverage
Hendrik is a Partner and responsible for distribution in German-speaking Europe as well as GP Origination in Infrastructure and is based in Hamburg, Germany. Prior to joining FIRSTavenue, Hendrik co-founded Beit Capital Advisors, a placement agent focused on real assets. Before Hendrik was a senior business development professional within real assets at MPC Capital AG in Hamburg, where he focused on clients in Europe and Asia. He began his career at Allianz Global Investors in 2008, managing global dynamic multi-asset strategies for institutional clients and key accounts. Hendrik received a BSc (Hons) in Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.
