Virgin Group Acquisition Corp. III
MANAGEMENT & BOARD
Executive Officers
Josh Bayliss, 47
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Mr. Bayliss currently is a member of the board of directors and the Chief Executive Officer of VGAC I and VGAC II. Since 2011, Mr. Bayliss has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Virgin Group and has been responsible for the Virgin Group’s strategic development, licensing of the brand globally, and management of direct investments on behalf of the Virgin Group in various branded and unbranded companies around the world. From 2005 to 2011, Mr. Bayliss served as General Counsel of the Virgin Group. Prior to joining Virgin, Mr. Bayliss was a senior associate at Slaughter and May, a leading international law firm. Mr. Bayliss has extensive experience as a director of a large number of companies across the Virgin Group globally, and currently serves as a director of Virgin Red (2018 – present), Virgin’s group-wide loyalty program that is currently in development. Mr. Bayliss holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Evan Lovell, 51
Chief Financial Officer and Director
Mr. Lovell currently is a member of the board of directors and the Chief Financial Officer of VGAC I and VGAC II. Since 2012, Mr. Lovell has served as the Chief Investment Officer of the Virgin Group, where he has been responsible for managing the Virgin Group’s portfolio and investments in North America. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Lovell was the Founding Partner of Virgin Green Fund, a private equity fund investing in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors. From 1998 to 2008, Mr. Lovell served as an investment professional at TPG Capital, where he also served on the board of directors of a number of TPG portfolio companies. Mr. Lovell currently serves on the boards of several companies including Virgin Hotels (2012 – present), Virgin Voyages (2014 – present), BMR Energy (2016 – present), Virgin Galactic (2017 – present), and Virgin Orbit (2017 – present). Mr. Lovell previously served on the board of Virgin America (NASDAQ: VA) from 2013 until its acquisition by Alaska Air in 2016. Mr. Lovell holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Vermont.
Rayhan Arif, 34
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Arif currently is the Chief Operating Officer of VGAC II. Mr. Arif is an Investment Director at the Virgin Group, where he has worked since 2017. He is responsible for investing the Virgin Group’s capital across a range of opportunities and supporting the strategic development of Virgin’s portfolio companies in the Americas. Mr. Arif currently serves on the boards of Virgin Mobile Latin America and BMR Energy. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Arif served as an investment professional at AEA Investors, a global private equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital investments. From 2012 to 2013, Mr. Arif worked on the strategy team of Zipcar, a leading car-sharing network. Prior thereto, Mr. Arif was a management consultant at Bain & Company. Mr. Arif received a B.A. in Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A from Columbia Business School.
Board of Directors
Latif Peracha, 40
Director
Mr. Peracha is a General Partner at M13 Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage consumer technology companies. He currently serves as a director on the boards of Feelmore Labs, Rho Technologies, Emerge and VGAC II. Prior to joining M13 in 2019, Mr. Peracha was a Managing Director at the Virgin Group, where he was responsible for both supporting the Virgin Group’s portfolio as well as direct venture investments in the Americas. Mr. Peracha joined Virgin in 2011 and during his tenure he was a board observer at Ring, Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit and Virgin Hotels and served on the boards of Virgin Mobile Latin America and The Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas. Before Virgin, Mr. Peracha worked at IAC where he focused on corporate and business development for Ticketmaster, their biggest operating company at the time. Mr. Peracha holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan. We believe that Mr. Peracha’s experience in investing in technology businesses and his extensive networks in the sector will enhance our ability to source and evaluate potential investment opportunities.
Nina Richardson, 62
Director
Ms. Richardson served as Chief Operating Officer of GoPro, a leader in action cameras and software solutions, from February 2013 to February 2015, and is a Managing Director of Three Rivers Energy, Inc, an energy services company which she co-founded, since 2004. Previously, Ms. Richardson was Vice President/General Manager at Flextronics, a global electronics manufacturing and supply chain firm. Ms. Richardson currently serves on the board of directors of Silicon Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB), Resideo (NYSE: REZI), Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ: COHU), and Eargo, Inc. (NASDAQ: EAR), and previously served on the board of directors of Zayo group Holdings from November 2015 to November 2018, CallidusCloud from February 2017 to April 2018, and Silicon Graphics International from January 2016 to November 2016. She also serves on the boards of several private companies, including Tonal, Willow, Mythic, ExploraMed V and Exploramed NC8. Ms. Richardson holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University. We believe that Ms. Richardson will be a valuable member of our board of directors because her product and operational expertise and her experience preparing a company to be public will support our review of potential investment opportunities.
Kara Nortman, 45
Director
Ms. Nortman has been a Partner of Upfront Ventures since 2014 and was named a Managing Partner in 2020. She currently serves on the board of directors of Parachute Home, Open Raven, Stem, Skylar, Britive, Strive, Writer, Time by Ping, Territory, Los Angeles-based professional soccer team Angel City, nonprofit TIME’S UP and previously served on the board of directors of Fleetsmith. From 2013 to 2014 Kara was co-founder and CEO of the children’s e-commerce company Moonfrye. From 2006 to 2013, Ms. Nortman served in various roles at IAC (NASDAQ: IAC), including Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions; acting as Senior VP of its subsidiaries, Citysearch and Urbanspoon; and incubating Tinder. Prior to joining IAC, Ms. Nortman was a Senior Associate at Battery Ventures, a venture capital firm. Ms. Nortman received an A.B. in Politics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ms. Nortman is a founding member of All Raise, a VC-led group dedicated to increased diversity in funders and founders. We believe that Ms. Nortman’s experience in investing in consumer and technology businesses and her extensive networks in those sectors will enhance our ability to source and evaluate potential investment opportunities.