ECI Partners Strengthens Investment and Finance Teams with Key Appointments

Quick Summary

UK private equity firm ECI Partners has expanded its team by appointing Jessica Johnston as Investment Manager and Kajivan Kanthasamy as Finance Manager. The strategic appointments strengthen ECI Partners investment team as the firm actively deploys capital from its latest fund into high-growth UK and European companies.

How Is ECI Partners Expanding Its Deal Origination Capabilities?

ECI Partners investment team has bolstered its origination and execution capacity through the appointment of Jessica Johnston as Investment Manager. Bringing five years deal experience from Raymond James, Johnston specialized in advising founders and private equity sponsors across the UK and Europe within the data services, software, and professional services sectors. In her new role, she will concentrate on identifying growth businesses, executing new deals, and offering strategic portfolio support for management teams post-investment.

What Capabilities Does the New Finance Appointment Bring to ECI?

The operational and reporting framework at ECI is reinforced by Kajivan Kanthasamy, who joins as Finance Manager covering both management and fund entities. Kanthasamy brings six years private equity experience from Montagu Private Equity, where he managed FCA regulatory filings, financial reporting, budgeting, and tech solution implementations. Having trained as a Chartered Accountant with Forvis Mazars, his background covers extensive audit work for large listed entities, adding deep regulatory precision to ECI's financial management.

• 5 years experience in PE deal advisory added to investment team.
• 6 years experience in fund finance and FCA regulatory filings added to finance team.
• £3bn funds managed focused on growth businesses valued up to £300m.

“These appointments reflect our continued investment in the team as we deploy our latest fund and build towards ECI 13. Jessica and Kajivan bring real strength in depth, in origination and execution on the investment side, and in financial rigour on the finance side, and I'm delighted to welcome them both to ECI,” said Chris Watt, Managing Partner at ECI.

FF NEWS TAKE:

Mid-market private equity execution relies heavily on origination speed and bulletproof financial compliance. By hiring proven talent from Raymond James and Montagu Private Equity, ECI Partners is fortifying its operational foundation at a crucial moment in the fundraising cycle. As private equity deal-making becomes increasingly competitive across European software and tech-enabled services, having deep sector expertise and rigorous internal controls is key to driving value creation.