Venezia FC Announces Significant Capital Raise

Venice, Italy- July 1, 2024 - Venezia FC (VFC), the professional football club of Venice founded in 1907, today officially announced that is has raised significant capital from existing and new investors.The ownership group has formed an Operating Committee (OpCo) to oversee the strategic direction of the club.The OpCo is comprised of eleven members who collectively own the significant majority of VFC.All members of the OpCo have either invested personally in VFC or are representatives of family offices who have invested in VFC.

The OpCo will work alongside VFC’s Italian board and executive leadership to govern the football club and its operations. The OpCo has four sub-committees focused on sporting, commercial, finance/operations, and venues.

The OpCo consists of a cross-section of executives with experience in finance, technology, and retail and includes:

Sub-Committee Chairs:

Rob Hamwee – Senior Advisor, New Mountain Capital

Brad Katsuyama – Co-Founder and CEO, IEX Group Inc.

Duncan Niederauer – President, Venezia FC

Barney Schauble – Senior Advisor at Nephila Advisors LLC

Additional Opco Members:

Eileen Aptman – Chief Investment Officer, Belfer Management

Darrell Friesen – Former President, Jet Label

Cyril Goddeeris – Partner, Goldman Sachs

Phillip Hyun – Co-Founder and Vice Chairman, Gen. G esports

Ron Shurts – Co-Founder and CEO, Annexus

Eugene Wang – CEO, Regent Holding

Jonathan Wheaton – Principal, Sandia Holdings, LLC

In addition to the significant investment from OpCo members, VFC is pleased to welcome other shareholders to the club, including: APEX, a sports-focused investment firm backed by 100+ athletes across different sports; Chiron Sports Group, a Swiss-based asset manager focused on Sports and Media; and Elliott Hill, a former senior executive at Nike and current board member of a number of leading consumer brands.

With the addition of these owners and the creation of the OpCo, VFC plans to implement some changes to the Italian board as well. Ivan Cordoba, to whom we are very grateful for his service to the club in a number of capacities during the last three years, has asked to step down from the board to help facilitate this transition. We will announce the new members of the board in the coming weeks.

VFC is also excited to announce the hiring of Jamie Reigle as Vice Chairman of the Operating Committee. Jamie has held executive positions in leading global sports properties including Commercial Director and board member at Manchester United, EVP Business Operations for the Los Angeles Rams NFL franchise, and Chief Executive Officer of Formula E.

Jamie Reigle, Vice Chairman of the VFC Operating Committee, commented: “Venezia FC presents a compelling opportunity to build a world-class football club and commercial organization in one of the world’s most iconic cities. What this new group of owners aspires to build attracted me to the Venezia FC project and the club’s recent promotion to Serie A will allow us to further invest in a long-term plan to build a football club that the city deserves.”

Rob Hamwee, Chairman of the Operating Committee, commented: “We have assembled an excellent group of owners who are all equally engaged to build a successful football organization for the city of Venice and our fans. This committee is committed to building a professional organization that can support a successful sporting franchise, and that work has already begun.”

Duncan Niederauer, President of Venezia FC, commented: “As I have discussed throughout the season, my goal was to bring in partners who could help elevate the vision for Venezia FC to the next level. I look forward to working with my fellow owners and committee members to achieve the dream that we first had when we started this project.”

About Venezia FC
Founded in 1907, Venezia FC (VFC) is the professional football club of Venice, Italy. The iconic club is known for its focus on sporting excellence and integrity combined with its mission on social responsibility, community development, art, and the preservation of Venice. Located on the lagoon island of Sant’Elena, the historic club plays at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, Italy’s second oldest stadium in Italy, adjacent to the grounds of the Venice Biennale. For most of the club's history, VFC has ranked in Italy's top two divisions. One of the club's most significant achievements was winning the Coppa Italia in 1940-41. More recently, VFC was promoted from Serie D, to Serie C, to Serie B between the years 2015 and 2020 and then to Serie A in 2021. VFC achieved promotion in the 2023/24 season and will once again play in Serie A in 2024.

For additional information contact us at [email protected] or please visit, www.veneziafc.it. To purchase our merchandise, please visit our shop.

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Venezia FC
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