Our Team
SENIOR TEAM MEMBERS
John Paton - Chairman
John is the Chairman of IVA Ventures focused on investments and advising on strategic and digital transformation across multiple sectors. As Chairman and Chief Executive he has led media companies in Europe, US and Canada ranging from less than $20M in revenues to more than $1.2B and from 100 employees to 10,000 employees. He has been involved in more than $8 billion in transactions and financings.
He is the founder and former CEO of Digital First Media, the then No. 2 newspaper company in the U.S, and co-founder and ex CEO of impreMedia, the then largest Hispanic news company in the US.
He is the Chair of The Independent as well as Executive Chairman of BOAT International serving the superyacht industry and Fine + Rare the global leader in fine wine and spirits. He is Chairman of the Steering Committee at NUBA – the world’s leading luxury travel company. In June 2020 he was appointed by Her Majesty’s Government as a Non Executive Director to the Home Office.
He served as a director of The Guardian for six years and was Chair of theguardian.org which raises funds for investigative journalism for The Guardian and its editorial partners. A former board member of El Pais, and PRISA in Spain. He is an experienced director on the boards of both public and private companies in the US, UK, Europe and Canada.
In 2009, he was awarded Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher and has been named a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in New York City. A graduate of Ryerson University’s journalism program, where he has been named an Alumni of Distinction, and Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration’s Finance for Senior Executives program.
SENIOR TEAM MEMBERS
Matthew King - Managing Partner
Matthew is a Managing Partner at IVA focused on strategic and financial consultancy and implementation.
In addition to his work with IVA, Matthew serves as a Senior Advisor to AlTi Global and Time Partners on corporate finance transactions in the media and technology sectors as well as serving as CFO to MainStreaming, a livestreaming technology business headquartered in Milan, and MUTE International, an electric vehicle subscription service in the UK, China,
Indonesia, Spain and Belgium.
He is also an angel investor and board member in early stage technology and consumer businesses in the UK and elsewhere.
He began his career in Media & Technology investment banking, having more than 10 years of experience and advising on over £2.5bn in transactions across Europe and North America. A Canadian and British national, he is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada and IE Business School in Spain.
SENIOR TEAM MEMBERS
Arturo Duran - Managing Partner
Arturo is a Managing Partner at IVA with a broad international experience having worked in Mexico, Chile, Canada, China, Spain, France and the United States.
Prior to IVA Ventures, Arturo served as Chief Innovation Officer for Digital First Media. Before that, he was Chief Executive Officer of impreMedia Digital, the largest Hispanic news-and-information company in the country. He was also previously the President of Interactive and Business Integration for Canwest Mediaworks’ and was responsible for their record-breaking online revenue growth and converting them it into the largest Canadian News and Information Network. And he is currently a digital advisor to a wide array of media companies.
A quick glance at Arturo’s resume will also reveal successful stints as: Vice President, Multicultural, AOL Media Networks; VP Marketing and Interactive Content, AOL Canada; Director Business Development, AOL Mexico; Launch Team Member, AOL Latin America; Director of Business Development, Internet Division for the Polaroid Corporation.
SENIOR TEAM MEMBERS
James Morrison - Associate
James is an Associate at IVA focused on financial modelling, research and strategic consultancy.
In addition to his work with IVA, James supports private companies in the consumer and technology sectors with financial modelling, business strategy and scenario planning.
James previously worked in the Corporate Finance team of Time Partners, advising family/founder-owned businesses, family offices and private equity funds on strategy, fundraising and investment matters globally.
Before that he was an Origination Analyst at Dunedin LLP, an Edinburgh based private equity firm focusing on mid-market buyouts in business and financial services.
James is a CFA Charterholder and an Economics and Finance graduate from Heriot-Watt University.
SENIOR TEAM MEMBERS
Hannah Paton - Head of Research
As Head of Research, Hannah has a particular focus on the intersection of media platforms and commerce and highlighting investment and advisory opportunities.
Her current focus is on talent-led platforms, particularly podcasts. Hannah brings an entrepreneurial focus to her work. She has held both managerial and line positions in retail and has been the proprietor of her own design and retail company.
She is experienced in the digital marketing of online sales and has an interest in her local creator communities.
Hannah holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of King’s College and a B.A. in Fine Arts; Fashion and Textile from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.