Skyler ver Bruggen

Investment Director

I’m responsible for portfolio M&A at ECI. Here I work with our portfolio if they are looking to make acquisitions. So that means supporting those teams in anything from refining strategy and sourcing targets to building an M&A function inhouse.

In my role in the Origination Team, I also spend my time meeting great management teams, who may one day chose to partner with ECI, to help them understand what that partnership could bring to their business. I’m also a member of our ESG committee, where I’ve enjoyed working with our annual charity partners on some of our fundraising initiatives

I joined ECI in 2019 after three years in mid-market private equity and two years in private equity advisory and executive search. I graduated with a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University, which continues to serve me well in pub quizzes.

01 WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST EVER JOB?

“Summer waitressing. Pretty soon realised I didn’t have the hand-eye coordination to sustain the job long-term so I had to find another career.”

02 WHAT IS THE BEST MEAL YOU HAVE EVER EATEN?

“Hand rolled pasta ragù, served by the 90-year-old patron at a café in Campania. It was the first restaurant we’d seen on our four hour drive and the modest roadside seating didn’t promise much. Maybe it was my hunger, or the backdrop of rolling hills, but it was the best pasta I’ve eaten to this day (and I’ve done a lot of research since!)”