Gérard López

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Fojaca.

Gérard López
Born	Gérard López Fojaca (1971-12-27) 27 December 1971 (age 52) Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Nationality	Luxembourgish Spanish[1]
Alma mater	Miami University
Occupation(s)	Chairman and co-founder, Genii Capital Owner FC Girondins de Bordeaux, and Boavista FC Chairman and founder, The Lydian Group Co-founder and owner Mangrove Capital Partners

Gérard López Fojaca^[2] (born 27 December 1971) is a Luxembourgish-Spanish businessman active in technology, energy, and sport. He is the co-founder (with Eric Lux) and chairman of Genii Capital. López has been the owner of French club FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Portuguese club Boavista FC since 2021. From 2009 to 2015, Lopez was president of the Lotus F1 Team. In 2022, Lopez launched The Lydian Group, a tech conglomerate operating across the digital assets space.^[3] As a co-founder,^[4] he was the owner of Mangrove Capital Partners from 2000 to 2014.

Early life

López grew up in a soot-covered house next to a steel mill in Luxembourg. He was recruited to Miami University in Western Ohio to play basketball on a partial scholarship in 1998.^[5] He studied management and technology there.^[6] He also has a degree in Asian Art.

Career

While at university, he founded Icon Solutions, a web services company.^[6]

With Mark Tluszcz and Hans Jurgen Schmitz, he founded Mangrove Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based leading venture capital company specialized in future oriented technologies. Mangrove Capital Partners was one of the first investors in Skype selling a minority position to eBay in 2005 as part of the $2.6 billion acquisition.^[7]

He founded with Eric Lux in 2008 Genii Capital, a finance consulting and investment managing firm. López sits on the board of Directors of WIx, Zink Imaging, Lotus F1 Team and is also a member of the Planning Advisory Committee of the Miami University Business School.

In 2015, he founded Nekton, an investment company and brokerage in energy field, active in South America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.^[8][9] He is also the CEO of the company.^[10]

López was formerly chairman of RISE Capital AB,^[11] which alongside Nekton, was a co-owner of RISE Capital AB Projects.^[12] Nekton divested itself of its interests in RISE in December 2020.

Some of López's companies were said to have featured in the Panama Papers leak in 2016,^[13] however the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released a statement to say: "No wrongdoing is being alleged by the ICIJ: 'There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any people, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly,'” when discussing the Bahamas Papers.^[14]

In 2022, Lopez and his business partner, Greg Fishman, launched The Lydian Group, a tech conglomerate (company) operating across the digital assets space.^[15] The advisory board includes Mark Tluszcz and Andrea Rossi, the former CEO of AXA Investment Managers. ^[16]

Sports

As a huge sports fan, López got into car racing via Eric Lux and Gravity Sport Management. He also participated in long-distance races with Gravity Racing International's team. In 2009, he bought out the Formula 1 Renault F1 Team, making Genii Capital the majority owner of the team. While it possessed very few sponsors at the beginning, Microsoft, Unilever and Coca-Cola soon became team partners.^[17]

With Kick Partners and Mangrove Sport Business Intelligence, López takes care of the public image and the transfers of football players.^[18]

In October 2016, Lopez entered into exclusive talks with President Michel Seydoux for the acquisition of the Lille OSC football club, which he purchased and later sold.^[19] Lopez acquired Bordeaux in June 2021.^[20]

In Portugal, he is the owner of Boavista FC since 2021, a nationally-renowned sports club from Porto.^[21]

Political donations

In August 2016, it was reported that López had given the British Conservative Party £400,000, in support of his friend Zac Goldsmith as a candidate in the mayoral election at the time.^[13]

Personal life

López owns a car collection and it has been featured in Top Gear magazine and in local newspapers.^[22]

References

1. Rodríguez, Jesús (23 December 2015). "Reportaje - Gerard López, el millonario invisible". El País. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
2. "Nekton Group". nekton-group.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
3. "Gerard Lopez's new life in crypto". Delano and PaperJam. 14 June 2022.
4. "Gerard Lopez's new life in crypto". Delano and PaperJam. 14 June 2022.
5. "How Lille are using data to shape their future". ESPN. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
6. "From Youthful Fan to Adult Financier". New York Times. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
7. "EBay Buys Skype for $2.6 Billion cache". wikiwix.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2005.
8. "Nekton Group prend 50% de Rise Capital: Le pétrole, nouveau pari de Gérard Lopez". wort.lu. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
9. "Skype financier Gerard Lopez to lead new Russia-focused infrastructure investment group". privateequitywire.co.uk. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
10. "Mangrove Capital Partners: Gérard LOPEZ, Co-founder and Managing Partner". Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
11. "Rise Capital". risecapital.se. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
12. "Rise Capital signs strategic partnership agreement with Russia's key energy district". Private Equity Wire. 22 June 2015.
13. Watt, Holly (25 August 2016). "Luxembourg-based businessman donated £400,000 to Tory party". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
14. "The Bahama's leak explained". EuroNews. 22 September 2016.
15. "Gerard Lopez's new life in crypto". Delano and PaperJam. 14 June 2022.
16. "The Lydian Group emerges from stealth mode in the crypto and digital asset space". Tech.eu - tech publication. 10 June 2022.
17. "Lotus signe un nouveau partenaire". f1i.com. 5 September 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
18. "Transfert : Gerson est enfin à la Roma". L'Équipe. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
19. Rédaction. "Vente du Losc : Gérard Lopez et Michel Seydoux en négociations exclusives pour le rachat du club". L'Équipe. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
20. "An official statement from the Club". Girondins de Bordeaux. 22 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
21. ""Se não tivéssemos o Gérard Lopez como investidor da Boavista SAD seria difícil termos a porta aberta"". ojogo.pt (in European Portuguese). 14 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
22. "Car collection featured on Top Gear". Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.