Athena Capital, an investment firm focused on growth-stage, technology- and AI-enabled companies approaching IPOs, strategic exits and other liquidity events, appointed Francesca Cornelli, dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, to the Athena Council. Additionally, Karim Bousta, co-founder and managing partner of DVx Ventures, has joined Athena Capital as an investment partner.
Cornelli joins the Athena Council of operating partners: CEOs, Fortune 500 board members, senior operators, investors, policymakers and founders who have built, scaled and exited companies through IPOs and strategic acquisitions, while Bousta brings deep technology operating and investing experience to the investment team.
Cornelli brings deep expertise in global corporate finance, private equity, governance and capital markets. She is dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where she is also professor of finance and holds the Donald P. Jacobs Chair of Finance. Before joining Kellogg, Cornelli was professor of finance and deputy dean at London Business School, where she also directed the school’s private equity institute.
“Athena is focused on a critical moment in company-building, when growth businesses need to combine ambition with discipline, governance and long-term strategic judgment,” Cornelli said. “I look forward to contributing to a platform that brings together investors, operators and board leaders to support companies as they scale and prepare for durable success.”
Bousta is a technology operator, investor and company builder. He is co-founder and managing partner of DVx Ventures, a company creation platform that launches, funds and scales its own technology start-ups. He previously served as CEO and board member of Getaround, held senior operating roles at Tesla and Lyft, and was an operating partner at SoftBank’s Vision Fund, scaling companies across Europe, North America and worldwide.
“Athena’s focus on short-duration investments in late-stage and pre-IPO opportunities complements the company-building work we do at DVx Ventures,” Bousta said. “I am excited to join Athena and contribute my operating and investing experience to a firm focused on helping technology companies navigate the final stages of growth before liquidity.”
Isabelle Freidheim, founder and managing partner of Athena Capital, added, “Francesca and Karim strengthen the core of Athena’s private-to-exit platform: helping exceptional companies prepare for IPOs and strategic acquisitions by combining flexible growth capital with the judgment of operators, CEOs, public-company board members and founders who have already navigated the path to exit. Across Athena’s platform, that experience is practical: our partners and Council members have founded, operated, backed and helped exit dozens of companies through IPOs and strategic acquisitions. Athena is first and foremost a capital partner, but our ability to pair tailored financing with public board-level judgment, operating experience and transaction perspective makes us highly relevant to companies at pivotal moments. For our investors, that same platform strengthens our ability to access, structure and execute opportunities where timing, alignment and transaction design can create return potential beyond traditional growth equity.”
