Investment Team

David Kirk

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

David is the former CEO of Fairfax Media, where he led the successful investment into several internet businesses including Fairfax’s acquisition of Trade Me and Stayz. He has been a growth stage investor in technology-based businesses since 1999 and was an IPO investor in Xero.

David is Chair of KMD Brands [ASX:KMD, NZE:KMD], made up of iconic brands Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz, and Chair of Forsyth Barr, a privately-owned New Zealand investment firm. He is Chair of several charitable organisations, and recently retired as Chair of Sydney Festival. 

David is Chair of Bailador investee company Rosterfy, Director of Bailador investee companies RC TopCo (made up of brands Rezdy, Checkfront and Regiondo) and DASH, and Board Observer for Mosh. He was previously on the board of Bailador's now exited investments, Instaclustr, Standard Media Index, DocsCorp and Viostream.

Prior to joining the corporate world, David enjoyed a highly successful rugby career. He captained the All Blacks to win the World Cup in 1987 and was awarded an MBE in 1988. He was also a policy advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister.

David is a Rhodes Scholar with degrees in Medicine from Otago University, and Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University. He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Paul Wilson

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Paul has extensive private equity investment experience as a Director of CHAMP Private Equity in Sydney and New York, with MetLife in London and New York, and as Executive Director at Illyria, a media focused investment group.

Paul is a Director of Bailador companies SiteMinder [ASX:SDR] and Updoc, and was previously Director of Straker [ASX:STR]. He was also previously on the board of Bailador’s now exited investment InstantScripts, and Chairman for Stackla.

Paul is Director of Rajasthan Royals (IPL cricket), and Director and Co-Founder of the VRTUS fitness studios based in Bondi, Sydney. He was previously a Director of Vita Group [ASX:VTG]. He is a volunteer Lifesaver at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club.

Paul has a Bachelor of Business from QUT. He is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia, a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia, and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

James Johnstone

Partner

James leads Bailador’s new investment activity along with providing operational expertise to the fund’s portfolio companies. He was previously a founding Commercial Director of Mozo, an online financial comparison marketplace which was acquired by Future Plc (FUTR.LSE) in 2021.

James has more than 20 years’ experience in venture capital, strategy consulting and corporate development, previously working with Virgin Group portfolio companies in Sydney and London.

James is Director of Bailador investee companies Access Telehealth, DASH and Straker [ASX:STR], and a Board Observer for Bailador investee companies Mosh and Rosterfy. He led the sale process for Bailador’s exited investments in DocsCorp and Viostream, and worked closely with Bailador’s exited investments in Lendi and InstantScripts.

James completed a Co-op Scholarship (Bachelor of Accounting) from UTS Sydney, is a qualified Chartered Accountant, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Bevin Shields

Partner & Head of Investor Relations

Bevin was made Partner in 2022 and leads Bailador’s investor relations activities, as well as working closely with portfolio company Rezdy. He was Director of Bailador’s recently exited investment, Standard Media Index.   

Bevin has over 15 years’ M&A, Capital Markets and Corporate Development experience. The majority of his time has been focused on assisting early-stage businesses grow either organically or by acquisition.

Bevin was previously Head of M&A, Capital Markets & Investor Relations at Catapult Group, an ASX-listed sports technology company specialising in athlete tracking for professional sporting leagues globally. During this time, Bevin led numerous cross-border acquisitions and raised over $170 million in funding across seven separate transactions.

Prior to Catapult, Bevin spent 11 years in Investment Banking and Advisory with the Royal Bank of Scotland, Helmsec Global Capital and Macquarie Group, securing over $1 billion in funding for early stage companies across advisory and principle investment capacities.

Bevin holds a Master of Commerce (Finance, Accounting and Economics) from the University of Sydney.

Michael Hayes

Investment Director

Mike is responsible for identifying and evaluating new investment opportunities, and provides extensive operational support for the Bailador portfolio including business performance analysis, strategic planning, corporate development, capital raising and exit support.

Mike  is a Director of portfolio company Rosterfy. He worked closely with several of Bailador’s now exited investments, including as a Board Observer for Instaclustr, and with DocsCorp and Stackla.

Mike has more than 10 years’ experience evaluating investment opportunities across the technology and media sectors. He began his career in the Corporate Strategy group at The Walt Disney Company, the in-house M&A and strategic consulting team, where he was responsible for evaluating and executing M&A transactions for Disney.

Prior to joining Bailador, Mike was a Buy-Side Equity Analyst at Boulevard Capital Management, a US hedge fund based in Los Angeles.

Mike graduated with Honors (cum laude) from Harvard University, where he received an A.B. in Economics. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Jordan Martenstyn

Investment & Portfolio Analyst

Jordan is actively involved in evaluating new investment opportunities, as well as monitoring and analysing the financial and operational performance of BTI’s investment portfolio. He is a Board Observer for Bailador portfolio company Updoc.

Prior to joining Bailador, Jordan was a Junior Equity Research Analyst at Frazis Capital Partners, a global equities fund investing in disruptive technology and life science businesses.

Jordan is a registered Psychologist and holds a Master of Clinical Psychology and Bachelor of Science (Advanced) (Honours) from The University of Sydney, where he received the University Medal in 2019.