NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Valor Capital Group, LLC (“Valor”), a leading cross-border venture capital and growth equity firm focused on the United States, Brazil, and Latin American technology markets, today announced that Paulo Passoni has joined the firm as a Managing Partner. In this role, Mr. Passoni will manage Valor’s growth equity business and lead the sourcing of new investment opportunities while working with founders to support growth at the firm’s existing portfolio companies.
Mr. Passoni brings more than 15 years of investing experience across various asset classes, including private and public equities, private and public credit, infrastructure, and real estate. He has specialized expertise in growth equity and special situations.
“We are thrilled to welcome Paulo to Valor as we continue to scale our growth equity business and serve entrepreneurs in their journey from start up, to scale up, to IPO,” said Scott Sobel, Founding Partner and CEO of Valor. “Paulo has been a long-term friend of the firm and trusted advisor to many extraordinary founders and management teams in the U.S. and throughout Latin America. We are entering a cycle whereby the Series B+ opportunity set in Brazil and broader Latin America is highly attractive, due to the maturation of the market, the talent, and valuation resets. We look forward to continuing to operate as a trusted partner to local companies seeking global access and insights.”
“Valor has established itself as a true cross-border investment firm with a differentiated value proposition to portfolio companies and investors alike. The firm has a proven track record partnering with founders to scale promising ideas into resilient, valuable companies,” said Mr. Passoni. “Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work alongside disruptive companies at every step of their life cycles – from early stage to public markets – and I am excited to bring this same approach to Valor.”
Most recently, Mr. Passoni served as a Managing Investment Partner of SoftBank’s $8 billion LatAm Funds, where he contributed to the significant expansion of the business and investment team. Prior to joining SoftBank, he was a Managing Director responsible for emerging markets investments at Third Point Management. Previously, Mr. Passoni helped build the Latin America special situations investing team at Eton Park Capital Management. He began his career in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Passoni holds a joint degree from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School and an undergraduate degree in Business Economics from Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo. He has served on numerous company boards, including Quinto Andar, InCode, VTEX, Unico, Olist, MadeiraMadeira, Petlove, and CRM & Bonus.
The addition of Mr. Passoni to the Valor team follows the first internal promotion to Partner of Carlos Costa to further drive the firm’s venture and fintech investing business. The firm has the largest venture team in the Latin America region, with professionals based in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, New York City, and Silicon Valley.
Mr. Sobel concluded, “The ongoing expansion of our talented team demonstrates Valor’s strong momentum and our commitment to delivering excellence to our investors and portfolio companies.”
About Valor Capital Group
Founded in 2011 and present in New York, Silicon Valley, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Mexico City, Valor Capital is a venture capital and growth equity fund manager that pioneered the "cross-border" strategy, seeking to act as a bridge between the U.S. and Latin American technology markets. Its funds invest in transformative businesses from startup to scale-up stages. Valor is committed to the success of its investees, putting itself at the service of its entrepreneurs, providing capital, operational support, and global connections.
