David Ovens, chief operating officer at Archangels and current vice-chair of SIS Ventures, takes over as chair from Bill Crossan with immediate effect. Mr Crossan will remain a member of the board to support the next phase of growth.

In his role at Archangels, Mr Ovens is responsible for the day-to-day management of the business, with additional responsibility for a number of the portfolio companies. An experienced corporate financier, he has previously held roles with Samuel Montagu & Company Limited, Noble Grossart Limited and Noble & Company Limited, before setting up Invercap, a corporate advisory and investment firm based in Edinburgh.

In addition to Mr Ovens’ role with SIS Ventures, he is also a non-executive director of LINC Scotland, the trade association for angel investors in Scotland. He will also join the main board of Social Investment Scotland.

Mr Ovens begins his tenure as chair of SIS Ventures as it gears up for a second round of fundraising following its pioneering Impact First Fund.
The £1.3m Fund has been successful in supporting a portfolio of high-growth early-stage enterprises, focused on delivering profit with purpose.

These include:

• Talking Medicines, a Glasgow-based healthcare data start-up. The company has developed an app, called Medsmart®, which helps patients better manage their medicines at home. Equity investment from Impact First is being used to support the company’s UK growth plans.
• EnteroBiotix, an Aberdeen-headquartered life sciences firm which harnesses bacteria from the human gut to prevent and treat infections and diseases. Investment proceeds are enabling the business to achieve key regulatory, operational and clinical milestones as it continues to develop its product pipeline for the benefit of patients.
• Brewgooder, the Edinburgh craft beer label on a mission to bring clean water to 1 million people. Investment from Impact First is being used to expand Brewgooder’s market presence and drive innovation through new products and collaborations.
  Benefiting from both Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) relief and Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR), Impact First Fund offers investors a portfolio of high-growth potential, high-impact enterprises which aim to tackle a clearly identifiable social problem with a scalable and disruptive business solution.

Entrepreneurs with an ambition to make a difference whilst growing their business, gain access to mission-aligned investment through debt and equity investment delivered by SIS Ventures, the mission-led investment arm of responsible finance provider Social Investment Scotland (SIS).

Alastair Davis, CEO, SIS Ventures, said: “David’s experience as vice chair over the past year will be invaluable to SIS Ventures as we look to scale up the Fund. With a passion for supporting young enterprises, David will help us deliver an ambitious strategy for increasing our fundraising targets so we can deploy even more capital with more early stage mission-led entrepreneurs. I’d like to thank Bill for his contribution as Chair in helping to kick-start the Fund and I’m delighted that he’ll remain a key member of our talented Board during our next phase of growth.”

David Ovens added: “I’m looking forward to working with Alastair and the Board as we further embed the SIS Ventures name within the UK investor community and Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’ve enjoyed a successful first year of operation, and hopefully I can help the Fund further capitalize on increased interest among investors in the values-based business model.”