The Team

We are a global team combining operators, investors and advisers with unparalleled sports, music and entertainment sector knowledge. We have collectively deployed in excess of $5bn of capital across these sectors. Get to know us better here.

Stephen Duval

Stephen Duval

Co-Founder & CEO

Previously co-founder of 23 Capital, a provider of capital and solutions exclusively to the sports, music and entertainment sectors, Stephen has deployed and advised on in excess of $3.5BN since 2014. Prior to 23 Capital, Stephen has also worked for IMG, SFX and on the Sydney Olympics. Stephen has been involved in the advise or structuring of transactions across endorsement, playing or appearance, intellectual property or finance for over 100 global sports, music & entertainment individuals or organisations.

James Cannop

James Connop

Chief Financial Officer

James brings over 10 years’ experience in Finance and Corporate Development, most recently within Finance and Operations at 23 Capital. Prior to joining 23, James worked within the Finance and Development teams at Soho House & Co overseeing the long-term planning and corporate development activities of the group internationally and has worked in Finance and Operations roles at Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group.

Inigo Glenn

Inigo Glenn

MD, Structured Finance

Inigo has spent over 15 years in investment banking and corporate advisory, including at Jefferies, Lepe Partners and LongAcre Partners. Before joining Empowerment, Inigo led Westbourne Partners, a media-focused corporate advisory boutique.

Sreesha Vaman

Sreesha Vaman

MD, Capital Markets

Sreesha has over 17 years of experience in Capital Markets, including with Guggenheim Partners, Lehman Brothers, and UBS, and thus has strong relationships with all of our Capital providers. Additionally, Sreesha has held roles in sports journalism, covering the NHL, MLS, and USWNT.

Chuma Orakwusi

Chuma Orakwusi

Capital Markets Advisor

Chuma has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, M&A and private equity. He has spent time at Goldman Sachs, EMI Music, and a notable NY corporate pension fund. He is most recently the Managing Partner at Raxicon Private Capital Advisory and has strong global capital relationships. He also provides additional deal advisory to Empowerment. Chuma holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a CAIA designation.

Harri Price

Harri Price

Team Manager

As the Team Manager, Harri runs the operations and working flow of the team as a whole, as well as the PR, Marketing and IT for the business. Harri has spent a large portion of her career within the marketing teams at Commonwealth Bank of Australia and IMG.

Toby Barnes-Yallowley

Toby Barnes-Yallowley

Structured Finance Director

Toby started his career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Investment Banking team working on over $10 billion worth of transactions across M&A, debt capital markets and equity capital markets. Before joining Empowerment, Toby was a Director at Westbourne Partners, and spent 3 years in the Corporate Development team at Cutting Edge Group.

Tom McCollum

Tom McCollum

Structured Finance Associate

Tom joined the Empowerment team with Inigo and Toby as previous members of Westbourne Partners. He was previously Assistant Manager at KPMG in the corporate finance advisory team covering the technology and media sector. Prior to joining the corporate finance advisory deal was part of the TMT team at KMPG. Tom is ACA qualified.

Satnam Minhas

Satnam Minhas

Structured Finance Associate

Satnam started his career in Corporate Finance at Deloitte in the Transaction Services team covering mid-market private equity and corporate transactions. Following this, he joined the Deal team at MV Credit, analysing European senior and subordinated private debt transactions. Prior to joining Empowerment, he was part of the Deal team at EQT Credit, a pan-European Private Debt Asset Manager.