Our Team
Adam Barker
Co-founder, Principal
Adam has over 10 years of investment experience, focusing on SMEs, whether mature businesses or start-ups. He has experience investing in and building companies in the US, China, Hong Kong, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe in both traditional industries and frontier technology. Adam is originally from San Francisco, and holds an MA from Oxford University in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ben Murray
Co-founder, Principal
Ben has over 10 years of strategy and management experience in Europe and North America, specializing in financial services through his work at Roland Berger and the Bank of England. He has built a portfolio of privately held businesses across the East coast, taking an active role in day-to-day operations. Ben is originally from Scotland and graduated from Oxford University with an MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
Zach Applegate
Managing Director
Zach joined New Forest as Managing Director of a portfolio company in January 2023. Prior to this Zach worked as Head of Corporate Development for Southern Minerals in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Monaco focused on commodity asset investment and development. Prior to Southern Minerals, Zach was a Senior Associate and early team member of two blockchain financial technology companies both of which had $100m+ exits. Zach holds a BS in Engineering from California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo.
Christian Thierfelder
Chief Technology Officer
Christian has over 10 years technology experience working with both startups and traditional institutions. Previously he was a Director at Mizuho, responsible for quantitative research and trading technology for the Global Convertible Bonds desk. At d-fine he worked as a quantitative consultant to investment banks, hedge funds and insurance companies. He holds a MSc in Physics from Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, a MSc in Mathematical Finance from Oxford University and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from Massey University Auckland.