Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Misplaced Pages's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may have been created or edited in return for undisclosed payments, a violation of Misplaced Pages's terms of use. It may require cleanup to comply with Misplaced Pages's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. (November 2020) Some of this article's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Gérard López Fojaca (born 27 December 1971) is a Luxembourgish-Spanish businessman active in technology, energy, and sport. He is the co-founder (with Eric Lux) and chairman of Genii Capital. López has been the owner of French club FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Portuguese club Boavista FC since 2021. From 2009 to 2015, Lopez was president of the Lotus F1 Team. In 2022, Lopez launched The Lydian Group, a tech conglomerate operating across the digital assets space. As a co-founder, he was the owner of Mangrove Capital Partners from 2000 to 2014.

Early life

López grew up in a soot-covered house next to a steel mill in Luxembourg. He was recruited to Miami University in Western Ohio to play basketball on a partial scholarship in 1998. He studied management and technology there. He also has a degree in Asian Art.

Career

While at university, he founded Icon Solutions, a web services company.

With Mark Tluszcz and Hans Jurgen Schmitz, he founded Mangrove Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based leading venture capital company specialized in future oriented technologies. Mangrove Capital Partners was one of the first investors in Skype selling a minority position to eBay in 2005 as part of the $2.6 billion acquisition.

He founded with Eric Lux in 2008 Genii Capital, a finance consulting and investment managing firm. López sits on the board of Directors of WIx, Zink Imaging, Lotus F1 Team and is also a member of the Planning Advisory Committee of the Miami University Business School.

In 2015, he founded Nekton, an investment company and brokerage in energy field, active in South America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. He is also the CEO of the company.

López was formerly chairman of RISE Capital AB, which alongside Nekton, was a co-owner of RISE Capital AB Projects. Nekton divested itself of its interests in RISE in December 2020.

Some of López's companies were said to have featured in the Panama Papers leak in 2016, however the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released a statement to say: "No wrongdoing is being alleged by the ICIJ: 'There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any people, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly,'” when discussing the Bahamas Papers.

In 2022, Lopez and his business partner, Greg Fishman, launched The Lydian Group, a tech conglomerate (company) operating across the digital assets space. The advisory board includes Mark Tluszcz and Andrea Rossi, the former CEO of AXA Investment Managers.

Sports

As a huge sports fan, López got into car racing via Eric Lux and Gravity Sport Management. He also participated in long-distance races with Gravity Racing International's team. In 2009, he bought out the Formula 1 Renault F1 Team, making Genii Capital the majority owner of the team. While it possessed very few sponsors at the beginning, Microsoft, Unilever and Coca-Cola soon became team partners.

With Kick Partners and Mangrove Sport Business Intelligence, López takes care of the public image and the transfers of football players.

In October 2016, Lopez entered into exclusive talks with President Michel Seydoux for the acquisition of the Lille OSC football club, which he purchased and later sold. Lopez acquired Bordeaux in June 2021.

In Portugal, he is the owner of Boavista FC since 2021, a nationally-renowned sports club from Porto.

Political donations

In August 2016, it was reported that López had given the British Conservative Party £400,000, in support of his friend Zac Goldsmith as a candidate in the mayoral election at the time.

Personal life

López owns a car collection and it has been featured in Top Gear magazine and in local newspapers.

References

1. Rodríguez, Jesús (23 December 2015). "Reportaje - Gerard López, el millonario invisible". El País. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
2. "Nekton Group". nekton-group.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
3. "Gerard Lopez's new life in crypto". Delano and PaperJam. 14 June 2022.
4. "Gerard Lopez's new life in crypto". Delano and PaperJam. 14 June 2022.
5. "How Lille are using data to shape their future". ESPN. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
6. ^ "From Youthful Fan to Adult Financier". New York Times. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
7. "EBay Buys Skype for $2.6 Billion cache". wikiwix.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2005.
8. "Nekton Group prend 50% de Rise Capital: Le pétrole, nouveau pari de Gérard Lopez". wort.lu. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
9. "Skype financier Gerard Lopez to lead new Russia-focused infrastructure investment group". privateequitywire.co.uk. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
10. "Mangrove Capital Partners: Gérard LOPEZ, Co-founder and Managing Partner". Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
11. "Rise Capital". risecapital.se. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
12. "Rise Capital signs strategic partnership agreement with Russia's key energy district". Private Equity Wire. 22 June 2015.
13. ^ Watt, Holly (25 August 2016). "Luxembourg-based businessman donated £400,000 to Tory party". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
14. "The Bahama's leak explained". EuroNews. 22 September 2016.
15. "Gerard Lopez's new life in crypto". Delano and PaperJam. 14 June 2022.
16. "The Lydian Group emerges from stealth mode in the crypto and digital asset space". Tech.eu - tech publication. 10 June 2022.
17. "Lotus signe un nouveau partenaire". f1i.com. 5 September 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
18. "Transfert : Gerson est enfin à la Roma". L'Équipe. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
19. Rédaction. "Vente du Losc : Gérard Lopez et Michel Seydoux en négociations exclusives pour le rachat du club". L'Équipe. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
20. "An official statement from the Club". Girondins de Bordeaux. 22 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
21. ""Se não tivéssemos o Gérard Lopez como investidor da Boavista SAD seria difícil termos a porta aberta"". ojogo.pt (in European Portuguese). 14 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
22. "Car collection featured on Top Gear". Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.

v t e Renault in Formula One
Équipe Renault (1977–1985) Notable personnel Bernard Dudot Gérard Larrousse Jean Sage Michel Têtu Notable drivers Jean-Pierre Jabouille René Arnoux Alain Prost Eddie Cheever Derek Warwick Patrick Tambay Philippe Streiff François Hesnault Formula One cars RS01 RS10 RE20 RE20B RE30 RE30B RE30C RE40 RE50 RE60 RE60B Related Renault Renault Sport
Renault F1 Team (2002–2010) Notable personnel James Allison Bob Bell Éric Boullier Flavio Briatore Dirk de Beer Jean-François Caubet Nick Chester Denis Chevrier Tad Czapski Alain Dassas Tim Densham Mike Elliott Patrick Faure John Iley Ayao Komatsu Gérard López Patrick Louis Eric Lux Rob Marshall Paul Monaghan Jarrod Murphy Rod Nelson Steve Nielsen Alan Permane Simon Rennie Bernard Rey Iñaki Rueda Mark Slade Mark Smith Pat Symonds Rémi Taffin Dino Toso Jon Tomlinson Naoki Tokunaga Jonathan Wheatley Rob White Notable drivers Jarno Trulli Jenson Button Giancarlo Fisichella Heikki Kovalainen Nelson Piquet Jr. Robert Kubica World Champion(s) Fernando Alonso Drivers' titles 2005 2006 Constructors' titles 2005 2006 Formula One cars R202 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30 Related Renault Renault Sport RF1 Driver Programme Renault Formula One crash controversy Team Enstone
Lotus Renault GP (2011) Notable personnel Éric Boullier James Allison Dirk de Beer Jean-François Caubet Nick Chester Tim Densham Mike Elliott Ayao Komatsu Gérard López Patrick Louis Eric Lux Jarrod Murphy Steve Nielsen Alan Permane Iñaki Rueda Simon Rennie Bernard Rey Julien Simon-Chautemps Naoki Tokunaga Drivers Nick Heidfeld Vitaly Petrov Bruno Senna Formula One cars R31 Related Genii Capital Group Lotus LRGP Academy Team Enstone
Renault F1 Team (2016–2020) Executive management Cyril Abiteboul (managing director) Luca de Meo (Group CEO) Marcin Budkowski (Executive Director) Jérôme Stoll (President) Notable personnel Dirk de Beer Chris Dyer Pat Fry Alan Permane Ciaron Pilbeam Alain Prost Rémi Taffin Bob Bell Nick Chester Mark Slade Julien Simon-Chautemps Frédéric Vasseur Notable drivers Kevin Magnussen Jolyon Palmer Carlos Sainz Jr. Nico Hülkenberg Daniel Ricciardo Esteban Ocon Renault Sport Academy Max Fewtrell Christian Lundgaard Caio Collet Zhou Guanyu Oscar Piastri Hadrien David Formula One cars R.S.16 R.S.17 R.S.18 R.S.19 R.S.20 Related Groupe Renault Renault Sport Alpine F1 Team Team Enstone
Titles achieved with Renault engines Drivers' titles 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 2005 2006 2010 2011 2012 2013 Constructors' titles 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 2005 2006 2010 2011 2012 2013 Related Renault Renault Sport Renault Sport F1 Renault engine customers' Grand Prix results Italics indicate factory team.

v t e Lotus F1 Team

Notable personnel James Allison Éric Boullier Matthew Carter Nick Chester Chris Cooney Dirk de Beer Mike Elliott Federico Gastaldi Nicolas Hennel Carmen Jordá Ayao Komatsu Gérard López Patrick Louis Eric Lux Jarrod Murphy Alan Permane Ciaron Pilbeam Simon Rennie Iñaki Rueda Andy Ruhan Mark Slade Martin Tolliday Jon Tomlinson Naoki Tokunaga Simon Virrill Dave Wheater Drivers Jérôme d'Ambrosio Romain Grosjean Heikki Kovalainen Pastor Maldonado Kimi Räikkönen Formula One Cars E20 E21 E22 E23 Hybrid Related Genii Capital Group Lotus Lotus F1 Junior Team Team Enstone

• 1971 births
• Living people
• Spanish businesspeople
• Sports businesspeople
• Luxembourgian sports businesspeople
• Formula One team owners
• Formula One team principals
• Miami University alumni
• Luxembourgian people of Spanish descent
• Spanish people of Luxembourgian descent
• Luxembourgian expatriates in Spain
• Lille OSC non-playing staff
• 24H Series drivers
• People named in the Panama Papers
• Luxembourgian racing drivers
• People from Esch-sur-Alzette