Cathay appoints managing partner for Sino-French Innovation fund

Barrier's hire will see him leave his partner role at Iris, where he has overseen investments in startups such as Quantifind, Flite and MyThings since 2012. Past employers include VC Innovacom, where he successively held the roles of investment director and managing director, and Orange Capital, where he was head of venture capital and corporate venture from 2011-2012.

Barrier, who co-founded Cathay's Sino-French Innovation Fund in June, will head the vehicle as it continues fundraising towards its €250m target. With €100-150m in commitments expected from BPI France and China Development Bank Capital, the cross-border fund will deploy €5-25m to French and Chinese digital startups.

New investor Valeo, a France-headquartered automotive parts supplier, is also very active in the Chinese market.

Sino-French Innovation was officially launched at China-Europe International Business School's Beijing Campus last week.

The academic institution will soon receive a €500,000 donation from Cathay to kickstart Cathay Global PE Research Fund. The scheme, set up in partnership with additional business schools, will provide funds for faculties to carry out research on current trends and models within the private equity industry worldwide.

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