London-based VC Stride has appointed Lina Zakarauskaite, formerly a principal at the firm, as its newest partner. The move follows the departure of partner Cleo Sham a month ago to pursue new ventures.
Zakarauskaite joined Stride in October 2021. Prior to that she was head of Growth at travel firm Secret Escapes. She has led Stride’s investments into DeSci Labs at seed, co-led the Knowunity Series A and worked on smaller pre-seed checks. A scientist by education, Zakarauskaite holds a BSc in pharmacology from the University of Edinburgh.
In a statement, Stride co-founder Fred Destin said: “Lina is a natural at this game; founders love her passion and engagement and she is a great first-principles thinker. We are delighted to welcome her into the partnership.”
At age 29 she is one of the youngest VC partners in Europe. She also launched the She Wolf initiative — an event series in London and Paris focusing on women entrepreneurs, operators and angel investors.
Stride has also promoted Michelangelo Valtancoli to principal, while Pietro Invernizzi is moving to a venture partner role.
Cleo Sham joined Stride in March 2021, so clocked-in just over two years at the firm. In a statement on LinkedIn she said: “I have recently decided to leave Stride to explore new options… I want to say a big thank you to the Stride team, our founders, investors, and partners for making this journey so fulfilling – it has been a fantastic run.”
Based out of London, Stride.VC is currently investing out of their second fund of £120 million, and has led rounds into TechWolf, Hofy, Conceivable, Triver and Knowunity.