Octopus appoints director

UK early stage investor Octopus Ventures has appointed Jo Oliver as investor director.

As part of his new role, Oliver will be responsible for overseeing management and growth of the Octopus Investor Group, Octopus Ventures network. The network currently has over 100 independent investors who assist the firm in its investment process.

He will also be involved in identifying investment opportunities and portfolio management.

Prior to Octopus, Oliver founded two property development companies – Oliver Woodworth and COG Developments.

In his earlier career, he worked as an executive director at former US bank Lehman Brothers, where he was responsible for overseeing the European mobile equity research team.