Balderton Capital has appointed Leah Sutton as chief portfolio talent officer.
Sutton will be responsible for providing support and advice for the 100+ active companies within Balderton’s portfolio, focusing on recruitment, culture and organisational strategy.
The appointment follows the launch of Balderton’s Founder Wellbeing and Performance Platform, as the firm continues to strengthen its portfolio support services. Balderton’s portfolio support team consists of experts in talent, legal, finance, ESG and marketing, as well as an Executive in Residence programme for further specialist support.
Sutton was previously SVP of Global HR at search company Elastic (ESTC), and has over two decades worth of experience in human resources and people management. In her seven years at Elastic, she led the company through 10x people growth, including an IPO and six acquisitions.
Prior to Elastic, Sutton led HR at Plum Organics, a high growth food startup, through an acquisition by Campbell Soup Company. She also held various roles at Bloom Energy (BE), including a stint in Bangalore as the HR leader for India and Asia Pacific, and was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa.
“Balderton’s stellar portfolio includes some of Europe’s most innovative and fastest-growing companies,” said Sutton.
“I’m incredibly excited to help them accelerate their success by ensuring access to the best talent across Europe, effective tools to scale their teams and the support they need to overcome any strategic organisational challenges they face.”
Daniel Waterhouse, general partner at Balderton Capital, said: “We are delighted to have Leah join us to deliver world class support for our portfolio in the many areas of talent and people that companies face in building, organising, training, retaining and leading their teams in order to achieve maximum performance.”