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Meet the Crew That Will Support Your Journey

3

Co-Founders

Alba Topallaj
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Alba Topallaj

Director
Bianca Traub
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Bianca Traub

CFO
Charlie Daniel
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Charlie Daniel

Co-Founder
Danny Friedkin
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Danny Friedkin

Co-Founder & Chairman
David Sun
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David Sun

Director
Hannah Grant
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Hannah Grant

Events
John Messer
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John Messer

Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Kemar England
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Kemar England

Associate
Kitarack Chapman
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Kitarack Chapman

Director
Zerxis Billimoria
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Zerxis Billimoria

Manager
Flight crew
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Kemar England
Kemar England
Associate
About
Kemar England

Kemar's life has taken him across the globe -- from growing up in Jamaica, studying and working in the US, and now helping to build Copilot in London, UK. The broadness in his international perspective mirrors the broadness of his involvement in the technology industry from startups to growth equity to large legacy enterprises, and from software to semi-conductors.

His passion for technology driven from a love of innovation and growth, and from living in Silicon Valley during the 2010's. He further nurtured his love of technology companies through consulting, diligencing, operating, and investing in tech companies.

At Copilot, Kemar is energised by supporting founders with well-loved products to build and scale into well-loved companies.

Favourites
  • Airport
    Kingston (NMIA)
  • Book
    The Outsiders (Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success)
  • Podcast
    Odd Lots
  • Movie
    The Dark Knight
  • Bonus Question
    Desert Island Disc
    Drake, Take Care
Flight crew
ID CARD
Bianca Traub
Bianca Traub
CFO
About
Bianca Traub

Bianca is the CFO of Copilot. Hailing from the wild landscapes of South Africa, Bianca's childhood was a blend of nurturing her love for wildlife and embracing the spirit of exploration.

After her academic pursuits, she embarked on a new chapter in London with her husband, where the bustling corporate world beckoned her. In the fast-paced world of finance, she honed her skills in M&A, Corporate Restructuring, and Portfolio Management.

Bianca was captivated by Danny and Charlie’s vision and joined the Friedkin team to help set up Copilot. She sees Copilot as the perfect opportunity to leverage her financial acumen to drive innovation. She enjoys being part of a sector that dares to dream bigger and bolder, where innovation knows no limits.

Bianca is also part of The Friedkin Group  International (TFGI) venture team.

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Favourites
  • Airport
    Johannesburg (ORT)
  • Book
    Start With Why
  • Podcast
    Serial
  • Movie
    Out of Africa
  • Bonus Question
    Travel Essential
    Kindle
Flight crew
ID CARD
Danny Friedkin
Danny Friedkin
Co-Founder & Chairman
About
Danny Friedkin

Danny is an active leader within The Friedkin Group (TFG), spearheading new initiatives that take the organization into uncharted territory. One of these strategies, Copilot Capital, was born out of a clear vision to build a business with a specialist team of software enthusiasts. Adept at navigating markets across the globe, Danny brings The Friedkin Group’s business acumen to new audiences in Europe. Through his experience in private equity as well as working within various divisions at TFG, he generates opportunities at the intersection of investing and operations.

Alongside his leadership at Copilot Capital, he runs a venture investment strategy, with a focus on innovation within Transportation. He is also leading a Group-wide AI transformation initiative, focusing on identifying actionable use cases for Gen AI, computer vision and enhanced data practices across TFG organizations.

Danny has a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University, an M.B.A. from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

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Favourites
  • Airport
    Houston (IAH)
  • Book
    Leaves of Grass (Original 1855 Edition)
  • Podcast
    The History of Rome
  • Movie
    Lord of the Rings (Extended Edition)
  • Bonus Question
    Ultimate plane
    P-51 Mustang
Flight crew
ID CARD
Charlie Daniel
Charlie Daniel
Co-Founder
About
Charlie Daniel

Charlie is driven by the sense of purpose that comes from creating and scaling great companies.

A skiing nut, it’s no surprise his journey so far has been off piste. One of his first jobs was helping to start a merchant bank that took him on a number of adventures across sub-Saharan Africa. The journey was littered with many features, frustrations, and failures but the learnings were completely unique and impossible to obtain by sitting in a glass cage.

Charlie then co-founded another business that provided M&A and fundraising for investment firms backed by permanent capital. Through a series of fortunate events, they picked up The Friedkin Group as one of their clients. Over the course of various projects and lockdown zooms with Danny Friedkin, it became clear Charlie’s future was with him. Together with Danny, Charlie has built a unique strategy for investing in specialist teams like John and the Copilot Capital crew.

Charlie also runs TFGI’s venture programme alongside Danny and has led various early-stage growth investments across Auto, Logistics, SaaS and Advanced Manufacturing.

Favourites
  • Airport
    London Heathrow (LHR)
  • Book
    The Wager
  • Podcast
    Hidden Brain
  • Movie
    Parasite
  • Bonus Question
    Desert Island Discs
    The Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds’
Flight crew
ID CARD
Hannah Grant
Hannah Grant
Events
About
Hannah Grant

Originally from the Highlands of Scotland, Hannah is an explorer by nature. Her career has included diverse roles, including being an assistant at an international auction house in London and later at the British Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Though she still longs for Middle Eastern cuisine and her once-permanent tan (sigh), she eventually returned to London, where the investment world was the next stop on her journey.

Though Hannah held certain notions about the world of finance, her preconceptions were quickly dismantled when she met the Copilot team. After hearing their vision, she was ready to get onboard! Adept at taming chaos, she helps keep Copilot running smoothly—managing schedules, events, and helping transform the team’s lofty ideas into tangible realities.

Favourites
  • Airport
    Inverness (INV)
  • Book
    Table for Two
  • Podcast
    Founders
  • Movie
    Braveheart
  • Bonus Question
    Go to application
    Poolside FM
Flight crew
ID CARD
Zerxis Billimoria
Zerxis Billimoria
Manager
About
Zerxis Billimoria

Zerxis grew up in Bombay and moved to London in 2018. After training as an accountant and earning his MBA, he realized that what he loved most was the challenge of investing in promising teams and helping them on their growth journeys.

His passion for the tech world began when he saved enough money to buy his first smartphone (Google’s Nexus S) and observed the computing world’s shift from hardware to software. He believes that after high-speed internet, software is the next “utility”- with the potential to further enrich all aspects of business and personal life.

While at business school, Zerxis worked with John and assisted him on several software deals. When offered the chance to help build Copilot, Zerxis was thrilled to team up again. 

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Favourites
  • Airport
    Bombay (BOM)
  • Book
    Extreme Ownership
  • Podcast
    The Vergecast
  • Movie
    Casino Royale
  • Bonus Question
    Favourite Copilot
    J.A.R.V.I.S. from Ironman
Flight crew
ID CARD
Alba Topallaj
Alba Topallaj
Director
About
Alba Topallaj

Alba began her investing career focused on consumer, retail, and industrials; but since she discovered the world of software seven years ago, she hasn’t looked back.

The intersection of people and software is Alba’s sweet spot. She deeply admires entrepreneurs and believes that software has the power to transform every industry, while empowering employees.

In and out of work, she is driven by her belief that “life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

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Favourites
  • Airport
    New York (JFK)
  • Book
    The Power of Now
  • Podcast
    Invest Like the Best
  • Movie
    Gladiator
  • Bonus Question
    Desert Island Discs
    Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Flight crew
ID CARD
David Sun
David Sun
Director
About
David Sun

David (but you can call him Dave) has spent most of his career obsessed with B2B tech—how to grow it, scale it, and turn brilliant products into brilliant businesses.

Prior to joining Copilot, Dave spent seven years at one of the world's largest B2B technology investors. Ready to become an operator, he then joined a B2B SaaS scale-up, where he got a front-row seat to the challenges of steering a business in hyper-growth mode.

Joining Copilot has been a dream opportunity for Dave, as it combines his passion for investing in B2B technology with the chance to help build a tech-led firm from the ground up.

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Favourites
  • Airport
    Sydney (SYD)
  • Book
    The Innovators
  • Podcast
    How Other Dads Dad
  • Movie
    The Godfather
  • Bonus Question
    Ultimate plane
    Heart of Gold (from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
Flight crew
ID CARD
Kitarack Chapman
Kitarack Chapman
Director
About
Kitarack Chapman

Though he has lived in London for over 10 years, Kitarack’s story spans the globe. He grew up in Laos (where he kept pet chickens), studied in the United States, and eventually moved to London to start his investment career.

He later found his passion for working with technology companies, and notably sat on the board of a rapidly growing travel tech business—including through the height of the Covid pandemic. Navigating that tumultuous phase yielded invaluable experience in operations, teamwork, and resilience.

Now, Kitarack is energized to talk technology every day with his exceptional colleagues and founders, and he is driven to shape Copilot into a world-class software investment firm.

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Favourites
  • Airport
    Chattanooga (CHA) / Vientiane (VIE)
  • Book
    The Leopard
  • Podcast
    Radiolab
  • Movie
    The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
  • Bonus Question
    Product obsession
    my trusty Trek road bike
Flight crew
ID CARD
John Messer
John Messer
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
About
John Messer

John started his career advising software companies on sales acceleration, but found his calling scaling them into global champions. He loves to work with founders who have built their firms from the ground up, and soon started to dream about launching his own - an investment firm focused exclusively on helping software founders scale. When his path converged with like-minded Danny and Charlie, Copilot was born.

Always fascinated by people (he’s yet to meet another investor who studied Anthropology), John knew that to build a great firm he had to start first with the right individuals.  He didn’t have to look far to build a diverse founding team that understood his vision: Kitarack was on board immediately , Alba, a long-time friend, shared John’s passion for software scale-ups; Zerxis had been a trusted colleague on several of John’s deals; and Dave was a friend and teammate (both on the rugby pitch and in the classroom) from London Business School.

With this ambitious and adventure-minded team in place, Copilot took flight.

Favourites
  • Airport
    Not-London Luton (LTN)
  • Book
    What we do is who we are
  • Podcast
    Farnham St
  • Movie
    Remember the Titans
  • Bonus Question
    What is the cure for jetlag that never fails?
    Not eating during the duration of the flight!